Mistakes and Regrets

Enroll in classes? Check

Find new apartment? Check

Dig furniture out of storage? Check

Start brand new dream job? Check

Move out of Kenny and Jared's? Check

Of course, there were still a few kinks to work out, like how John and the boys had offered to help me move in, and as a result I needed a new set of lamps, plates, and my headboard had a limp, but I was happy. My job was more perfect than I had expected, and even though it had only been a week, I just knew this was were I belonged. The guys were finally over the initial shock of John and me, and for once in my life things were actually calm and uneventful, and it was sorta nice.

I had forgotten what it was like to have some sort of routine in life, and it was strangely comforting. Once classes started up, I wasn't sure how it was going to be, but I felt ready, especially since I had my boys to back me up. I was happy in a way I hadn't been in a very long time.

I was lounging on my couch rereading Of Mice and Men with my feet propped up on the armrest when I heard the door open. My lips twitched into a smile, but other than that I made no movements. I already had a pretty good idea of who it was.

"You should knock," I called, turning the page lazily. A pair of lips gently kissed my forehead, and I momentarily leaned forward so John could slip in on the couch beside me. I rested against him, absentmindedly twirling a piece of hair around my finger while finishing up the chapter.

"You should learn how to use that lock," he countered, and I set the book face down on my legs before making a face at him.

"It's rude to just waltz right into people's houses and start to criticize them," I retorted, and he laughed.

"I suppose you've got me there."

"God, your mother would be so disappointed," I teased, shaking my head at him. "We both know she taught you manners, you just failed to listen."

"Low blow," John protested. "I cannot believe you brought my mom into this!"

"I happen to love your mom. And you know I'm right, and she would agree with me," I said triumphantly.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled with a wave of his hand. "But speaking of Mom, she wants to know why you've been back for so long and haven't been over yet..."

"Oh, god," I whispered, looking up at the ceiling. "She isn't mad, is she? 'Cause I meant to get over there, but we weren't talking, and then we were, and then we were sorta-together, and I got the job and everything happened so fast-"

"Shay, it's fine. She's not mad at all, she just misses you. She lectured me daily after you left, just so you know," he said, nudging me playfully. "I haven't actually told my family about us yet. I figured you could come over for dinner tonight and we'd tell them together."

My head fell into his lap and I stared up at him with a small smile. "Are you too chicken to tell them alone?"

"No," he said defensively. "Trust me, I think as soon as they find out, they'll throw a party."

"A party," I repeated doubtfully.

"I'm serious! They all love you. When I told them about ending things with Rose, Shane and Ross started a conga line, Dad asked Mom if she made cake before joining my dorky brothers, and Mom waited about two seconds before saying she'd heard you were back in town and suggested I bring you to dinner sometime."

I stared at him in disbelief for a few moments before laughter started bubbling in my throat. John rolled his eyes and wrapped one of my curls around his finger as he waited for me to actually say something. I could actually picture the whole thing in my head, and it was just a little humorous.

"Oh god," I sputtered out finally. "So, did your dad get his cake?"

"Shut up," John mumbled, giving my hair a gentle tug. "It was so not funny."

"Oh come on," I said seriously, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

"There I was all torn up because I just found out she'd been cheating on me, and they were dancing and eating cake!"

"So there was a cake!"

He looked at me with a blank expression for a few moments, blinking his olive eyes at me a couple of times. I met his gaze expectantly, and finally he looked out the window with a shake of his head.

"You're so impossible," he informed me, one of his long, thin fingers tapping me on the nose. "And yes, there was cake. And ice cream to go with it, at Shane's suggestion."

I tried to stop the giggles that were rising in my throat, and my expression came out a mix between pity and joy. I readjusted so I was sitting on his lap with my arms tightly secured behind his neck.

"Oh, you poor thing," I cooed, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

"I know," he sighed, and I chuckled against the smooth skin stretching across his collarbone. "But it's okay, because if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have admitted my feelings for the girl I really love."

I bit my lip as his arms curled around me, my smile growing. "It's funny how things work out like that. I mean, sometimes you really have to survive the storm to see the rainbow."

"In any case, you're my favorite rainbow."

I looked up at him with a smirk, and he wrinkled his nose in response. "Really now?"

"It just kinda came out," he said lamely, nudging me off of him and standing up. "Let's not talk about it. You have to get ready for dinner tonight, and so do I."

"It was cute," I assured him, allowing him to pull me to my feet.

"Yeah, that's why you're laughing at me," he countered, leaning down to kiss me quickly. "I'll pick you up at six."

"Okay," I murmured, attaching our lips one more time. "See you then."



"Stop fidgeting, you look beautiful," John whispered against the top of my head as we stood on the doorstep to his parent's house.

"You have to say that," I shot back, playing with my bracelets. He put his hands on my shoulders and I looked at him anxiously.

"Shay, when they all met you six years ago, you were wearing those torn up jeans with black combat boots and a baggy black hoodie which was probably Kennedy's. Not to mention your hair was a tangled mess," he pointed out, and my jaw fell open.

"Shut up," I gasped, hitting him lightly in the gut. "You honestly remember that?"

"Of course," he chuckled, smoothing my hair back and kissing my forehead. "You still looked beautiful then, by the way."

"You were insane then, obviously," I teased. "You're still insane, actually."

"Maybe," he said with a shrug. "But we don't have time to debate this, because dinner's going to start any minute, and we don't want to be late."

"Wait, John," I said desperately, but it was too late. He had already reached over and rapped on the door three times before twisting the knob easily under his hand. There was no going back anymore.

I swallowed nervously as John called out for his family. The first person I saw was Shane as he came trampling down the stairs. He slid across the entryway and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek as I waited for his reaction. In all my time avoiding John, I had been avoiding his family too, just because it hurt too much. I was deathly afraid that I had pushed them away for good, but all my nerves were shattered as his face broke into a grin and he tackled me into a hug.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed, and I stumbled a few steps backwards as his arms engulfed me.

"Hey Shane," I laughed, finally prying him off of me. He hit John lightly, the grin never leaving his face.

"Why didn't you tell us Shay was coming?" he asked accusingly.

"I wasn't sure if she was until a few hours ago," John said honestly, hitting his brother back.

"What's all the yelling about," Jay asked, making his appearance. He looked sternly at his sons before turning his gaze to me, and then, his tone lightened. "Hello Shayla. Are you going to be staying for dinner?"

He asked it as if we were still in high school and this was completely normal. It was like nothing had changed, and I breathed a sigh of relief in knowing I hadn't completely fucked up with them.

"If you'll have me," I replied, and he smiled.

"It would be our honor to have such a lovely young woman at the dinner table," he said before looking at Shane. "Did you set the table like your mother asked you to twenty minutes ago?"

"Uh, about that," Shane said, slowly sneaking more towards the kitchen. "I'll just go fix it since Shay's here and all!"

"You do that," Jay called with a roll of his eyes. "It's good to see you, Shay."

I nodded as he returned to the living room, and John kissed the top of my head.

"I told you they love you," he whispered. "Now let's go find Mom and Ross."

I followed him into the kitchen, where Jenny was stirring something on the stove. I wrapped an arm around myself as John snuck up behind her and gave her a hug.

"Hey Mom," he said cheerily. "Smells delicious."

"Of course it does," she joked, patting him on the cheek as she turned around. Her eyes zeroed in on me and her face lit up. She rushed over, handing a clueless John the spoon, and gathered me into a warm embrace.

"Hey Jenny," I murmured, trying to keep my voice even.

"Oh, dear, I haven't seen you in almost a year! My goodness, you got even more beautiful," she said, holding me at arms length and inspecting me. "I can't believe my loving son didn't tell me you were coming!"

"Sorry Mom," John said with a grin.

"Oh, hush," she replied teasingly. "How are you? What have you been up to the past year?"

"I'm good. I, uh, was in New York for awhile, but I realized I just needed to come home and work some things out," I said, shooting a glance at John, who had wandered into the dining room and was hitting Shane with a roll of paper towels. The spoon his mom had handed to him was dangling haphazardly over the edge of the counter.

"Well I'm glad you're home, sweetie," she said, hugging me again. I nodded, unable to find any words to explain how sorry I was.

"Me too," I whispered, holding on to her tightly. "I missed you all."

"We missed you too. Remember, no matter what, you can always come here."

"Thank you, so much."

We pulled apart and Jenny wiped under her eyes quickly. "I better finish up dinner. Do me a favor and get everyone to the table?"

"I'd love to," I responded, blinking the moisture away in my own eyes.

"Ross isn't home yet, but he'll be here any minute," she added, walking over to the stove again.

"Okay," I nodded, walking out of the kitchen with one last glance at her. She smiled and shooed me, and I stepped into the dining room. I had barely gotten one foot in before a fork went flying by my face.

"Oops," Shane breathed out as it clamored against the floor.

"Really?" I asked, looking between the two of them. "I'm sorry, but how old are you two?"

"Sorry," they mumbled simultaneously, looking at the floor sheepishly.

"I'm supposed to tell everyone it's time to eat, but now it looks like I'm telling you," I said, pointing at Shane. "To get a new fork to replace the one on the floor."

"Okay," he said, quickly picking up the fork and rushing into the kitchen.

"And you," I said, raising my eyebrows at John. "Seriously? Are you trying to blind me?"

"Definitely not," he assured me, and I rolled my eyes.

"Get better aim," I said, poking him in the chest. "Or better yet, don't throw silverware!"

"Sorry," he said, looking like a scolded child.

I smiled a little, sneaking a quick kiss before starting towards the living room to find Jay. When I returned with him, John was already sitting with a seat saved for me. I slid beside him and next to the empty chair at the head of the table, where Jenny would eventually sit. Jay was on the other side of John, talking with him about the band. Shane returned with a fork, which he handed to me. Naturally, the one they had been throwing around would have been mine.

He sat down across from me and I stuck my tongue out at him. He responded by crossing his eyes and I chuckled. Jenny was still bringing everything over to the table as the front door opened and Ross waltzed in. He greeted his mom with a kiss on the cheek before taking the empty seat across from John.

"Nice of you to make it," I teased, and rolled his eyes at me.

"Whatever Shayla," he said and proceeded to check his phone. Suddenly, his eyes shot up and he stared at me in complete and utter shock. "Shay?"

"Where are your manners tonight, sir? I mean, on top of being late, eye-rolling and staring are rude," I teased, and he continued to blink at me.

"Did I just get transported to last year? 'Cause I'm having a deja vu moment right now," he said slowly, looking around.

"Nope," I said, popping the 'p' as I tried to hide a grin.

"Wow," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I just realized I sorta missed you screwing with me."

"I missed it too," I said softly, flashing him a small smile.

"Welcome back," he added before the table lapsed into silence.

Jenny started serving all of the food and it was quiet as everyone passed dishes around. Finally, she sat down and filled her own plate. I looked at John and raised an eyebrow in a wordless question He cleared his throat, and suddenly, everyone was looking at him.

"Since everyone's here now, there's something we wanted to talk to you about," he said slowly, and if possible, the room got quieter.

"It's nothing bad," I added quickly, shooting John a look. Clearly, this wasn't something he did often. I'll admit, it was rare for me to see John not be confident and self-assured.

"What's going on here?" Jenny asked, and John looked at me. I nodded subtly and he took a deep breath before going on.

"We're dating," John blurted out, and I nibbled on my thumb nervously. John grabbed my other hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as we were met with total silence. And trust me, in the O'Callaghan house, there was never complete silence. Moments ticked on and I could hear my heart thudding against my chest.

"Okay, someone, say something," I pleaded, turning to face Jenny. Finally, her lips spread to reveal her teeth in a massive beam.

"Really?" she asked softly, a tinge of hope in her voice. I nodded, and she squealed.

"Praise the freaking lord!" Ross exclaimed, setting his fork down against the table.

"Although I don't get what she sees in you bro," Shane added, earning him a piece of roll to his forehead.

"I feel like this deserves cake. Is there cake?" Jay inquired, looking at his wife cheerfully.

"No," she shook her head. "But there is pie."

"Celebratory pie works for me."

I looked over at John, who was shooting me a lopsided grin. I felt relieved and so, so loved as everyone's excited chatter filled the air. John leaned over and kissed my temple, and I brushed the top of his hand with my thumb.

"Told you they'd be excited. I mean, you even get a celebratory pie."

His eyes twinkled as he looked at me, and I stroked his cheek lightly with my free hand. For a moment, in the midst of everything, I was seventeen again and he was high school John. Then I blinked and I was in present time, and he was still everything and all I wanted, and so much more.