Stuck In Your Head | Matthew Daddario

6.1

Beau is holding Matt's hand in the backseat of Alex's car as his sisters detail everything they want to do together. Matt rolls his eyes at them, sharing a look with Beau when she glances at him, her eyes wide at the sheer extent the girls want to get up to.

"Don't you think it's a bit much for one trip?" Beau finally gets a word in. "I'm just as excited to see you guys but I need time to just chill too."

Cat glances in the rear-view mirror at the pair in the backseat, shooting a look at her sister as she speaks as if bringing up a discussion they've had before, "We're sorry. We know that you're probably stressed enough with meeting our parents."

Beau gives them a tight-lipped smile and nods once, feeling Matt squeeze her hand reassuringly. "Let's just play this trip out one day at a time. I'm sure we can fit in at least half, if not more, of those things you wanted to do."

The girls smile, nodding before starting up a conversation between themselves. Matt wraps an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her temple briefly, and Beau catches Alex giving her an "I-told-you-so" look in the mirror at the action.

"I'm pretty sure they'll love you - but that doesn't make me feel any more inclined to share you with them," Matt comments quietly, low enough that, with his sisters still talking, the conversation stays between himself and Beau. Beau tips her head to look at him as he continues. "I like spending time together when it's just me and you - we can mess around or do absolutely nothing and we don't have to worry about anyone commenting about our relationship."

Beau smiles, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "I know, but let's talk about this later. I have a feeling we're almost there if your sisters' excitement is anything to go by."

Matt laughs, looking around before nodding to confirm that they are, in fact, nearly there. Cat catches his eye in the mirror, shooting him a wink and a thumbs up before the siblings prepare for their mother and father to meet Beau.

-

She looks around as she steps out of the car, Matt joining her and holding out his hand to help her out of the car - an action she's gotten used to since meeting him. They've pulled up outside a moderately sized house on the outskirts of the city - privacy is definitely not an issue as the house has a decent sized front garden surrounded by a relatively high fence and Beau can only guess what the back garden has to offer.

"It's beautiful - more in tune with nature considering the proximity to one of the busiest cities in the US," Beau comments to Matt as they follow his sisters towards what has to be the front door.

He laughs with a shrug, "Yeah, I guess this is where I get my love for nature from even though I've always basically lived in cities."

Beau looks around as the front door is thrown open seconds before Matt is hauled into a hug. Beau lets go of his hand with a laugh, taking his carry-on bag from his hand so that he can return the hug more easily, smiling when he sends her a thankful look. She stands off to the side with Alex and Cat for the moment.

"I've missed you, Matthew. You must come and visit us more often." The woman, who Beau is guessing is his mother, states as she pulls back and holds him at arms-length to look him over.

"I know, and I'm going to try to now that I haven't got anything to do for a while." He replies, smiling fondly at his mother. "I'm here now so let's make the most of it."

His mother nods, reaching to pat his cheek. "You're right. But first, -" She turns to face Beau, waving her forward with a smile, pulling her into a hug without letting Beau introduce herself. "It's lovely to meet you, at last. Alexandra has told me a lot about you and I am excited to know more."

Beau gives the older woman a shy smile. "Oh, I wasn't aware Alex had talked that much about me."

Alex slings her arm around Beau's shoulders. "Duh, with Matt not telling them anything I had to fill them in."

Beau gives her a fake suspicious look before shrugging, "Let's hope you got your facts right about me or that's going to be embarrassing. I'm sure Matt would love that though."

Matt laughs with a shrug as if he's completely innocent before his mother ushers them all inside with a fond smile after watching them all interact. Beau grabs Matt's hand as they move through the hallway, seeing pictures of the siblings when they were younger on the walls, before they enter into a spacious, bright kitchen and dining room area. Mrs Daddario ushers her daughters to sit at the table while Matt volunteers to get their bags from the car and take them upstairs after placing his jacket on the back of one of the chairs, before asking Beau to help her prepare some drinks and snacks for everyone.

"I apologise if this is rude but I don't know what to call you - while Matt has mentioned you, he's never given me names and such." Beau bites her lip as she fiddles with her necklace, leaning against the counter as she watches Matt's mother while waiting for the kettle to boil, having already been told what to make for each person present.

"Oh," The older woman smiles, "I'm Christina, and my husband, their father, is Richard." The older woman finishes what she is doing before coming over to stand by Beau as she goes about making each drink. "So, Alex didn't tell me how you and Matt met?"

Beau smiles, "I don't think we ever told her the specifics." She glances around at the girls at the table before facing Christina. "I'm Dom's cousin, but Matt and I met online after one of their castmates thought Dom was cheating when he commented on one of my pictures online. Of course, my cousin sucks at explaining things so he added me to their cast group chat to get proof that nothing like that was happening."

Christina chuckles, picking up the plate of snacks as Beau places all the drinks on a tray she was just handed. "I might have guessed given the British accent that it might have to do his castmates somewhere."

Beau nods before the pair join the girls at the table, Beau handing out each drink to their owner before putting the tray to one side and leaning against one of the chairs, sipping at her drink. "What else did Alex miss from her description of me?"

Alex gives her an affronted look before laughing, the sisters also apparently curious about what their mother is going to ask.

Christina shrugs, "I'm not going to bombard you with questions. You're both probably in need of a rest after travelling across the country to get here so I can wait until later."

Beau startles as arms snake around her waist before relaxing as she recognises the bracelet around his wrist that she got for him a few weeks ago. Matt kisses her shoulder before reaching for the cup with his drink in.

"You didn't get lost then?" Cat sends her brother a cheeky smile, barely resisting the urge to coo at the casual display from him and Beau.

"Funny." He states, nuzzling at Beau's shoulder as the conversation shifts to something or other that Cat has been doing recently. He sips at his drink every so often before kissing Beau's cheek as she takes his cup alongside hers to the sink to rinse. "Thanks."

"You should go for a nap, and I'll get one of the girls to wake you later for something to eat." Beau looks around, smirking when she sees Matt jump at the sound of his mother's voice. He's sat down on the chair she was leaning on earlier, absently tracing the pattern on the back of her phone case since her phone is on the table. "Both of you look like you could do with a rest."

Matt gives his mother a tired smile before nodding. "Okay. You know where to find us if you need us for anything."

Beau sends the older woman a smile with a quiet thanks, picking up her phone from the table, seeing that it's nearly 5pm here. She waves to Alex and Cat before following Matt upstairs.