𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 // ˡᵃⁿᵈᵒ ⁿᵒʳʳⁱˢ

𝚛𝚢𝚍𝚎𝚛⁰⁹

"Mila! Mila!" Loud knocking jolted Lando awake. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, trying to remember where he was. Looking beside him, he saw Mila passed out on the couch.

After dinner, Lando had come over to Mila's place to brainstorm how to launch their "relationship." They must have fallen asleep while planning and watching Modern Family, which was still playing on the TV.

Groaning, Lando paused the show and walked to the door. He was surprised Mila could sleep through such loud knocking. She must be a deep sleeper, he thought.

Opening the door, he found himself face-to-face with a boy who had an annoyed expression.

"What're you doing here?" the guy asked bluntly. Lando was caught off guard by the question. Still sleepy, it took him a moment to recognize the familiar face. Then it clicked. It was the guy in Mila's lock screen—her younger brother, Ryder.

"Ryder, hey man," greeted Lando with a smile, holding the door open as Ryder walked in, still looking a bit annoyed. "I'm Lando-"

"I know who you are," Ryder cut him off. "You didn't answer my question. Why are you here so early in the morning?"

Ryder's blunt tone told Lando that Ryder wasn't happy to see him here and he didn't understand why.

"I, uh, we went out for dinner last night and then we came back here and passed out watching Modern Family," Lando explained, trailing off.

"Where's my sister?" Ryder then asked as he walked further into the house, his eyes landing on Mila passed out on the couch.

"Did you guys drink last night?" Ryder asked in concern, Lando could clearly see it on his face.

"No, we didn't," Lando answered. "Lani doesn't drink. I don't either."

Ryder only hummed in response as he walked to the kitchen, filling a glass with water. He then walked back to the couch. Lando watched as Ryder dipped his finger into the glass and sprinkled water on Mila's face, causing her to jolt awake in surprise.

She screamed in surprise as Ryder only rolled his eyes, and Lando watched from behind with a smile on his face, seeing their sibling dynamic.

As Mila overcame the shock and realized who the culprit was, she began to curse at Ryder in anger, "Ryder, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"You weren't waking up," Ryder simply shrugged. "I waited at the front door for 15 minutes, and your doorbell doesn't work. You weren't even answering your phone. I was this close to breaking down the door," Ryder indicated, almost pinching his fingers together.

"Sorry, I, uh, passed out after dinner," Mila mumbled, her eyes landing on Lando, who still stood a bit further away, watching the siblings' interaction.

Ryder followed Mila's line of sight before looking back at his sister and asking, "So what's he doing here?"

"Ryder!" Mila scolded, not liking his bluntness.

"I'm just asking," Ryder shrugged as Mila glared at him, getting up from the couch.

"Lando, if you wanna freshen up, you can use the guestroom," she told him, ignoring her brother's question. "I'll freshen up and be back out in 5 minutes."

With that, she walked towards her room, while Lando nodded at her words and headed towards the guest room.

A few minutes passed as Ryder waited on the couch. Mila walked out of her room first and went to get herself some water. Ryder joined her in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, waiting for her to start the conversation.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, to which Ryder pretended to be offended. "I'm your brother, don't I have the right to visit my sister?" he retorted, making a playful face as Mila rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious, Ryder. Did Mom send you?" she asked suspiciously.

"No, I came over by myself," he replied. "There's been...a lot of news about you lately. You and this guy, and now I come over and he's here? What's going on, Mila?"

"He has a name, Ryder," she snapped. "You better not be disrespectful or rude to him."

"You're avoiding my question," Ryder pointed out as Mila sighed in frustration.

"No, I'm not," she countered. "But you're being unnecessarily rude to him. I don't want you to be mean to my friends, so stop it."

"So he's just a friend?" Ryder then asked.

Before Mila could answer, Lando walked out of the guest room, still wearing his old clothes but looking fresher than before. He stood there, smiling awkwardly, as the siblings looked at him. Mila wore an apologetic look, while Ryder had a suspicious expression, as if he didn't fully trust Lando.