Shattered Like Glass

Dinner Party

A/N~

 Enjoy the pure awkwardness that is real life when you know someone has a crush on you~

"It's a pleasure to meet your son sir." I laughed awkwardly. 

"Cygnus is quite the gentleman, eh?" Mr. Gilman chuckled. I blushed. Why am I here again? Oh right, dinner party with Mr. Gilman to talk about "business."

Honestly, I felt like Coco probably requested this just to mess with me. With me being her brother's crush and her worst enemy, she probably has a lot of reason to mess with my emotions. I curled my hair and put on the nicest casual dress I had. I'm not letting Coco or Cygnus get to me today. 

Mr. Gilman was especially excited to introduce me to Cygnus. The angel boy of the century I'm sure, but how am I suppose to be natural around him when he likes me? Just thinking about what happened when I first came arrived makes me shudder.

"Hi Alina! Do you still remember me? We met the other day at my piano lesson." He smiled sweetly. I blushed. Shoot. That doesn't mean I like him too! Right? 

"Yeah. It's nice to see you again!" Mr. Gilman gave me a hug and chuckled heartily,

"Alina! Thank you for coming. I see you've met my son eh? He's quite handsome isn't he, and quite single too." I blushed. Mr. Gilman, not you too!

"I'm just messing with you kid. I'm not really inviting you here for business. You see, I thought you've been working too hard recently with the development of our newest app. I wanted to thank you, so I invited you over for dinner. Plus, it's good to hangout with kids your age instead of us adults all the time. Now go on inside. Mrs. Gilman cooked something delicious for us."

When I sat down, I was stuck next to Coco and Cygnus. Great, the two people I didn't want to see the most. 

"Alina! Welcome to our home sweetie. Help yourself to whatever's on the table. Can I get you anything to drink?" I shook my head politely. 

"No thank you Mrs. Gilman. You're working very hard. Please, sit down and join us!" Beside me, I can feel Coco glaring at me and Cygnus smiling brightly. 

 "Ugh, stop kissing up to my mother." Coco muttered under her breath. 

"She's perfect." Cygnus muttered under his breath. 

"Both of you, shut up." I muttered under my breath. Mrs. Gilman finally took her seat beside Mr. Gilman. It was weird to sit down at the table when I'm the only one who's not family. 

"Alina! I heard so much about you. Especially about the time when you missed work for a long time. I heard you were sick? Are you feeling better now? Tell me all about it." Coco smirked at me, daring me to snap. Oh yeah? Well two can play at that game. 

"Thank you for caring Coco. I wasn't feeling too well. I'm much better now. Now that you mention that time period, I remember distinctly that Mr. Gilman mentioned something about you hanging around in my office. You didn't touch anything did you? You're such a sweet little girl, I'm sure you knew the importance of minding someone's privacy. I would hate for you to have looked through my bookshelf or my drawers! A lot of my ideas have been left in them. I would hate to have them be stolen." Coco blushed. I knew it. She snooped. 

"I assure you Alina, I wouldn't dare look through your stuff. Now please, make yourself at home and eat whatever you like." Then with a small sigh, Coco started digging in. Heh, I win. Mrs. Gilman made the most delicious roast beef with a side of mash potatoes. It's one of the best things I've ever tasted. I swear, Cygnus was giving me little glances while we ate. 

I'm here for a play date unfortunately. I don't have time for that. Mrs. Gilman's cooking was delicious, but unfortunately, I was too distracted by how obvious everyone is to enjoy it. 

"Well Alina, why don't you go along and play with the kids?" Mrs. Gilman gestured towards the game room. I quickly asked, 

"Wait Mrs. Gilman! Let me help you with the plates." Before she can tell me to go play with the children, I quickly stacked the dishes and brought them to the sink. 

"Thank you Alina sweetie, that's very nice of you. Now go play! You are still young, so enjoy your childhood instead of trying to speed through it!" Mrs. Gilman's voice was soft, but there's a motherly sternness to it. She will not take no for an answer. 

I thanked her for the meal and walked towards the game room. I don't know whether to feel relieved or worried because standing in front of the doorway was Coco. At least it isn't Cygnus. I wouldn't know what to say. Coco narrowed her eyes and muttered, 

"Welcome to my home Alina. Hope you're ready to play."