Moving In With The McDonoughs (a Before You Exit Fanfiction)

Chapter 12

The mall was HUGE! I had to cran my neck upwards and still couldn't see all the floors! Behind me, the boys were chatting excitedly. I felt a smile creep onto my face. These boys really were amazing. I guess I could call it an honour to be a part of their lives, and not just as a fan but as their sister, even if not by blood. The smile turned into a huge grin and soon, I was brought back to reality by Connor, who was snapping his fingers in front of my face.

"Hey, you okay, Hal? You've been smiling and grinning like that for a while now," he said.

"Yeah, what's on your mind?" Riley asked.

"Or WHO is on your mind?" Toby added, wiggling his eyebrows as the other two laughed. I smacked him on the head.

"You're disgusting, Toby! And if you really want to know, I do have someone on my head but it's not one person but three. I think you get the hint now," I answered, turning back to the mall. With the corner of my eyes, I caught the boys look at each other and smile.

"So Mom and Dad, I think I know why we're here but isn't it a bit too early?" Riley asked.

"Well Riley, with the new game coming out in the start of September, I will be very busy throughout August and your Mom will be working on her new clothing line and this being the only time when both of us are free, we thought we might bring you here and let you buy an early birthday present," Mr. McDonough explained and a grin appeared on Riley's face as he nodded. Oh! I don't think I mentioned this before but Mrs. McDonough has her very own clothing line, which is AMAZING (I got a sneak peek at her designs!) and Mr. McDonough works at Capcom. ISN'T THAT GREAT?!?! He works at THE best place EVER! When I found out, I went crazy! Ok, calming down. (A/N: Fake idea, people!)

Anyways, Mrs. McDonough fished out some money from her purse and handed it to each boy. Then she turned to me and handed me my share.

"Oh no, Mrs. McDonough, I don't really want to buy anything!" I protested. She just smiled and pushed the money into my hands.

"Enjoy yourself, honey," she said and I smiled in return and gave her a quick hug.

"We have another surprise for you," Mrs. McDonough said to Connor, Riley and Toby, whose eyes started shining.

"We thought you boys might want some company while shopping," Mr. McDonough said, nodding behind us and smiling. We turned and Connor, Riley and Toby shouted in delight as they sped towards two boys and tackled them into hugs. One had similar hair as Connor but darker and was a bit taller and the other had dark, close cropped hair. I smiled as I walked towards them.

"Oh, hey guys, this is Haley. She's staying with us," Connor said in a very happy tone. I grinned at them.

"Hey!" I greeted them.

"Oh hey! I'm Thomas." the one with the close cropped hair said, holding out his hand for me to shake. Riley jumped onto the back of the other and he let out a grunt.

"This is Braiden," he said as Braiden pushed him off his back.

"Hi," he said in a shy manner and shook my outstretched hand. I let out a laugh.

"I honestly can't believe I have all of Before You Exit standing in front of me!" I exclaimed, grinning widely.

"You're not going to start screaming, are you?" Toby asked cautiously. I looked at him.

"No but I will start tickling you!" I answered and made a move to run towards him as he squealed and ran away from me as fast as he could. The rest of us burst out laughing at his reaction. He returned a while later with a huge frown on his face.

"Not cool, man! Not cool at all!" he said, folding his arms.

"No, that was WAY cool, man! Way cool!" Riley replied, giving a high five to me and Connor.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Thomas announced loudly while holding his hands up. We stopped laughing and turned our attention towards him, waiting for him to continue.

"I have three words for you: LET'S GET SHOPPING!" we all cheered. I let Connor, Riley and Toby drag me all over the mall and it reminded me of when we went on our Orlando tour. Which reminds me, I still have to go to Disneyland! Ok, coming to back to the present time.

"Hey, Riles, I heard your Dad say 'an early birthday present'. When IS your birthday?" I asked him.

"Oh, it's on 31st August," he replied with a grin. I returned the grin.

"When's yours?" he asked.

"29th May," I said. (A/N: that's my actual birthday! :D)

"Mine's on 21st January!" Toby said excitedly as he grabbed my arm and held on tight.

"Toby, why exactly are you holding onto my arm?" I asked. He just shrugged and kept holding on. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"And what about you, Connor?" I walked... Or tried to walk as Toby clung to my arm, up to Connor as he lead the group to the first set of shops, which would be the instrument shops.

"It's on November 18," he answered with a smile. He saw Toby and I gave him a 'help me!' look and he pulled Toby off my arm, who pouted at me and gave me puppy dog eyes which just melted me from the inside so I held my arm out to Toby, who clapped and clung on again but not as tightly as before. I laughed and shook my head. Connor face palmed, causing me to laugh louder.

"Don't mind him, Haley," Connor said to me.

"Don't worry, I don't," I replied, smiling at Toby and using my free hand to ruffle through his hair. He yelped and immediately fixed his hair. I laughed again. Then I realised something.

"Hey, Connor, where're your parents?" I asked Connor as we entered the store full of new and polished instruments.

"They do their own shopping and we meet at the entrance at the end of the agreed time," he replied.

"And the agreed time is?"

"5 pm," I looked at my watch. It read 1 pm. Four hours to shop, I thought, how much shopping could these guys possibly do? I didn't know I was in for a shock of a lifetime. These guys went to almost every store and bought something! I did my share of shopping, don't get me wrong but boy! Was I tired by the time we headed to the entrance again. I talked a lot with Thomas and Braiden, too, and they're great guys! Mr and Mrs. McDonough had some shopping bags with them, too and after saying goodbye to Braiden and Thomas, we headed home. Ha! Can you believe it? I actually called the McDonough Household my home. I guess that's what it is. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how my life at the McDonough Household went by. Toby and I went on with his project, which was turning out great, Connor promised to teach the piano, which he was and let me tell you, I had never met a more patient teacher before in my life! Riley and I had various movie marathons and did get scolded by Mr and Mrs. McDonough for staying up a bit too late. Whoops! I was having the best time of my life but little did I know that it would soon be shattered.

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HEYYY!!!! :D Here it is! The new chapter! YYAAYYY!!! :D You see, I had sort of messed up the story so I didn't really understand how to continue but then I thought about it and worked it out! :D I hope you guys like the chapter. :D VOTE/COMMENT/SHARE Happy Reading! Peace. xx