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Miguel, Demetri, Jake and Aisha all squished together on a park bench while Hawk and Bert sparred behind them. Lilith was running late, saying she got stuck in a "thing" with her mom; Miguel just saw it as another excuse to not see him.
Demetri, who was trying to explain Magic the gathering to Jake, turned to Miguel, hoping the boy would help him out, but he frowned when he saw Miguel just looking down at the same sandwich he'd been holding for thirty minutes now, refusing to take a bite.
"Come on, eat something. I'll make you feel better." Demetri sighed out, catching everyone's attention.
Miguel huffed, pushing his sandwich back into his ziplock. "Told you I'm not hungry, man." He muttered and Jake sighed. He tried to hold back rolling his eyes, but he couldn't control it. He told Miguel a handful of times now that Lilith wasn't embarrassed of him, but Miguel wouldn't listen to him.
"I still think you're overreacting." Jake grumbled, getting annoyed over the fact that he kept having to defend Lilith. Why couldn't Miguel just trust him and her?
"I'm not overreacting, dude." Miguel said almost immediately, shaking his head.
Jake pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to not snap at Miguel. "All right, so she cancelled the dinner. There'll always be another." He said and Miguel finally turned to look at him, shrugging his shoulders defensively.
"But why did she cancel this one?" He asked and Jake couldn't tell if he sounded sad or angry.
Jake shrugged. It wasn't his place to tell Miguel what happened between Lilith and her mom. "She told you something came up. Do you not believe her?" Jake asked, his annoyance making it through his words.
Miguel quickly shook his head at Jake's raised eyebrows. He knew Jake was closer to Lilith than him and he'd have to watch his words more carefully. "I do just why I haven't met her parents! That's suspicious, right?" He asked.
Jake leaned further back on the bench and licked his lips. He looked off ahead of him before he turned back to Miguel.
"Look, like I told you before, Lilith's relationship with her parents is rocky already. They sent her to another country for years. That messes with a family's dynamic. I'm sure she's just waiting for the perfect moment for you to meet them." Jake said and when he noticed Miguel start to open his mouth to speak, Jake beat him to it.
"And it's not because she's embarrassed by you. It's her own shit with her parents." Jake added and Miguel clamped his mouth shut. "The fact is, Lilith's given you no reason not to trust her." Jake finished.
After a couple seconds, Miguel sighed in defeat, nodding his head in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He muttered.
"Jake!"
Everyone's heads, even Hawk and Bert's, turned at the sound of Lilith's voice.
They watched the girl stomp towards them, her face red in anger and her hand holding her phone so tight, her knuckles were turning white.
