When Will You Realize That I'm Your Child Too?

"I don't know, Ry. It should be their choice. You can't make them come to the mall with me." Keltie said softly.

"It'll be perfect. I'll be there too. They can see how happy we are." Ryan pointed out.

"I know..but." Keltie sighed.

"Sh, don't worry. The kids will be good and by the end of the day they'll love you." Keltie sighed again.

"Okay." She smiled and he pecked her cheek.

"KIDS!" Ryan called and grabbed his keys. He heard the twins groan and they trudged down the stairs. They fought back their glares at the sight of Keltie standing next to their father, "C'mon, we're going to the mall." He said grinning.

"Oh, Dad, I um...have to study for a test tomorrow." Adam said.

"Yeah, and I have a um...practice and I need to go to Sarah's house to go over the moves." Ariana added.

"That can wait. It's only noon. We'll be back by three. That's plenty of time." Ryan smiled. Keltie looked at her shoes, feeling uncomfortable around the children when she knew they didn't like her.

Ryan and Keltie both turned around and started to walk out to the Mercedes parked outside, "Watch me fail that test..." Adam grumbled.

"If you fail the test, you're grounded." Ryan smiled and revved up the engine. Ariana snickered at her twin and her slapped her arm.

"OW!" She yelled and slapped his arm back.

"What was that for!?"

"Because you started it!"

Slap!

Slap!

Slap!

"KIDS! Will you two stop beating each other up!? Jesus, you act like our family belongs in a circus!" Ryan exclaimed.

The twins stopped and crossed their arms over their chests and watched the random hotels and shops pass by. It wasn't long before they were at the mall and were walking in the front glass doors.

They grumbled their remarks as they followed Ryan and Keltie into stores and boutiques. They held their bags at their sides and watched Ryan sign autographs and take pictures.

After a half-hour, they were sitting in the patio area of Juice It Up! Ariana was texting Sarah and Adam was texting Cory. It wasn't long before a crowd of girls ran up to the table and started asking Ryan for autographs, hugs, and pictures. Ryan, being as clever as he is, took this as the perfect opportunity to leave Keltie alone with the twins, "Take them to a store. I'll text you when I'm done." He smiled. Keltie stared at him wide-eyed.

"What if they don't listen?" She asked.

"Don't worry." He said before turning to the crowd.

"C'mon, Kids," She said and the twins groaned and followed her out of the smoothie joint and out to the mall, "Where do you want to go?" She asked cheerfully.

"Home." Ariana said, causing Adam to laugh.

"Your Dad has the keys. Is there a certain store you like that we haven't gone to yet?" She asked.

"Nope." Adam replied. Keltie thought for a moment and remembered that Ariana and Adam both liked Urban Outfitters.

"Follow me." She smiled. The twins followed her into a store and were suddenly happy at the sight of a brand new rack of brightly colored skinny jeans. Keltie watched them and didn't talk, but noticed Ariana having trouble deciding if she liked the purple ones on her, "Try these." Keltie suggested, holding out hot pink jeans. Ariana took one look at them. She really liked them, but didn't like the person who was suggesting them.

"No thanks. I don't like pink." Ariana said.

"C'mon, you know you want to. You never know if they'll be the perfect ones." She smiled. Ariana sighed and grabbed the jeans and shut the door. She slipped them on and looked in the mirror and gasped. They were perfect. They went perfectly with her skin tone.

"They're awesome! Thanks!" Ariana said happily before running off to find a matching shirt. Keltie smiled and sighed happily. She walked to the other end of the store and noticed Adam looking at a few shirts.

"That one is nice." Keltie pointed towards a black shirt with large letters in RUN-DMC font that spelled Party Like A Rockstar.

"I think I like this one better." Adam pointed towards his least favorite one, just to get Keltie to leave.

"Then get that one. It's cool too. Maybe you can find a pair of shoes to match." She smiled. Adam thought for a moment and picked up the shirt that Keltie had first liked and held it up over his chest and looked in the mirror.

"I guess this one is better," He said before picking out the right size and grabbing a matching red belt, "Thanks, Keltie." He said before going off towards the register to pay.

Keltie sighed again and felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at it Where are you? I'm done.

It was from Ryan. She texted back where they were and in a few moments he walked into the store, "Hey, how were they?" He asked nervously.

"They were good. I helped them pick out some things." She beamed. He smiled cheerfully.

"That's great. C'mon kids, time to go." He announced.

Keltie hugged Ryan and he pecked her cheek. The kids stood behind them, "Bye, Keltie." Ariana said.

"See you soon." Adam replied.

Keltie grinned to herself after Ryan shut the door and she walked to her car. She revved up the engine and pulled out of the driveway and started for her house. She pulled into her own driveway and walked inside and sat down on the couch in her living room.

She sighed and glanced over at the kitchen and noticed the flowers Ryan had gotten her on their first date two weeks ago.

They were still colorful and alive.