Zoe. | Recharged. | Book One.

Zoe Bryan. | Dinner in the Cosmos.

September 3rd, 2011

I see him standing there and staring at me with the look of awe on his face as I stand in the doorway, holding it open for him and his family. Why is he staring off in awe? My eyebrows frown in confusion as his parents greet me politely.

"Hi, sweetheart, I'm Natalia Rivera. It's nice to meet you." I tear my gaze away from Julian and face the woman that I presume to be Julian's mother. She extends her hand as a kind smile rests upon her lips. Frankly, Mrs. Rivera's beauty could give supermodels a run for their money. I accept his mother's handshake with a small smile on my face.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Rivera. I'm Zoe." I release her hand and look over at the man that I assume is her husband and Julian's father. A small smile remains on my lips as I extend my hand towards the older gentleman whom Julian seems to favor quite a bit. The resemblance between Julian and his father is uncanny, although Mr. Rivera's features are a bit more distinguished and mature. "Hello, Mr. Rivera, I'm Zoe. It's nice to meet."

"I'm José Rivera, and it's wonderful to meet you as well, dear." Julian's dad responds. Both of Julian's parents seem to have pretty heavy Spanish accents, but their  English is fluent.

I look over at Julian, and I feel my face flush. "Hello, Julian. How are you?"

Julian blinks at me rapidly, which I assume is to get rid of his expression of awe. "Um." He clears his throat. "I'm good. It's nice to see you again." Why the hell are we both being so formal, right now? I stand there awkwardly, in the doorway with the Rivera's still standing outside. I remain silent until Marla approaches me from behind as she stands inside of the house.

"Zoe, you have to let them in, you can't just stand there." Marla's tone of voice is almost polite. This is so odd, she's been here for over 10 minutes, and she hasn't said one cruel thing to me or cause me any more physical pain, which I'm grateful for, but it's still weird nonetheless. I turn around slowly, slightly flinching even though she is not currently threatening me in any way; flinching has become a bit of the second nature to me when she's near me. My eyes become as biggest Tennis balls, and I brush a piece of hair behind my ear as my mouth goes dry from embarrassment.

"Oh, right. I apologize, everyone." I mumble, looking down at my feet as I turn my body to align with the door as my back rests against it to allow Julian and his parents to enter my home.

"That's quite alright, Zoe." Mr. Rivera tells me, kindly.

"Come on in." I raise my head a bit and produce a tight-lipped smile. I gesture an invitation to enter my house with the use of my slightly trembling-hand. They all walk past Marla and me to go into the foyer of my home. Julian and his parents politely greet mine as the five of them make casual conversation while I shut the door. Marla and I follow suit behind Julian and his parents into the central part of the house, the living room, but we both remain quiet while doing so. I hang my head down as the voices of the five individuals enter my ears as I walk beside my arch-foe. Marla is wearing a sparkling pink dress with black 5-inch stilettos. She can stop traffic in that thing, to be honest. I feel my lips curl up into a smile as an image pops into my head Marla trying to get a taxi in this particular dress, causing the cars that are in front of her to a halt. I absent-mindedly release a giggle.

"What's so funny?" Marla asks me, sounding somewhat curious as we journey to join the others in the living room.

I swallow my laughter, and my head shoots up as I gulp in fright. "Nothing," I reply while biting the corner of my bottom lip.