Caught Your Love (Nicky Harper X Reader)

Family Matters

"Hey, Mae!" Y/n greets her friend as she engulfs her in a tight hug. "Thank you so much for inviting me!"

"Of course, Y/n. I'm glad you could make it. I also invited Dawn, but she's not here yet," Mae says, a look of disappointment on her face.

"I think Dawn mentioned something about her not being able to make it because her family game night is tonight," Y/n tells her sad friend.

"That's too bad," Mae remarks. "Since this is the very first Mae-ke Your Own Pizza Night, I really wanted both of my friends to be here. Do you think there's any way that Dawn can get out of it?"

Y/n immediately shakes her head, indicating the unlikeliness of that happening. "You know how important family game night is to Mr. and Mrs. Harper."

"You're right. You know, I've always wondered why they don't invite you to their family game night. I mean, you're practically part of their family," Mae divulges, staring at Y/n with an expression akin to confusion.

The girl simply shrugs and explains, "I think it's because I spend so much time with them. They probably just want to hang out with their actual kids on Saturday nights."

"I suppose that makes sense," Mae slowly nods. "I'm going to call Dawn, though, just to make sure there's no way she can make it."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Y/n quickly disagrees. With a quick swipe of her hand, she's holding Mae's phone, and Mae is staring at her in shock.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mae asks, her sassiness starting to appear.

"This is the one night a week that she gets to truly spend time with her parents and siblings. We shouldn't take the opportunity to do that away from her, especially for selfish reasons," Y/n tries to explain the way she sees the situation.

She watches as Mae's face turns into one of understanding. "Are you saying this because you wish your family was around more and had a game night with you?" she asks her friend.

Y/n's eyes go wide with astonishment. She never thought Mae would figure her reasoning out. "Well, I..." She breaks off with a sigh and tilts her head downward so that she's staring at the hardwood floor. "I just never get time to spend with my family, so I think it's great that Dawn gets so many opportunities to spend time with hers. I don't think she should take that for granted."

Mae's lips briefly tilt downward before she approaches her friend. Y/n shivers at the coolness of Mae's hand when it makes contact with her shoulder. "Look," Mae starts, being careful to keep her voice gentle and reassuring, "I'll just call to see what she's up to. If she's busy and can't come, I won't try to push her into coming here," Mae tells the distressed girl in front of her.

"You promise?" she questions in a small voice.

"I promise," Mae assures her, even adding a small smile onto her face. With a hesitancy that Mae's never seen in her before, Y/n hands back her phone. "Thank you," Mae says, squeezing her shoulder before moving a few feet away to make the call.

"Hello," Dawn answers the call.

"Oh, hey Dawn. I'm just calling to let you know that my first Mae-ke Your Own Pizza Night is tonight if you want to come," Mae informs her.

The heavy sigh that can be heard even through the phone tells Mae the answer long before Dawn says anything. "I would love to, Mae, but my family game night is tonight. I don't think there's any way I'm going to make it tonight. Maybe next time," Dawn says, even though her voice holds no hope.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you later then," Mae responds, being sure to keep her promise to Y/n.

"Yeah, see you later." The call disconnects with a click.