𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 // 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚗 [𝟸]

𝟷.𝟸

♛

Caswell Approval

I let out a sigh that I didn't know I was holding. I debating on whether or not to ring the doorbell. I was currently holding a pan of cookies and all of the gifts I had for EJ and his parents were in my car.

I finally decide to ring the doorbell. Within seconds, a tall woman with dark brown hair opens the door. A smile immediately spreads across her face.

"You must be Thalia!" she exclaims.

"Yep, that's me," I smile softly at the woman.

"Please come in," She opens the door to let me into their house, which was pretty big. "EJ's just upstairs. I'll go get him. You can set the cookies on the table."

I smile and nod. I look and see an empty coffee table which I assume is the table she was talking about. Just then a man with light brown hair and a beard comes into the room.

"You must be Thalia. You know, EJ talks a lot about you. It's great to finally meet the girl who my son is so fond of," He grins and I reach my hand out to shake his. "Oh, I'm more of a hugger." I laugh and he pulls me into a hug.

"I see you've already met my dad," EJ chuckles as he walks down the stairs and I pull out of the hug. He walks over to me and hugs me tightly. He then leans to my ear and whispers, "How are you?"

"I'm good," I pull away slightly so I can look up at him, but not that we're fully separated. "Oh wait! I have to go get the gifts I got for you guys!"

I release myself from his arms and run outside to my car. EJ comes trailing behind me.

"You got us gifts?" He asks softly, almost in a whisper.

"Yeah, I didn't wanna come empty handed," I reply with smile. I get the first big one out of my car.

"Here, let me help you," EJ chuckles and grabs the box with ease.

"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea," I nod with a chuckle. I grab the two smaller boxes.

"You didn't have to do this," he chuckles.

"Well you got me a gift, I couldn't not get you a gift. And your parents were so kind to let me come, I had to return the favor," I state and he just chuckles.

~~

"Thalia, do you wanna open your gift first?" Mrs.Caswell asks.

"Um, sure," I nod with a small smile forming.

EJ grins giddily at me as he grabs a relatively big box. He hands it to me. It's not heavy but not super light. I start to pull at the wrapping paper. I pull the top off of the box and my eyes widen at what I'm looking down at.

"EJ... you didn't," I let out a breath.

"Do you like it?" He asks with a hopeful gaze.

"No I don't. I love it!" I exclaim. I set it down and give him a huge hug. It was the Shawn Mendes Fender guitar. He knows how much I love Shawn Mendes. And he knows I couldn't find the guitar anywhere, but I really wanted it.

"God, this makes my gift feel like nothing," I chuckle.

"No, it's not nothing, because you got it for me," He assures me.

"You don't even know what it is," I laugh.

"Well, how about I find out," He suggests and goes over to the big box. He unwraps it to see the espresso maker I got him.

"I know how much you like your coffee so.." I trail off, playing with the ends of my sleeves.

"I love it, Lia," He smiles at me softly.

"Oh, thank god," I sigh with a chuckle.

"Oh, he's gonna use that a lot," Mrs.Caswell chuckles.

After Mr. and Mrs. Caswell open the gifts I got them, we watch Elf. It was the best Christmas ever.

~~~

"Wait, you're telling me that you spent Christmas with EJ and his family?" Alaina asks through the phone as we FaceTime.

"It was actually really fun. We ate dinner, opened presents, and watched Elf. His parents are super sweet. But like, I had this conversation with his mom. I think she thought we were dating," I mention.

"Wait what!?" Alaina gasps. "Tell me everything!"

"Well, y'know, she just said like how she really liked EJ's 'last girlfriend', which was Nini, and you know the way she said last girlfriend... I think she might've thought we were dating. And she said multiple times that she knows he cares a lot about me," I explain to her.

"Well, I think you have the Caswell approval," Alaina chuckles.