It's You 🏠

Part 10 of Home. This actually kind of fits the prompt! Enjoy!

“TJ, I’ve got to go.” Daniel laughs

TJ nods, but keeps kissing his face. They’ve been in TJ’s car, in front of Catherine’s house for ten minutes. 

Finally, Daniel pulls away, grinning. “Don’t you have work?”

“Yes.” He sighs. “I’ll see you later.”

Daniel kisses him one more time. “Love you.”

He walks to the front door as TJ drives away. Zuri’s car is still in the driveway, and Catherine’s is there, too.

He rings the doorbell, and after a minute, Angel opens the door. 

“Oh, good, you’re back.” She says, stepping to the side to let him in. Timothy and Chai are sitting on opposite sides of the couch, arms crossed, glaring at each other.

“What happened to them?” He asks.

Angel glances towards the couch. “Chai nearly killed Timothy for hitting her, so they’ve got to sit on the couch till they talk it out, which clearly isn’t happening.”

They go to the kitchen, where Zuri and Catherine are bickering at the table. Riley, who is currently female, is leaning against the counter. 

“Oh, hey, Daniel.” Catherine says, smiling at him. “You met Zuri and her demons?”

“Rude.” Zuri says“They aren't demons. Just wild animals.”

Catherine and Riley both laugh.

Angel and Daniel go upstairs to Angel’s room. It looks like a tornado hit.

“Ughh, they must’ve gotten in here. Great. Any more texts from your dad?” She asks him.

He pulls out his broken phone. “I did, but…”

“What happened?” She asks, taking the phone from his hand, and examining it.

“I...dropped it in the lake. And it hit a rock. And...yeah.”

“This is probably never going to work again.”

He sighs, and lays back on her bed. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

“Oh, my best friend’s coming over today. She’ll probably stay for dinner.” She says, tossing the phone beside him. She walks over to her desk, digging around for something. She pulls out a piece of paper, and scribbles something on it. “I told her Kaden’s here, so of course she’ll come.”

“What’s she like?” Daniel asks.

Angel starts telling Daniel all about Tay while wandering around her room, picking stuff up, and putting it away. 

“Angel!” Catherine calls from downstairs.

“I’ll be back.” She says, going out the door.

Daniel goes down the hall to his room, carrying his broken phone, where he sees his backpack sitting in front of the bed. He remembers suddenly that his sketchbook is in there. 

Daniel’s always loved to draw, but the only person he’s ever shown is TJ. 

He pulls out the sketchbook and opens it to the first page. It’s a drawing of TJ’s face- of course- grinning. Most of the drawings in the sketchbook are of TJ, since his phone is, or was, filled with pictures of the two of them.

Oh, this would be a great birthday gift for him. He thinks, grinning.

“Why do you look like that?” He looks up to see Angel in the doorway. She notices the sketchbook. “Ooh, can you draw?”

She plops down on the bed next to him, and after a second, he hands her the sketchbook.

She flips through the pages, studying the pictures. “You really like TJ, don't you?”

“Yeah,” He says, smiling. 

“Hm. You’re really good.” She tells him, handing it back to him.

She pulls her phone out, and grins. “Tay’s here! C’mon!”

She hops off the bed, and races downstairs.

How does she have so much energy? He wonders as he follows her.

Timothy and Chai are still glaring at each other. Kaden is sitting on one of the armchairs, trying to casually watch the door. 

Angel is standing by the door, her hand on the handle. After a second, the doorbell rings. She opens it immediately, and grins. 

Daniel inhales sharply. Tay. Taylor. Oh god, it’s Taylor Melendez . 

He hasn’t seen her in three years, but he can tell that it’s her. Her blonde hair is longer now, and hangs in her face, over her glasses. She’s wearing a big gray hoodie, and jeans. 

“Hey, Angel.” She says smiling, her eyes land on Daniel, and her smile disappears. “Daniel?”