How We Became Us

Chapter 9

The five of them went downstairs, and when they arrived in the kitchen, plates of food were all set out. Matt smiled, knowing Cassie must've sorted all the food when she heard them come down the stairs.

The breakfast was quiet as they were still slightly hungover, and Connor spent most of the breakfast wrapping the present for his sister. He felt a bit bad that he hadn't bought it or put much thought into it, but then again, Claire and I never really talked, especially now that he's a lot older.

The silence was disrupted when Robert and Cassie walked into the kitchen with a gift and placed it in front of Matt, who paused mid-bite and looked at the bag in front of him, then up at Cassie and Robert, then back at the bag. He blinked slowly, trying to remember if he had forgotten a key date or something that would warrant a present, but his mind came blank.

"You know you can open it," Cassie teased, and Matt huffed, dropped his fork, and finished eating. He grabbed the bag but paused when he noticed the matching giant grins on both their faces, and then he turned to Heather and Connor for help, who only shrugged.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Matt asked slowly, a bit confused and a bit scared of what lay in the bag.

"It's nothing bad, kiddo," Robbert said.

"Not a kid," Matt immediately huffed but still glared at the two of them, trying to figure it out.

"Giggles," Cassie said slowly, and Matt sighed and pulled the bag closer to him.

"Giggles?" Kelly asked.

"It's Cassie's nickname for Matt ever since he was little; it's cute," Heather said with a hand over her heart and sighed, dropping her head on Andy's shoulder. "Little Matthew Casey, extremely blond hair, the smile that could brighten up every room, and a contagious laugh. He was adorable," she said still in a dreamy voice, and then her face changed to slight disgust. "Don't know what the hell happened that this is the same person," she teased, and Matt grabbed his toast and threw it at her in retaliation. She laughed as she caught the bread with her mouth and grinned over at Matt, who rolled his eyes.

"Love you," she said once she swallowed her food and leaned over to peck Matt's cheek, to which Matt made a disgusted face but didn't move. It was all fun and games. Connor, however, noticed Andy looking at Matt and Heather with what looked like jealousy and confusion. He wanted to reassure Andy that Matt was, in fact, gay, and even if he was interested in girls, Heather wouldn't be one of them because he sees Heather as his little sister. However, although Matt is out of the closet, it is kept on a need-to-know basis because his parents don't know, and any imperfection to their image would make them angrier with Matt. Connor, having heard and comforted many of Matt's mental breakdowns after one of his parent's punishments, knows enough that for Matt's wellbeing, they shouldn't provoke the bear. Not until he has a solid escape plan for Matt, which he works on.

Matt pulled out a small white box with a red bow. he glanced at the box and then at the older couple, and his frown deepened. He moved the bag onto the ground and undid the ribbon, and when he glanced up at the married couple, they gestured for Matt to continue, and he slowly opened the box, expecting something to jump out at him. When nothing does, he opens it fully and frowns at the small, baby-sized pair of black Converse, and he looks from the adults to the shoes, then back again. Matt's slightly hungover brain takes a couple of seconds to register what is going on, and his eyes widen.

"YOUR PREGNANT!?!" Matt shouted, causing the teens who were still hungover to cringe away from the loud voice. Matt apologized, but he was still looking at Cassie and Robert. Robert smiled proudly, and Cassie had tears in her eyes. Matt ran around the kitchen island and hugged both Robert and Cassie.