lost | jariana

03

"When is Jason coming?" Ariana asked, tugging on her mom's grey skirt. Ariana was holding onto the arm of one of her Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, dragging it on the floor behind her as she followed her mom around the kitchen.

"He'll be here in a moment," Joan smiled down at her daughter, before turning back to what she was doing. Setting out six plates, she grabbed utensils for each, laying them out neatly on the mats.

"Okay." She was silent for a while, watching her mom. "Where's Daddy?"

Suddenly, she was picked up from behind, getting thrown into the air as she shrieked in fear and joy. "Right here, sweetheart."

"Daddy! Don't do that, you scared me!" Ariana laughed lightly smacking her dad's shoulder as he cradled her on his hip.

"I'm sorry, Ari. I just thought it was fun to scare you."

Ariana pouted, crossing her arms across her chest; she could feel her little heart still pounding. Her face perked up when she heard the doorbell.

"Jason!" she wiggled in her dad's cradle, making him let her down. Bolting to the door, her little fingers grasped onto the door handle and swung the door open, a huge grin on her face.

"Hey Ariana!" the 7 year old smiled, walking inside the house and ruffling the little girl's hair.

"Jasssooooonnn," she whined, fixing her hair back again as she opened the door wider for Pattie and Jeremy McCann.

"Jason, that's very rude of you," Jeremy started, stepping inside the house. He ruffled the little girl's hair again. "You can't just walk inside the house like that."

Ariana's hands immediately went to fix her hair again. Frowning, she turned to Pattie. "Make them stop."

Pattie playfully glared at the boys. "Boys, apologize to Miss Ariana here. I mean, you guys should know the rule. Y'all live by it. Don't touch the hair." She closed the door behind her, both hands quickly reaching up and ruffled both her husband and her son's hair, making them groan.

Ariana laughed, pointing at Jason who ran to the mirror the Buteras had hanging from their wall in the hallway. "That's what you get."

Jason turned to her, and grinned. Walking over to her, he wrapped his tiny arms around her tiny body. "Sorry Miss Ariana. Won't do it again."

The little brunette hugged him back. "It's okay! Look, I have something to show you!" she exclaimed, grabbing Jason's hand tightly.

She began running inside the living room, pulling him along behind her. She was two years younger than him, but boy could she pull.

She dropped his hand when she reached her living room TV, in front of a X-Box that was set up beneath it.

"When did you get that?" Jason chuckled. "I saw you play at my house last time, you weren't very good."

Ariana brushed it off, smiling. She was struggling to open a game disc. "I just got it. I asked Daddy to buy it for me so I can practice."

"Practice?" Jason questioned. She handed him the disc, Street Fighters V. His brown eyes widened at the disc in his hand. "Whoa, cool! I couldn't get it yet, because Dad said four was enough."

"It is," the two kids heard from the other room.

Ariana giggled. "I asked Daddy to buy it for me." She paused. "For us," she corrected. "I've been practicing, and I'm really good. Or Mommy just lets me win." The blond haired boy smiled at her innocence.