Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 26: Nathan's Favorite Girl in the World

When Mia opened her front door after the doorbell rang, she wasn't expecting Nathan to be on the other side. It had been a couple of weeks since she had spilled her soul to him and even though he had promised he wouldn't look at her differently, he was. He would smile at her more, find subtle ways to praise her, scan around in case any threats to her happiness, like Susan, were present. There were also times he would be quieter when Hazel and her would talk, he would simply sit and observe the way Hazel effortlessly put a smile on Mia's face. It made him miss a certain friend of his.

"Are you free?" he asked with a smile. When she nodded her head, the smile grew. "Great. I'm kidnapping you for the rest of the day."

"Um, why? Is this for a fear or something?"

"Nope. I want you to meet someone. Come on," he held his hand out for her to take.

"I'm not exactly dressed." She was wearing sweatpants and her aquarium shirt.

"The clothes are clean, right?"

"Yeah, but I would prefer not to go into public looking like a slob."

"Just put shoes on and come to my car. Please?"

Mia took in how excited he was. "Fine, just let me grab my phone." In the car, Mia tried asking again where they were going. "Can I get a hint?"

"I'm taking you to meet my favorite girl in the world."

Mia gasped. "I can't believe this. You've been cheating on me? I thought what we had was real!" she joked.

"It's not like that, I promise," he laughed. Mia stayed silent for the rest of the car ride, curiosity running through her body. Finally, he parked in the driveway of a house. "Come on, she's waiting inside."

When they entered the house that he had a key to, he made his way to the kitchen. Mia followed him and saw a nice-looking old lady putting away some containers. "Oh hello, Nathan dear."

"Hello, Mrs. White. Thank you for taking care of her. Mom is planning to send over some cake in a few days."

The old woman waved her hand in dismissal. "Oh tell her not to sweat it, dear. I'm just doing the neighborly thing. Is this your girl?"

"Mia is my friend, Mrs. White. Mia, this is my lovely neighbor. She makes the best snickerdoodle cookies in the world."

"Oh please, you're making me blush. Tell her I said bye. She's upstairs cleaning up the mess in her room."

"It was nice to meet you, Mrs. White," Mia said as the old lady left the kitchen and made her way to her own house. Nathan beckoned to the living room so Mia followed him.

"Munchkin come downstairs!" he yelled. Only half a minute later, a girl came barreling down the stairs into Nathan's arms. She looked about six or seven, with tan skin and hair the same shade as Nathan's.

"You have a kid?" Mia screeched.

Nathan stared at her in shock, not knowing how to respond. "Are you insane? This is my little sister!"

"Oh," she laughed in embarrassment. "It's just, the other day I noticed your math folder was littered in childish stickers. I was like, hey, those look like stickers I would have, not Nathan. So maybe the idea that you have a secret child made its way into my head."

"You have been watching too many tv dramas."

"Probably," she muttered. Mia then turned to the little girl standing beside Nathan. She was unabashedly staring up at Mia. "Hi, my name's Emilia but my friends call me Mia," she stuck her hand out for the girl to shake.