From Tutoring, to Friendship, to More...

Chapter 11: Meet the Beakers

     The drive to Ion's house didn't take long, he lived maybe 15 minutes from Delilah's. It was a modest, 2 story house, Delilah had been to parties in houses around this size.

     "Nice place," she said with a warm smile, still sitting in the car.
     "Thanks," he replied, he could tell she was being honest.
     Ion got out of the car first, walked to the passenger side, and opened the door for Delilah.
     "Oh... um, thanks," she said with a slight blush. "Nobody's ever done that for me."
     "Welcome," he shrugged.
     "So, is your whole family home today?" she asked as they walked to the front door. "Why do I feel weird about this? It's not like we're dating and I'm meeting the family for the first time. We're friends. Just friends! I've had dinner with Bowen's family tons of times! Ok, I've known him since grade school, but still!"
"Most likely," he answered. "My parents don't usually work on weekends. My dad anyway."
"What do they do?" she asked. "I never even asked Chaz what his parents did..."
"Dad's an electrician for automotive plant, mom's a nurse," he answered. "What do your parents do?"
"Dad's a surgeon, mom's an interior designer," she answered.
"Guessing she decorated your house then," he noted. "That should be obvious, dude! Why point it out?"
"Yeah, she did," she nodded. "He looked kinda nervous saying that. Guess he figured it was obvious. His reactions can be cute sometimes. You've got to shut up!"

They entered the house, which had your typical comfy looking furniture, TV in the living room, family photos all around. Delilah thought it all looked very cozy.
"Your room upstairs?" she asked. "Now who's asking obvious questions, Del?"
"Actually, I sleep in the basement," he answered. "A bit cliche I suppose. A geek living in his parent's basement. But, it doesn't get used much, plus it provides the space I need for both sleeping and hanging with my friends."
"Sounds cool too me," she said. "Where are your parents?"
     "Probably grocery shopping for dinner," he explained. "I'll go put my stuff down there and tidy up some. You ok waiting up here for a moment?"
     "Yeah, sure," she shrugged.

     As Ion went down to his basement room, Delilah took a look around the living room, looking at the family photos. She saw a few of Ion, looking to be around 3 years old, smiling big, his mom holding a newborn baby in her arms.
"That must be his sister, Stacey," she thought. "Looks like Ion always kept his hair shaggy. No glasses yet."
     She saw another pic, this one with Ion and both sisters, sitting on the couch together. The youngest, Wendy, looked 3 or 4, so that would put Stacey around 6 or 7, and Ion around 9 or 10. At this point, Ion had his glasses. Wendy's hair looked strawberry blonde, and Stacey's hair color matched Ion's.

     "Who are you?" a female voice  suddenly said.
     Delilah turned to see a girl standing at the foot of the stairs. Her hair was strawberry blonde, so Delilah figured this must be Wendy. She was wearing jean shorts and a BTS shirt, with her long hair down.
     "My name's Delilah Gellar. I came over here with Ion," she introduced herself. "She's freakin adorable!"
     "My brother didn't kidnap you, did he?" Wendy suddenly asked.
     "Excuse me?" Delilah asked with a chuckled confusion. "He's had girlfriends before. He must've brought them here."
     "Ion never brings girls as pretty as you home," Wendy pointed out.
     "Oh, I see," Delilah smiled awkwardly. "We go to school together. He's my tutor, and I wanted to hang out some more."
     "Are you his girlfriend?" Wendy asked matter of factly.
     "No! We're just friends!" Delilah exclaimed. "What the hell is taking him so long?"
     "You sure sounded nervous there," Wendy retorted with a sly smile.

     "Wendy, what are you doing?" another female voice asked, walking down the stairs. She was a bit taller, wearing kaki pants, and a purple belly shirt with long sleeves, her brown hair tied back.
     "I'm Delilah Gellar. A friend of Ion's," she introduced herself again. "This must be Stacey. She's pretty."
     "You're friends with our brother?" Stacey asked, raising an eyebrow.
     "I was thinking the same thing," giggled Wendy. "Looks way too pretty to be one of his friends."
This remark made Delilah blush.
     "Could you two not freak out my company?" Ion groaned, just showing up from the basement.
     "You didn't kidnap this girl, did you?" Wendy asked suspiciously.
     "Oh my god, Wendy," groaned Ion. "I have female friends you know! Remember Mal?"
     "Mal isn't nearly as pretty as her," Wendy retorted, which made Delilah chuckle a bit.
     "She has a point," Stacey agreed with a smirk.
     "Will you two shut the fuck up!?" Ion exclaimed.