"You're gonna be fine, Louis."

Clementine's words didn't do much to qualm Louis's fears. His heart rate had risen to critical levels, lodging itself in his throat. He turned the key to the left, killing the engine of his car. He looked through the windshield, seeing the sun setting on the horizon. Lucky sun, he thought ruefully.

"What if he hates me?" he suggested, glancing at Clementine on his right.

She was wearing a beautiful blue dress with spaghetti straps. At his request, she'd put on barely any makeup. She was beautiful either way, he'd argued, making her blush. According to him, her blush was the best makeup she could ever wear. She'd let her short hair loose, her brown curls cascading like a waterfall over her shoulders. Her amber eyes looked him up and down, her brows raised.

"My dad won't hate you," she assured him, rolling her eyes. "Look at it this way: I love you, and he loves me. So by principle of transitivity, he has to love you too."

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," she shrugged, adjusting the collar flaps on his shirt. "But I'll be there to hold him back, so don't you worry."

"That's comforting," he joked, getting out of the car and glancing at the front door. Lee's place was a modest house with one floor. Its walls were painted light blue, contrasting with the bright yellow front door. Clem had told him about the time she'd convinced her dad to let her pain the front door, and how he'd regretted it ever since. A white Sedan was parked on the driveway, facing a small garage.

The couple walked hand in hand toward the door. Louis's hands were a sweaty mess. Sensing his nervousness profusely, she gave him a reassuring squeeze. When they got there, Clem fumbled in her purse for her spare key. She found it quickly and looked up at her boyfriend.

"You alright?" she asked once more.

"I think I'm good," he said, his lips forming a thin line on his face.

Pecking Louis on the lips one last time, Clementine turned the key and swung the door open. Once inside, Louis looked around carefully. The wall to his right was covered with pictures of Lee and Clementine. He examined a couple of them with a small smile on his face.

In one of them, Clementine was wearing her soccer kit, the ball at her feet. The look on her face suggested she didn't appreciate the photo being taken, and he looked back at his girlfriend with a chuckle. Rolling her eyes, she slapped him playfully on the shoulder. Another photo depicted a seven-year-old Clementine on Lee's shoulders, her round face contorted in uproarious laughter.

He was about to comment further when a deep voice cut through his thoughts and made his breath hitch. "Glad you guys could make it," Lee said from behind him.

Louis turned and looked into the eyes of his girlfriend's father. The man was about Louis's height. His black hair was cut short and his graying beard was trimmed. He wore a blue short-sleeved shirt over a white long-sleeved one. Clementine was the first to react to the older man's appearance, launching herself at him.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "It's been so long."

"That it has, sweet pea," Lee said, wrapping his strong arms around her. His brown eyes met Louis's and he raised an eyebrow. "This must be Louis."

Clem broke the embrace and stepped back, letting her boyfriend do the talking. Remembering his brief training with Clementine, he shook the man's hand firmly and nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," he said, trying to keep his composure as best he could.

Lee shook his hand, his brows knitting at the mention of the word 'sir'. He chuckled, glancing at his daughter.

"Clem told you to call me that, didn't she?" he asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

Louis's eyes opened wide. He stared at his girlfriend, who giggled and shrugged. "Yes, she did," Louis said, squinting at her.

"Well, for future reference," Lee said with a smile, before switching to a stern face, "never call me sir. Call me Lee."

"Understood."

The trio made their way from the hallway into the living room. It was a cozy place with two couches facing each other and a small mahogany coffee table in between them. On the back wall was a hearth with a small fire burning in it. The mantelpiece was covered in pictures of Clem, Lee, and Clem's little brother, AJ.

Clem and Louis took a seat at one of the couches, Louis making sure to keep a small distance away from her. He kept his hands in his lap, looking around the room. A few trinkets rested on the coffee table. One of them was a small figurine of a civil war soldier, his bayonet held high. Dad's a US History nut, Clem had warned him.

"Dinner will be ready in a bit," Lee told them, clapping his hands together. "I'll call AJ down."

With that, he stepped out of the room and into what Louis assumed was the kitchen. Louis let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, making Clem chuckle from beside him.

"I'm glad someone's having a good time, at least," he joked, shortening the distance between them now that Lee was gone.

She looked into his eyes, amber piercing through brown. With a small peck of his lips, she smiled. "You're doing great," she assured him. "He can act tough, but he's a softie at heart."

Louis was about to reply when a shrill cry came from the door to the hallway. "Clem!" They both turned to see AJ running at them, wrapping his small arms around Clementine. "You're home!" he exclaimed, burying his head in the crook of her neck.

"Hey there, goofball," she said, patting his back.

"Are you back for real now?" the boy asked hopefully, a beaming smile on his face.

"Not yet, kiddo," she said, frowning. "I just have one more year of college and then I'm back home, okay?"

The boy frowned but nodded nonetheless. He looked at Louis with a tilted head, "Who are you?" he asked.

Louis smiled at AJ and extended his hand. The boy shook it hesitantly. "I'm Louis," he quipped. "Clem's boyfriend."

AJ was about to say something in response when Lee's voice came from the dining room. "Dinner's ready!"

The three of them stood up and marched into the dining room, where Lee was waiting for them with a pot of pasta on the table. AJ took the spot nearest Lee, and Louis and Clem sat next to each other on the other side of the table. The older man served everyone a plate and ruffled AJ's hair as he sat back down.

Dinner consisted of spaghetti with tomato sauce and small bits of chopped meat. He dug into it, sighing when he swallowed the first bite. He looked at Lee, who smiled. "These are amazing, si–," he caught himself, chuckling. "These are great, Lee."

"Thank you, Louis," the man said, nodding. "It's a special Everett recipe, actually. I used to make it for Clem all the time when she was little."

Clem rolled her eyes, smiling at her father. "It wasn't all the time, dad."

Lee shook his head and mumbled something with his mouth full, making AJ laugh. He swallowed and said, "I distinctively remember you asking for it at least once a week between the ages of five and nine."

They all laughed and continued with dinner. AJ was the first to finish his plate, demanding a second serving. Before Lee could oblige, Louis stood up and served the boy with seconds, offering him a wink. Clem finished second, pushing the plate aside and turning to her brother.

"So how is school going, goofball," she asked with a soft smile.

AJ's face lit up, and he began talking at full speed. "Oh, Clem, you don't even know. We've been studying the Civil War in History, and the teacher was always shushing me because I kept saying facts about it. My friends thought it was hilarious, though. There's this new kid in class called Micah, but he doesn't talk much. The other day, Josh and I found this tabby cat in the courtyard and chased it for like ten minutes."

"Did you catch it?" Louis asked, leaning on the table. He wore a similar smile to AJ's, setting his elbows on the edge of the table.

"Nah," AJ said, grinning. "We were just trying to scare it."

"Sounds like a lot of fun," Louis guessed, nodding.

"It was."

AJ dug into the spaghetti once more, his cheeks getting smeared with sauce in barely two seconds. Lee chuckled and shook his head, using a napkin to clean his son's face. He turned to Louis and cocked his head.

"So Clem tells me you're studying music?" he said.

"Guilty," Louis quipped, beaming broadly. "Going on my third year of college."

"He also plays the piano at bars and stuff," Clem added, placing a hand on Louis's and making his blush. She turned to her boyfriend and raised her eyebrows. "Tell dad about that gig you had last week."

Louis fumbled for words, his cheeks red and his brow creased. "I don't think he wants to hear about that."

"Oh, I'd love to," Lee assured the man, intertwining his fingers in front of him on the table. Very professor-like, Louis thought.

The freckled man nodded nervously. "Well, it was in a university bar a few blocks from college," he explained, his hands shaking in his lap. "It was stupid," he mumbled, looking down.

"You sold out at the entrance," Clem exclaimed, slapping him playfully on the shoulder. "Scott said he hadn't had that many people in a long time."

"That is impressive, Louis," Lee agreed, nodding slowly. "Congratulations," he added, lifting his glass of water.

"Thank you."

After that, Clementine took the opportunity to talk to Lee about something, which gave Louis time to think. Things are going great, aren't they? he thought. He noticed AJ playing with the remainders of his food, his head resting comfortably on his hand. As Lee and Clem were still chatting absently, he leaned in.

"Hey there, little dude," he said. "You wanna see a magic trick?"

AJ's face lit up and he looked up, a smile tugging at his lips. "Sure!"

Louis fumbled in his pocket for his trusty deck of cards, shuffling them a few times. He attempted to flick a card like he'd seen that kid James do on campus, but it ended up almost scratching his eye. Blowing past it, he fanned the cards in front of AJ, instructing him to pick one. He did and looked at its face for a moment before placing it back in the deck.

Louis nodded and shuffled the deck once more. He hadn't noticed that Lee and Clementine had stopped talking and were intently watching him perform his trick. Carefully, Clem moved the plate to the right. Louis thanked her with a smile and set the deck neatly on the table. Theatrically, as was his usual style, he hovered his shaky hands over it and drew circles in the air, to AJ's amusement.

Once he was sure he got it right, he took the cards again and split them. He gave AJ one half and kept one to himself.

"I want you to fan those out on the table and tell me if your card is in there," he told the boy.

AJ did as he said, carefully inspecting the faces of the twenty-something cards and shaking his head. "It's not."

"As I predicted," Louis announced. He noticed Lee leaning on the table, raising an eyebrow at him.

For the second part of his trick, he split his own half thrice and pretended to examine them closely. He even sniffed them for good measure, earning a chuckle from AJ. Coming to a conclusion, he tapped the two decks on either side and instructed the boy to search for his card there. Again, it wasn't.

Taking the remaining ten cards in the middle stack, he lodged them between two of his fingers in his closed hand. His hand hovered over the table, the cards facing down. "I want you to think of your card, alright?" he asked.

"Okay, I am," AJ said, nodding.

"Now, I want you to slap the cards from my hand. As hard as you can."

AJ took it literally and even ended up slapping Louis's hand in the process. Just as planned, one card remained in his hand's grasp. He made it a point to show that there was nothing under his sleeves or even in his hair and then placed the card face down in front of AJ.

"Is this your card, little dude?"

AJ took the card and gasped when he revealed the Jack of hearts. "It is!" he exclaimed, showing his card to Lee. "How did you do it?"

"Ah, a magician never reveals his secrets," Louis assured him, wiggling his fingers at the boy.

"You've never shown me that one," Clementine said from his side. He shrugged.

"I just learned it this morning."

"You're a man of many talents, Louis," said Lee, grinning through his graying beard. He clapped his hands and stood up, heading for the kitchen. "I'll bring out dessert."

He was only gone for three minutes before he came back inside with four plates and holding a single cantaloupe. Louis's face scrunched up at the sight of the fruit, his lips pursed. Clem laughed at his boyfriend's expression, placing a comforting hand on his own.

"Dad, Louis hates cantaloupe," she told her father. "He gets PTSD just looking at it," she teased, poking at Louis's ribs.

"I do not hate cantaloupe," he assured her, eyeing the fruit on the table. Disgusting, he thought. "I just prefer other foods to it."

"Other foods meaning all other foods, right?"

"Perhaps…"

"Well, I hope you're full then because I don't have much else," Lee said apologetically, already cutting a slice of it for Clem and AJ.

"It's okay, Lee," he assured the older man. "The spaghetti was amazing anyway."

They resorted to small talk as the three Everetts delved into the dessert. Louis inserted himself into the conversation with a few jokes, trying to calm his shaking hands. Once Lee laughed at one of them, he managed to relax a bit. Clem's left hand slithered over his leg, drawing small circles on it. He looked down at her, and she smiled.

"I love you," she mouthed through a mouthful of cantaloupe.

"Me too," he whispered, placing his right hand over hers and intertwining their fingers.

Once the fruit was entirely gone, leaving a small trail of seeds over the plate, Lee stood up. He instructed AJ to clean up, promising he'd read him a bedtime story later. The boy obeyed, stacking the plates neatly. Lee looked at Louis and raised his eyebrows.

"Louis, would you mind accompanying me to the living room?" he asked, probably a little more sternly than he'd intended. Louis gulped but obeyed nonetheless.

Before the door closed behind them, he heard AJ ask Clem, "Why was Louis making so many jokes?"

"He's just nervous," Clem replied, chuckling.

"Why?"

"Well, he hasn't met you guys before. It's new for him," she explained.

"I'm not new. I've been here the whole time."

The last thing he heard was Clementine laughing. Lee instructed he sit down on one of the couches, taking a seat on the one in front of him. He stayed silent, eyeing the freckled man for a few moments. Seemingly sensing Louis's discomfort, the man smiled.

"Relax, you're doing great," he said.

"What?" stuttered Louis, raising an eyebrow.

"I know how hard it is to meet a girl's parents," the man said, nodding. "I went through the same thing with Debbie's parents way back when."

"Clem never mentions her mom," Louis said, looking down at her hands.

"She wouldn't. Unfortunately, Debbie passed when Clem was barely a year old. Car accident."

"I'm so sorry, Lee," Louis said, pursing his lips.

Lee chuckled, taking a sip of his water and setting the glass on the coffee table. "Don't be," he assured him. "It's not your fault. Ever since then, I've raised Clementine on my own, so I'm sure you can appreciate me being a little picky with Clem's boyfriends."

The thought of Clem being with other guys before him always rubbed him the wrong way, but he managed a smile for the older man sitting across from him. "I'm sure it's not easy letting your little girl go."

"It is not," Lee agreed, nodding. "I remember when she left home to go to college, and then her telling me she got a boyfriend. I was lucky to have AJ here with me. I noticed the way you and him bonded. You have any brothers or sisters of your own?"

Louis grimaced, thinking of little Sam. Closing his eyes, he said, "I do, but I haven't seen him in a while. I was kicked out of my home when I was fifteen. My friend Marlon took me in until I found a place of my own."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be," Louis said, looking up at him with a grin. "It's not your fault. I guess I was just nervous, and AJ seemed to be a little bored while you and Clem caught up."

"You don't seem that nervous, though," Lee pointed out, tilting his head.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm fully freaking out," Louis assured him.

"That's the spirit," chuckled Lee. "I noticed the way Clem looks at you, Louis. I hate to admit I haven't seen her that happy in a long time. She's been with someone before, but that didn't end well; for her or for the guy that broke her heart…" he trailed off, leaving Louis to fill in the blanks.

"Tell me something. Do you love my daughter?" he asked then.

Louis allowed himself to smile, thinking of Clem. They'd been dating for almost two years now, and he could safely say it had been the best two years of his life. He was already planning on asking her to move in with him provided meeting her father went well.

"I love her," he said, the words rolling sweetly off his tongue. "And believe me, Lee. She's the love of my life, and I'd die before I let anything happen to her."

Lee nodded, letting a smile settle on his face. "That's what I want to hear. Because if not, I'd have to break your legs," he said deadpanned, making Louis gulp. After a few seconds of staring at the young man, Lee burst into laughter.

"What I'm trying to say is," he added. "Welcome to the family"