Playing Along

Chapter Four

It's five thirty. Paige is done with prepping up for the dinner. She has managed to do her hair and makeup with some time to spare. The time she spared on the other hand is for her to stand in front of her full length mirror and practise to hold her forced smiles for more than three seconds.

She's not good at faking it. And by 'it', basically anything she has to fake. In this case, pretending to enjoy the dinner. She figured if she's going to spend the entire evening with a person she doesn't like, she might as well pretend like she does. Besides, this dinner has proven substantial to her mom and so she kind of has to.

Paige sighs, clearly practise hasn't made her forced smiles last longer. She walks out of her walk in closet and heads for her bed. Every fibre in her being wants her to strip out of her dress and into comfy pyjamas. But then again, you can't always get what you want.

Her phone rings on her bedside table making her change her destination. She peeks at the screen and the caller ID makes her grin.

"Hello," Paige chirps once she picks up the call.

"Hey," she hears Brian huff on the other end of the call. She can tell he's smiling. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing much." Paige doesn't want anyone to know that she and her family are spending the evening with the Bradford's. Well, apart from Taryn who already does. "Why are you asking?"

"Well I was headed to watch a  movies and thought maybe you'd want to join me."

Paige smiles. "You're not going to Kenna's party?" she asks sounding dubious.

She hears him chuckle. "There's always going to be another one," he states. "So what do you say?"

All Paige wants to do is scream 'yes', but she almost slaps herself once she looks down at her dress and remembers the dinner. She bites on her lower lip before chocking up a response, "I can't."

"Another time then."

She let the phone slide from her ear once he hangs up. She places it firmly back on the bedside table. The feeling she's having is nerve wrecking. Why did he have to ask her out today. She presses her lips together forming a thin line before mumbling a curse.

It's already six, Paige and her parents are standing on the front porch of the Bradford's home. Paige's mom is wearing a classic evening gown, silver in colour and carrying a homemade dish. Her dad like always is wearing a tux, she's the only one who looks out of place with her not so fancy dress.

The door before them opens revealing a beaming Mrs. Bradford with her welcoming complexion. "We're so glad you could make it," she says before gesturing for them to get in. She was wearing her blonde hair up which did the diamond encrusted necklace on her neck justice. Like her mom, she has on a silver evening gown but with a slit on the front that stops just above her knee.

She accepts Paige's mom's dish with a genuine smile before handing it over to a maid that Paige recall's her name being Gretchen. She hasn't been in the house for a while.

"My Paige, you've grown so much," Mrs. Bradford exclaims, "I almost didn't recognize you."

All Paige could do is smile since she can't exactly explain why she decided to cut them off from her life. The Mrs walks the Summers to another room of the house. In there, they find Mr. Bradford and Ian. Paige was really hoping he'd be at his bestfriend's party instead.

The father and son before her look oddly similar. They both have on a black tux and their physique are at a close range to being the same. The only difference is their eyes, Ian's being piercing blue just like his mom's. The expression he has makes Paige wonder if he was forced to attend this dinner like she was.

"Gretchen, can you set the table please," Mrs. Bradford informs the maid sounding graceful like always. "Paige dear you know Ian right?" she questions Paige who is caught up in her own thoughts to the point she has zoned out, as usual.

"Huh?"

"My son, Ian," she repeats her blue eyes not leaving Paige. She can guarantee they're mesmerizing. She turns away from her steady gaze averting her eyes to Ian. He now has a quizzical look. It's time to put her practise to the test. Paige forces a smile still looking at him.

"Yes, I do."

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a/n: Hey guys, so there you go. For all those who wanted Ian in the picture ta-da!

Tell me what you think so far. It took sometime to work on how to sculpt this chapter but i finally did. This is dedicated to a dear friend of mine who actually made Ian appear much earlier. Love you lots, bye.