A Burning Thing {Avi Kaplan fanfic}

-10-

"Oh god, what if they hate me?"

"How could they possibly hate you?" I said taking my right hand off the steering wheel and picking up Ellie's fidgety hand. "I think you're amazing, so they're going to think you're amazing."

"Oh no, you can't use that one on me. You're sleeping with me, it's a totally different situation. What if I say something stupid, like telling them that I like Mumford & Sons better than Beyoncé?"

"I like Mumford & Sons better than Beyoncé and they still like me."

She sat up straight and put her hands on her hips. "Are you honestly going to tell me you've looked Mitch in the eye and told him that?"

"Well, no," I admitted. "I'm not completely suicidal."

"SEE!" She slumped back in the seat. "I'm so screwed."

"You are not. Just relax and be yourself. And if it comes down to it, I don't particularly care if they like you. It's not going to change how I feel about you." I gave her hand another squeeze. She smiled but the anxiety around her eyes didn't budge.

"I'm a little disappointed that I haven't gotten to see this amazing outfit yet," I said, tugging at the pocket of her long coat. "The shoes alone give me palpitations; I can't wait to see the whole thing."

"Oh no, there's no way you're seeing me until we get there," she teased, momentarily distracted from her worries. "I'm not having you get my brand new dress all sweaty and wrinkly before we even make it to dinner."

"Sweaty and wrinkly you say? I like the sounds of that."

We spent the rest of the drive in companionable silence, with me imagining the things I was going to do with her dress and everything underneath it, and her – judging by her expression – worrying about everything that could possibly go wrong … and a few hundred things that couldn't, just in case.

As we walked up to the door of Kirstie's apartment, Ellie stopped dead. "This is a bad idea."

"What? Come on, I know you're nervous but it's not like you haven't been around musicians before."

"Oh Avi, you're such a putz. It's not just your friends, remember, it's your SISTER! I know how close you guys are and if she hates me ..."

I took her into my arms. "Ellie, you're going to be fine. And may I remind you that for the first two days of our blossoming romance I was not only living in your parents' house, but your brother was prepared to castrate me if I made a wrong move?"

Ellie giggled. "Oh yeah, I kind of forgot about that! But that's not the same at all – for all his gruffness Austin thinks the world of you, and once he finds out how much I like you I know he's going to be happy for us."

"Exactly, and that's how you have to look at this. Of course Esther's going to have her eye on you at first, but you're amazing and she's going to love you. Even if she doesn't necessarily see you as future sister-in-law material, the fact that I'm crazy about you will win her over."

Ellie looked up, wide-eyed. "Sister-in-law? You don't think that's moving a little fast?"

I laughed but reddened a bit. "Fine, girlfriend-in-law. No wait, that doesn't make sense either. Nevermind, the point is that the best way to make a bad impression is to get caught standing out here all night ... which is going to happen in about two seconds because I just saw Mitch at the window!"

We rang the bell and walked in to a sea of hugs and handshakes as Esther took our coats. Ellie had been right to keep her dress under wraps – I'd never seen anything so sexy in my life. Red and short and clingy in all the right places. I felt heat rushing to my face ... and other places.