Family Friend

Prologue

"There's no other choice Marcey, ok," my mother stated exasperated. "We'd rather not do this, but with everything happening, it's the only choice. I can't send Emma with you because that's too far and besides that, it's Emma. Look, their son is around your age, and they have an older one who's in his early twenties ok? You'll be around people your age for once, enjoy it."

"I've never met them before though," I argued. Normally, I'd do my mothers wishes without arguing, but this is too much. "You're sending me to strangers. They're not going to be the same people you knew, they've changed."

"This is final, Marcey," she stated, a finger pointed at me. "Now pack. You have a flight to NY to catch, then to LA."

That was 4 days ago, and as of right now I stood outside of a large house in Los Angeles, California. I would say something like, "this isn't a massive change," or "I'll adapt easily," but that's all bullshit. I grew up in Norfolk, Virginia which is on the opposite side of the country and as of this year, is more dangerous than New York City.

"Marcey?" A voice stated my name, breaking me from my trance. "I'm Raymond Tuan, it's nice to finally meet you."

An older man stood in front of me, a tan hand outstretched with a polite smile gracing his face. Nervously, and awkwardly I took the mans hand in mine, giving a firm hand shake.

"Nice to meet you too Mr. Tuan," I stated politely. "My mom said I'd be staying here for a while?"

"Yes, yes," he nodded, going and grabbing one of my suitcases, while I gripped the other. "Follow me inside. I'll show you your room. Joey is out this summer with friends, so he won't be around for a while. However, our oldest son, Mark, is supposed to come back tomorrow for a while, and he's bringing some friends."

"Ah," I mumbled. "That's fine, thank you for telling me. If I may ask though, where has Mark been?"

"He's living in South Korea," Mr. Tuan smiled, opening the front door and letting me enter first. "He's a musician over there, and his friends are his band mates."

"Oh, okay then," I said, now interested in this 'Mark.' "Will I be coming to the airport? Or be staying here?"

"You can come if you'd like," he informed me. "Here's your room. Bathroom is down there, middle door on the left. My wife, Tammy will be home soon."

"Okay thank you again," I responded, taking the suitcase from his hand and walking through the door.

The pale yellow walls were bland, needing decorations which I would later see if it would be ok for posters. A full size bed in the corner of the room with a black quilt and white sheets, wooden desk in the other corner with an office chair. Soft carpet below my feet as I rolled my suitcase towards the bed, flinging it on top.

"Time to unpack," I sighed.

-----

"Marcey," someone spoke. "Wake up, we have to leave soon."

"Okay," I mumbled, waking up and opening my eyes. Luckily the dark curtains were closed, so not much light in my room. That's when I noticed an unfamiliar woman in my room. "Mrs. Tuan?"

"Yes," she smiled. "Sorry I didn't see you yesterday, I was working, and didn't get back until late at night and you were asleep."

"Ah, it's fine," I tiredly smiled. "It's nice to meet you now. What time are we leaving?" Glancing at the clock on the bedside table which read 4:29 a.m.

"We're leaving in an hour, hopefully that's enough time for you to get ready," she informed me as I sat up. "I'll leave you to get ready."

As she shut the door behind her, I stood up and immediately tumbled over my suitcase which was half unpacked. Already, this would be a very eventful day.

-----

"Here," Mrs. Tuan stated, handing me a $10 bill. "Sorry you didn't get coffee this morning, go on to Starbucks and get one. We'll be here and Marks flight will be here soon."

"Oh, thank you," I smiled. "I'll pay you back-"

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "Really. Also, Marks band mates will be staying with us too."

-----

As I was making my way back to the Tuan family, I heard loud yelling from the family's general direction. Sighing, I gripped my open hand tightly, feeling my breathing pick up along with my heart rate. Breathing in and out, I made my way towards the large group.

"Ah, Marcey, there you are," Mr. Tuan stated, motioning me over towards them. "Everyone, this is Marcey, Marcey this is Mark, Jackson, Jinyoung, Jaebum, Youngjae, Yugyeom and Kunpimook, but call him BamBam."

Looking at the 7 new males before me, I tried to focus on each one, however my eyes didn't want to stray from Mark. Who in return, stared back at me with confusion, making my pull my black sweater over my hands.