Fifteen: Free Fallin'

Chapter 39: Simply the Best

Everyone stood in the lobby as they waited for the parents, sibling and grandparent to make their way down. The first person to exist the elevator was Victor. He looked just like Stefan, but with dark black hair and dimples. Stefan embraced his brother lovingly and received a pat on the back. "I've missed you little brother." Victor smiled still holding on to him. "I've missed you too." Victor smiled at two familiar faces. "Elsa! JT! How are y'all doing?" Victor asked receiving a hug from Elsa and a dab from JT. "We're good. College has been good to us."

Before Stefan could introduce his brother to the group, a tall blonde woman stepped off the elevator with a dark-haired gentleman. "Mom," Caleb said through gritted teeth as the pair made their way over. "You brought him with you?" The dark-haired man flushed. "Uncle Patrick?!" Brooke asked causing everyone to look at her.

"Brooke! What are you doing here?" He said going in for a hug. "I go to school here, silly!" She laughed at him. "No, I know that I was going to call you once we met up with Caleb. You two know each other?" Brooke nodded. "Wait," she paused. "Margot is your Mom?" Brooke asked shocked. "This is awesome Caleb! We're cousins!"

Caleb groaned at Brooke's excitement as everyone around snickered. Aria didn't get the grand introduction she was hoping for as Faye and Olivia's parents walked out of the elevator followed by two gorgeous men who immediately embraced Jaden. An old man followed behind them and smiled widely as Jaden ran into his arms. It was apparent there was a lot of love in that family.

Finally two women stepped out of the elevator. A dark-skinned woman with the cutest pixie cut and a brunette with hair down her back. They were gorgeous and the smile on Tyler and Preston's faces proved they were their mothers. Once every parent was accounted for they all made their introductions.

"We have a small brunch spread at my place for all of you if you're interested." Jaden announced earning nods of approval. In no time they were in Jaden's townhome eating a very fancy spread that Brooke had planned and Jaden catered. The parents were getting along just as Aria had hoped and couldn't help but smile.

"Is this seat taken," Margot asked beside Aria. "Oh, no, please have a seat." She set down her plate and smiled at the beautiful girl beside her. "So, you're the woman that has my son behaving?" Aria chuckled at this and shook her head. "I don't think anyone can make Caleb do anything he doesn't want to." Margot nodded in agreement. "He's so much like his father in that way, but you add a light to him and that makes me happy." Aria smiled at the woman as they were joined by Faye and Olivia's parents.

They all talked about the school year thus far and how everyone was managing. Jaden hadn't left his parents side and it was obvious he really missed them. Brooke spent a lot of her time with her Uncle as she missed her grandparents and reveled in the updates he provided.

Preston and Tyler morphed into happy little boys when their mothers were around. Hannah absolutely adored Olivia for Tyler and even though Sade knew she couldn't admit it for fear of him acting out, she loved that Elsa was both a positive and welcomed experience for her son. He didn't have to tell her that they meant something to each other, because she could already tell. He looked at Elsa the way Ray used to look at her.

They all were having such a great time getting to know everyone that they completely lost track of the time that had flown. "Caleb, bro, you got to go get ready." Preston called out. "Ready for what?" Margot asked. They all looked at him with an incredulous look on their face. "I'm the school's quarterback." He shrugged like it was nothing. "Wait! What?!" Margot asked shocked. "You didn't tell me." Caleb shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal. I'll see y'all at the stadium." Caleb called out as he made his way to the front door.

Aria followed close behind him. "Baby, why didn't you tell your mom you were on the team." Caleb sighed loudly. "I don't have time for this right now, babe. She knows now, so all is good." He gave her a quick peck that was rougher than necessary and left.

There was a little tension in the air as the parents felt the embarrassment flowing from Margot at not knowing such an important detail of her child's life. The kids felt the uneasiness stemming from Aria realizing that there was more to the relationship between her boyfriend and his mother than he probably let on.

"Okay, I say we all head back to freshen up and then meet at the front of the stadium by 6:30pm." Gracia instructed trying to lighten the mood. They all agreed and headed their separate ways.

"I didn't realize Caleb's relationship with his Mom was so strained." Faye said to Aria and Sophia Kate back in their dorm room. "That's just it. I don't know why it is. She's amazing and loves him so very much." Aria didn't understand how he could treat her so coldly.

This was the man she loved, but what happened did shake her up a bit. Her relationship with her mother was everything. It seemed Caleb was so angry, but she didn't understand why. Margot was the parent that stayed.

"Let's just have a good time at the game and then grab a late dinner at the creek with the rest of the parents and students." Sophia Kate offered as she could see the thoughts flying through Aria's head. "I think that's a great plan," Faye concluded catching on to Aria's distant expression.

They all met up at the stadium and laughed at their parents' version of school spirit. They all wore shades of green and gold, while Margot held a sign she bought from a nearby stand. "I had to ask them what his number was," she said sadly to Aria. Aria squeezed her hand and gave a soft smile. "It looks great."

"Come on everyone let's go find our seats." Jaden called out as he led the way. In no time they were seated and the game was started. It was apparent Caleb's head wasn't in the game. They were winning, but not by much and the team they were against wasn't that great. Aria excused herself and made her way to the locker rooms during halftime.

She asked one of the water boys to get Caleb for her. He came out looking distracted and far away. "Babe, what's going on?" Aria wrapped her hands around his neck and looked into his eyes. "My head's just not in it." She stood on her tippy toes and gave him a passionate kiss.

"You have to forget about everything else and just play. You love playing and you're better than the score that's on the scoreboard. You can wipe the floor with those losers, so do that. Go out there and show them who the heck Caleb Calloway is." In terms of pep talks, it was a pretty good one and Caleb smiled down at his girlfriend.

I love you. He thought before giving her a kiss. "Thank you." He smacked her butt and headed back into the locker room. She touched her lips and smiled as she made her way back to her seat. "Is our boy going to be on his A-game now?" Preston asked Aria as they all looked to her. She nodded with a smile.

Caleb went on to make six touchdowns all by himself, which didn't include the complete passes and tackles he made that helped secure a 56 – 24 score. "That was amazing!" Tyler called out as they made their way towards the creek. "Caleb you were a beast out there." Jaden patted him on the back.

Caleb smiled at all the compliments and congratulations. "You should all be saying this to Aria." He smiled at his girlfriend as she walked ahead with Tyler and Preston's Moms. "If it weren't for her pep talk we probably would've lost."

"Well, you played really well so congrats." Patrick said with a smile. Caleb didn't have it in him to roll his eyes or comeback with a snarky reply. He simply said thanks as they found a table near the lagoon that was long enough to fit them all.

They all talked about the events for tomorrow and each parent looked forward to seeing Avery in his element. Brooke wondered why Avery's parents hadn't shown. She remembered that his father had some health issues, but she just assumed all was well now. She made a point to ask him about them later on.

The food was delicious and each parent laughed at the garbage disposal that was Preston Smith. "He was 10 lbs 8 oz when he was born. I knew then I was in for it." Sade laughed as she reminisced. "Tyler was a little over 7 lbs and long, but he was a cakewalk in comparison to Preston. I still tell people today that carrying Preston in his car seat is why my arms are so jacked." Hannah laughed squeezing his arm. They all laughed at that.

"Caleb was 10.5 lbs," Margot offered and they all looked at her wide eyed. "He was so chubby, but long so it was interesting." She chuckled as if she could picture baby Caleb in her arms. "And now he's all muscle and tall as a beanstalk." Preston cooed as he pinched his cheeks. Caleb laughed at his friend and slapped his hand away.