#codyxnathaniel

[abdicatedarchive]

dinner disaster || cody and bella

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: summers house // late march.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: cody x bella ft. charlie, nathaniel, mr. and mrs. summers, mr. and mrs. langston.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: discomfort.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: cody and bella are forced into a joint family dinner, and they devise a plan that might be stupid. 

Cody arrived at Bella's room and knocked on the door. Begrudgingly, he was dressed for the occasion. He had chosen to not wear a tie, even though his mother asked him to. Cody rested his arm against the door frame while he waited for the girl to open it, god, how he didn't want to be here at all. This whole dinner was weird, and honestly he felt like it was really out of the blue. The fact that Charlie was going to be there too? And Nathaniel? Just so unnecessary, not to mention both sets of parents. They had done dinners like this before, but it was when they were younger. Like when it was a dinner party for the parents and all the kids would get to sit in the kitchen and eat different food. Now they all had to sit at the dining room table and make small talk. It was going to be insufferable. "You ready?" he asked when she opened the door.

Bella looked at her reflection in the mirror, trying to convince herself that her dress was pretty. But it wasn't. Her mother sent it over to her because she didn't trust her daughter's fashion choices. It didn't send the right message. Her mother wanted class, and Bella's clothes were just a little too much. She got startled by the sound of the knock and ran over to the door, "Hello Cody Summers." she said, not thinking too hard on that fact that she called him by his full name. It made her think about if he had a middle name. Should she know that for this occasion? Would she be tested? She didn't want to embarrass her family. "What's your middle name?" she blurted out. "I am also ready. See? The dress is sort of weird, isn't it. You look nice." she spoke quickly, trying her best to be friendly with him. "Do you want candy before we go? I always keep some with me."

Cody wasn't ... really one for small talk, especially not with quirky girls. He liked playful banter, but if he wasn't in the mood (like the current reality) then it was just like talking to a wall. "Beckham" he responded as he took a deep breath. The dress she was wearing was ... well, to put it nicely: she looked uncomfortable to be wearing it and it showed. She looked a little alien in the territory. There wasn't anything wrong with it, and on another girl ... he would probably be into it. "Thanks" he replied to the compliment, ignoring her voicing her insecurities. If his mom was here she would have nudged him to compliment her, but she wasn't here. "What kind?" Cody asked, he wasn't sure what kind of strange candy this girl might be into. He always liked to know what he was getting into before he said yes to her.

"Oh that's fun. Are your parents a fan of Bend It Like Beckham?" Bella smiled to herself as she asked the question. It was some kind of an attempt at joking around, but she hoped it didn't make her sound stupid. "I'm just kidding. I'm fully aware of David Beckham. Posh Spice's husband. But if you were named specifically because of the movie, that's very fun. Mine is Jane." Bella made a mental note to try and get to know Cody more. He wasn't exactly someone she ever thought she'd talk to, but she was sure there would be something they could relate to. "You know those Arcor strawberry candies? They're my favorite." she walked over to her night stand and opened up the drawer to retrieve the candy. "Here you go. I'll bring extra just in case. Now I am ready to go. Do you need a minute to mentally prepare, because I understand. I found that the sound of ocean waves helps me relax, so I found a 10 hour video on Youtube of waves crashing on the shore. It helped a lot."

He let her ramble for a bit, "family name" Cody clarified. He was well aware that her middle name was Jane, back in middle school his friends had taken an enjoyment of calling her BJ after she received a few initialed things for Christmas. Not only had he definitely not stopped them, but he had joined in on the fun. "I'll take one" he said casually, they were one of his favorites too. They were something grandmother Summers always had in her purse, and when he was young she had taken to giving him special attention because he was the fourth. She was a fourth child too, so she felt especially called to Cody. "I think I'm good on the ocean noises" Cody replied with a laugh as he popped the candy in his mouth. Why the hell would you listen to ocean noises when you could just .. go to the beach? He took his keys out of his pocket as they left her room and headed out. Unlocking the car, he knew that he should probably open her car door for her but instead he just got into his side of the Hummer and started the car up. 

This dinner was going to be a pain, but he knew on some level she also did not want to be here at all. If she had wanted to come she would have fought harder on the clothing thing, he assumed. When they arrived at the house, Charlie was getting out of his car. "Charlie" said Cody, "Cody" said Charlie before he turned his attention to Bella. "Bella it is great to see you, that dress looks lovely" said Charlie giving her a friendly hug, "Alice says hello, I think she didn't want to hear me and Nate talk about work. She also had a mild allergy to my parents, understandably" he added with a laugh. He wasn't sure why he had said yes to this dinner, mostly out of respect for Nate ... and to watch Cody squirm. Charlie had his suspicions about what this dinner actually was.

Bella was no stranger to family dinners, but that didn’t mean she particularly enjoyed them. There was too much pressure on her to be perfect. She felt like she tried so hard every time, but by the end of the night, her parents always seemed disappointed with her. “Hello Charles. Thank you.” She instantly felt her heart drop the moment she realized what she called him. Bella had known of Charlie long enough to realize that he preferred being called Charlie. She wasn’t a fan of being called Arabella, so she should have known better. It felt incredibly hypocritical. Even the tiniest mess ups made her panic. “Hello to Alice too then, wherever she is. Also, congratulations on the engagement.” Pretty much everyone in their hometown knew about the couple’s relationship status, and she honestly thought this dinner was some kind of celebration towards that. “My brother speaks very highly of you.” she decided to say as they headed into the house, thinking that the dinner was about Nate and Charlie’s job since it clearly was not about his engagement.

Charlie smiled, "Thank you, honestly I feel like Alice should get down on one knee and give me a ring too, that way I have something to show people when they congratulate me" he replied with a laugh as they headed up towards the house. Her comment about Nathaniel liking him made him feel a lot better about where he was at with work. Nathaniel working at the office had been a nice surprise, but he was really uptight. Charlie felt like he was never doing a good enough job. "Gives me a wave of relief, you know how he is" said the boy with a smile. Cody just stayed quiet, at least the two of them had someone to talk to. When they got to the door Cody rang the doorbell before stepping back among the three of them. Mrs. Summers answered the door, "Goodie, you're all here. Derek, Irene, and Nathaniel are already here" she said before she gave both her boys a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug. "For you" said Charlie as he handed her a bottle of port, "from Alice with her regrets." Mrs. Summers nodded, sad that the girl had not come with Charlie. She wanted to fawn over the ring again, but with Alice came the possibility of older Altmans being invited. That was no good. "Arabella, you look so darling in that dress" said Mrs. Summers as she gave the girl a hug. "Don't you think she looks nice, Cody?" she prompted. "You look nice" said Cody to appease his mother. They were basically like small children at this point in the conversation. The three were let in and joined everyone in the sitting room. "Charles, whiskey or a g&t?" said Mr. Summers as he was standing at the bar cart. "g&t sounds great, thanks Dad" said the boy as he sat down. "Sodas or La Croix for you two?" he asked Bella and Cody. "Whatever is cold" said Cody with a shrug as he went to go shake the Langston's hands.

"Yes, he's... very serious. About work especially. He means well, it just takes a bit for him to open up." Bella tried explaining, her siblings were pretty similar to their parents. A lot cooler, but still had that uptight attitude. Once Mrs. Summers opened the front door, she forced a small smile on her face. Her expression softened a bit when the woman didn't mention her sister, Fiona. She didn't exactly talk to her siblings about this dinner, but she assumed they'd both be here. Her sister always had great luck with just about everything, if only Bella could relate. She made sure not to show any change in emotion when Mrs. Summers called her Arabella. Then she was saying her dress was pretty. Was she just being polite? Was everyone's taste here terrible? Was Bella the one with terrible taste? Seemed likely. "Oh thank you." she said to both Cody and his mother. She was curious to know if Cody was in the same position she was in with her parents. When they'd force her to act and talk a certain way around others. Bella went to Mr. Summers and said her hellos before being asked about drinks, "Soda please. Thank you." she spoke softly. Nathaniel walked up with his parents, giving everyone a kind smile, "Always nice to see you Charlie, you too Cody. Of course. I'm sure this dinner will be, lovely." he said, still a bit confused by the whole dinner. It seemed very sudden. Mrs. Langston walked up to Bella with an approving smile on her face, "You look beautiful, Arabella. I knew the dress would suit you, and very nice shoes." Her mother always had to bring up Bella's height and how she was the second tallest in the family, behind Nathanial. She grew very insecure about it, but she would never bring that up to her mother. "We're so happy you could all make it. We thought it would be nice to catch up, see how you all are doing." Mr. Langston told the children. "Shall we head to the dining room?"

Charlie pulled Nathaniel to the side, "I have strong suspicions that this is a set up" said the boy as he took a sip of his drink, "my Mom asked me a few weeks ago if Cody was seeing anyone, and Bella's name was slid into the conversation." Cody wasn't usually one for gossip outside of his usual gang of friends, but Nathaniel might have some information on why this was happening in general. Or why the two of them had been brought along. "No one is taller than my Cody" said Mrs. Summers with a friendly laugh between the two moms, "I have no idea how he got so tall. When he passed Charles we were all wondering when it would stop." The two families headed to the table, and Cody and Bella were seated next to each other across from the Langston parents. They had Nathaniel on their side, and Cody had Charlie on his other side. There were little name cards and everything: very planned. The cook brought out their first course and Mr. Summers got down to business, "So, Bella. I'm sure you have your major all sorted out? Sophomore year, time for some decisions. This one can't seem to stay in a major" he said with a friendly laugh, but it was absolutely a dig at Cody. "Dad, Channing didn't pick her major until Junior year. In due time" said Charlie, keeping things a little better off. He had applied for the business school, so technically speaking Charlie had picked his major before even applying to school. He assumed Nathaniel was the same way, Nathaniel didn't really leave things to chance. That man consistently had a plan ... for everything. Though the comment was added by Charlie, it didn't make Cody feel any better about his family standing right now. He had really rested on his laurels when it came to Channing being the family disappointment.

"You think so too? I'm glad we're on the same page." Nathaniel spoke quietly to Charlie as he looked around the room. It was nice to know that Charlie was just as observant. "My mom kept bringing up the founders day ball and how she hoped we'd all have dates for it." he referred to the big event that took place in their town. People like their parents took that night very seriously. Once everyone was seated, Bella and Nathaniel gave each other the same smile. Nathaniel was pretty used to these dinners, but he knew his sister found them to be rather difficult. Bella almost felt guilty for having some kind of plan when it came to school, while Cody was still figuring things out. She didn't want to make him look bad. "I'm an art major right now. Once I get all my general courses finished up, I was going to see which direction I'll go in. But ... I know a lot of people who still aren't sure. It's so tough sometimes." Bella tried her best to defend Cody. "Of course it is, especially in a major like that. Being a full time artist is a very ... ambitious goal, but we could tell you're confident in your abilities. We trust you'll succeed." Mr. Langston said to his daughter with a smile. They weren't too fond of her going to school for art, they thought it was a waste of time and money. If it weren't for her grandparents being by her side, Bella probably would have caved and went into something else. "She is really talented, always has been." Nathaniel chimed in, knowing his sister was her worst critic. "I'm sure she'll be able to show you some of her work if she hasn't already." Mrs. Langston told Cody. "You both have known each other for so long, do you see each other often?" Bella hid her confusion as she ate. Sure she knew Cody, but it's not like they were ever friends. There wasn’t much of a reason for them to constantly cross paths.

Charlie nodded, "Founders day, yeah. Mom's probably freaking out about which girl will be in our photos this time. Last year was a mess" he recalled. The two boys went to join everyone else at the table for the grilling. Cody had most recently decided on exercise science, but he wasn't going to make a big deal about it. Last time he did, he started to hate the classes as soon as he mentioned it to his parents. "I haven't seen anything since the AP art exhibit senior year, I went for extra credit" said Cody as he took a bite of food. He was confused at the topic, why was he being asked how often he saw Bella. The two ran in completely different circles, "we don't run into each other often. Same dorm though" said the boy. He liked the Astoria dorms, and he wasn't ready to live in a house with friends yet. Most of his friends were just as shitty as him, and he liked having some space from all the chaos. "Well I'm sure you two can find time to see some of Bella's art" said Mrs. Summers, "whens the next showcase?" she asked. Charlie looked over to Nathaniel and nodded, their suspicions were right. "I hope it's before Founder's Day Weekend" Mr. Summers added, "not enough events going on because the historical society is overrun with plans. I heard this year was going to be bigger than ever."

Nathaniel immediately looked over at Charlie and nodded back before looking over to see Bella's reaction. Her facade was starting to crack, and at least he could tell that she was starting to look visibly uncomfortable. She couldn't stop shaking her leg underneath the table. "In a couple weeks. After everyone's received their critiques for their midterm project." she answered calmly. Bella's eyes travelled back and forth between her family members once Founder's Day Weekend was mentioned. Her parents always looked forward to that, but they somehow managed to make it more stressful than it needed to be, especially when it came to finding a partner to go with. Fiona usually found a date pretty quick, and always got someone with a solid reputation. Nathaniel didn't have too much of an issue with that either, but Bella? Her dates seemed to get worse and worse every year. Then it hit her, she could feel her stomach flip. Surely her parents wouldn't be putting her on the spot like this. "The Hastings haven't stopped talking about it, that's how you know it'll turn out good." Mrs. Langston said with excitement. "Fiona was just telling me about her date, they seem like such a lovely person. So respectful. I can't wait to see who you'll bring, Nathaniel, and it's always nice to see you and Alice, Charles. She always looks stunning." Bella's mother turned her attention to her daughter and Cody, "What about you two, are you both excited? Bringing anyone special?"

Founders Day. Of course this is what this was about. Fucking hell, his mother had been upset when he went stag ... and even more upset when he did bring a girl and she wasn't up to par for the family. "Katie was just inducted into the historical society" said Charlie before he took a sip of his drink, just to try and distract from whatever his parents were planning. "Alice and I wouldn't imagine missing it" he added with a soft smile at the compliment to his fiance. He knew how deeply uncomfortable everyone at the table seemed to be, so he was happy to be distracted thinking about Alice. Cody was blindsided by all of this. He still couldn't believe this whole dinner was orchestrated around him and Bella going to Founder's Day together. First of all: how was she less embarrassing than any other girl he ever brought? Sure, she could clean up well ... but it was Bella. She was one of the weirdest girls he had ever met. Second of all, why would they chose the two of them to bind the families together? Surely Nathaniel and Claire could go to Founder's Day together. "Uh no, not yet" said Cody just to respond, he was a man of very few words ... especially when he was uncomfortable, "but I'm sure there's a nice guy on the team that I could set Bella up with." He knew how to read a room, and if he played just dumb enough he might be able to get out of this. It didn't help that this girl was bouncing her fucking leg under the table, it was driving him absolutely up the wall. Fidgety people were so distracting, and it was taking all his attention and focus to hear anything anyone was saying to him. He had half a mind to put his hand on her knee to stop her, but he didn't want to give her any ideas.

Bella knew her parents were upset with her from last year's Founder's Day. Her date ditched halfway through,  but it wasn't her fault, she was even shocked and hurt by it. But to think her parents were setting her up? With Cody of all people? She always looked for the good in people. Unfortunately she hadn't found that yet in him. She was hopeful though, not as hopeful as usual ... but still hopeful. It didn't mean she wanted to go with him to this. Sometimes he came off a little too intimidating for her liking. She could never get a read on him and what he was thinking. "Oh no thank you, I'm sure I'll find someone." Bella completely shut Cody's offer down without realizing what he was trying to do. She was just so nervous. Her mind was racing, so she wasn't thinking straight. "There's still time for both of us to figure it out." she tried to stay as positive as possible in hopes that her parents would have a change of heart. "Well we wouldn't want you to stress about that for too long. This ball is supposed to be a happy time for everyone." Mr. Langston wasn't budging. "Besides, if you already figured out your date now, you'll have time to get to know them better before the event." Bella was starting to pick at her dress under the table now. She wanted to shut down any possibility of having to go with Cody, but the words weren't coming out. She couldn't imagine her parents' disappointment if she flat out said no to them in front of a family like the Summers.

God, this girl could not take a fucking hint. He was trying to get them both out of this. He nodded when she said she could find her own date, and Cody knew it was absolutely time for a scheme. Suddenly, Mr. Langston was doubling down on things. Clearly they were about to ask for something. So he went into panic mode. Cody knocked over Bella's cup while reaching for the salt, "Oh my god, I am so sorry Bella" he said as he moved his napkin over to start cleaning up the spill. Thankfully it had gotten all over her, "Here, let me take you upstairs and you can borrow something of Claire's or Channings" said Cody as he looked to his mom. She nodded, "Of course, anything up there is yours for the time being" said Mrs. Summers. Cody quickly ushered her out of the dining room but before they got out of ear shot he put his finger to his mouth to tell her to stay quiet. Cody quietly listened to the conversation, "see, they're already friendly. It was only a matter of time" he could hear Mrs. Summers prattling on. "Those two will be the most darling couple at the event, and their heights? Marvelous." Cody wanted to slam his head against the wall, but he quickly motioned for her to follow him as they headed up the stairs to Claire's room and he shut the door behind them, "I couldn't find another way out of that" said the boy, actively not apologizing but he didn't really notice how callous he was being, "you hated the dress anyways."

Bella instantly jumped in her seat as her drink got all over her. This couldn't get any worse. She grabbed her napkin and tried to clean her dress as best as possible. "No no, it's okay. I shouldn't have place my drink so close to the edge of the table." she said frantically, already putting some kind of blame on herself. She couldn't even look at her parents, so she simply nodded her head and gave Mr. and Mrs. Summers a shy smile, "Thank you." As she followed Cody out of the room, she kept quiet, listening in on what was going on at the table. She bit down on her bottom lip as they talked about them. There was no need for any of this, she just wanted to run out of the house. Instead of course, she headed to Claire's room, looking up at Cody with furrowed brows as he spoke, "You did that on purpose?" she asked, clearly shocked. "Now I'm all wet and sticky..." she mumbled to herself. Bella did hate the dress, and it deserved that. But she didn't. "Don't we have to go back down there anyways? Or are we making a run for it? I don't know if I could do that. I don't have great stamina, and I don't think I'm mentally prepared for that. Can I still change?" she started to ramble, her nerves were out of control. Bella reached into her bra and pulled out one of her strawberry candies and unwrapped it before popping it in her mouth quickly in hopes that it would calm her. "I'm sorry, do you want one? Are you nervous too? You seem calm, I can't tell."

"I had to think fast, they were just about to push us into going to Founder's Day together" said Cody shrugging a little. The situation wasn't dire, but they should have thought about what this dinner was about before they had arrived, he just didn't know that her parents were as scheming as his. "We are definitely going back down, we just need a game plan" he said as he opened up Claire's closet and pulled out a few things. Then she pulled candy out of her bra, "I'm good on the bra candy" he said calmly as he opened up Claire's bedside table and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and took a pull, "liquid courage?" he offered after he took another pull. This whole thing was absolutely fucked, "I don't know why they get off on meddling so bad, I feel like this is fun for them. Even bringing Nate and Charlie here as some sort of shiny example for what good futures look like. It's all too planned" he rambled. Usually he did not speak this much in front of Bella, or to Bella for that matter. But they were teammates now. He knew his calm exterior was alarming to her, but he got sort of robotic when it came to things like this. It was a game, and it was a game he wanted to win. "I wish I could just get them off my back, you'd think with the fourth kid they would let up some" he said as he sat down on his eldest sister's bed.

"Game plan? I'm not good with game plans." Bella shook her head, she wasn't sure what they could possibly do to change the outcome of this dinner, but that was mainly because she never went against her parents. All she wanted was to make them proud. She then looked through what Cody pulled out from Claire's closet and decided on one dress. A definite upgrade from the one she was wearing. "Please tell your sister I say thank you but that I'm sorry for using this without her permission. Also please turn around. Or close your eyes. Or both." she held onto the dress for a minute before turning around herself and changing outfits. "And done. Better, right?" she asked with a pleased smile as she looked down at what she was wearing. Bella stayed silent for a moment after Cody offered some of the whiskey. She wasn't too much of a drinker, but one sip wouldn't, or at least shouldn't, hurt. "Yes, thank you. I'm not feeling very courageous right now. I feel shaky. One, because the room is cold, but two, I get all shaky when I'm nervous." she wiggled her fingers as some kind of demonstration before taking a sip from the bottle. Bella clearly related to what Cody was saying, they were both stuck in the same situation, but talking about those kinds of feelings? It wasn't something she did very often. Or at all. "Well ... I'm sure it'll all work out in the end. My parents always tell me they just want the best for me. Maybe it's the same for you." she was trying her best to remain positive.

He did as she said and turned around, covering his eyes for an added measure. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to take a peak, but then again it was Bella. Did he actually want to take a peak? Probably not. When he turned around, she actually looked better. Nice even. Claire's taste prevailed. Cody laid back on the bed as she took a drink, "Yeah, they tell you they want what's best for you. But when's the last fucking time it was a good thing and they actually cared about what you wanted or what your dreams are?" he poked at her with his questions. He knew it was going to get under her skin, but he had a big ask. Big asks came with getting under someone's skin first to get them moving, especially an optimist like her. God, it drove him crazy how positive she was being about all of this. "Hear me out, we do go to Founder's Day together, and family barbecues, and all the dumb shit that we have to do. I know it's stupid, but if this pans out for them ... they will let me do whatever I want. Easy free pass" said Cody. He was always looking to work smarter not harder. It was a dumb idea, but if she agreed to it ... it would make everything easier.

Bella felt her heart sink a bit after hearing Cody's question. Her parents didn't care, or at least they didn't show it. They never showed interest in what she loved, they even missed her last art exhibit. To them it wasn't that big of deal, but it crushed Bella. She couldn't even answer his question, her silence was an answer in itself. Sure she didn't know how Cody's parents were with him, but did he have to be so negative about it? It must have been so draining. His suggestion completely caught her off guard. She wasn't good at game plans, but even she thought this was bizarre. "Wait, what? I thought the whole point was that we didn't want to go together. No offense! I'm sure you're a very fun time," she said innocently of course. "but we're just not close. At all. Which is fine." Bella was terrible with saying no to someone, no matter how strongly she felt. She just wanted to please people as much as possible. "I mean, if you're getting something out of it, do I?"

He knew that it was lacking some logic, but from his perspective Bella was a walking and talking get out of jail free card. "Seriously, think about all the things you could get away with, or all the positive attention we would both get. Give the golden children a run for their money" said the boy as he theorized the way to get the most out of this. "I don't want to go with you either, but it's looking like we're going to be going together regardless. And a forced event where they're checking on us is way worse than an event where they think we're already dating but just not touchy in public" he continued. He was positive he had never spoken this much in front of Bella, and Cody sat up on the bed "we don't have to be close ... we just have to appear to be close. It'll just be family stuff, and at school we don't have to think or act any type of way. And if you need more convincing than that ... I mean I can help you get what you want out of it too?" he said as he ended on a question. He wasn't sure what else she could want ... they were both going to win in this situation.

The last thing Bella wanted was attention, but her parents always threw the family under the spotlight anyways. She was going to get attention regardless, so it might as well be positive. As Cody continued on, Bella found it harder and harder to turn this all down. If her parents had something in mind, they were going to follow through on it. She would have to go with Cody whether she liked it or not, so maybe if her parents thought they were already dating, they wouldn't give her such a hard time. She was about to agree to the plan, until he said that he'd help her get what she wanted. Right then and there, an idea popped into her head. Bella was hesitant to bring it up, but she was pretty desperate at this point. "Help me with my finals?" she asked with big eyes. "For my finals, we're doing a realism project. I need a reference, of the human kind. My problem is that I can't get anyone to help me with it but I really wanna do a good job. You don't have to do much anyways. I have all the supplies. Please."

Her eyes grew big, if she didn't repulse him so much he might find it endearing. But he was too distracted by the fact that she looked kinda like one of those lemur things from Madagascar? He wanted to laugh, but he didn't. He just shrugged, "I could sit somewhere for a few hours." Cody put out his hand to shake her hand as they sat on the bed together. He could hear footsteps down the hall and he quietly whispered to her, "sorry in advance" he said, as he put his lips against hers with his thumb on the side of her chin. The kiss was soft and sweet as he moved in to deepen the kiss, seconds later his mother came in. He waited to break this kiss until his mom had already seen, "so sorry you two, we were just wondering where you'd gone off to" she said. Her eyes were all lit up, thinking her plan had worked so marvelously. "Just get down for dessert, and I'll send you two home with some tupperware for extra dinner when you get hungry. And don't you two worry, it'll be our little secret" said Mrs. Summers as she shut the door behind her. Cody's hands had been on Bella's waist as his mom had talked, but the second the door shut he moved away from her and put his hands back in his lap. "We can discuss terms in the car, and I'm sure the rest of dinner will go fine. 

Mrs. Summers quickly sauntered downstairs, "Well well well, not to toot my own horn but I was absolutely right. The two of them were upstairs getting cozy, I'm sure Founder's Day this year will be a delight" she announced to the table. The two of them came downstairs a few moments later and joined the table. No one said anything about what had just transpired, but Charlie and Nathaniel were making weird eye contact across the table. Charlie was going to ask Nate to come over for drinks after this ... strange dinner.

Bella gave a single nod and smiled. She was proud that she actually went for something she wanted and didn't just settle, but then it hit her that she would have to be with Cody quite a bit. It's not like there was anything wrong about that, but it didn't seem like it would be too fun. As she was reaching out to shake his hand, she furrowed her brows in confusion, not noticing the footsteps. Then his lips were already on hers. So many thoughts were going through her head, but the biggest one was WHY IS HE DOING THIS? She quickly realized what was going on when his mother opened the bedroom door. Bella looked at Mrs. Summers with the same big eyes as before, she was just in a full state of shock. She didn't think she'd be getting kissed tonight by a now fake boyfriend? She then relaxed a bit once she left the room, nodding her head in agreement. "Okay." It might have been the first time she ever gave him a single word response. 

Mrs. Langston's eyes practically lit up once Mrs. Summers told them the news. "This is even better than I thought." she said with a pleased smile. By the time the two got back to the table, Nathaniel kept looking back and forth between Charlie, Bella, and Cody. He thought he had everything figured out, but this was a major curve ball. He'd have to discuss this with Charlie later on. 

Finally the dinner was over, and Bella felt like she could finally breath. She was pretty drained by the end of all of this, but she knew her and Cody needed to discuss the terms. "So do you want to start? I've never pretended I was dating someone so this is all very new." she said as a way to keep things as light hearted as possible.

Cody had to laugh, "it's not like I've ever fake dated someone" the whole thing was her attempt at a joke, but it was preposterous. It's not like he ran around town dating anyone, let alone fake dating. If he was someone who talked and shared, Cody might say something like the last time I dated someone was in high school, and all of that was a little too real. But he wasn't. So he didn't. "I think we should talk about our terms, everything ... comes out even. You do me a favor, I do you a favor. The overarching thing: events with family do not count as a favor. But individual tasks during said event can count as a favor if they are out of the norm. I think at things with dances, we dance at least once an hour. Anything outside of that, for like a favorite song or something, that counts as a favor" he outlined. Cody liked having a game plan, he liked having plays set up. His outlook on life was that everything was a game: something you could win. This was no different.

Bella was trying to take everything in, but it was so much. This felt a lot more complicated than she thought and now she was worried that she was going to mess up somehow. Not only would her parents be disappointed in her lying, but then his family might not like her, and she didn't know if she could take all that. She wanted to be liked so bad. "I feel like I should be taking notes right now. Will there be a point system? Is this a competition? Will the winner get a prize? So many questions." Bella said before she gasped quietly. "What is your favorite song? One of mine is Flightless Bird, American Mouth." She always seemed to get so off track. "Oh I'm sorry. I agree, to everything. I don't mind doing favors, and I appreciate it you do me one." she said with a nod. "Question. Should we keep this from our siblings? Nate kept giving me a weird look and I was scared he was going to ask me something."

He zoned out for a second thinking about Alexandra, "no points, just keeping things even" he responded as he continued to drive. The girl kept popping into his head, it was distracting. He wasn't sure how long he had zoned out again, because she was talking about birds. Cody probably should have been listening, but she quickly moved on from the bird talk. "I mean, I don't really talk to my siblings much anyways. I get most of my updates from instagram" said Cody, being fairly honest. Charlie didn't want much to do with all of them unless there was something going on. Claire was always away, and Channing was ... Channing. "If you want to trust your siblings not to tell, and not to tell mine. You can? But the more people that know the more likely it will be to get out" he warned, "and to remind you again. I have not done this before, that's just how secrets work" he said, just making sure she knew.

"I don't either. He might ask though, but I can lie. I don't think I'm a good liar but maybe this whole thing will make me a better one. I don't know if that's a good thing though." Bella was very aware that her siblings were way closer to each other than with her, but it wasn't something she wanted to talk about. Saying it out loud would make it seem a little too real. Once he brought up not doing the whole fake-dating thing before, she gave him a small smile. She thought he was simply playing along with her joke from before, so she decided to push it. "You sure? I remember you being with someone back in high school. Are you like a fake dating specialist?" she asked, laughing a little afterwards. She of course meant no harm in it, but she definitely should have not brought something like that up. It's not like she enjoyed talking about her past relationships. She had only been with two people, and they treated her terribly. But of course, Bella blamed herself for it.

"I feel like lying is an important skill, how else would you tell children that Santa's real or trick your loved ones into going to a dinner" said Cody, he felt like his parents lied about things all the time. That's how they got anyone to do anything, especially their children. When she brought up Alexandra, he knew she meant no harm but it did hurt. "First favor" he said sternly, "never talk about her, or ask about her." He knew this meant that he automatically owed her one, but it was worth it to not have to get personal with her. She ruined Cody, he really thought he was in love. He thought he had found his person, and he was just dropped like it was nothing. It had been everything to him, to have someone to spend all his time with. Someone he could share with, he let all of his friendships go to be with the girl because she took up so much of his time. The last two years of high school had been rough, trying to catch up with everyone who had gotten close while he had been in relationship land.

"Yeah, that's true..." Bella mumbled, she wasn't going to argue on it. She never liked to argue. There was also some part of her that felt like she was lying all the time. If she kept in how she truly felt, was that considered lying? Was she just living an entire lie by pleasing other people? It made her embarrassed just thinking about it. Her eyes went wide when he ask for the first favor, she could feel her heart sink. "I'm so sorry. I won't, I promise. That was really stupid. I was just making a joke, not that I'm making an excuse or anything! I'm really sorry." she quickly spoke. Bella was going to mention how she didn't need the favor to be returned, but she didn't want to already go against the terms that were created. There was no need to upset Cody even more. Her knee started to bounce again as she looked out the window. Any little mistake she made set her off, she couldn't believe she would be so heartless and bring up something like that.

He took a breath, "it's fine, really. I just prefer to not think her into existence" said the boy. Cody had paranoia that if he thought about people they would suddenly pop up and make everything worse. Cody reached for his phone and put on Put Your Records On by Ritt Momney it was just a nice soft song. He didn't always listen to music like this, but it was relaxing. On the drive over they had been in silence, but he needed something to fill the space in the car that thoughts of his ex was filling. Taking the edge off was important because her fucking knee was shaking again, god did she have to wear her anxious energy so publicly? "Do you have any more terms you want to add in? Or do you want some time to think about it?" Cody asked. The most fool proof way for them to pull this off was for them to both be happy-ish with what they were getting out of it. That meant being clear from the start. "Obviously there's an unwritten rule that you don't fall in love with me" said the boy as they pulled into the school parking lot, he looked at her and smiled and then just broke into laughter. Bella Langston and Cody Summers being in love was the funniest joke all evening.

Bella bopped her head slowly to the beat of the song, but her thoughts were still filled with her little mess up she made a few minutes ago. She turned her attention over to Cody as she heard his voice, "Hm, well should we get to know each other better? Or get our story straight. Would your family ask us how we started seeing each other?" she asked before another thought came to mind. "Oh and that class of mine? It's on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but Thursdays are for working on the project. Are Thursdays okay with you?" Once Cody mentioned the unwritten rule of not falling in love, she cracked a smile. That won't be hard. was the first thought that came to mind, but she instantly felt bad for even thinking it. Maybe she was still upset about those stupid BJ jokes from when they were kids, but she just knew that Cody Summers was not her type. Instead of saying what she initially thought, Bella saluted the boy, "Aye aye captain. Same goes for you."

Cody had been so lost in the game plans for in person interaction, he hadn't even thought about backstory. Maybe she was good for something, they seemed to be making a good team. Cody pulled the car out of the school parking lot, "If we're going to come up with a good story, we're going to need actual dessert, and by actual dessert I mean drive through ice cream. "Class on Thursday, I can put it in my calendar. You might have to text me and remind me anyways though" said the boy as he drove onto the interstate and went to the next town over for fast food. The worst thing about living here was definitely the lack of fast food, it was all healthyish small businesses. "So the docket is we need a good why we got together story, we need to know where we are in the relationship, how long we've dated, anything else like that?" he asked as he continued to drive, pulling into the DQ drive thru.

Bella's eyes lit up when Cody mentioned ice cream, "Very smart Cody Summers! Ice cream helps the brain work a little better." she tapped her forehead a couple times with an excited smile on her face. She wasn't used to spending so much time with someone, she usually kept to herself, but she was glad he wasn't completely sick of her yet. "I could do that." Bella went into her phone and put a reminder every Thursday to text Cody about the project. It's not like she was going to forget, this was the most important piece she's ever done for school, but having a reminder wouldn't hurt. "Okay, so maybe we haven't been together for too long. Just so we don't have to create too many fake stories or act like we know everything about each other. Right? Plus we definitely told them that we didn't have a date to Founder's Day. But!" she put her index finger up as if she had a plan. "I think I figured out a way to save us from that. We could be like, we didn't want to announce our relationship during the dinner in front of everyone, because this dinner wasn't just about us. We wanted everyone to feel important tonight." she pitched her voice a bit higher as she acted out the scene. "It makes us look all selfless."

Cody pulled up to the drive through and the two put in their order. "Yeah we don't want too many backstory things. Maybe just that it was casual at first" said the boy as he pulled up to the next window and paid, getting their ice cream and thanking the staff person. "We can even take it as far as we just weren't sure where we were at yet and didn't want to assume anything also" said the boy as he pulled into a parking spot and started to eat his dipped cone. "and that when we went upstairs we had a talk about how we didn't actually want to go with anyone else, because that's dumb" he added. He thought it might be easier if they set the timeline to as close to the dinner as possible, "and maybe we can even say that we decided we were going steady or whatever during that talk upstairs. That way you don't look like you've been lying." The whole plan was genius, every conversation he had with his parents from here on out would be about Bella and he could just lie and say things were good. There would be so much less talk about all the other moving parts of his life. It was going to be such a wave of relief to have that burden off of him.

Bella automatically reached into her bag to grab her card, but noticed Cody was already paying for it. "Oh you didn't have to do that, but thank you. Next time will be on me, promise." she said with a kind smile before listening to his plan. It really did seem like he had done this before, he pretty much had it all figured out. "Wow, you're really good with game plans. Is that some kind of sixth sense for football players?" she asked as she began to eat her ice cream cone, making sure to not let it drip in his car. "Should we say we started talking to each other sometime this semester? To keep it vague, since it didn't mean much at first?" she asked. Bella was going through every possible scenario in her head. She wasn't sure how much her parents would ask, but she did know they'd be happy about this. Even though it was a complete lie, she was sort of excited to experience her parents being genuinely proud of her. She felt so disconnected from her family, but maybe this would make her feel like she belonged. "We should get to know each other more, right? Just in general. I think that'll help."

It was his instinct to pay since it had been his idea, "we're gonna have a lot of things like this anyways, might as well keep it on the favor rotation" said the boy. It was only fair, and it wasn't like money super mattered between the two of them. They were definitely still getting that silver spoon from their parents, otherwise how would they even have the problem of having to date. "Sort of. With my siblings, you kinda need to learn strategy. And yeah, that sounds good, like it was just a casual thing from a party that turned into coffee and studying" said the boy shrugging a little as he went back to his cone. "I'm sure we'll get to know each other enough at the stuff we'll be at. It'll come as it would anyways, unless you want notecards with all my favorite things on them" he said sarcastically.

"Sounds like a plan." Bella gave Cody a thumbs up. Once he mentioned them meeting at a party, she quickly shook her head, "Wait, I don't think that's gonna work. Us hitting things off at a party? They'll know I'm lying, trust me." When Bella was at home, she usually stayed to herself. She never went to parties unless her ex, Landon, dragged her to something. If she wanted to be somewhere other than her room, she would go to the beach in the middle of the night. The girl liked her alone time. "Notecards? I like that!" she said enthusiastically, completely missing the sarcasm. Catching social cues wasn't her thing. "I'll make some for you when I get back to my room." Just then, another thought popped into her head, "Another question. What are we going to do about all the people here from our hometown? Some of them are going to talk, I just know it. Do we have to pretend here too? Oh no, and what about social media? Do I have to start posting you on my instagram?" she started to ask questions quickly, so many thoughts were running through her head.

Cody was mostly paying attention to his cone, but he knew that if they were going to do this it shouldn't be half baked. "Then hitting it off just ... like at school randomly?" He tried to think of a better idea, "what about one of those things where we literally ran into each other. That's always cute?" he wasn't really sure why he described it as cute, but he knew his mom would enjoy the story. Charlie and Alice had a really ... disgustingly adorable story. "Then we could have gotten coffee, realized we were a little different than our perceptions of each other in high school ... started hanging out more often. Studying together and stuff as friends, and from there it just worked" Cody was mostly spitballing, but he wanted to meet her where she was at. Then she started talking about notecards, and he really had meant it as a joke. But the sentiment stood, he didn't want to have her bail on him. They both needed to be all in, or else his parents were going to straight up yell at him and get way too invested in his life. "Um, I guess we ... have to date publicly? We don't need to do any posts, but like stories? And I promise to keep my extra curriculars, if you know what i mean, to a higher level of discretion than I'm used to" he leveled with her.

Bella was pleasantly surprised with how quickly Cody was able to come up with something, she felt like her brain couldn't work that fast. She almost asked him what his perception of her back in high school was, but she held off on that. She didn't want to hear the answer. Even though she never thought too highly of him, hearing what he would have to say would still hurt her feelings. Bella was never well liked by people in her hometown, at least Cody had friends. "Bumping into each other, getting coffee, hanging out..." she mumbled to herself as she was going over everything he said. "Yep, I think that's the one. Ladies and gentlemen we have winner." Bella wasn't exactly thrilled to hear him say that they needed to keep this relationship up at school, but it did make sense. There were too many blabbermouths from their hometown here. "Um, sex? You're talking about sex, right? Cause it's fine, you could say it." If she knew one thing, it was that Cody didn't keep that part of his life on the down-low. Did he think she was some kind of delicate, innocent being? It was kind of the truth, but she still felt a bit offended. "Just please don't get caught. I don't wanna get cheated on by a fake boyfriend. That's kinda sad."

Cody wasn't completely sure why he censored himself around her, she just seemed like the kind of girl who didn't really do much. She had dated Landon and another person, but ... it was Landon. "I mean, I don't want to be the guy caught cheating whether or not its real or fake" said the boy, emphasizing the word caught. He'd never cheated on anyone actually, and it wasn't something he was interested in. His friend had explained to him that cheating is never something anyone wants to do, it just happens in the moment. Or the temptation presents itself and it's too good to pass up. He had never particularly felt that way about anyone, and he hadn't dated in almost four years. When you're that young and in love, cheating doesn't really sound tempting at all. You're more thankful than anything that you have someone to spend time with. But she had gone and destroyed all of that, and him in the process. "I'll keep the sex to a minimum, you too?" he said, "because people would expect that from me, but from you? That would be a town scandal all in itself." He knew people thought he was a dirtbag, and most of the time he either believed it or he played into it. Cody finished his cone and started the car again, "I'm sure we're going to have plenty of things to go to as a couple anyways, so we don't need to spend any extra time together unless it's for a favor."

So you've never cheated before? The question popped into her head, and thankfully she didn't ask out loud. It didn't change the fact that she felt terrible for thinking it though. He just sort of seemed like he had. She had heard stories about a few of his friends, so she assumed he was the same way. It's not like they all acted too differently in her eyes. She tried to stay away from that kind of crowd, mainly because she was incredibly intimidated by them. "Oh. Yes. I will keep the sex to a minimum." she answered back very awkwardly, and for some reason, decided to give him a thumbs up as well. Bella was not having sex. At all. The last and only person she had been with was Landon, and that didn't seem like it was going to change any time soon. She was the kind of person that actively avoided the people she was attracted too, simply because she was too nervous to go up and talk to them. "I guess I should go ahead and apologize in advanced for my parents." Bella said as she thought about how often he'd be around them. "They're weirdos." she rolled her eyes as she finished up her ice cream cone. "Anyways, I'm fine with only seeing each other for favors, and thank you for agreeing to help me with my finals. I promise I'll do you justice, and if it's good enough, it'll be at the summer exhibit. That's what I'm aiming for."

This was more the behavior he was expecting from her -deeply awkward and uncomfortable-. "I also apologize for my parents in advance, they're really nosey. I have no idea how Charlie and Alice managed to deal with them, especially with the family feud. Luckily that's laid to rest" said the boy as he focused on the road and got them back to school. "I think this is going to be good, and when it stops paying off or one of us wants to be involved with someone else we can stage a breakup that will get us out of even more things for a very long time." He could see it now: a very public breakup for their only in public relationship. As much damage as Alexandra did to him, there was at least a year that his parents didn't really ask anything of him. They just let him be a lifeless robot and stay in his room all the time. That's how all the kids liked to operate, they were creatures of their rooms. You'd be shocked to know that six people lived in their house sometimes, everyone could leave the state on a Wednesday night and no one would notice until Sunday Brunch when they were suddenly alone at the dinner table.

Bella was well aware of the family feud between Cody's family and Alice's. Everyone knew about everything that went on in their hometown. She was a bit nervous about his parent's being nosey though. Bella always had to act and talk a certain way in front of parents, it was so draining. Now she had to add on to the lie and pretend to be their son's girlfriend. "Ooh what will be the reason for our breakup? Do I have to start learning how to cry on command? Do you know know how to cry on command?" she started asking questions quickly, but continued to speak before he got the chance to answer. "I guess we can figure all of that out later. It's kind of intense, I feel like I'm in a movie. Fake dating is a good trope, didn't think I'd actually live it out." Bella continued on with a smile before they arrived back at the school parking lot. "I think we have everything covered. I'll see you on Thursday? Oh, I'll also give this back to you too." she pointed at the dress she was wearing.

Bella was well aware of the family feud between Cody's family and Alice's. Everyone knew about everything that went on in their hometown. She was a bit nervous about his parent's being nosey though. Bella always had to act and talk a certain way in front of parents, it was so draining. Now she had to add on to the lie and pretend to be their son's girlfriend. "Ooh what will be the reason for our breakup? Do I have to start learning how to cry on command? Do you know know how to cry on command?" she started asking questions quickly, but continued to speak before he got the chance to answer. "I guess we can figure all of that out later. It's kind of intense, I feel like I'm in a movie. Fake dating is a good trope, didn't think I'd actually live it out." Bella continued on with a smile before they arrived back at the school parking lot. "I think we have everything covered. I'll see you on Thursday? Oh, I'll also give this back to you too." she pointed at the dress she was wearing.

Bella did love the whole part of the fake dating trope where the people actually fall in love, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. She would never think about Cody Summers like that, it even seemed far fetched to imagine them as friends by the end of this. Before she got out of the car, Bella reached into her bag and tossed one of the Arcor strawberry candies into the cup holder, she made sure she had them on her at all times. "Goodnight, fake boyfriend." she said as she did a small curtsy. This wasn't how she expected her night to go at all, but all she hoped for was to get some good out of this. It was for her parents, and for her art. //END