Against the Wall

Now I want a hamburger...

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Would've been uploaded sooner, but I was watching One Direction things with my sister/best friend :)

Yeah, I like One Direction. Come at me, bro.

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"Do you like barbeque?"

"What?" I asked, looking up from the history homework that I was furiously trying to finish. Griffin laughed and plopped down next to me at the table I was sitting at in the library.

"My family is barbequing this Saturday, and my mom wanted to know if you could come," Griffin explained.

"Saturday?" I asked, suddenly uncomfortable, and Griffin nodded in confirmation. I frowned, "I don't know. I think Grandma Aggie wanted to do something this weekend."

"Oh," Griffin replied with disappointment, and I felt a pang of guilt. "Well, I guess you should just talk to her and then let me know for sure."

"Alright," I said, giving him a smile. Griffin returned it, and he gave me a kiss on the cheek before getting up and walking away. As I watched him go, I sighed loudly and let my head drop to the cool table top.

I'd lied when I'd said that Grandma Aggie wanted to do something. Her copper enameling class was having a sale, and she had told me that she wasn't going to be home for most of the weekend.

The real reason I wasn't all gung-ho for a barbeque with Griffin's family was because I wasn't sure I could handle it. I mean, being with Griffin or Norah was different; I could just relax and enjoy myself.

However, with Griffin's mom or siblings, I'd be under a microscope, and that seemed to trigger my freak outs. Plus, we'd only been official for the past three weeks. Wasn't this a bit soon?

Sawyer, you're over thinking this, I thought to myself. I slung my backpack on my shoulder and pulled my phone out of my pocket. As I hurried out of the library, I dialed Norah's number, since I knew she had a free period, and I pressed the phone to my ear.

After a few rings, she finally picked up. "Hello?"

"I need advice," I blurted, and I traced my fingers along the locker-lined wall as I walked down the hallway. "Griffin invited me to go to a barbeque at his house with his family."

"Okay," Norah replied, "What's the problem?"

I sighed. "Isn't it soon? I mean, shouldn't we be together for at least two months before I meet his family?"

"Not really," Norah replied matter-of-factly, "You guys are together in high school, so it's not as big a deal. Plus, if he wants you to meet his family, it means he really likes you." Norah paused, and then she said, "Do you not want to go because you don't want to answer questions about your past?"

"Uh," I said, leaning against a locker, "Maybe."

Norah chuckled. "I don't think that they're going to sit you down and interrogate you. Sure, they're going to ask questions, but they have a right to if you're dating Griffin. The way I see it, you're going to end up meeting his family, so might as well meet them sooner rather than later."

I groaned but saw her logic, and it made sense. "You make a good point," I replied, running a hand through my hair. "Thanks, Norah."

"No problem. I'll see you at lunch," she said, and then the phone clicked, telling me that she'd hung up. I flipped my phone shut, stared at it, and then reopened it and typed a quick text to Griffin, telling him that I'd just checked with Grandma Aggie and I could go.

As I hit send, I felt my stomach tighten, and I sighed. Ideas of questions that I thought might be asked floated through my head, and I cringed. How was I going to do this without freaking out?