Callan turned towards Blake in a way that put cleo behind him and nodded to her profusely âpleaseâ he mouthed before leaning in closer âIâve needed help with her for about 12 years nowâ he said peaking back at cleo as she turned her attention to the maxes. When Callan turned back he stifled his laugh as Blake set up the camera discreetly, but started to feel guilty after seeing Ellie, aflyn, and the maxes reaction to the news.
Ellie placed her hands on each side of the table, gripping the table cloth in anger âthatâs the thing Afâ she began aloud for everyone to hear âif my parents cared about me even in the slightest they wouldnât hate either of usâ Ellie let go of her grip on the table cloth, afraid she would pull it down and ruin Christmas dinner for everyone, if she hadnât already. âMaybe for once in your life you could be more understanding? At least itâs with someone I love, and might I point out someone you picked out for me!!â She said with tears dripping down her face
Lucinda scoffed and rolled her eyes as she leant in towards Ellie still seated âoh so we donât care about you? Obviously you have no idea what itâs like to be a mother which is one more reason why weâre upset.â She crossed her arms and sat back further her lips becoming straighter and straighter as Ellie continued as if she was holding back words of her own. âI thought I raised you better. To think before you acted. Do you even have a plan Elle? What are you going to about school?â She blurted out as archer continued his attack towards aflyn. All her daughter could do was shrug which made lucinda even more visibly angry. She shot a glare at the kowalski girl as she came out with the camera. âDo you mind?â She snapped
Callan went red in the face as he looked at cleo âhow would you even know that cleo?â He turned towards Blake again and covered his face. Though when Rolf spoke he uncovered his face and his mouth opened with shock âRolf, thatâs dirty...â Callan knew that he and Aflyn didnât exactly include him in much, maybe picked on him a lot but even then he didnât think it was cool to throw Aflyn under the bus like that. He was already at rock bottom. He shook his head as Rolf continued, and stood up to interject what archer was implying about Aflyns love for Ellie. Aflyn has done a lot of girls, but he knew for a fact that Elsa Max was different. From the moment they met Aflyn changed his usual ways, but it was too late. Callan jumped back as Archer Max leaped over the table like a mad man to attack Aflyn. He took Blakeâs hand and his eyes widened as she said it was just like her Quincenera âwhat?! Oh noâ he looked back at aflyn with concern as Ellie came in and managed to get her dad off of him.
Archers eyes left his daughters and went straight back to aflyn as his anger returned âoh you need much more than just scolding and blaming kid and you donât get to tell me whatâs best for my daughter. You think you can really be a father? I know your type, youâll run the moment things get tough, your only saving grace is your family.â Archer didnât even flinch as Nick apperated over to him, and he ignored his wife all the same âkinsmanâ he said pushing his hand away âIâll leave when Iâm ready, and when I do ellie is coming with meâ
Ellie stroked Aflyns hair as he leant against her. She felt so bad, if only her father was more like his, more understanding rather than a hotheaded idiot with no impulse control. She looked at Blake and gave her a look that said she knew she was right but didnât want to admit it. She kissed as Aflyns head as Heidi walked over and held back her tears as well as her words.
During Aflyns speech Callans eyes filled with tears, he noticed Ellieâs smile, Archers roll of his eyes, lucindas straight lipped face as she tried to figure out if it was genuine, but Callan knew it was. He gave a small applause whenever he finished glancing over at Rolf to see his reaction.
Rolf shook his head and laughed coldly âway to flip the script Aflyn, but I donât accept your apology. I know that as soon as everyone leaves and itâs just me and you, youâll say what you really want to say.â Rolf pushed back in his chair âmerry chirstmas guysâ he stormed out of the room and went upstairs with his grandfather newt following behind him.
Heidi let out a frustrated sigh as Rolf stormed out of the room, but listened as aflyn spoke and rubbed his shoulder proudly. She looked down at Ellieâs sad tortured face and couldnât help but feel for her. She looked over at lucinda and archer âlook guys whatâs done is done, we need to accept this and be supportive, and Ellie, as crude as your father may be heâs right, we will be here for you, for both of youâ she said looking at aflyn giving him a nod âI believe you guys will be great parents okay? We will figure this outâ heidi stopped as Callans girlfriend interrupted them but went wide eyed as aflyn spoke and she looked at Nick âpurple?â She repeated âyouâre having twins Ellie.â Heidi dropped her hand from Aflyns shoulder and brought out her wand repeating the spell just to be sure. âMagenta means a girl, navy a boy, Hot pink means two girls, baby blue means two boys, purple means one girl one boyâ
Suddenly Lucinda fell into archer weakly, her usually stern unchanging face looked at the aura over Ellieâs stomach with horror and deep sadness. Archers eyes did the same and no one seemed to understand but heidi. Heidi ended the spell and put away her wand. She went over to lucinda and archer and whispered to them discreetly âguys itâs gonna be alright, come on. Letâs talkâ she said pulling them softly into the sun room away from everyone else. Her husband nick followed and Heidi let him lead the rest of the way as Heidi went over to her mom Tina âmom can you make sure everyone eats? We will be done before presents, just donât let anyone inâ Heidi walked back into the room and gave her husband a rather serious stare. She had a feeling that this was the beginning of something they had long been dreading. The beginning of war.
Blake tilted her head a little to catch Callan's words as he moved in closer. She let out a small chuckle, "But isn't she twelve?" She elbowed him as he tried to stifle his laugh, "Don't give it away," she whispered. Bringing her fork to her mouth, she took a bite of the sweet potatoes, "So when do we open presents?" She asked casually, unphased by the drama surrounding her. Family scenes like this were normal for her, except they had some more weapons involved.
Cleo shot them a look, "Shut up already, wait- why are you asking about presents right now? Are you seeing this?" She motioned around the room dramatically.
Blake shrugged and took another bite, "What? Itâs not like they are killing each other.â The volume picked up and she couldnât help but look over. Things were definitely getting more aggressive, and she wouldnât be shocked if a more physical fight broke out.Â
The table cloth began to slide and Aflyn placed one of his hands on top of Ellieâs, the other one gripping another part of the cloth in an attempt to keep it in place. "Ellie," he began, "I'm willing to bet," he glanced over at Archer, "That he only dislikes me because he loves you, and I'm alright with that." As she released the table cloth, so did he. But he didn't release her hand and continued to hold it underneath the table. Flyn massaged the back of her hand as her tears trailed down her face, and he cast her parents a quick glare. "And at least it's with someone who genuinely cares for her and how she feels."
Blake watched them wearily, taking a sip from her glass. But her attention increased as Ellie clearly became more upset, and for once, she was grateful Aflyn was there to comfort her.
Nick butted in as Lucinda leaned in towards her daughter, "Excuse my intrusion, but your daughter shouldnât know how to be a mother. Perhaps have an idea, but you can't expect any woman to know before their first child. Please, try to see things from her perspective and not argue or insult each other on such a lovely Christmas evening."
Then it was Aflyn who interrupted Lucinda, becoming more fed up with the couple across from him, "Do you expect easy solutions to just appear? We're working on that right now, and have already come up with a few ideas. Don't worry ma'am, we're trying our best."
Cleo started laughing at the other end of the table, "Did you just say 'ma'am'? Ha!" Her face easily transformed into a disgusted glare as she looked at Lucinda, "Uh, actually, I do. Could you look away from the camera? Your face is ruining the video."
Blake nearly choked on her drink in an attempt to cover up her laugh and coughed a little with a hand over her chest. "I'm okay," she finished, wiping her mouth with her napkin.
Cleo responded to Callan with a bored tone, "What do I not know Callan?"
Smirking as Callan covered up his red face, Blake forced him to face her, "Come on Cal, don't be embarrassed. I still love you." She looked at Cleo at the perfect time as she produced another look of disgust and purposefully aimed the camera away from them. Blake looked up at Rolf and raised her eyebrows curiously. She understood Rolf's distaste towards his brother, but to expose him in that manner in front of everyone? At a moment like this? Blake studied his body language and let out a sigh as she was able to see why. "Rolf?" She asked, "I'm not sure you fully understand the definition of 'unadulterated evil'. I know evil. Aflyn does annoy me, but so do you. So you two need suck it up and stop whining all the time! Dios mĂo, querĂa escapar de este drama," she said with a roll of her eyes.
Aflyn caught himself chuckling a little at Cleo's reply to Lucinda, but he hoped no one, mainly Archer or Lucinda, noticed. He started Hoping that Blake's cough distracted them. He leaned over to whisper to Ellie, "I would respond, but I have no clue what that last part was."
Blake watched Callan as he stood, then hardly glanced over once Archer tackled Aflyn.
Cleo's mouth dropped open as Aflyn was thrown to the ground, and she jumped up in her seat. "Oh my god, this is awesome! Kick his arse, Archie!"
Casting Callan a look of confusion as he gripped her hand, she pulled him back down into his seat with a smile, "He'll be fine."
With his rising anger increasing the force of his magic, Aflyn struggled to hold it in his wand, "Whilst you don't get to tell me what I deserve!" He shouted at Archer, "Do you expect everything to be bloody perfect? How can you say that I will be a terrible father when you are doing a horrible job yourself? I know how I will respond. I know what my saving grace is. You don't get to tell me," he concluded with a challenging glare.
Nick's features hardened at the mention of his former name, and he allowed his hand to be pushed away simply. He looked over his shoulder at Aflyn to urge him to calm down, raising his eyebrows at Elsa to convince her to pitch in. His attention returned to Archer, "Well you seem pretty ready to me. Are you waiting for your coat?" With a flick of his wand, Archer's coat appeared in his arms and he held it out to him, "Happy Christmas." He sighed, "Although, I think it would be good for the young couple to spend Christmas together before they have to worry about a little baby running around."
Cleo's groan interrupted the arguments, "Ugh! So much talking! Just punch each other, it's not that hard."
Aflyn gave a harsh whisper to Cleo, "You're not helping anyone."
Cleo leaned over the table towards him, "That's the point idiot."
He made a move towards her, but feeling Ellie's hand in his hair calmed him down. He sighed and turned away from Cleo, letting out a nearly inaudible grunt from the pain in the center of his back. Aflyn looked down at his shirt, "Is this blood? Am I bleeding?" He asked, looking back up at Ellie. He brought his hand to his nose, and stared at his red fingers with wide eyes as he pulled them away, "Don't tell me I broke my nose again." Flyn's soft smile returned as she kissed him, and he opened his mouth to say something, falling silent when he saw his mother. "Mum-" he said, just before pausing and beginning his speech.
Blake smirked at Elsa's acknowledgment, then returned her attention to her food. She could hear Aflyn talking, but didn't quite care. When she heard clapping, she turned her head to find Callan with teary eyes. Quickly peering around the room to see everyone's reaction, she could see Nick giving Aflyn a proud, but small grin. Her shoulders relaxed, even though she never noticed they were tense. Things finally seemed to calm down for a moment, and with a cheerful realization, Blake determined that this gathering was nothing like hers. She waved to Rolf as he left, "Feliz Navidad."
Aflyn was trying to figure out a good position for the icepack, constantly turning it around or flipping it over. Once content with it across his nose and part of his left eye, he glared, "Oh yes, it makes total sense to lie in front of everyone right now. I'm not that stupid!" He continued to speak even as Rolf left, "I'm trying to fix things with you. You are the one who told me to be more mature, and now look at who's walking out on Christmas dinner."
Nick intervened with a commanding tone, "Boys." Then sighed with frustration along with Heidi as Rolf went upstairs. He gave a quick "thank you" nod to Newt as he followed him, then turned to listen to his wife's deduction.
At this point, Aflyn was shaking the ice pack. Mainly out of curiosity, but also to avoid everyone staring at him. When his mom began talking, he dropped his hand and met her gaze. He nodded to her in return, a slight smirk framing his lips, "Thank you, mother."
Blake rested her head in her hands with a content smile. She loved the way the family before her tried their best to repress possible violence. Mistakenly, she thought that bringing up a baby girl would assist in lightening the mood.
Aflyn watched as Heidi performed the spell for herself with wide eyes. Twins? He definitely wasn't ready for one, but two? At once? "Tw- twins?" He took a deep breath, holding it in until seeing the result. His mouth dropped open and he turned to hug Ellie. The abrupt motion shocked even himself, but he felt that she would need some sort of comfort or stability. Frankly, he definitely did. "I guess we can name one Callantron after all," he joked. He could see his mom talking to Ellie's parents, then leave with them and his father, "Is something wrong?" Flyn asked, pulling away from Elsa.
Nick smiled as Heidi spoke with Aflyn, but his look quickly changed to serious when they mentioned the spell's color. He locked eyes with Heidi without saying anything, then watched the spell take place. As he saw the result his head lowered with a sigh. He patted Archer on the shoulder, "Come on mate, let's go into the other room and work this out." Nick picked up on where Heidi was beginning to lead them, then took them the rest of the way. He offered Archer and Lucinda a seat on the couch that faced the sunroom windows, "You can sit if you want, I'll stand." As his wife entered the room, he returned her gaze, and turned to look back at the Maxes with a sigh, "Are you alright?"
Back in the dining hall, Cleo was pressing buttons on the video camera repeatedly, "Callan! This stupid thing won't work! Aflyn's stupid speech and all the crappy sentiment probably drained the battery!" She looked up to find Aflyn ignoring her, and Blake approaching Ellie. With the lack of attention, she slammed down the camera and made to leave the room and spy on her aunt and uncle.
izzy806
pixelskylines
amandla
stormborns
