Chapter 43: Acceptance

PUPPY LOVE

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Fabian and Jaimie-mae entered his house quietly. Fae was sitting peacefully in Jaimie-mae's arm, her eyes were wide with curiosity and her tongue hung out of her mouth as she took in the new enviroment.

"Oh my gosh, cuteness overload," Jaimie-mae squealed as she set her puppy down. "Fabian, i'm so happy right now that i could cry and laugh at the same time. How am i ever gonna make this up to you?"

He laughed quietly. "You could stay with me forever."

"Deal," she said immediately as she pulled on one of his hands and placed a kiss on his knuckles.

Fabian realized that making her smile was one of the best feelings he could get. Having something to do with her smile made his heart feel overwhelmed with this bright happiness. It made him feel good.

Fae barked and stood at Jaimie-mae's feet protectively when footsteps started descending down the stairs. It wasn't the most threatening bark, but it was cute and Jaimie-mae covered her giggle.

"Fabian? What's that?" Mason called out as descended the stairs. When he saw the little fluff ball at Jaimie-mae's feet, his face lit up and he came running towards them.

Fae barked and ran around in circles.

"You got a puppy!?" Mason asked excitedly.

Jaimie-mae grinned. "Yup."

"What's her name?"

"Her name is Fae. Isn't she cute?" She looked up at Fabian with a pretty smile and he just gazed back at her in a daze.

"Yeah she is," Fabian said fondly. It was obvious he wasn't really talking about the dog.

"Can i hold her?" Mason asked as he pet Fae and rubbed her belly.

"Sure."

Mason picked up Fae and exited the room to go play with her.

The whole day, Jaimie-mae's smile never left her face. Her blue eyes were bright and lively. Fabian was super excited and a little cocky because he knew he was part of the reason she was in such a good mood.

***

They were relaxing on his bed with Fae between them when Jaimie-mae called up one of her friends using a video chat.

"Hey Kacey!" Jaimie-mae was practically bouncing on the bed from excitement.

"Hey Jaimie! We were worried about you when you didn't come to school. But by the smile on your face we obviously have nothing to worry about."

Jaimie-mae laughed.

"Let me guess what happened."

"You're not gonna be able to guess."

"Yes i will. Let me see... that cutie Fabian asked you to be his girlfriend."

Fabian smirked beside Jaimie-mae, staying silent so that Kacey didn't know he was there. He listened carefully as he stroked Fae's soft fur.

"How'd you know that?"

"The smile on your face is a dead give away. And Bella has been hinting at it for a while. She's been getting secret insider information from Malakai."

Jaimie-mae glanced subtly at Fabian out of the corner of her eye and gave him a 'you did not just tell your friend all about us' type of way.

"Okay well, what else is there? Since you're so good at guessing."

Kacey smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. "You finally got some."

Fabian snickered beside Jaimie-mae as she blushed a deep rosy red.

"N-no i haven't," Jaimie-mae stuttered.

"You will soon though," Fabian whispered so that only she could hear.

Jaimie-mae gasped and slapped him on his leg which sent a loud crack sound around the room. Fabian just chuckled.

"What was that?" Kacey asked.

"Nothing. But no. That wasn't it. He got me the cutest thing," Jaimie-mae squealed.

She reached over and picked up Fae, showing her to Kacey.

At first there was absolute silence but then Kacey screamed loudly. "Oh my gosh! He got you a freakin' puppy!? No wayyy. That's so cute."

"I know right. Fabian is the best," Jaimie-mae gushed.

Fabian looked at Jaimie-mae and rubbed the back of his neck and then shook his head sheepishly. Instead of her comments building his ego, he felt like he was blushing like a little boy.

"I named her Fae," Jaimie-mae said proudly.

Kacey squealed and danced around. "That is literally the ship name Bella and me gave you guys. But instead you gave it to a puppy. Oh my gosh, she's like your child!"

Both Fabian and Jaimie-mae groaned. Kacey's squealing was beginning to get a bit much.

"I'm gonna go now Kacey. I'll see you at school."

Kacey waved. "Okay bye. See ya."

Once Jaimie-mae hung up, she video called Bella.

As soon as the call was connected the sound of laughing was heard through the phone.

"Hey Jaimie! I've just heard that you 'got some.' Is that true?"

Jaimie-mae shrunk back and groaned. "No. Its not."

"Oh well that's what Kacey texted me," she said through laughs. "I'm guessing you called for a reason."

"Yes. I got the cutest thing today!"

Fabian scowled. He was beginning to feel neglected. The puppy was going to take all of his attention. He couldn't believe he was getting jealous over a small harmless dog.

Jaimie-mae showed Fae to Bella who smiled brightly instead of squealing like Kacey did.

"Wow. She's so adorable. Wish my man was like yours."

A voice broke out from behind her. "Who do you want me to be like?"

Jaimie-mae gasped and sat up on her knees. "Is that Kano?"

Bella blushed and nodded.

"Hiii Jaimie!" Kano shouted from the background.

Jaimie-mae laughed loudly. "Yeah Kano. That's how you do it. How do i not know about this?"

"You've been kinda distant lately," Bella said with a frown.

Jaimie-mae's face fell and the guilt began to settle in. She was a bad friend.

Fabian grabbed her hand and squeezed it and Fae nuzzled her head into her leg.

"I'm sorry. I promise i'll be better the next time i see you guys."

"I'll take your word for it," Bella said with a serious face. "Don't forget all about us because of that boyfriend of yours."

"I won't. Ugh, bye guys."

Jaimie-mae hung up and Fabian could practically feel the guilt radiating around her.

"Jaimie-baby, don't worry. You just needed some time. You've got shit to work out, they'll understand."

Jaimie-mae slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, thanks Fabian."

Fabian and Jaimie-mae scooted down into the bed and threw the covers over their legs.

"Did your mom come back yet?"

"I-"

Fabian froze and Fae's ears perked up.

"What is it Fabian?"

Fabian's face was showing so many emotions. It showed happy and then disgusted and then conflicted all at once.

The room went deathly quiet and that's when Jaimie-mae heard it.

There were faint moans and grunts coming from the direction of Justin's room.

"What is that?" Jaimie-mae asked.

Fabian shook his head and grimaced. "My moms back and they're... making up i guess."

At first Jaimie-mae didn't understand but the one long moan made it clear what he meant.

Her eyes widened and she blushed furiously. She looked down awkwardly at the floor and shifted away from Fabian.

A faint grunt that sounded oddly like a dinosaur came floating through the walls and Fabian immediately put his large hands over Jaimie-mae's ears.

"Uh uh, my parents are not corrupting my girlfriend," Fabian mumbled under his breath. "Lord help us."

***

Fabian walked into the kitchen in the morning with a frown. He spotted his parents sitting at the island with a mug of coffee in their hands, gazing into eachothers eyes. He grimaced to himself.

He was happy for them because they were back together again but he was also holding back a gag as he walked past.

"Morning. It's nice to see you two have... made up."

Both of his parents said nothing and just continued to gaze into each others eyes. He scoffed and grabbed a waffle and threw it into the toaster.

Not too long after his waffle was done, the front door opened revealing Jaimie-mae and Fae. Jaimie-mae was wearing one of Fabian's really long thin sweatshirts that went all the way to her knees and boyshorts underneath, but only Fabian and herself knew that.

Fabian's two cute girls were what seemed to snap his parents out of their daze.

"Oh, Jaimie-mae. Hi, its good to see you," Madison said cheerfully. "I didn't know you were here this morning."

"Morning," Jaimie-mae mumbled in reply.

Jaimie-mae avoided eye contact with everyone and everything, instead she busied herself with taking the leash off of Fae and picking her up.

Fabian snickered quietly when he noticed the blush coating her face and crawling up her ears.

"Jaimie-mae, i didn't know you had a dog," Justin said as she neared them.

A small smile lit her face. "Oh yes. Fabian got her for me," she said with admiration.

Both of his parents eyes snapped to him and pinned him down before he could escape. He swallowed nervously and took a step back.

Jaimie-mae's bright voice brought the attention away from Fabian. "My puppy, Fae, is a big help with my... anxiety. I'm extremely grateful for her and Fabian," she said with an adoring smile.

She rocked back and forth on her heels and bit her lip.

Fabian looked down at his sock covered feet to keep from smiling too hard at how beautifully cute his girlfriend was.

"You have a... ring?" Justin asked lowly.

"Huh? Oh!" Jaimie-mae held up her hand and wiggled her fingers around playfully. "Yeah, Fabian is so sweet to me," she said with a small sigh of happiness.

Fabian's parents returned their gaze back to him and he stared ahead nervously.

Madisons eyes twinkled in excitement. "I'm so glad my boy knows how to treat a girl well. This makes me so happy. You two are so cute together."

Fabian smiled at his mother but then his gaze flickered to his dad.

"I take it the ring is not an engagement ring. But you are dating?" Justin said flatly.

"Oh no. Not engaged. Dating though," Fabian said with a nervous chuckle.

"And she's eighteen now?"

"Yup. Fully legal."

After a few seconds of tense silence, Justin nodded. "Alright, treat each other well."

Fabian let out a sigh of relief and basically sprinted over to Jaimie-mae and pulled her into his side.

"Oh we will. We'll treat each other very well."