Making it back just as everyone had painstakingly finished setting up all the chairs, they had given Lem quite the disgruntled glare once they saw us come without any food or deliverymen in the vicinity.

"What's going on here, Lemmy? Where's the food?" Dad asked.

"It wasn't even finished when I got there." I covered for him, "So they just told us they'll handle it."

"What kind and responsible deliverymen." Uncle smirked, "Sending out two kids down an unlit road by themselves in the early evening."

"I'm 19, when will you remember that?" Lem groaned.

"I dunno, when will YOU remember that?" Uncle returned the question, "You guys do realize we live super far away from the city, right? There's a reason we sent you out to guide the deliverymen, it's so they wouldn't get lost."

"They're not dumb, it's their job to get it right." Lem growled, "Besides, if you don't know where the address is, you just go to the town hall and ask the officials. That's how it's always been!"

"The food would get cold a long time ago by then!"

"It's the middle of summer, Goldie Locks! Use your head a little it won't get cold after a tiny detour!"

Ack, these two bickering will never not be an Eyesore. Still, I'll admit I didn't think about what uncle and dad said, so I am partially at fault for not going to help the deliverymen. Eh, hopefully they'll figure it out.

"Whatever, I'll just run over to them then." Dad sighed a tad annoyedly.

"They'll figure it out themselves." Lem groaned, "They're not stupid."

"I didn't say they're stupid, I said I'll go help guide them since you two obviously aren't up for it."

"Well then we'll just go back!" I refuted, "Or if Lem doesn't want to, then I'll go, since it's the responsible thing to do."

"Maybe if you were an adult, but what's not responsible is for me to be sending a young girl back out into the darkness." Dad turned to go to our house, "Just sit there and don't do anything. I'll go get my shoes and go instead. No matter how you slice it, flip-flops aren't made for long distances."

Dammit, he's treating me like a kid again! Even though I'll technically be becoming an adult tonight, he still sees me as an irresponsible weak little girl. I wonder though, they say a person's overall aura changes after they have their first time, so will mama and dad trust me with bigger things after this? I guess that's just an extra benefit. Still, I did technically screw up now, so I feel really bad for dad. If I had known he was gonna go right now, I would have told Lem to turn back and go to the deliverymen ourselves.

"Ugh, I can't believe you two, seriously." Uncle grunted, "Nel, this kid's a bad influence on you, for real."

"Hey, the fuck are you blaming me for!?" Lem shouted, prompting everyone at the party to turn and look at us.

"Lemmy, no swearing! Children are present." Mama made her way to us with auntie Anna soon after.

"Kids don't lash out like that unless provoked." She glared at her husband, "Which means SOMEONE must've said something to piss him off."

"Don't make me out to be the bad guy here, on top of what we already discussed earlier, the brat just keeps inciting Nel to make the wrong choices!" Uncle bickered, "Because of him, our food might not come in time, if at all for that matter!"

"Look at you, yelling at a child at your age!" Auntie snapped back, "And over food, no less! Ed, they're children—They're not flawless!"

See? Auntie gets it! Thankfully we're not alone on this.

"Stop..." Lem raised his tone at her for some reason, "Stop calling me a child! I'm 19 for Gods' sakes!"

"Eh?" She was taken aback.

"I came here to have a good time! Brought a gift, showed I'm capable by helping with the house, babysit Cene without anyone even having to tell me! I'm more of an adult than any of you, and you still shit on me by calling me a kid because I know for a fact the food will come regardless of if I'll wait or not!"

"L-Lem, auntie is on our side..." I tugged his arm lightly.

"See? He isn't even capable of appreciating you helping him!" Uncle pointed out to auntie.

"Look, we'll settle this when Lune gets back." Mama suggested.

"Lune already said he's going back to guide them! That's the problem, Cecily!"

"Eh? Well if he already solved the problem, then why are you being so butthurt about it?" She hissed back.

"It's not about the food and you know damn well what I mean!"

This is getting scary...! And where the hell is dad already? He said he's just going into the house to put on proper shoes, but he couldn't have snuck past us without us seeing him from here, so what's the hold up? Come on, old man, your family's falling apart and you're putting on running shoes! Ahh, gotta calm everyone down, but how...?

"Quiet, everyone!" I inevitably resorted to just screeching at the top of my lungs, "I'm sorry, okay!? I didn't know it was gonna be such a huge problem, but don't blame Lem!"

"Then who do I blame, Nel?" Uncle angrily retorted, "If he was the one sent out to guide the deliverymen, then who do I blame?"

"Me!" I shouted, "I went out to guide HIM, but I failed to do that! If I did my job correctly, then we would've gone back and done as we were told, then no one would be mad now! I'm sorry, I'm still not an adult just yet, so I might make some mistakes!"

...Ah, w-why is everyone staring in silence? Q-Quit, it's making me uncomfortable... Geez, I hate this. Lem, you dummy, why couldn't you just guide those stupid deliverymen like you were told too...?

"Hello?" An awkward voice asked us, "Is this the right address? You ordered a bunch of stuff for a party, right?"

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"Yeah." Lem stuck his tongue out at uncle Ed and the other adults as he replied to the deliverymen, "Put it all on the table over there. Thanks."

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You've gotta be kidding me! So Lem was right after all, they DID know where our address was! Obviously! In hindsight, you just take a left from that establishment and then it's a straight path to our houses! Besides, we're in the middle of nowhere, our place can be seen from the city easy peasy! Gah, dammit, the adults really are a bunch of worrywarts! I should've never doubted Lem's judgment.

"Don't think you're in the clear just yet." Uncle said as we all sat around the table to eat, "If you were my kid, you'd still get grounded."

"Even though I was in the right?" Lem angrily leaned on the table, "I hope to Gods you're impotent."

"You piece of shit!" Uncle lunged across the table and grabbed him by the cuff, "The fuck's your problem, huh?! You ever know when to just keep your fucking mouth shut!?"

"Dear!" Anna went to stop him, but mama skipped the pleasantries.

"Ed." She pointed her butter knife right at him, "Let our guest go and eat."

"Cecily..." He groaned.

"The food will get cold." She continued, "We've known each other for 15 years now, so I just know you're gonna take this the wrong way—He's not in the wrong."

"What!?" He shoved Lem back into his seat as he shouted, "Cecily, do you know what that kid's doing to your daughter!?"

"I know, and I'm thankful for you worrying about her wellbeing." She calmly spoke, "But right now, you're reprimanding him for doing a good job."

"He disobeyed very simple orders." Uncle refuted, "When we told him to guide the deliverymen, he was to sit his ass in the restaurant and wait for them. Not just order and dip without a care in the world. Boys that don't get punished for doing a half-assed job will grow up to be half-assed men."

"Was that a dig at my pop?" Lem furrowed his brows.

"Lemmy, please." Mom stopped him, "You're not wrong, Ed. In fact, I'd say you're very much correct in saying that's how you'd raise your future child. But Lem was raised by Lee, not you, so please respect that. Besides, he's 19, so isn't it already a bit too late to be dishing out harsh punishments like you're doing?"

Hearing sound logic from a tempered yet fierce woman who wouldn't hesitate to shed blood with that butterknife really put everyone in their place. It didn't take long for both men to sit down peacefully, albeit without even speaking a word to each other more.

"So you're saying we're both right in our own ways, is that it?" Ed snorted, "What a stupid way to resolve an argument."

"I'm not here to make you two shake hands and be buddy-buddy if you don't want to." She partook in the first bite of the evening, "I just want you to stop embarrassing yourself in front of everyone by arguing with a teenager."

As he glanced over at the rest of the members seated around the table, his Eyes shriveled up in horror as he saw the uncomfortable faces of his friends and family. Uncle then profusely apologized to everyone (except for Lem) for his outburst and hoped we could restart from here.

"This is a merry evening, after all. An evening to celebrate Issei's engagement with Othelia and my sister." He said, "Not to bicker over useless shit that doesn't even matter anymore."

"Finally, he gets it." Lem snickered.

"Dude, quit it." I whispered, kicking him under the table as I did, "You're in the clear, stop arguing!"

"You really know how to ruin every function you're tossed in, don't you brother?" Auntie Eleanor groaned.

"And for it to be your good friend's engagement celebration YOU yourself planned!" Othelia pouted, "Really, how can Issei even stand someone like you?"

"Honestly, I'm just enjoying the show." Issei shrugged.

"We're sorry for our stupid son's behavior, Issei!" Grandma and grandpa pleaded, "We hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him."

"Like I said, it's funny so I don't care." He shrugged once more.

"We know you hate him right now, but please don't let yourself not invite him to the wedding ceremony." Grandpa shed a tear.

"You two! Stop using reverse-psychology to get me off the list!" Uncle yelled, "Damned old farts, how can you even say that about your own son!?"

"Maybe you weren't grounded enough as a child." Lem suggested.

With that, everyone burst into laughter at the hypocrisy of uncle Ed's own words, as well as the irony of them working so well when turned against him. Okay, that much I can tolerate, since Lem was made the mood lighter with the comment, but that doesn't excuse him fully, so he'll just get a pinch on the thigh this time.

"Ow! Fine, I'll stop." He whispered.

"No, it's fine." I giggled, "Now come on, mama's gonna eat all the food by herself at this rate. Let's dig in!"

"Oh yeah, she's really eating up a storm there." He said as a knife practically spawned itself under his chin, "I-I meant the food must be SO GOOD that you're eating that much, ma'am! I didn't offhandedly mock you for just enjoying your meal! Promise!"

Mama really likes threatening people with knives, I see. Even though it's a butterknife, she still managed to instill fear into both Lem and uncle. Then again, had it not been for her, these two would've still been at each other's throats, so I'll give her a gold star in my book. Ah, by the way, everyone's eating, but where's dad? Did he really go look for the deliverymen? I just hope he didn't get lost somewhere, it's rather dark out.