Two days later jack and his dad went for a one hour swim, fifteen minutes after they woke up, which for them was seven but for californians six in the morning so that by seven in the morning for californians they were clambering out and getting dressed in comfortable clothes for the one hour drive”alright how about we’ll eat breakfast here for about a half an hour and then get in the car and we’ll be there at around”dad had then checked his watch before saying”eight forty five,a bit early we could just walk around that area then there are a few nice parks I wanted to go to in that area because we arranged to meet at ten”.and then before Jack knew what was happening they were there,after the hour long drive they had finally reached Kelts house,it was considerably smaller than jacks and his dad house considering the fact that they were probably more than two.”alright then theres a nice park about five minutes walk from here,and since we didn't have too hearty of a breakfast and driving makes me,at least,quite hungry,if i am correct there is a nice cafe in the middle of all the hussle and bussle”dad said as they stepped out.Jack slid out of the back seat and cautiously stretched his slightly sore well-everything”alright,that's fine with me,after all you're the boss”jack said while itching one of those random itches that tend to get in the way of stuff“great,then lets go”.
* * *
“Oopsie,sorry dad.it was a mistake after all...”jack trailed off nervously while staring at the place where his ice tea had made contact with dads clothing and which by now had turned from a small stain to a rapidly growing medium sized stain”its fine”michael answered distractedly while pulling up his sleeve to check the time”we gotta go now jack.it’s nine fifty and we ought to come a couple minutes early, plus we did wander a bit further”
“Whoa,seriously,it's time already””yup now lets go,when you were in the bathroom i paid”dad said as jack slid out of the slightly uncomfortable cafe booth.”nice house there”jack said looking up at the kelts house as he and mr.northcott walked up the flower lined cobblestone”yeah,alright...”dad mumbled nervously while adjusting his tie which jack had asked him to not wear,he then squared his shoulders,lifted his chin and knocked on the front door.Jack stiffened slightly at the sound of footsteps,he was expecting a tall man most probably with blonde hair and sharp features but instead he nearly laughed at the man who opened the door who was the quite literally the exact opposite of the person his imagination had conjured:he was short to the extent that he was only about five inches taller then jack,he was completely bald despite the fact that his head didn't shine or catch the light although jack noted that he did indeed have a red mustache one of those french ones that seem quite rare and funny to find especially in red hair and on bald short men,but jack only lingered on those minor details for a few seconds before noticing gratefully that the man had a good natured look to him and he had a polite smile etched everywhere on his face”hello roman kelt I’m michael northcott as you already know,it is quite pleasant indeed to see you in person”mr.northcott said in a very smooth,pleasant and business like tone as he stretched out his hand,one of which jack had never heard him talk with before and which made him quite glad that dad had added a pleasant chuckle towards the end”very nice,very nice,i’ve been looking forward why don't you come on inside with your son after all we did agree to meet in my house rather than the office for a reason”mr.kelt said as he grasped and then shook jack’s dad’s hand.Jack noticed that he was also wearing a tie”alrighty then kiddo,me and your dad are gonna go to my office upstairs,zayn is right in that room over there”mr.kelt said before he and michael both walked up the stairs and disappeared into a room.Jack walked into the room which roman had pointed to and as he did so he passed a mirror,his face was very white which caused his wavy jet black hair to stand out more than usual and the worst part of all this was that his looks were betraying his feelings,on the inside he felt calm if not confident”hey there, I’m zayn what's your name again?my dad mentioned it but it slipped my mind”jack startled from his broodings to see zayn kelt sitting at a table with a phone resting face down next to his hand which was laying on the table,he had considerably tan skin,a wave of red hair with natural blonde highlights,blue eyes he was also a bit taller then jack and most importantly of all he had no freckles”oh yeah nice,i'm jack north-””but he was cut across by zayn”my dad was very nervous for this“very important meeting”so i know your last name all too well”he said while patting the seat to him,it was really hard for jack not to laugh at the way zayn imitated his father’s voice and in the end he gave in and started laughing,and once he started,his tense body couldn't stop.And so it was that jack and zayn,two boys who have met each other mere moments earlier laughed and laughed till their ribs felt like they were cracking”what are we even laughing about”zayn gasped,with a grin still spread out on his face”i don’t know,that why it’s funny”jack said and they started laughing again.By the time they stopped jack felt much more comfortable and relaxed and he pointed to a girl who had just walked into the kitchen”who’s that?is she your sister?”he said as zayn followed his gaze”yeah,unfortunately,her names poppy”he muttered a bit too darkly”come on she can't possibly be that bad, i mean i have a few friends that have siblings and boy do they hate it but...i don't know you just said that very darkly”jack said,backing away ever so slightly”yeah, well, cause, okay here goes”zayn overcame his moment of hesitation pretty quickly”well first of all she had cancer very recently and is actually still recovering so she’s bald second of all she’s the youngest in the family and third of all she’s the only girl in the family”he stopped and stared at jack as though he had just settled the matter”um”jack offered a variety of prompting noises”oh,right,i forgot about the main point.because of all this my parents spoiled her,spoil her and always will which turned her into a brat!”zayn said heatedly”oh um”jack said,he was about to open his mouth to say something else when someone else,a new voice talked from the kitchen”you know that i heard everything you just said,right?cause you weren't really troubling to keep your voice down”they both turned to see poppy(jack really thought that only dogs had that name)standing in the doorway with one hand on her hip and her blue eyes rapidly tearing up”um,duh,of course i knew”zayn said sarcastically while rolling his eyes”anyway that doesn't really matter now cause apparently i’m a rat”she huffed,clearly offended”i think she needs her ears checked also”mumbled zayn while jack just stared from one sibling to the other.Before anyone could move a muscle though poppy screwed up her eyes and hollered”MOMMMM ZAYN IS BEING MEAN WITH HIS FRIEND”she bellowed in a voice that any child(including jack and zayn)who heard would recognize the art within yet it was clear that all or at least most adults did not,so moments later a pretty woman with wavy blonde hair and unsurprisingly blue eyes came into the room.The longer jack looked at her the more he realized she had a small hump at her stomach,one of which did not fit in with the rest of the skinny(yet still not too skinny)body.She opened her mouth to talk and indeed started but her words were drowned out by footsteps down the stairs and then another unfamiliar voice”what's all the commotion about-oh is it poppy again,typical,”jack turned to the voice to see who was talking and wasn't all too surprised yet still slightly to see an exact copy of zayn yet in older version and with headphones around his neck,standing in the open space”oh,hey,you must be jack northcott,i know all about you,dad loves to rant when he’s nervous or excited and he has a useful tendency to let out just a bit too much at times as such””and nick i think you inherited that from him”mrs.kelt sharply cut across her eldest son although the kind twinkle stayed in her eyes as before”seriously mom””oh i see we caught the party in motion”roman had entered the room and was gleefully rubbing his hands together with michael at his heels”well honey the case really isn't so”zayn's mom said lightly”oh really,then please explain this congregation of sorts that is taking place in front of me”he said although jack did notice that his smile thinned slightly”well,it’s a really long story”mrs.kelt said while glancing at poppy who was crying(most probably faking)in the corner of the room”and i do hope that your finished because these boys at least together shouldn't be around poppy””well actually we aren't done but we have indeed hit a dead end and are in need of driving about a one hours drive to one of the further warehouses”he said while nervously glancing at his wife for her reaction at the news,her lips turned into a tight smile”that's amazing,then i hope you could take these two boys along”she said while gesturing to jack and zayn,jack of whom was extremely red in the face and upset with himself at having gotten this person on his bad side already”oh yes,that's alright.Then how about zayn and jack be ready to leave in five minutes,me and michael have got to gather a few stuff”he said before starting up the stairs”oh and zayn please remember to take your phone”he said before disappearing once again into his office.No sooner than five later the four of them were standing at the door with mrs.kelt on the stairs and poppy hiding her gleeful grin by staying upstairs although she still had a full view of the proceedings”well then around what time will you be home?”mrs.kelt asked nervously while bustling to fix up mr.kelts tie”well it's about an hours drive if not more so i’ll just say an estimate four,but it’ll probably take shorter maybe and most highly unlikely longer”he said while gently pushing her away as jack’s dad opened the door”well,alright then.Boys take care and listen to your fathers”she said,turning to them instead”bye pa”poppy said but then bolted herself in her bedroom at the muttering from nick that only she could hear”enough of that nick,why don’t you work for a change,don't you have three essays due tomorrow”and with that zayn’s mother went chasing after her oldest child”well then i guess that now the party is over we should leave”michael said as he pushed open the front door to the kelt’s house and stepped onto their driveway”dad whos in which car”jack asked his father”well i suppose...hm,i really don’t know””how about the boys go in your car,i mean od course only if you don’t mind.i’m quite sure that your rental car will be much cleaner”roman chuckled.Jack and zayn got into the kelley blue ford explorer both of them trying but failing miserably at hiding how excited they were.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.