The long hallway was eliminated of all previous sounds, now the only noises present were light breaths. Spencer gazed down at his watch as he advanced through the empty corridor. It was seven fifty-five, and he knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to allow himself to be late. He had always had a habit of being either early, or dead center on time. It has been like that ever since he reached freshman year. He was always the one kid that arrived in class first. Didn’t matter if the classroom was locked or open, he always was first in line for everything. Got the first pick of everything. Everything. He got called lots of names because of it, such as “Teachers Pet”, “Pet”, and one of his tormentor's favorites: “Mutt”. They always seemed to have chosen any name that corresponded to anything that was similar or stood for a dog. Did he know why? No, and he didn’t bother to get answers.

He closed in on the large spruce doors, pushing up his glasses as he felt them beginning to sneak down his nose. He approached the doors, straightening his posture even though he was already well postured. He pushed open the door, looking down the stairs to see Marie, Caroline, and Johnathan talking, laughter invisibly surrounding their area. He exhaled before closing the door, a soft click sounding through the wide room, the sound catching the three’s attention. A warm smile was painted onto Carolines face as she watched Spencer walk down the stairs. She stood up and walked over to her son, opening her arms and tightly wrapping them around his torso; but he did not return the hug. Spencer stood there awkwardly as his mother squeezed his ribcage, feeling as if he was going to drop dead on the spot. He looked to the side, catching Marie looking at him and mouthing “hug her back”; shaking his head in response.

“Let go, or you might just kill me.” he said, his mother giving him one last squeeze before letting go and looking up into his crimson eyes.

“I missed you so much son!” she smiled, her pearly teeth almost blinding Spencer. Jonathan walked up to him and patted him on the back, Spencer once again, not returning the greeting.

“You look different! Almost like a whole new man!” he complimented. Spencer glanced at the older man; confusion written on his face.

“I haven’t changed since the last four months you saw me.” he said, receiving an awkward laugh from his father.

“Well, you looked different to me!” he said, a warm smile on his face as he tried to lighten up the mood. Spencer nodded awkwardly, visibly confused and irritated. It was a tendency of his, getting irritated easily by the simplest of things. He straightened out his turtleneck, sitting down in a chair.

“I’m glad you could join us son.” Caroline said, a warm smile taking over her lips.

“You’re welcome, I suppose.” Spencer said somewhat quietly, but he still made his voice clear.

“How have you been the past few months?” Caroline asked, a genuine sense of curiosity in her tone of voice. Spencer scratched his arm, looking down to the side for a quick second before meeting her eyes.

“There is not much to explain. Work and more work?” he responded, sounding not too sure on how to respond to the question.

“That’s disappointing but understandable. I’m assuming you have been busy recently?” she asked, some disappointment in her voice. “I wish you at least had some more free time. Ian has more time than you, if you both had the same amount of free time you could finally hangout!” She said, Spencer groaned at the thought of his older brother Ian. Despite Ian being the oldest of the Ackermann family, Spencer inherited the family mafia. Ian got his free leave and became a college professor. One of the calmest jobs someone from a family of mafia members could have. He gets to teach and communicate with young people like Spencer, have a normal life like any other normal citizen could have. Despite the complaining Spencer speaks out, he doesn’t mind his place in the mafia at all. The work part isn’t amusing, but it’s tolerable, in his case at least.

“Why do you always have to bring him up in our conversations? For the last time, I’m the boss of a mafia. I rarely have any free time. You two among all people should be aware of this.” he said, pressing his hands on his lips.

“Me and your mother are aware of that, but still, we think you deserve some breaks from work. We don’t want you overworking yourself.” Jonathan said.

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“Listen to your parents Spencer, everyone here agrees that you deserve a break.” Marie commented, startling Spencer, completely forgetting she was there on the side lines.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, brat.”

“Spencer!”

“What?”

“Don’t be rude to Marie! She is just pointing out observations among her and her coworkers.” Caroline scolded, Marie giggling in the background. Spencer rolled his eyes with a sigh of annoyance. “Now apologize to your lovely right-hand woman.”

“No. What do you want to say that is forever so important?” he said through his teeth, his irritation growing. Caroline sighed, throwing a glance over to Jonathan.

“Me and your father have been discussing,” she paused, “And the two of us think that you need to find a significant other soon.” Jonathan nodded in agreement. Spencer sat there for a moment, the anger quickly visibly growing on his pale skinned face.

“You have no goddamn business in involving yourself in my love life. I do not need or want a partner at this moment.” he stated, the anger swelling in his voice.

“Son, please consider this. Being in a relationship could be really beneficial to the Ackermann family.” Jonathan said.

“Does it look like I give a shit?”

“Spencer, please just consider this.”

“No.”

“It’s your duty to continue the family bloodline. Don’t you want that?”

“No.”

“Spencer–”

“No means no!” Spencer yelled. The whole room went silent, his heavy breathing and the lingering echo of his yell piercing their ears like an invisible gnat. “I should have known that all you came here to do was throw a bunch of ludacris shit in my face.” he glared. He got up and sped up the stairs and out of sight, his shoes heavily hit the floor until they could not be heard anymore.

Marie sighed, eyes tracing the floor before meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Ackermann.

“I apologize about him.” she said, smiling nervously.

“Don’t apologize dear,” Caroline said. “We have been dealing with this ever since he was little. We’re both used to his little outbursts.”. I wouldn’t exactly call his outbursts ‘little’, Marie said silently. Caroline wiped her slightly damp hands on her dress, the golden rose pattern blending in beautifully with the deep red fabric.

"Still, I'm sorry about him. I'm gonna smack him upside the head once l find him." Marie stated, making the motion of slapping one's head. Johnathan chuckled at what she said, wishing her luck on her mission. Marie led the Ackermann's out the door and to their car; a dark maroon Kia Sorento. Marie took large strides forward to get to the car door before them. She held the door open and let the two steps in before leaning into the car.

"You're not going to actually smack Spencer upside the head, are you?" Johnathan asked.

"Oh, I am." Marie stated once more, seriousness written all over her face.

"I don't wish for you to get hurt Ms. Carter," said Caroline. "As we said before, we're used to his little outbursts."

"He won't hurt me. Besides, I'm doing this more for my own satisfaction." Marie smiled, relieving soft laughs. She patted the car roof, getting the driver's attention. "All good." she said as she closed the door. She watched until the car was down and out the driveway, waiting for the closing gate to let out a faint click. She turned around and headed back inside, rolling up her sleeves as she walked up the stairs.

I'm going to enjoy this very much.