Sam's Best Friend (Connor Franta Fanfic)

Chapter 12- Thankgiving With the Frantas

The ride back into Minnesota and to La Crescent was quick. I kept telling myself not to think about meeting everyone but the more I tried not to think about it, the more I thought about it.

"We're here!" Connor sang suddenly as he pulled into a driveway in front a large one-story house. The windows were illuminated but thin curtains were pulled over them so I couldn't see inside. But Connor didn't park outside. He reached up and hit a button, opening one of the three garage doors. Three car garage? Damn. He parked. Ready?" he asked, looking over at me.

No.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. I swung out of the passenger side and got my duffle bag out of the back seat. Connor slammed the driver's side door closed and locked his car. As I walked around to his side, he gave me a smile and slipped his hand into mine. We walked up to the door and I took a deep breath. Connor opened it, leading me inside.

It was warm and bright inside. A staircase spiraled down to the basement to out right and Connor hung both of our jackets up on a coat rack on our left. We kicked off our shoes just as Connor called into the house, "Hello!"

A short, curvy woman with a short brown haircut came bustling down the hallway. She was wearing a white, zip up sweatshirt with a blue tank top underneath along with black yoga pants. With a huge smile on her face, she turned to me and said sweetly, "You must be Jo." I nodded, smiling. "Call me Cheryl." My tongue was still caught in my throat so I nodded again as she lead us down the hallway where the house opened up.

The living room was separated from the hallway by a huge arched entryway. On the far side of the room stood a tall, glowing fireplace and couches and chairs sat against every wall. Two French doors led out to an inclosed, wooded patio area. To the left of the doors stood a TV around which everyone was gathered.

As we walked in, an older, slightly bald man stood up to greet me with a huge smile, he extended his hand and I shook it, surprised at how soft it was. He looked just like Connor when he smiled.

"Hi, Jo. I'm Peter." His dad introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you." I replied, my throat dry. Next, a shorthaired brunette, who I assumed was Nicola, stood and surprised me with a hug.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, smiling widely. "You must be Jojo. I'm Nicola but you can call me Nic or Nikki or whatever!" I laughed and nodded, enjoying her friendlyness.

"And last but not least, the runt of the litter." Connor snickered. He came up behind me and put his arm around my shoulder, protectively as a smaller, blond boy who looked remarkably like a mini version of Connor shook my hand awkwardly. "This is Brandon."

"Hey." Brandon smiled meekly at me before shuffling past us and into the other room.

Cheryl turned to Connor and I, still grinning. "How was the drive?" she asked.

"Not bad." Connor answered at the time as I answered with, "Long." Everyone laughed again. There was a lot of laughter and smiling in this house. It wasn't exactly what I was used to but I had to admit I enjoyed the change.

"We stopped in La Crosse for dinner." continued Connor.

"Mom, we shoulda gone out." complained Nicola as we all filed into the kitchen directly across the hall.

"I know. You two got lucky," Connor's mom smiled at us. "I made these three boring leftovers."

"I don't mind leftovers so much." Peter chimed in while Nicola and Brandon continued complaining.

"Hey now, I'm making a huge dinner tomorrow since, in case you forgot, it's thanksgiving! So quit your whining." Cheryl scolded her kids and I smiled. I loved them already. "You need help setting up for the night?" She asked me, changing the subject. I suddenly remembered how I'd be spending the night here and hadn't thought about sleeping arrangements.