Hate You More

26

Tom opened his car door for you. He put out his arm so that you could wrap yours around it. He then walked you inside, occasionally looking over at you to make sure you were okay.

"Why are you so nervous?"

You held onto his arm tightly, looking for where you family was sitting. "I don't want this to be a bad night."

"Let's make a code word then. If you say it at all at any time, we'll leave."

"Donkey Kong."

Tom chuckled. "What?"

"It was the first thing that came to my mind."

"How would we even use that in a sentence?"

"Hey Tom, remember that game Donkey Kong? I used to play it all the time when I was little." You said it as if it was obvious.

"Oh of course. My bad."

You saw your parents and Ian all talking together at a round table. Each of them looked expensive in their clean-cut outfits. A small vase with flowers sat in the middle. A white wrinkle free table cloth covered the table.

Your mother looked down at her watch. "You're late."

"It's six forty-five. We're fifteen minutes early." You took a seat beside Ian. Tom sat down with you on his right and your mother on his left.

Ian reached out his hand. "I'm Ian. You must be Tom. I've seen some of your work before."

Tom shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. I've seen some of yours. You're great."

"Thank you." Ian looked at you with a small smile. "Hello (y/n/n)."

"Ian. I didn't know you were in London."

"Yeah I've been here for a while. It's where the show has been shooting at. I'm actually thinking about moving here." He whispered the last sentence so that only you would hear it.

You looked at your mom before looking back at your brother. "Did you tell her? She's going to flip."

"Not yet. Maybe you'll become the favorite. You can finally be the one on the pedestal. I need a break."

You laughed. "Are you serious? I would last only for five minutes then I'll say something and fall. I'm convinced that after mom flips, she'll move here for you."

Ian cringed. "You're probably right. No escape."

"Let's make a run for it right now. I'll grab Tom."

Ian looked at Tom who was seeming to have a pleasant conversation with your parents who still haven't said a word to you yet. "How did you two meet?"

"We filmed a movie together."

"You're acting? Since when?"

"For a while. I've been doing small things until, well, I guess this movie. It's based off the book All Things Are Black and White."

"Paisley read that. She's obsessed with that series. I can't wait for the movie to come out so I can say 'that's my sister' as she watches it."

You looked at your brother weird. "Paisley? Who is that?"

Ian started to whisper again. "She's someone I've been seeing. She's great. I think you'd love her."

"How long has that been going on?"

"Two years. She's actually the reason I'm thinking about moving here. I want to ask her to marry me."

You widened your eyes and looked down at the table. You haven't talked to Ian in so long that you've missed a lot. Including the fact you didn't even know he was dating anyone. "Wow."