Meet the p a r e n t s!?, Vin,kthnxbai.

[vincent illan de atrio]

The air was definitely changing over the dinner table, Vin felt it the second Christofer actually halfway complimented him. It was possible that Addy's brother wasn't sincere in the least bit...but, no. Vincent could tell that he was being honest. The question was, who in the world was his informant? There was no way that he had seen Vin play first-hand, because he hadn't palyed since his freshman and sophomore years of high school on the other side of the country in Boston. Addy had never seen him play, in fact, Vincent weasn't sure they'd ever talked about sports, though he did know that she played soccer. And there wasn't a guy in the high school that had ever been on a club team or anything with him, because he didn't know anyone else in the school who had come from Boston, since he hadn't played the past year while living in Port Angeles. Maybe Chris was just being polite. Regardless though, Vin figured he had better thank him before the Berezovska thought him to be mute...or retarded...or a little of both. "I have my good days," He said, trying to sound modest. In reality though, he knew he was pretty much the shit. "But, uh, I guess we'll see come spring, huh?" For some reason, he could feel himself almost smiling. It must have had something to do with the fact that he thought it was possible to make his first almost-friend in the near future...but only time would tell on that one.

It was proabably a good thing that Vin had never been one to blush, because if ihe had been, his cheeks certainly would have turned a bit red when her mother fawned over the two of them for a moment. He smiled, but didn't say anything. In his experience--though he had very little, if any, on the subject--the guy wasn't the one to thank someone for saying how cute he and his girlfriend looked, and so he said nothing. Though, he supposed if the couple was gay, one of them would have to say something...but see, he wasn't gay, so he'd never have to worry about that. Jesus Christ. He wondered when he had gotten so god damned ADD just as Addy's mother suggested dessert. Smiling again, Vin said, "I'm game for dessert." Really, if her mother's dessert was even half as good as dinner had been, it would be amazing he was sure. But it didn't matter how sweet and amazing dessert was going to be, because Addy had to spoil the moment by slipping away. And it was one of those things that you'd rather not know about once you're on the inside. Is wasn't as though he had the option of following her and making her stop, so he resolved to simply stay put and stay pleasant when all he wanted to do was shake her and tell her that she was being stupid.

"So, Mr. Berezovska, what made you decide to come here from Europe?" It was the first thing he thought of to keep conversation moving. As long as he didn't get awkward though, everything would be fine. He didn't want to appear as though he was uncomfortable in their house if Adriana wasn't plastered to his side. "I mean, Adriana's told me how she was born in Greece, but then why move to the States?" See, while he liked Elli, he couldn't ignore the head of the house. And whle it would have been easier to be nice to Christofer--be it fake, half-fake, or genuine--he still couldn't ignore the twins' father. That was a horrible move, and he knew that as fact.

[adriana nafsika berezovska]

When Adraiana came back tot he table, her father was talking to Vincent like he was enjoying conversation. Well, that was a good thing, obviously he had asked the right question. "My business expanded, and I decided that a good outlet would be America. Also, Elli's fashion career seemed to have the best chance of going further if we moved here." Adriana slipped in next to Vin, keeping her eyes focused on the table so that the veins around her eyes and the slightly red tint wasn't obvious. "Besides, we wanted Ad and Chris to be well rounded culturally." He smiled at Vincent and then an ever wider smile lit up his face as his wife came out with dessert. She set a plate in front of him and then continued to move around the table, systematically setting it down. "There you kids, go." She smiled at the three teenagers around the table before taking a seat herself. "Dig it!" Christofer didn't need to be told twice.

Addy, on the other hand, hesitated, picking up her fork and biting her lip. She really didn't want to, except, part of her was telling her she might as well go ahead since she had already had dinner. She speared the dessert as a start and then looked around the table before taking a tentative bite. "We'll definitely have to have a pick - up game at school sometime before the season starts." Chris said in between bites, eyes flickering over his sister for a moment. Said sister took another dainty bite of dessert and tentatively slipped her hand into Vincent's, leaning slightly closer to him. She wasn't sure if that was from habit or because it was just nice to have him next to her. "Can't you talk about sports after dinner?" Addy complained half-heartedly. "It is after dinner, it's dessert Addy." She rolled her eyes and gave Vin's hand a squeeze before taking another bite and glaring at her smart ass of a brother.

"When you are all done, just leave your plate, I'll clean it up after." Elli told them all, and Addy took a few more bites before pushing her plate away and waiting patiently for Vincent to finish.

[vincent illan de atrio]

It was a funny coincidence that what Mr. Berezovska had said brought him and his family to the States was what had also brought Vin's parents over from England. "That was what my father thought when we first moved over here, though for me, I don't think my parents particularly cared about whether or not I was 'culturally well-rounded'." And that was the truth. The last time he could remember talking around the dinner table, let alone being in the same room with both of his parents was...a while ago. They might have all passed through a room, like the kitchen, at about the same time, but they didn't say anything more than 'good morning' or 'hello' to one another. There were times that Vincent hated that aspect of his home life, but at the same time, it allowed him to have freedom that most people didn't have until after college and after moving out from under their parents' wings forever. Though he knew he probably shouldn't like the fact that he had little "bonding time" with his parents, he couldn't help it. It was nice.

...Though if his mom cooked halfway as decently as Elli, he might've started demanding more family dinners just to eat her food. But, well, his mother was probably one of the worst cooks to ever grace the earth with her beautiful presense, so it was good that he didn't have nightly dinners to look forward to. "This looks great, thank you," He said, smiling at the bright little dessert on the plate in front of him. Before he could wonder if it would be rude to get right down to the business of eating, Christofer was already practically shoveling his food into his mouth. Following suit, though a bit less aggressively, Vincent happily put forkful after forkful of deliciousness into his mouth until, sadly, he realized it was gone. Adriana, who was once again seated next him and slipping her hand into his, was obviously wishing that she could make her dessert disappear without laying a single hand on it, though that wasn't going to happen. He watched her put some of it into her mouth out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, definitely," Vin said, smiling at Chris' proposal. He could tell by her tone that Adriana was fed up with the sports-talk, even though they hadn't really gotten that into it, but Vincent couldn't keep himself from smiling at Chris' retort. That, and from saying 'Touche, Chris" to himself in his head.

Not only was she a phenomenal cook, but she was proabably one of the nicest, most self-less people that Vin had ever come across in his life. "Are you sure? I could help if you want," He said, carefully leaving out her name for fear of annoying her by calling her "Mrs. Berezovska" but then also for fear of aggitating her husband by calling her by her first name.

[adriana nafsika berezovska]

"Business certainly beckons in America." The head Berezovska said simply, relishing the last of his dessert. "You seem like you're well rounded though, Vincent." And he once again smiled at the younger boy, obviously liking his daughter's choice. "You certainly appreciate good cooking." The matriarch of the family spoke up, smiling around the forkful of dessert that she had in her mouth. Addy thought it was almost...weird how calmly her parents were taking this. This was after all, the first time she was taking a boy home. ((See, also, the first boy she had engaged in sex with. Uh, don't tell daddy.)) She had expected the third degree from her father the whole night under the watchful eye of her mother, or, well, at least something that could make the atmosphere slightly uncomfortable. But no, nothing. Obviously Vincent impressed them, or, well, they were convinced that this wasn't going to last much longer. She really, really hoped they were just impressed with him, because she was pretty sure it would break her heart if they thought otherwise. Her eyes shot to him and she settled on his face for a few moments just sort of...watching him. A few months ago she hadn't even known this kid or even thought about somebody in her life, and now, here was Vin as though he had just sort of been there all the while and just now decided to pop out and make himself known that he had, you know, always been there. Addy smiled slightly and then looked back at the table, feeling a warmth settling in her chest that hadn't been there a few moments before.

"Yes, dear, it's fine. I've got it. Maybe next time you come for dinner I'll take you up on that offer." Adriana perked her head up, unable to avoid the smile on her face. Her parents liked Vincent! Or, well, they had already invited him back to dinner, and she knew how important meals were to her family, both coming from cultures that pretty much centered the day around what they were going to have to eat in several hours. Christofer sat there smiling smugly, and now Addy knew that she owed him something in return for him being on his best behavior and actually playing nice with her boyfriend. ((Sports had, quite obviously, helped. And now maybe they would just play nice of their own accord. She was tired of Christofer thinking it was okay to punch Vin when he was feeling a bit agitated.)) "Thank you, Mom." Addy grinned at her mother and then turned to her father. "Thank you, Daddy." And then she all but jumped up from the table, tugging Vincent slightly, since, well, her her still was attached to his. ((And well, she didn't really want to let go, so if she could avoid that, she would.)) She had already put her dinner leaving episode in the past, and she assumed that Vincent had as well, since, well, actually, she didn't know why she would assume something like that.

But she did.

[vincent illan de atrio]

Vincent smiled at his girlfriend's mother and said, "The offer will still be standing then." Inwardly, he realized that it might be a bit too early in his relationship with Adriana to be that presumptuous to believe that he'd be coming back to her house in the near future, but the atmosphere over the table had been relaxed, much to his surprise, so he figured that he didn't screw everything up too badly. Besides, as far as Vin was concerned, assuming only made him look like an ass in those rare moments when he was wrong...and he was confident that this was not one of those moments. They had liked him, and he was proud of the fact that he held himself well throughout his first "meeting the parents" encounter (not that he was planning on having to go through the same ordeal again any time soon, if ever...he and Addy fit together too well to be planning on that happening). In fact, the smile on Adriana's face reassured him all the more that he had been a hit with her parental unit. Good. That was one less thing to worry about. The only thing left on his list to do with the Berezovskas at present was to make complete amends with Cristofer (even though it really should've been Chris who was apologizing...) and to become friends, or if not "friends-friends" at least they could be people-who-can-get-along-well-enough-to-play-lacrosse-together-and-kick-other-people's-asses-and-only-who-only-speak-when-it-is-convenient "friends". That sort of arrangement would work for Vincent, if he thought that it was all he was going to get. But Christofer didn't strike him as the type of guy to keep enemies for no reason. Sure, he was easily aggravated, but a grudge-holder? Vin really couldn't see that in him.

...Well, ignore the fact that he thought the only thing left on his list was "befriending Christofer", a new addition to the list, he realized, was to ask Adriana why the hell she couldn't control herself for one night. She could've sat at the dinner table for an entire meal for just one night and it wouldn't have killed anybody. The last thing he needed was for her parents to find out about what was going on, and to then pin the blame on her boyfriend. Maybe they already knew, or maybe if they found out they wouldn't think it was his fault at all, but he didn't want to wait around to find out if it were either of the two. It needed to stop. He didn't know how to make it stop, but he was going to find a way, damn it. And so he allowed Adriana to tug him along, while he tried to formulate the best way possible to approach the subject. Yelling never solved anything, giving her "the silent treatment" wouldn't even lead them to the subject, but trying to be calm wasn't going to work, either. He knew that already. As he recalled, it was quite the sensitive subject, and needed to be handled gently...but that wasn't going to work either! The more he tried to find the words to say, the more agitated he was getting. He decided it would come up later...whether of its own accord or by his force, it would come up (no pun intended). He couldn't date her AND this huge problem she had...it wouldn't work out if things kept on like this. Up until then, he kindly looked the other way when she disappeared to do her business...but things were obviously getting serious (sex and parental meetings weren't things he just did whimsically). And so, it needed to be dealt with.