'Frisco.

Chapter Fourteen.

We took our time getting ready for dinner; it was lovely to see my mum so happy and I finally felt like Bonnie and I were legitimate friends.

I curled my long hair, allowing it to fall past my shoulders and hang loosely. I paired my dream dress with white sandals and a white clutch. I felt pretty.

My mum also left her hair down. Bonnie spent a while trying to get mum's hair completely straight and we would tease her for being such a perfectionist. Her gorgeous white dress helped to highlight the red nail polish I pampered her with and the red heels Bonnie let her borrow.

Once again, Bonnie looked great. I finished curling her hair with too many near misses of the heated metal. She put her hair in a high ponytail and let two strands fall either side of her face. She looked effortlessly beautiful and I must admit that I was rather jealous.

I called down into the intercom to let my dad know that we were ready for the big reveal. We made our way down the two flights of stairs to find my dad dressed in a very flattering white buttoned shirt, a black blazer and dark dress trousers. He matched my mum perfectly.

"Ava," he said, walking towards my mum, "you look absolutely stunning".

He took her hand and lifted it, signal for her to twirl. As she spun, my dad looked at her smile with a look of pride and delight. The love he had for her was so obvious and it made my heart ache. Bonnie must've noticed too because she let out a quiet, "awh".

After taking many pictures and complimenting each other's appearance, we finally left for the restaurant.

The atmosphere and aesthetics of Maricino's was beautiful. The high ceiling allowed for long red curtains to hang with ease across each wall. The room was tied together by two spectacular windows at either end of the dining area. Three golden chandeliers and a hundred tiny candles lit the entire room with a firey golden hue. My mother's white dress embraced the colour and almost glowed. I was in awe.

Our table was located in the very centre, under one of the three beautiful lighting fixtures. We were sat at a round table adorned with a smooth white table cloth and red fabric napkins. The formality of the restaurant was assured by the number of knives and forks laid at each place.

To the very left of my plate lay a small fork. Two more forks followed it, increasing in size as it reached the plate. To the right, the same applied but with knives instead of forks. I looked in absolute bewilderment at the quantity of cutlery and decided that, instead of using the "proper" method, I would instead mix and match my tools whenever I so pleased. I did not care for the idea of people judging me - we're paying to eat, not to be criticised.

The rest of the night was perfect - we ate gorgeous food in a magnificent restaurant. My family was stress free for the first time since the move was considered. Realising that San Francisco could now officially be called "our home" made me breathe a sigh of relief. Moving wasn't as difficult as I had expected. Granted, I miss Hannah but I know that she is having a fantastic time in England and it's not like I'll never see her again.

We finished our dining experience with fantastic desserts and made our way back to our house. Bonnie was staying the night and we had plans to overtake the living room and turn it into one big nest full of pillows and duvets.

Passing through the front door, my parents excused themselves upstairs after teasing our childlike taste in films. I grabbed every blanket and pillow in the house and threw them down the stairs, instructing Bonnie to transfer them from the foot of the stairs to the area in front of the sofa. I let Bonnie change in my room whilst I got changed out of my dress in the playroom.

It was a rather hot night (although this did not sway us from our choice in the number of blankets we were planning on using) so I dressed in a pair of shorts and a vest top. I tied my hair back and removed most of my makeup.

Heading back towards the living room I noticed Bonnie furiously texting on her phone on the sofa.

"Hey Bonnie, are you alright?" I asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah I'm good. I just forgot to pack my inhaler." She explains nonchalantly.

"Inhaler?" My response was laced with huge worry, "Oh my gosh, Bonnie! We were walking a lot today you could've been hurt."

"I don't always need it. My asthma attacks infrequent but can get a bit bad. I typically only really need it at the beginning and end of the day." She looked guilty - perhaps she felt bad that she hadn't let me know.

"Ah okay. So is Mandy going to bring it for you? Or should I run over and pick it up?" I regretted me giving the latter option the second I realised my choice of attire. I had dressed expecting the only people to see me being my family and Bonnie.

She must've realised I wasn't dressed completely appropriately because she teased, "Yeah I'll just send you outside and lock the door so you can't get back in. Good luck sleeping out there in that outfit."

I stuck my tongue out and played along, "Sounds like a good plan."

Bonnie giggled and replied slightly more seriously this time, "My brother's going to drop it off for me."

"You have a brother?" I echoed.
Of course she has a brother, stupid. She just said it.

Realising my stupidity I added on, "You never said you had a sibling. How come he wasn't part of the welcoming committee?"

Bonnie laughed as I picked up the remote to begin flicking through our library of Disney films, "He's never really home. The boy is mostly at work and at his friends' house. Mum turned 90% of his room into an office and he hasn't even noticed."

I chuckled and finally settled on Mulan. I turned the lights off and settled in to watch one of my all-time Disney favourites.

We reached the end of the Great Wall scene before I heard a knock on the door. Bonnie jumped up to answer it and I paused the film before moving into the kitchen to make popcorn.

I hear the latch of the door unlock before hearing Bonnie's chipper, "Hey!"

"Bonnie? Why are you here?" a deep, rough voice speaks.

"What do you mean? I'm- I'm staying over."

"No. Bonnie..." the voice grows in familiarity. I've heard it before. He continues, "Why are you at Kate's?"

My breath hitches as my name is spoken. Theres a feeling in my gut that I can neither describe as pleasant nor uncomfortable. I turn the corner into the corridor only to come face to face with the boy who's tormented my mind and teased my imagination for the past few weeks.

"Jonah?"