• Chris •
Chris really missed Mae when he rode the train back to Somerville. They had been talking, or Chris had been repeatedly annihilated at every single iMessage game, since Friday. It was weird to go back to his normal routine, which mainly consisted of blasting music and scrolling through Instagram, but he did like the few moments he got to chill out alone.
His phone buzzed in his hand, taking his attention away from the video that he was watching. When he clicked on the notification, a text alert from Mae, he found that he had lost another game. Darts, this time.
He shook his head, how on Earth was she good at all of these games? Or did he really just suck at them?
The typing bubble appeared on his screen before another text came through.
Mae: 7-0
He smiled, knowing that it was definitely more than 7 games, but he appreciated that she didn't rub just how bad he was in his face. He got another text right after he responded with another game of 8 Ball, in the group chat with his brothers this time.
Nicolas: Chris, why did I have to hear from an outside source that you had Christmas Eve dinner at Mae's?
That was not the text he was expecting. He was going to tell his brothers when he got home, so who had beaten him to it? He and Mae didn't have any mutual friends that he knew of, nor did she have any with his brothers. She'd talked a little bit about her friend, Cass, and a few others were mentioned briefly, but they didn't know any of them.
Chris: ...
Chris: Who told you that?
Chris: I was gonna tell you when I got home.
MattyB: We have our sources and they will remain nameless.
MattyB: And, what the fuck dude? We want all the deets!
The train stopped in Somerville before Chris could respond, so he figured his brothers could go another few minutes without all the details. He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket every few seconds, but he didn't look at it.
When he did walk into the house, he was immediately ambushed by his brothers.
"What happened to no secrets, Chris?" Nick stood in front of him with his arms crossed, blocking the door into the kitchen from the entry way.
"I actually just forgot guys, it's no big deal." He didn't forget, and it was a big deal. He felt like now was a good time to tell them about the kiss, but he also didn't want to make them more upset with another secret.
"We know about the kiss too. Dude, we've been rooting for you! You gotta tell us when stuff happens!" Matt was definitely less upset than Nick, but he was not happy with Chris.
"Okay, who is telling you guys this stuff? Because I'm starting to think that someone is stalking me."
Nick clicked his tongue. "We wants details and then we'll reveal our informant." What was with the big words today?
"Fine! I had dinner with her family, as a friend," his brothers didn't look convinced, "and then when I left we kissed. It wasn't a big thing, and I was going to tell you when I got home."
"We're gonna need more than that, Lover Boy."
"Stop trying to pass off Lover Boy, Matt! It's always gonna be you!"
~~~
After going into way more detail than he really wanted to, his brothers were finally satisfied with him.
"Okay, so who told you all this?" Chris was anxious, surely no one knew everything that happened that night without being there, so who could've found out.
"Remember my friend, Cassandra? She lives in Lowell?" Nick said it like it was obvious, and Chris didn't know exactly how to respond. That meant nothing, how could she have known?
Suddenly it clicked in Chris' mind, Nick's friend Cassandra, who he had met at one of Chris and Matt's lacrosse games, lived in Lowell. Mae went to school in Lowell, and her best friend was Cass.
"Wait, so have you known who Mae was this whole time?"
"Duh!" Once again, Nick was acting like it was obvious. (Which it wasn't.) "Why do you think I smiled at her on the train, I met her once or twice. She probably doesn't remember me though, seeing as she didn't recognize me, or you for that matter."
Chris didn't know what to do with that information. Nick knew way too many damn people.
"We've been trying to wingman you from the start, man. You just kept chickening out."
Before Chris could answer, MaryLou yelled down from her bedroom. "Boys, could you argue quieter or somewhere else? I'm trying to sleep."
"Sorry, Mom." The three called out in unison.
Chris tried to make a beeline for his room while Nick was distracted, but it just ended with his brothers following him back to his room.
"You know that's kinda creepy, right? Asking your friends for information on me?" Chris wasn't mad, in fact, he thought it was funny how committed Nick was to his wingman role that he had assigned himself.
"I did it for you, Lover Boy." He winked, and was promptly pushed out the door before it closed and locked.
"Don't call me that!" Chris chuckled to himself, pulling out his phone to text Mae and tell her about what Cass and his brothers had been doing.
~~~
Chris really thought that his brothers couldn't keep a secret, but he was proven wrong when his bedroom door opened and he saw them standing there, the giddiest look he'd ever seen on their faces.
"What did you guys do?" Nick, quite literally squealed when Chris looked at him. "Seriously, I'm not in the mood for you guys to mess around in my love life right now."
"We got you a surprise!" Matt was doing a better job of hiding his amusement, but that didn't mean that he did it well. "Oh, and dinners ready."
Nick and Matt left the room quickly, whispering amongst themselves. Chris knew that whatever they had done, it would be better to get it over with than to let it simmer. He shook his head, standing up and beginning to make his way down stairs.
He could hear his mom chatting with someone in the dining room, but his brothers were both in the kitchen and their dad was still at work. Who on Earth was here?
"Go. GO!" Nick shooed him, and then shoved him when he didn't move.
He looked around the dining room, his mom smiled at him when they made eye contact, and then his gaze fell on the girl sitting next to her.
"Mae?"
"Surprise!"
