could be fate

Chapter 5

Saturdays were for sleeping in, brunch with family and binge watching TV shows. It was by default Vivian's favorite day of the week. It was a tradition that was started by her father, she remember waking up to the sweetest aromas, her father would be in the kitchen cooking, they'd share the most mouth watering meals and watched TV all day while eating junk food. She planned to keep that tradition alive for as long as she could.

It was chaotic without him, firstly, no one got up early enough to cook, so they settled on eating out. Josie called for Vivian for the eighth time, she threatened to leave without her, therefore Vivian only had enough time to brush her teeth and wash her face. She grabbed Shawn's hoodie, wearing it as she rushed down the stairs.

She ignored her mother and sister's disapproving stares, apparently it was a crime to go out in your pajamas. "Not a word." She warned jumping into the back of the crossover SUV her mother drove and they drove off to the most famous restaurant in town. Her mother's new job as a nurse anesthetist at one of the biggest hospitals in the country allowed them to live lavish. The five star restaurant offered the best customer service and most delicious food served in a buffet. Vivian self served waffles, pancakes, bacon, beef sausages, sunny side up eggs, coconut doughnuts, fruits and juice, just what her father used to prepare.

After a heavy meal over loud chatter, they were ready to leave. On their way out, Josie run into her boss/co-worker and his wife. Josie introduced her kids to him and he introduced her to his wife, Erina. Erina was a very sophisticated woman and she had the kindest blue-gray eyes.

She gasped when she saw Vivian, "the resemblance is uncanny." She told her husband who agreed. They fell into deep chatter which Mia felt they had no business listening to so she excused herself and her sister, informing their mother that they'd be in the car. Josie absentmindedly nodded, not wanting to miss what Erina was saying.

Vivian was nearing the car when she heard someone call her name, she turn around to meet Caily's eyes, she was with Shawn and Jaxson, the boys standing at either of her side, like bodyguards. They both wore grumpy looks, like they had somewhere they'd rather be than here. Their expressions changed however, when they saw Vivian. Jaxson looked genuinely pleased to see her while Shawn smiled teasingly as his eyes roam her body. Vivian felt embarrassed for two reasons, she was still wearing his hoodie from last night and she was in her pajamas.

Vivian tried to give Caily all her attention, she was her only friend in the trio after all, "hi." She beamed, fighting to ignore the boys' eyes on her.

"This is Shawn." Caily pointed to her left. She must've not known that the two of them were familiar with each other. Vivian wondered if Shawn was Caily's boyfriend. Something about that thought made her sulk.

"We've already met." Shawn explained, glancing at Jaxson for some reason. Jaxson clenched his jaw.

Caily cleared her throat, "so, who did you come here with?" She changed the subject probably trying to ease the tension. There was some drama that Vivian was unaware of going on between the boys. Caily threw her eyes all over the place, it was then that Vivian understood why she found Jaxson's eyes familiar that other day, they were exactly the same as Caily's.

"My mom and sister." Vivian pointed at the car behind her. Their eyes followed her thumb, Mia looked up from her phone and waved at them.

"O god, your sister is really pretty." Caily complimented, her eyes enlarging in size. That was the first thing everybody said when they saw Mia, she indeed was pretty and she knew it.

"Right?" Shawn agreed, "are you sure you two are related? I mean how can one sibling be so beautiful and the other so... ugly?" He finished with a throaty laugh.

Vivian gaped at the insult, she lunged at him, aiming to hit him with her tiny hand, he swiftly moved out of reach, causing her to hit thin air, only making her more furious. Shawn giggled and started running as Vivian chased after him. "She's Cinderella and you're the ugly step sister." He snorted.

Vivian didn't look anything like her sister, while Mia shared the same dark chocolate skin tone with their father and Josie's light brown eyes, Vivian didn't look like either.

They went at it for a while, Vivian catching up to him, trying to hit him but his reflexes always saving him last minute. She had forgotten about Jaxson and Caily, it was almost as if her and Shawn were the only people in the world.

"I'll come pick you up at four!" Jaxson shouted for her- everyone- to hear. Caily gave him a questioning look to which he responded loudly, "we have a date." He smiled from cheek to cheek.

Even though she didn't say anything, Vivian could see Caily's conflicted expression. She understood the last thing anyone would want was for her two friends to be fighting over one boy, Vivian didn't delude that she'd pick her side, but she didn't want to have to put Caily in a position where she'd have to loose one friend- her obviously. She was well aware that she was the only thing that made Caily feel closest to her best friend, the same was true for Jaxson and Shawn. She knew by heart that if she came across someone that made her feel the closest to her dad, she'd cling to them like her life depended on it because somehow, it did.

Shawn's playfulness was gone just like that.

Vivian spotted her mother coming out of the restaurant, she said goodbye to the trio and entered the car.

~

It was exactly four when Jaxson knocked on the main door, Josie was the one who answered the door, she called for her daughter.

Vivian lazily descended the stairs, she was ready to leave and get this over with. She didn't even make any effort to look pretty, she just showered, applied minimum make-up and wore her most comfortable clothes: jeans and a t-shirt with some sneakers on. She left her kinky hair unstyled. Jaxson however, he wore a suit. He looked dashing in it. He was standing awkwardly in the hall, seeming uncomfortable as Josie and Mia ogled him, he couldn't be more thankful when Vivian showed up.

He crest his thick eyebrows together, "you are not dressed." He pointed out.

Vivian looked at her outfit, "I am." She argued, not giving him a chance to counter argue, she grabbed his arm and dragged him outside.

"Be home by eight!" Josie yelled after her.

Jaxson didn't say a word the entire journey there, the silence was killing Vivian but she thought it best to be silent than have an awkward conversation. They arrived at a hotel, Grand View hotel, it was a five star hotel. They got to the fifth floor where a balcony restaurant and bar was. The setting was romantic with soft love songs playing in the background, red string lights illuminating the dim lit place, candles on each table.

Vivian couldn't help but notice that Jaxson was treated exceptional. She figured he was a regular customer seen as he didn't even need to look at the menu to know what to order. Vivian however didn't know what was good, and she was busy worrying about the price. "Ready to order?" The waiter asked impatiently, he had been waiting for a while, Vivian could tell he was trying not to be rude. She read his name tag, Darrell.

"What's your favorite food, Vivian?" Jaxson's question shocked her. This was the first time he addressed her as Vivian, she knew it was too soon to get her hopes high but this was something. He didn't order Belle's favorite food off the top of his head but instead asked what her favorite food was, her.

"Chicken casserole." She said without skipping a beat.

"She'll have that."

Darrell jotted it down, "what do you want it with?"

"Mashed potatoes, thank you." She smiled.

"Anything else?" He glanced at Jaxson.

"Your finest bottle of wine." Either Jaxson looked older than his age or the hotel didn't care at all about underage drinking because Darrell didn't question it.

Vivian scanned the menu once more, wondering why she didn't see chicken casserole there, "there's no chicken casserole on the menu." She voiced her concern.

"I can make requests." Jaxson explained with a shrug of his shoulder. When Vivian's questioning gaze didn't faze he added, "no one can resist my charms," to which she laughed at.

Halfway through the meal Vivian decided it was the perfect time to ask about Penelope, she wasn't trying to pry, she just wanted to understand his intentions with her.

"Is Penny your girlfriend?" There was no better way to ask.

"It's complicated." He said quietly, unable to look Vivian in the eye. That's when she confirmed he was pursuing her, she knew exactly how to feel, furious. First because he already had Penelope, second because the only reason he wanted her was because she looked like Isabelle.

"How about you?" He spoke after a short while of silence. Vivian looked up from her food and at him, asking with her eyes: what about me? "Is anything going on between you and Shawn?"

She thought hard and carefully about his question, after addressing all angles in her head, she decided to be truthful. With a shake of her head she said, "we're just friends." Realizing this was the very first time she had accepted that Shawn was actually her friend, she smiled. Maybe she was fond of him after all.