FicWad

“Shay,” whispered Parker, lightly shaking me. “Wake up.” I slowly opened my eyes to find him laying next me, his blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight coming through the windows. “What time is it?” Parker glanced at the clock on the bookshelf behind me. It was 7:30. I had to be at school in an hour.
After giving Parker a quick kiss, I climbed off of the bed to get ready for the day ahead of me. Parker was meeting my parents tonight. We had been together for almost six months already, but we wanted to wait until the time was right. My parents were pretty hard to impress when it came to boys. As I turned on the shower, I remembered what had happened when I introduced them to my last boyfriend.
… My mom smiled when the doorbell rang. But when Chris and I walked into the dining room, our fingers interlocked, her smile faded away. She tried to be polite. But when he left, she scolded me for his snake bite piercings. And everything else about him. Thank god my father was on a business trip that week, or they both would have been telling me how immature it was of me to be dating such a “bad boy.”
I haven’t introduced my parents to any boyfriends since then. But Parker and I plan to be together for a long time, and he’d have to meet them eventually. I just hoped they’d like him. After all, he was perfect.
———————————————————————————————
I had just gotten home from school and was picking out what to wear for dinner with Parker and my parents when he came in through my window, as he always did, so my parents wouldn’t know he was there. “Hey, beautiful,” he said, kissing me on the cheek. “Is that what you’re wearing tonight?” he asked, pointing to an outfit I had laid out on my bed. “I think so. Do you like it?” I hadn’t picked out something fancy or anything, but I wasn’t one to get dressed up unless I was attending a funeral or something. All I’d picked out was a white, black, and grey flannel with skinny jeans. I was more of the dress-for-comfort type. “It’s cute. You should wear your beanie with it.”
“Okay. Now go, so you can knock on the door in an hour.”
———————————————————————————————
When Parker arrived, my father insisted on answering the door. I was surprised when they both walked into the family room, smiling and chatting. Maybe this would go well. “Cathy’s just finishing up dinner. I’ll go help her, why don’t you two watch some TV or something?” Parker sat next to me on the sofa and put his hand over mine. “I think your dad likes me,” he said with a smirk. “I think so, too. He doesn’t seem like he wants to punch you, so that’s good.” I reached for the remote and turned on the television. “Shay?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” It wasn’t the first time we had said we loved each other. “Come here,” I said, pulling Parker closer to me. Maybe tonight would go well.
———————————————————————————————
“Kids,” called my mother, “dinner’s ready!” We stood up and walked to the dining room. My mom shook hands with Parker, and we all sat down at the table. “This looks amazing, Mrs. O’Neil.” Parker always was a gentleman. “Well, thank you! Please,” responded my mom, “help yourselves.”
We passed around dishes of mashed potatoes, casserole, vegetables, and Salisbury steak (my favorite). When everyone had a full plate, we began eating. My father asked Parker what he did for a living, if he had any brothers or sisters, things like that. “Stop interrogating him, Harrison,” said my mom with a playful smile. “So, how long have you two been together?” 
“It’ll be six months this Tuesday,” replied Parker, gently placing his hand on my knee.
We spent the rest of the evening enjoying mom’s food and chatting. Neither of my parents expressed disapproval of Parker, and I appreciated that. Maybe they were finally starting to understand that they couldn’t control who I dated. Or, maybe it was just that they could tell Parker was a keeper. Either way, I was just glad everything went well.
At nine o’clock, I kissed Parker goodbye and my mother walked him out.
———————————————————————————————
I was crying when Parker came in through my bedroom window ten minutes later. “What’s wrong?” I didn’t know how to tell him. I was just accepting it myself. But I had to tell him. How could I not? This involved him, too. “Parker, I have to tell you something.” I could hardly speak, I was sobbing so hard. How would I tell my parents? What would they think of me? Everyone would view me so differently when they found out. No longer would I be the sweet, innocent girl I had been my whole life.