Hope

"Why do you look so nervous?" Zack laughed as he pulled up to his parents house.

"You think I know?" Kristel replied, her heart beating so rapidly10 she thought it was going to pop out of her chest. "I should not be nervous about meeting your family, and yet here I am scared as fuck."

Zack laughed as he let himself out of the car. Kristel took a deep breath before following his lead, then grabbing Amber out of her car seat. "Come on," Zack wrapped an arm around Kristels shoulders, helping her relax slightly, as he lead her to the house.

Before Zack could even knock on the door, it swung open to who Kristel could only assume was his mom. "Zacky," the woman wrapped her arms around Zacks neck, greeting him.

"Hey mom," Zack returned the hug, before turning his attention to Kristel. "Mom, this is Kristel and that's her daughter, Amber."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Baker," Kristel gave Zacks mom a smile. Zacks mom gave him a look, "At least you found a polite one. Please come in and make yourself at home." She let the three of them into the house.

"Don't mind her," Zack gave Kristel a reassuring squeeze. "She's just stressed out from all the cooking." Kristel nodded already dreading the rest of the day. Kristel quickly met the rest of Zacks family, trying hard to remember all of the names, yet knowing it was futile.

She instantly liked Zacks sister, Zina, as Kristel found out Zack was the middle child. Zina was the oldest and there was a younger brother named Matt. "I always wanted a brother," Kristel commented towards Zina. "But I'm not sure if I would've survived with two."

Zina laughed, "You just had to show them who's boss," she lightly punched Zack on the shoulder.

"Hey, come on now," Zack whined. "I need that arm later."

"Oh, I forgot," Zina rolled her eyes. "You have that little guitar you need to play." Zina turned towards Kristel who was trying to hide her giggles. "So how'd you get stuck with him anyways?"

"Hey!" Zack acted offended, making Kristel giggle more.

"I was at their last concert when a bunch of guys decided to jump me, and your brother came to my rescue," Kristel explained without going into a lot of detail. Zina appeared to accept the explanation, Kristel sighing with relief when everyone was called to brunch.

It wasn't until halfway through the meal Kristel started to relax. Nobody was calling her out ask my where she came from, or asking about Amber like she was dreading. The only thing she didn't care for was that she was being called "Zacks girl", which she found understandable, it was a quick reference to her without someone forgetting her name.

"Don't get too comfortable," Zack warned. "They start the third degree around dessert."

"Just when I started liking them," Kristel sighed, giving him a teasing smile.

"You'll be fine," Zack gave her knee a quick squeeze.

"You're right," Kristel replied sarcastically. "Cause I'm gonna lock myself in the bathroom."

Zack shook his head, laughing. "It'll happen before we leave."

Kristel groaned, "Can we at least not say where you found me?" She looked at him hopefully.

Zack frowned, "Gina, kinda already hinted at it with my mom."

"Of course she did," Kristel mumbled, moving food around her plate, suddenly not hungry anymore.

A few moments later Zacks mom brought out a cake, making Kristels heart sink. "So Kristel," Mrs. Baker started out as she cut into the cake. "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

Kristel gave her a small smile, "What would you like to know?"

"How did you meet my son?" Mrs. Baker started passing around the cake.

Okay simple enough, Kristel thought to herself. "At one of his concerts not to long ago. We just kinda bumped into each other and hit it off, I guess," Kristel glanced towards Zack, trying to see if he approved of what she was saying. It wasn't totally a lie.

"Where are you living?" Mrs. Baker asked, sitting in her chair.

Kristel bit her lip, her heart beating a thousand miles a minute. "I-I'm in between homes right now, so Zack was kind enough to offer my daughter and I a place to stay while I looked."

Mrs. Baker seemed annoyed at the way that Kristel was talking around her questions. "Where are you from?"

Damn it, Kristel thought sourly to herself. "The Midwest," Kristel shoved a fork full of cake in her mouth, preventing the subject to continue briefly.

Mrs. Baker looked surprised for a moment before continuing her third degree, "Where in the Midwest? I bet Zacks played there before."

Kristel gave a small laugh, "I can gaurentee he hasn't." Mrs. Baker gave Kristel a pointed look, making her continue. "The town I lived in didn't have a big enough venue for them to play. They most likely would have played a few hours away."

Mrs. Baker seemed to drop the subject after she realized she wasn't going to get Kristel to say anything more about herself. After dinner Kristel started to help clear the table when Zack stopped her. "Why don't you play with Amber for a bit," he suggested, making Kristel nod and go into the living room to play with her daughter.

After the table had been cleared Zina cornered Zack in the kitchen, "what's up?"

"So, what exactly are you two?" Zina asked, crossing her arms.

"What're you talking about?" Zack acted surprised by the question.

"I see the way you look at her," Zina accused, motioning towards Kristel who was happily playing with Amber who was giggling.

Zack gave a frustrated groan,"I don't know, she's obviously not looking for a relationship. She's so busy looking for a job." Zack watched as Kristel blew a raspberry on Ambers stomach, she glanced up seeing him and gave him a small smile as amber took back her attention. Zacks heart tug at him, this was the happiest he'd seen her in days and it made him feel happy.

"See," Zina brought his attention back to their conversation. "There it is again, and honestly," Zack looked at Zina confused. "I like it on you."

"What are you talking about?"

Zina rolled her eyes "why are boys so dumb?" She almost exclaimed. "You like her." She poked him in the chest. "Don't even try to deny it."

Zacks looked back at Kristel and Amber and knew deep down Zina was right. "But there's nothing I can do," he sighed. "She has no intention on getting in a relationship," he laughed a little making Zina look at him curiously. "She even hates it when I buy her things."

"Sounds like the perfect girl," Zina smirked, they both paused briefly when they heard singing in the living room.

"Who's that?" Zack frowned not recognizing the voice, looking over to see Kristel, only to see she had moved.

"Beats me," Zina shrugged, walking towards the sound, Zack following closely behind.

"No shit," Zack breathed upon entering the room.