ѕρяєα∂ му ωιηgѕ.

“Hey, hey. Don’t underestimate what a tinder fuckboy would do for a free meal.” Eliot warned, not bothering to push her legs off as he shut his eyes and rested back against the couch, arms folded over his chest. After a short lived internal debate as to whether he should respond or ignore the girl next to him, he opened one eye and turned his head towards her. Most of the time, Madeline was impossible for Eliot to ignore, and now was no exception. “Are you telling me I’m not a gentleman?” He countered, catching her smirk behind the glass of water she held to her face. “I’m an angel. The nicest, sweetest man to ever grace the planet. Women everywhere would be lucky to date me. They’d all beg to introduce me to their families, and when we break up their parents would be heart broken and wonder for the rest of their lives how their daughter could be so stupid and let such a gentleman go.”

Madeline couldn’t help but giggle at how adamant Eliot was being about the whole Tinder thing. She wasn’t sure if they were even really arguing about Tinder anymore or if Eliot was just too competitive to ever let himself lose an argument. “Are you telling me that you are?” she asked, raising one challenging eyebrow at him. “The simple fact that you have the sentence “and when we break up” kind of proves that you aren’t as much of an angel as you claim, El. And I’ll admit you can be somewhat charming, but I don’t know if you’ve got the talent to charm parents.” Maddie finished off her water before placing the empty glass down on the coffee table. “Especially not ones like my dad. Although you’re probably have my Nana wrapped around your pinky.”

“I think the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to me…” she paused, chewing the inside of her lip as her mind filtered through many many instances, “was probably getting carded and almost not getting entry to a venue I was performing at.” Lillian shuddered at the memory, a lingering presence of uneasiness painted on her skin. “Can you imagine? I mean, I know I look twelve, but to have a fake ID this exquisite, or the money to get one at twelve, is bewildering itself. Although, if you know a guy, hit me up.”

Fletcher raised an eyebrow, pursing his lips. “You’ll be okay without a jacket, huh? I’ll remember that when you beg me to turn the heater up in my car,” he murmured, putting his feet on her coffee table, folding his arms behind his head. A tiny smirk graced his features as his young sister looked up at him. The male returned her gaze almost devilishly, pretending to reach into his pocket. “Yeah, I brought you a frog!” he shouted out, tossing up a plastic frog he had won at an arcade earlier. “His name is Toby. I hope you love him as much as I do.” Placing the the plastic piece in her lap, Fletcher grinned. “In whatever seriousness I can muster, I’m just here to see my baby sister. I guess I miss you. Kidding. I missed you a lot.” 

She scrunched her face at her older brother, shaking her head to mock his warning. Sure, in the past she may have complained that he kept his car too cold, but there was a limit even in California as to how high it was acceptable to blast the damn thing. If Madeline was vocal about her opinion, well, that couldn’t be helped. Maddie startled as he dropped the ‘frog’ onto her lap and she smacked his shoulder. “Jerk! You scared me!” she huffed, placing one hand over her heart and using the other to observe the little trinket her brother had gifted her. “Why’d you name him Toby of all things?” she asked, turning the toy in her hand. Maddie grinned at her brother’s sappiness, truly enjoying the attention. “You’re such a sap, it’s disgusting,”  she giggled, resting her head on Fletcher’s shoulder. “Want to spend the afternoon together? I don’t have anything planned.”