Well~ Miss Monica. I know this is going to come as a total shock to you...
Meet the Vallario's
The morning that Zevira woke up in a bed not her own at either the house or the school left her feeling nervous. In the dim light of the sweet little guest room she could see a clock on the other side ticking away the time. 8:30AM. She always got up early and today was no exception--for this she was glad. She had been concerned she wouldn't get up after having been so tired from getting in on the flight late last night. Both Frankie and Vinnie had told her lunch was at noon. Noon...AH! Four hours from now Zevira would be meeting their parents. She was either going to die of anxiety or embarrassment, this she was sure of. Could you even die of either of those things? This felt like a question she often asked herself. One of these days she would have to look it up online to see if it was actually possible. Something told her it wasn't, but she still felt nervous as she crawled out from under the covers. Bathroom. She needed a bathroom.
Getting her cosmetic bag (it was very small, holding a comb and a round brush, her toothbrush and toothpaste, some hair elastics and a headband) from her suitcase, she attempted to run her fingers through her tangle of pink curls on the way to the door. Did she look okay to even go to the bathroom? Looking down at her Hello Kitty night shirt and pajama shorts, she decided she was okay. Though if anyone saw her they'd probably run screaming in the other direction because she was freakishly pink. Maybe she could just peek out the door and- Ah ha! The coast was clear. She smiled like she had just won some small victory before opening the door and letting in the light. It was pretty bright in the hall, already. Maybe she wasn't the only one that got up early? Eep--what if she met their parents now? Ahhhhhhh.
Zevira was half tempted to just hide in the room until Vinnie came and got her. He was so much safer, and he knew where things were in the house. She would have asked last night if she hadn't been so tired. When she and Vinnie got in, Z was half asleep despite the nap she took on the plane. And in the car. This strength thing still took a lot out of her if she used it too much. At least she wasn't sensitive to light anymore. That was a good thing, but she pretended she was just so she could scurry down the hallway to poke in the next few doors. Bathroom? No. Darn. What if there wasn't even one on this floor? That made no sense! She'd be telling Vinnie about that later if there was-eureka! She smiled and ducked in before the footsteps heading up the steps could catch her. She didn't care who it was. None of this family was going to see her without looking somewhat ready for the day! Ah, it was hard to impress parents. She would have preferred if they'd just popped up at the school one day to meet her like her parents had back when they met Vinnie two years ago.
"Zev, you-"
"Don't scare me like that!" Cracking open the door to see Vinnie on the other side, Zevira gave a sigh of relief. His handsome face could make any problem go away. "What're you doing awake? I thought you wouldn't be up until lunch had already started." Backing up so he could stand in the doorway, Z went back to combing out her hair. She could feel his eyes on her, see him watching in the mirror, but she said nothing as he answered her question with laughter in his voice.
"I got up to make sure you were okay," he said. "Something told me the way you were gripping the arm rests on the plane wasn't just about flying." Comically, he mimicked her death-like grip. She frowned as her face took on a desperate kind of appearance.
"They're gonna hate me, Vinnie," she told him. "They didn't like Nate! They won't like me!" At least they weren't springing this meeting on Mr. and Mrs. Vallario. This meeting was planned and prepared, his parents said they were "excited" to meet her. Liars. A little part of Zevira thought maybe Vinnie may have forgotten to mention the strange and bizarre fact that his girlfriend had hair the color of bubblegum with precious stones in her skin to match.
"They'll like you. Who doesn't like you?" Stepping forward, closing the door lightly with his foot, Vinnie put his arms around Zevira after taking his place behind her, chin resting on her shoulder lightly.
"Um...Kindle. I don't think Peyton likes me, either. Or professor Aden because I still haven't given up on his stupid class." Together the two laughed, but Vinnie just hugged her tighter and left a kiss on her shoulder.
"They'll like you."
---
"I'm not convinced they like me," commented Zevira as she lay back on the couch, her head on Vinnie's thigh. She looked up at her hand that toyed with the front of his button-up shirt, a little smile on her face as she pulled at the button. Vinnie looked between her and the button.
"I told you, they liked you. They just weren't feeling talkative today." He gave a shrug while wrapping his warm hand around hers, lacing their fingers together. Bringing her hand up toward his face, he kissed the large gemstone on the back. Zevira blushed and smiled, distracted from the distress she had felt building up inside. What if his parents really didn't like her? Would that mean the end? It hadn't for Frankie and Nate--they were so cute. But Zevira was always so unsure of herself. It wasn't Vinnie she didn't have faith in, it was herself. That she wasn't good enough.
"But-"
"No but's." He kissed the back of her hand again, working his way slowly up her arm until she couldn't reach higher and he couldn't bend his back any further forward. That was when Zevira just met him in the middle, kissing his lips softly. Her lip gloss tasted like "birthday cake." Vinnie licked it off. "I was in the mood for cake," he teased, chuckling softly. Zevira made a face before putting her hands on his jawline, fingers caressing over his neck gently. When she didn't say anything, just staring up into his face, Vinnie's brows twitched in question. "What?"
"Nothing," she replied with that warm, happy smile of hers. She then sat up, turning over on her hands and knees to kneel beside him. "What should we do now?" asked the Gemman as her hair fell forward over her shoulders. Vinnie pushed it out of the way before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.
"I have a few ideas." That said, he smiling as well, the two rushed up to his room where the door slammed and locked behind them.