psych- Leighton Murray

XI

Emerson took a deep breath before forcing herself to enter the restaurant. The first thing she saw was the lively face of her dad.

"Hey, daisy!" He smiled, pulling her into a tight embrace. "How's my little rocker doin'?" He asked, ruffling Emerson's curled hair.

"I'm doing alright, what about you, old man?" Emerson grinned, loving how annoyed she made her dad by calling him that.

"Awesome, the band and I are planning a tour, I've been on some dates, all that good stuff." He returned the grin, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I forget that you date- it's nasty," Emerson shuddered at the thought of her dad hooking up with his stans- she had seen the edits they made.

Dallas chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and walking into the main sitting area. They found their table easily- the largest one in the restaurant with a diverse crowd seated around it.

Emerson made eye contact with Leighton, a small smile growing on her face. Leighton returned the smile before turning back to her mother.

"Dallas," Emerson's mother turned to look at her ex, a poorly masked look of disgust on her face.

"Malia, how are you?" He smiled, giving her an awkward hug.

Emerson found her little sister and sat down next to her. "How's it going, Erin?" She asked, ruffling Erin's perfect blonde locks.

"Fine." Erin sighed. "Mom finally stopped crying every day."

"Shit- I'm sorry." Emerson pursed her lips, patting her sister on the back awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it. So, you're fucking the blonde?"

Emerson felt the blood drain out of her face. "How the-"

"She looks at you like she wants to eat you, Em, it's kind of obvious." The teen mumbled.

Emerson turned to her sister, a serious look on her face. "You can't tell anyone, she's super closeted." She whispered.

"I won't." Erin rolled her eyes, pulling her phone out. "She's hot though,"

Emerson shoved her head playfully, earning a wince from the teen. She turned her attention back to the table where Whitney's mom was bragging about her accomplishments as a senator.

"Don't fake it, Mom," Whitney rolled her eyes.

"I think it's inspiring," Kimberley beamed, rubbing her dress to try and flatten the wrinkles.

"Is that African?" Whitney asked. Kimberley nodded violently.

"It's tribal-themed, I'm trying to show my respect since I got invited to the black affinity house."

Whitney rolled her eyes, ignoring the response otherwise.

Leighton's father cleared his throat and Emerson knew things were about to get political.

"So, did you fly here on tax dollars?"

"I fly private because of the death threats, you must know what it's like to have people wish your death."

Emerson opened her group chat with her roommates texting them frantically to see if anyone knew how to deflate the tension.

'You're the psych major, it's you're thing,' Bela wrote.

Emerson rolled her eyes at the brunette across the table.

'We just need to get this over with quickly,' Leighton typed.

Mr. Murray turned his attention to Dallas, a smile returning to his face. "You're the guitarist for the Black Keys, right?"

"I am." Dallas nodded, reaching out to shake the man's hand.