Baby Just Say Yes

"Guys, before we go to Brian's, we gotta go to my house for a minute." Rayleigh said as she, Brian, and Matt piled into Papa Gate's car. She pulled out her cell phone when she felt it vibrate in her pocket, and she saw a new text from her brother. She read it, and it said:

Which way 2 Bri's house?

She smiled and texted him back, explaining that they were going to go to her house for a minute.

"Why do we gotta go there?" Brian asked.

"Duh. She needs clothes." Matt said.

"And don't forget Scuddles!" Rayleigh exclaimed. "I need my cat."

"This is true." Brian said, nodding. "That cat has come with you every time you've ever run away."

"Exactly." She nodded. She smiled when Papa Gates turned on the radio and she heard 'Run to the Hills' by Iron Maiden start playing. It was one of her absolute favorite songs, and she knew every word. Forgetting everybody else in the car, she started singing, unaware that both Matt and Brian were staring at her.

"What?" She asked when the song was done, coming back to her senses and realizing that they'd been staring at her. "I love that song."

"Brian...You have got to be the luckiest guy on the planet." She heard Matt mumble to his friend.

"What?" She asked again, becoming frustrated.

"You're a chick. And you can sing 'Run To The Hills' better than most guys can." Brian told her. "Seriously. You and Matt should try singing together at a gig or something."

Rayleigh blushed. "I'm not that good, you guys."

"Yeah, you are, honey." Papa Gates told her, his voice serious.

"Really?" She asked, not believing it. Matt nodded, then whistled.

"We're here." Papa Gates announced as he drove up the driveway. She smiled.

"Come on, Brian. You're coming in with me."

"What?" He asked her, surprised. In all the years they'd known each other, he'd only been in her house once; a couple of nights ago when he'd thought she was being attacked.

"Yeah. You're coming in. Matt, you too. Papa Gates, you can if you want." She added.

"Why?" Brian asked her softly.

"Because you've never really seen my bedroom." She told him quietly. Then she added loudly enough for everybody else to hear, "Well, I need help packing up some schtuff."

"Schtuff?" Papa Gates questioned.

"Yeah. Schtuff." She nodded as she got out of the car. "My own personal language."

"Boy howdy." Papa Gates agreed. She smiled when Brian grabbed her hand and they walked in the huge wooden doors into that led into what was her home. She saw her mother sitting on an antique couch in the foyer, and she walked over to her, Brian walking apprehensively behind her.

"Mom, are you okay?" she asked quietly, noticing the bandage on her mother's forehead. The woman looked up at her weakly and nodded.

"Yes, Rayleigh. I'm fine." She said. She saw Brian and Matt, and instead of giving them a look of disgust, she smiled warmly. "Hello. I don't think we've ever been officially introduced."

"Mom?" Rayleigh asked, confused. The woman looked at her and smiled.

"It's your choice who you love, honey." She said quietly. "And I can't control that anymore than you can. So are you going to introduce me to your friend and your boyfriend?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Rayleigh said, still a little dazed. "Matt, this is my mom."

"Hi, Mrs. Coslov." Matt said uncomfortably.

"Call me Abby." Her mother insisted. "And it's no longer Mrs., either."

"What?" Rayleigh asked her mother, startled.

"I've demanded a divorce from your father. I'm going to make very sure he spends a long time in jail, Rayleigh."

"Why?"

The woman looked at her, this time looking confused. "Why? You're my daughter, Rayleigh, and he was going to hire a hitman on you!"

"Well, there is that." She said. "But I thought you always agreed with him."

"Hardly." The woman laughed. "Now can you properly introduce your boyfriend?"

"Brian, this is my mom, and mom, this is Brian. My boyfriend." Rayleigh said, blushing as she said the words. Just then, Adam walked in the door.

"Sorry. Traffic. I got del--" He started. Then he saw his mother, and his eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

"Adam!" Their mother squealed, running to hug him. He didn't deny the hug, but gave Rayleigh a confused look, as if he were trying to say, 'what the hell is she on?'

"Uh, Mom? No offense, but last time we saw each other you were trying to get me in jail." He told her.

"No, your father was trying to get you in jail." Their mother insisted.

"But you didn't do anything to stop him." Adam countered. The woman looked down in defeat.

"I...I'm sorry, Adam. I realize now that that's probably what I should have done. I can understand if you won't forgive me."

"Give her a break, Ad." Rayleigh told her brother. He nodded, and hugged his mother.

"Now I suppose you're here to get your stuff to leave, right?" Her mother sighed sadly. Rayleigh nodded.

"Yeah. And I'm sorry, mom, but there's no changing that." She said. Her mother nodded.
"Fine. I can accept that. I'll go make some coffee. Go pack if you'd like. Adam, do you want to come help me? We have so much to go over." Her mother said excitedly, walking to the kitchen, a confused Adam behind her. Brian, Matt, and Rayleigh walked up to her room, where she stopped outside the door.

"Okay, guys, You ready to see my room?" She asked, grinning. Brian nodded.

"It's only fair. I mean, you've been in my room a hundred million times." Brian said eagerly. She rolled her eyes and laughed, opening the door to her bedroom. Matt and Brian stepped in, grinning.

"It's perfect." Matt said.

"It's so...you." Brian exclaimed.

"How did you convince your parents to let you do it?" Matt asked her about her crimson walls and dark hardwood flooring. There was a gothic style chandelier hanging in the middle of her ceiling, with a few small and hidden recessed lighting as well. Her bed had a red banket with black sheets and was on a four poster frame. On her walls were posters of bands such as Iron Maiden, The Misfits, Motley Crue, The Cure, and Nirvana. Propped up in the corner of her room was a decorative Halloween coffin.

"I told them that if they didn't let me decorate my room the way I preferred, I'd leave." She said simply as she walked to her main closet and started tossing clothes onto her bed. "It was an easy decision for them, since no one ever sees my room anyways."

Brian walked up behind her in the closet, and kissed her neck. She turned around and looked at him.

"Before we do anything else, we need to talk." She said.

"I know." He sighed. "I was just hoping you'd let me kiss you. It's been three years, Ray."
She smiled, then sighed. "I guess kissing you isn't so bad." She relented, placing her lips on his for a quick kiss. Then she playfully pushed him away and went back to pulling clothes out of her closet.

"What do you want us to do?" Matt asked her.

"Eh, just pull random stuff out of my desk that I may want. Notebooks, cool looking pens, loose pictures, the like. Oh, grab my vampire books off my shelf, too." She said.

"Which shelf?" Brian asked.

"The one on the east wall, on the very bottom. It's the whole bottom shelf." She said, smiling. She heard a meowing, and turned around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

"Scuddles!" She exclaimed, picking up her cat and cuddling him. He meowed happily again and licked her face contentedly.

"You'd think he was her baby or something." She heard Matt mumble.

"He is my baby." Rayleigh replied, putting the cat on her shoulder, where he'd trained himself to perch like a bird while she walked around. Then she went back to packing her bags to move to Brian's house.