Unexpected (Avi Kaplan)

Happy

Ivy's POV

Surprisingly, it wasn't the smell of food that woke me up. That's different. It was simply the sun shining through the black curtains that covered the window I was facing. I stretched out my limbs, only to feel an arm tighten around my waist. Rolling my eyes slightly, I reached over the edge of the bed and found my jacket, pulling a small item out of the pocket.

I kept it balled up in my fist and hidden from view until Avi's soft snores assured me he was still sleeping. He almost saw it yesterday which would have ruined everything. It was nothing more than a necklace with a dragon wrapped around a sword, but that didn't mean I wanted to wait until the perfect moment to give it to him.

I stared at it in silence until Avi's hand took it from me. I turned over so I was facing him and frowned. "You weren't supposed to see it," I said with a small pout.

"But I did," he said as he inspected it. "My present from yesterday?" he asked curiously, running his thumb over the metal. I nodded silently as I pushed a bit of hair out of his face.

"You look like a lion," I told him as I took the necklace from him and hooked it around his neck. I guess now is as good a time as any.

"I know I do, and I wouldn't change it," he paused and stared at me intently. "Thank you. It's the best present ever," he said with a small laugh. "Even better than the box of sauces Esther got me," he added before leaning in and kissing my forehead. As silly as it sounds, that really made me feel special, especially knowing how much he liked his barbecue.

Avi suddenly sat up and looked around, inhaling deeply before smiling widely. "Food,," he said as he hopped up and began getting dressed. I rolled my eyes playfully and took my time getting up, deciding to get a quick shower. I skipped out on washing my hair and got out, wrapping a towel around me and returning to the now-empty room to find something to wear.

I took a moment before I started to get dressed to inspect my arms, smiling slightly at the lack of scars. Any indication of my past life was gone. I quickly got dressed and did my hair and makeup, hurrying downstairs to where almost everyone was sitting at the table. I took a seat next to Avi just as Esther came down the stairs. At least I wasn't the last one.

After we said grace, we began eating, talking about anything and everything. I was in the middle of devouring a piece of sausage when an unexpected question came out of his father's mouth of all people.

"Did you use protection, son?"

I coughed, nearly choking on my food as I comprehended what he had said.

"Michael!" Shelley yelled, hitting his arm gently, though I could see in her eyes she was just as curious. She was just more discrete about it.

I glanced over at Avi, trying my best not to blush and failing miserably. It seemed I wasn't the only one that was uncomfortable considering he looked like he had seen a ghost. I looked back to my food and pushed it around a bit. "I'm uncomfortable," I said with a small laugh, unable to look at anyone.

"I'd rather not answer that," Avi finally said as he looked down. I couldn't help but laugh a bit louder at his reaction, forgetting about my own awkwardness. Esther and Darien soon joined me and before I knew it, the only one not laughing was Avi himself.

"Relax Avi. You're a grown man. You can make your own decisions. Your mother and I still support you," Michael said as he continued eating.

I smiled softly and looked over at him. "Look on the bright side, it's not Mitch and Scott," I pointed out as I shrugged slightly. Honestly, I wasn't ready for them to find out.