Ray doesn't remember the last time she spent three days without Ashton. She's had two Ashton-free days, at max, and that was only because she'd had a cold and they were still next door neighbors.
On night three of her stay at her parents', she finds herself in the kitchen with her father. She compares it to how she and Ashton would have spent their night—they would have been ordering a pizza and watching American Idol reruns, she's sure—without even meaning to.
She's still somewhat upset with him (though she can describe the feeling as more of a dull annoyance that only surfaces when she thinks of the reason they aren't talking) and she doesn't like that he pops up in her head when she's doing things that have zero to do with him.
Ray realizes that she hasn't really gotten a chance to think of anything besides Ashton since she's been at her parents' house . Especially since Calum came over the day before and told her that Ashton misses her, in between songs from 2014 Forest Hills Drive. She'd simply rolled her milky eyes, because, yeah, sure, she misses him as well, but where's that apology?
"Are you listening to me?" Her dad's voice brings her from her thoughts and back to the warm kitchen.
She nods, though she wasn't paying any attention, and her father knows this, so he sighs and starts over. "You gotta do it over low heat so it doesn't start boiling." He explains, for the second time, as he stirs the mixture in the pan.
They're hosting a cookout tomorrow and her dad insisted on making a roast. It has to be prepared the night before and Ray decided to help since she had nothing better to do.
If she's honest, though, her dad's already taking care of the marinade, so she should probably start assisting.
"What can I do?" She asks, walking away from the safety of the dining table and towards the stove.
"Mix the spice rub," He tells her without looking away from his pan. "It's already measured out in the cups, just put it in the bowl."
Ray smiles as she cautiously walks over to the counter, feeling for the items. Her dad has always tried to remain indifferent, for the most part, to her blindness, and she can't tell him how much she appreciates it.
He doesn't hover over her, like her other family members will sometimes do. He treats her the same way he would treat her if she could see.
"Did you invite your friends?" Her dad asks, obviously referring to tomorrow's event.
They'd told her that they were having the cookout earlier that day; it's not odd that she hasn't thought to tell anyone yet. "Nah. I've only got, like, four friends anyway." Ray responds, dumping a cup of something into a large bowl.
Well, Ash and I aren't really talking, so, maybe 3.5? Ray thinks to herself. She isn't sure how that would work, or if she even has to count Ashton as less than one friend. If she did, she supposes it'd look something like: Ashton < 1f and now she's thinking of math, so she'll leave that subject alone.
"Alright, then invite whoever the other one is, because I know the other three are Michael, Ashton and Calum, and they're already invited." Her father says, after a hearty laugh.
Ray pauses as she picks up another measuring cup. Whoever the other one is. Luke, the other one is Luke. It dawns on her—more like crashes through the ceiling on her—that she hasn't introduced Luke to her dad yet.
Nodding, she jumps onto the counter and grabs the house phone from beside her. Luke had set his number to speed dial number eight the same afternoon that he'd asked her out, while she was in the bathroom. He didn't tell her why he picked that number, but she didn't complain.
Ring. Ring. Ring. "Hello?"
"Skywalker."
"Ah, Leia."
"Ew, don't call me Leia after I call you Skywalker. That's gross." Ray half whines through her giggles. Luke chuckles, softly at first, then harder once he realizes why it's gross.
"Right, sorry," He apologizes, still laughing a bit. "What's up, babe?"
"Are you busy tomorrow?" Ray tries not to smile too wide, sure that she's already drawn the attention of her dad. She doesn't want to look like she's talking to her unofficial boyfriend—she totally does, though.
"When have I ever been busy? Wait, don't answer that." He backtracks, knowing Ray was going to bring up the time she tried to get him to go with her to the mall, but he couldn't because his mom had put him on garden duty.
She snickers, gently swinging her sock clad feet back and forth. "Well, my family's having a cookout, if you wanna come by?"
Ray's father looks back at her, sizing her before he turns back to emptying the marinade into a container.
"I've never been to a cookout, of course I wanna come." Luke excitedly tells her, smiling to himself. Ray grins, reaching up to feel for the cabinets and holding on to the knob of one.
"Okay. It starts at noon, but come at, like, around ten a.m. to help set up the backyard." She informs him, drawing circles in the air with her left foot. Ray thinks she should have asked her dad if he could help set up, but she also thinks it's not that big of a deal.
"Sounds good," Luke says, finalizing the alarm he set for the morning. "See you tomorrow, then?"
"Yeah. Goodnight, Luke." Ray sweetly utters, in only the way that lovey teenagers can. She forgot her dad was literally two feet away from her.
"Goodnight, Ray." Luke matches her cotton candy tone, causing her to smile so wide that the sides of her mouth were starting to hurt. She hangs up and clears her throat, still buzzing from her and Luke's short conversation.
"Luke, huh?" Ray's father speaks up once a few beats of silence pass.
Ray slides off of the counter, carefully making her way to the fridge. She's talked about Luke, she knows, at dinner and once or twice during a car ride, so she knows he's heard his name before.
Except, now, Luke isn't just her really cute crush that guides her around school. He's kinda-nearly-almost her boyfriend, and Ray isn't sure how to explain that to her dad, because, how do you tell someone that you have a kinda-nearly-almost boyfriend?
"He's a guy I'm seeing." She says, unwilling to lie to her father. Ray actually sort of wants her dad and Luke to meet, which, is admittedly a little scary.
"I look forward to meeting him." Mr. Charles uses his business voice that Ray usually overhears while he's on the phone with someone from work, and a voice she's sure she's going to hear more of tomorrow when he's talking to Luke.
The girl nods, hoping that things go smoothly. Not only for her dad and Luke, but also for her and Ashton, seeing as they'll be in the same space again after a few days. She's late in realizing that Ashton isn't going to miss the cookout, seeing as he's made himself a place in this family from day one, but she tells herself that she'll cross that bridge when she gets to it.
And now that she's thinking about it, as she leans on the refrigerator, so will Luke.
A/N: hi guys sorry i'm trash at updating
i promise i have things planned out i just don't write as often as i should tbh but not just because i don't always feel like it but also because i'm actually quite the busy bee
i do try though because i love this fic and you guys so don't think i'm gonna give up on this or anything
okay enough of all that serious nonsense THERE'S GONNA BE A COOKOUT AND ASHTON'S GONNA BE THERE W H A T
luke's also gonna meet ray's dad so ray's gonna have a couple of things to worry about
anyway i hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did please comment and vote and if you hated it comment and vote and if you hate this entire fic vote and comment and follow me ok (if you watch the dolan twins then you'll get that)
love youuuu
xoxo thirsty girl
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Ray ||l.h.||
Fanfiction"Yes, my name is Ray Charles and yes, I am blind," she pauses, momentarily panicking when she doesn't feel the side of her desk until her knuckle bumps against the wood. "And, no, my parents didn't jinx me." ©2015, dentai. All Rights Reserved.
