Hey guys,

So the thanksgiving part of this chapter isn't that long. The Fitzgerald family have a very very low key Thanksgiving, cause to tell you the truth I don't know a lot about Thanksgiving (Australian alert).

Also, the song attached is sung by Tommy later on in this chapter. So please go check it out :)

Please click the VOTE and FOLLOW button.

Thank you

I hope y'all enjoy!

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"Who's winning?" I question as sitting on the bleaches.

"Richmore" Laura starts, "I think"

I know close to nothing about football. I know you're supposed to score points for goals or something. Laura just needs to sit beside me and fill me in, but she's also pretty clueless. Willow, on the other hand, loves football.

"Will you two shut your chatty mouths" Willow snaps as watching the game.

Laura rolls her eyes "we're just trying to understand the game"

"Why would you show up to a high school football game if you two don't like football?" Willow clenches her jaw in annoyance.

To support our friends who are playing.

"Moral support" I smile.

"Look Ely has the ball" Laura points at the boys as everybody on the bleaches begins screaming.

"Oh my god" my eyes widen as Ely is brutally hit and as a result, falls back.

Suddenly the coach and two other guys run to Ely's side. Oh god, that looks serious.

"Is he okay?" Laura questions.

"They're taking him off the field" Willow furrowed her brows. "Crap he's out for the rest of the game"

"What!" Laura exclaims.

Ely looks seriously hurt. Why do people bother with physical contact sports? I forgot how much I hate football. Maybe instead of watching the game, I can talk to Ely instead, I can find out if he's okay.

"I'll be back," I tell them as standing up and climbing down the bleaches.

I walk around until I find Ely, who is being carried to the boy's locker room by two football players.

"Emma" he greets as I follow him into the locker room "Are you allowed in here?"

Around me is just lockers and benches. No other people besides Ely and the guys who carried him. It's not like there's half naked guys around or anything.

"I have no idea" I admit as he sits on a bench "are you okay?"

"Yeah I just hit my head" he struggles to speak as using a towel to wipe his sweaty/muddy face.

How is it that even when Ely's a mess, he still manages to look gorgeous? I sit beside him on the bench, where he deals with his pain.

"Here" one of the guys gives him an cold compress before leaving the locker room.

"Do your family have any plans for tomorrow?" Elijah questions as pressing the cold compress against head. "uh" he hisses in pain.

Geez, that looks painful. What's happening tomorrow?

"What's tomorrow?" I question.

"The twenty-third of November" he clarifies "aka thanksgiving"

How did I forget about Thanksgiving?

I nod "Uh yes of course"

"Any plans?" He raises a brow.

Seeing as I forgot, we're probably doing nothing exciting. Hank has this Thanksgiving feast tradition, that he'll probably do.

"Dad's probably going to make his famous Thanksgiving feast... You know turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, the works" I explain.

"Sounds incredible" he half smiles.

"It really is" I agree "what about you?"

"My mother is coming home for Thanksgiving" he announces. "We rarely see her, so her being there will be good for the kids"

Elys mum is rarely home to see her kids. I'm glad she's going to be there for the holiday. He's glad she's going to be there for his sibling, but what about him?

"And for you, right?" I raise a brow.

"I'm almost eighteen years old" he starts "I haven't needed a mother for a long time"

You always need a mother. Mine died before I was born, but even then my step mum took her place and raised me. I would be a completely different person if it wasn't for her. Liam and Thomas never really knew theirs, and Thomas still struggles with it.

"Take it from someone who has gone their entire life without one" I start "you always need a mother"

There's a moment of silence as he nods his head. "You are probably right" he sighs "I guess I have been on my own for so long that I forget"

"Yeah I get that" I nod.

"God my head hurts" he hisses "I need a distraction...tell me something"

Tell me something? Hmm let's see, what about the psycho that chasing me?

"Like what?" I cock a brow.

"I don't know" he sighs "what about your father's ex-girlfriend"

Dad's ex-girlfriend? What's he talking about?

"My what?" I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"Sober, tipsy, or wasted" he specified.

He meant my surrogate mother that I had told my friends was my dad's girlfriend. I really need to keep track of all the lies I tell people.

"Oh, that girlfriend" I nod "what do want to know?"

"Anything" he begs "any story that holds some sort of significant value"

Significant value? Well, let's see. I honestly have so many fond memories of her.

"Well," I smile "I remember my first day of kindergarten....she cried more than anyone there...she just kept going on about what I should do in these scenarios that she had fabricated.....I think that I recall her cursing out one of my teachers at some point"

"You are kidding?" His eyes widen in surprise, as a smile spreads across his face.

"No I'm not" I laugh "she had never been apart from me before....she was so overprotective of me and my brother that she would go to great measures to prevent us from getting hurt"

"So what happened to her?" He asks causally.

I pause.

I'm taking back by his question. "What do you mean?" I blink in surprise.

"You said that she was your father's ex," he says "so what happened to her?"

I furrowed my brows "Well she died" I admit "in a car accident when I was fifteen"

"Oh I'm sorry" he takes my hand.

"I had known her literally my entire life" I half smile "she was the only motherly figure in my life....till one day she wasn't"

"She sounds lovely" he softens his voice.

Lovely doesn't even begin to describe my mum.

"Oh she was" I guarantee "she was never unhappy..... I mean everything would make her cry but she was never unhappy, they were happy tears or sometimes sad tears from watching Bambi... But she was the most cheerful person that I've ever met....every Thanksgiving she would burn the turkey, and we would end up buying McDonald's for dinner"

We both laugh at my fond memories of my mum. She was really great. There's a moment of silence as we just exchange awkward chuckles.

"....What happened to Jacob?" His smile drops.

I blink in surprise "What do you mean?"

"Well, your family sounds incredible... Jacob doesn't fit" he shrugs "Well besides being irrationally overprotective" Ely half smiles "I guess that he gets that from your father's ex"

Tommy said the same thing to me about Thomas. I don't really understand to be honest.

"Jacob's not overprotective" I shake my head "I mean sure we look out for each other but most of the time-"

"Most of the time he's worried sick about you" he finishes my sentence.

I don't understand where he sees that. Thomas acts as though I'm an inconvenience to his life more than anything.

"Well, he doesn't need to be" I sigh.

"Try telling him that" he smiles.

"That game was fucking dope!" A voice cries as entering the change room, causing me to drop Ely's hand.

"What are you doing here?" Ely asks him .

"I fucked up my god damn shoulder" Tommy admits as standing at the end of the row of lockers. "I'm out for the rest of the fucking game....hey Emma, what are you doing in here?"

"Keeping Ely company" I explain as he stands there in his red uniform.

"I didn't see you there," he says "sorry about my French"

His French? God, he's funny.

"Its fine" I chuckle.

"Tommy gets a little excited when he plays football" Ely explains to me.

I can see that.

"How's the head?" Tommy questions.

"Hurts like hell" Ely admits.

"Well grow some bigger balls cause you're gonna need them" Tommy raises his voice.

"What do you mean?" Ely raises a brow.

"I mean I just got you, me, Kyle, and Jacob dates with four Richmore cheerleaders" Tommy smiles proudly.

"Thanks, man" he nods as facing me, then glaring back at Tommy "but I can't"

Why you looking at me? I ain't getting involved in this conversation.

"What do you mean you can't?" Tommy cries in distress.

"You saw me get hit out there" Ely rolls his eyes "my head hurts"

"So my shoulder hurts" Tommy rolls his eyes "don't mean nothin"

"I said no Tommy" he reinforces "thank you but no thank you"

"Okay fine...sure whatever man" he shakes his head.

***

"Well that was a great meal-" I start as standing up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hank glares at me from across the table.

"I need to study" I explain.

"On Thanksgiving?" Thomas cocks a brow.

Well I'm applying to Oxford. Although I'm most likely not allowed to attend, I'm still going to meet all the requirements. Just so I know that I can do it.

"You two are forgetting that I have to take three SAT Subject tests on the second of December and then the ACT test on the ninth" I tell them.

"Why are putting yourself through all that? It's not like your going to any fancy college" Tommy points out.

I was always supposed to go to Oxford University. My parents and I, had it planned since I could remember. Being in the witness protection program won't stop me from applying.

"Emma you're excused," Hank tells me.

"Thank you" I stand up, before climbing the staircase.

Suddenly the song bad reputation by Joan Jett starts playing from my pocket. I should probably update my ringtone. I pull out my cell phone before pressing it against my ear.

"Hello" I greet as pushing open my bedroom door.

"Is she really going out with him?" The man sings over the loud music "Is she really gonna take him home tonight? Is she really going out with him?"

"Tommy?" I finally place the voice who was singing the song Is She Really Going Out With Him by the band Sugar Ray.

"Cause if my eyes don't deceive me, there's something going wrong around here...tonight's the night when I go to all the parties down my street, I wash my hair and I kid myself, I look real smooth, look over there, here comes Jeanie with her new boyfriend, they say that looks don't count for much, and so there goes your proof" he continues to sing.

What the hell is wrong with him? Why would he call me and begin singing some song like a crazy person?

"Tommy are you high?" I glare out my bedroom window in concern.

"Is she really going out with him? Is she really gonna take him home tonight? Is she really going out with him?" He sings even louder.

"Tommy, what's this about?" I ask.

"oh" he stops singing "she's really going out with him"

Whose she?

"who?" I raise my brows in confusion.

"Laura" he says simply.

Why is he so upset about Laura going on a date? Unless he has feelings for her. If that's the case then I have some questions.

"wait, you have a thing for Laura?" I ask.

"....No" he sobs "I just always thought that I would be the one to take her virginity, that's all"

I pause in shock. He wants to take his best friends virginity? That's what he's upset about? How do I even respond to that?

"Are you serious?" I stutter in shock.

"She's going out with Jake Garcia out of all people....he's Latino you know, and on the football team" he cries dramatically.

"I don't think she'll sleep with him" I shake my head.

Laura doesn't seem like the kind to have sex on the first date.

"Have you seen how horny she is? You should hear the kinda stuff that she says about your dad" Tommy weeps.

I shake my head violently. That's concerning on too many levels. So I ain't going to address it. Who has a date on Thanksgiving?

"Why would she have a date on Thanksgiving?" I ask in confusion.

"she's Canadian" he explains "her Thanksgiving was in early October...I don't know what I'm gonna do"

Oh I didn't know that. Since when has she been Canadian? Why is he so torn up about Laura potentially losing her virginity? It doesn't make sense.

"Why do you want to take her virginity?" I rub my palm against my forehead in confusion.

"Because we made a bet" he explains.

I pause. Did I just hear what I think I just heard? Whose we?

"Who?" I raise a brow.

"Me and Kyle" he tells me.

Hold up. Tommy and Kyle made a bit over Laura's virginity?

"You're kidding?" I cry in great concern.

"No" he cries "when she first transferred, I told him that she was a sure thing....if I don't nail her then he gets Jessica Morgan"

Who the hell is Jessica Morgan?

"Who?" I widen my eyes.

"The head of the cheerleading squad that Kyle and I have been fighting over for as long as we can remember" he says as though it was the most obvious answer "What am I going to do?"

Wait he expects me to help him mess with one of his bestfriends heads? How could he think I would help him and what makes him think that this is not wrong in anyway?

"Laura is one of your best friends" I start "are you really going to play her like this?"

"Like what? This is purely business not pleasure" he informs.

"Losing your virginity is a big deal for a girl... It's special...and it's something that she will never forget....how is Laura going to feel when she finds out that it wasn't real" I raise my voice in frustration.

"You mean if" he tell me.

If What?

"What?" I shake my head.

"You mean if she finds out" he specifies.

He's sick. It's official Tommy is a pig.

"You're a dick" I snap "you can't mess with a girl like that"

"You're being so overdramatic," he tells me "I bet you don't even remember your first time"

Okay now I'm mad.

"Not only can I tell you with who" I start "but I can tell you the where, date, and time"

"Bullshit" he cusses.

"You know what" I clench my jaw "I hope Jake Garcia fucks the hell out of Laura"

"You bitch" he screams.

"You should feel ashamed of yourself! Not only is Laura a good person but she's one of your best friends! She's not some slut than you can bang than never speak to again, you piece of shit!" I scream.

"Fuck you!" He yells.

"Go to hell!" I end the call in anger.

I sigh, before dropping to my bed. He's insane. How can he in good conscious do this to her?

"Wow," a voice says from the door.

I sit back up to see Thomas standing by the door. How long has he been standing there?

"How much of that did you hear?" I lower my voice.

"You piece of shit and go to hell," Thomas tells me "sounded intense... Do I want to know?"

Definitely not.

"No" I shake my head "I don't think you do"

"Okay then" with that, he leaves my sight.

I fall back onto my bed before pressing my pillow against my face.