Rainier's POV

"Your dad and I have been talking. We thought it would nice to celebrate this Christmas with your grandparents", mom said after swallowing what she had been chewing.

We were at the dinner table. Mom had arrived earlier and fixed a nice meal for all of us. Working mom or not, she always made sure she cooked our food. I suspected it had more to do with keeping us on the vegetarian diet.

"We are going to Boston?" Julie asked. She wasn't pleased about it, you could hear in the tone of her voice though she tried to hide it. Grandma said Julie talked a lot and Julie of course wasn't pleased.

"No, we were thinking Marseille", dad said.

"As in we are going to spend Christmas in France?" Julie asked.

"If you guys want of course. My parents would be happy to have us", dad said.

Dad had a slight French accent. Even after 20 years he hadn't been able to shake it off. I liked it, it was part of him. He was a man of 45 years and admittedly looked younger. He was handsome with the same hair color as mine: black. His hair was also wavy, but longer. His facial hair was sleek and just as black as his hair. He was always neat and went to work in well-cut, well-tailored suits. I always jokingly told him he would fit on the catwalk or in a James Bond movie, as James Bond of course.

Mom complemented him. She was beautiful with golden-brown glowing hair and a nice body that was subjected to intense fitness regimens. Her eyes were my favorite; they were sometimes grey and sometimes blue. Mom just like dad looked young for her age. Many didn't believe Julie and I were biologically hers, especially because neither I nor Julie looked like her. We looked like our dad.

We had the best parents in the world. Though they were career people, they found time to spend with us. We were their number one priority. But they didn't just spend time with us, they understood us. When I came to the realization I was gay; I didn't worry about telling them. I knew they would support me, and I wasn't wrong. They were surprised of course, but they embraced who I was and treated me just as before. I was close to both of them, but was closest to my dad.

"I would love to go to Marseille!" Julie said excitedly.

I didn't say anything. I was just focused on my food. I loved Marseille. It was beautiful and had an old feel to it. I loved the company too, my grandparents were lovely people. They of course used English sparingly, but I was fluent in French.

"Rain, you haven't said anything", dad said.

I caught him looking at mom, and I knew why they wanted to spend Christmas in Marseille. They wanted me to not remember.

I shrugged. "It's fine".

"We don't have to go if you don't want to", mom said.

"It's fine, it'll be nice". What I was saying was in contrast to my tone.

"Rainier", mom said gently.

I stood up. "What? What do you want me to say? I don't mind going to Marseille for Christmas. Can we stop talking about it already?" My voice sounded louder than I had intended. So much for keeping it a secret how I was really feeling about the upcoming month.

"Rain, sit down", dad ordered.

I took my seat, feeling shame for lashing out. I didn't like that everyone's life was going to revolve around me yet again. My parents probably didn't want to go to Marseille, but they were going because they felt they needed to get me out of there.

"I've changed my mind. I want to spend Christmas here", I said quietly.

"Are you..." mom was going to say something but dad put his hand on her shoulder, silencing her.

"Then that's what we are all going to do", he said.

"You don't have to stay. You can leave me here alone. I'm sure I'll be fine", I said.

"Not a fat chance. Do you know what this house cost? I don't want to find it in a pile of ashes", dad said jokingly.

We all laughed. Now you should see why dad was my favorite person. He knew when not to push and had a good sense of humor.

"Dad, I can stay with Rainier. I'm sure you'll find the house in one piece", Julie said.

"Let me consider it...no. You staying raises the chances I'll find it non-existent", dad said causally.

"Etienne, you've got to admit. We've raised well-behaved kids", mom said.

"Yes, but I'm not leaving them alone. They are only 17. And neither of them can even change a light bulb", dad said.

"Pssh, how hard can it be?" Julie asked.

"Let's make a deal. If you can change a light bulb with no assistance from me, or anyone, you can ask for something you really like as your Christmas gift, and if you can't you...you wash the dishes for a week", dad said.

"Anything?" Julie asked giving him a serious look.

"Within a reasonable price range", dad said.

"Define reasonable", Julie said.

It went on for a while. I was glad about the change of subject. Later on dad put Julie to the test. I was excited about it, mostly because I knew Julie would lose. She had never changed a light bulb before. Just as I predicted, she couldn't do it. She struggled for a while before she eventually gave up. Dad taught her how to do it and she got it right. He did not remove or alter the price she was going to pay for losing, though she pleaded.

Her losing actually helped me. I sometimes washed the dishes, though it was mainly dad's job. That meant I wasn't going to touch the dishes for a while. But knowing Julie, she was going to entice me into helping her.

The rest of the night went on without a hitch. We watched TV together. Dad and I made fun of Julie and mom stood up for her.

*

"Hey Frenchie"

It was the next day at school, a few minutes before third period. I was waiting by my locker. Julie had gone to say hi to Jordan and I was waiting for her. She was probably fussing over him like he'd been at death's door the previous day. I was in for a long wait.

It was a slightly chilly day and I had thrust my hands in my jean pocket to keep them warm, not that that helped.

I turned at the sound of someone's voice, wondering if he was talking to me. My eyes met Ryan's. Light blue orbs, the color of blue ice stared at me. He was clad in a light blue cotton t-shirt and blue jeans. Obviously he wasn't feeling as cold as I was.

We hadn't been in any classes together so it was my first time seeing him that day.

"Did you just call me Frenchie?" I said.

He nodded. "I expected you to be wearing a beret", he said chuckling slightly.

"Oh yeah, it's in my locker...along with my scarf, a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine, want to taste?" I said.

"Don't mind if I do", he said.

I rolled my eyes. "My name is Rainier by the way".

"I know", he said and shrugged. "Frenchie sounds better".

I saw Julie walking towards us. She was walking deliberately slow.

"I won't answer to Frenchie", I said adamantly.

"Oh you will, trust me", he said.

Surprisingly he wasn't annoying me. There was something about him that was sweet, even though I doubted it was his intention to reveal it.

"If you get to call me Frenchie, then what do I get to call you?" I asked.

"I'm 100% American. See what you can do with that", he said.

"There's no such thing as 100% American", I protested.

He shrugged.

I wondered why he was standing there with me anyway. Surely Rosaline had time for him, or somebody else had. Many would have a time for him. He was good looking, in Julie's words 'hot' and cute all at the same time. You really didn't need much to garner people's attention.

For some reason he chuckled and I saw his dimples, cute little dents in his cheeks that warranted some poking. But I wasn't going to poke them. That would just be weird.

"Share the joke?" I said.

"Is that girl your sister?" he asked gesturing at Julie.

"Yeah", I said.

"You look alike", he said.

"We are twins. Anyway, are you going to tell me what you were laughing at?" I said.

"No", he said, simultaneously shaking his head. "See you around Frenchie".

"Whatever", I said in retaliation. I was frustrated he hadn't told me what had compelled him to laugh to himself. Was it something about me?

I immediately looked at myself, checking for stains, faults, anything!

"What are you doing?" Julie said when she finally got to me.

"I don't really know. Anyway, you took your sweet time", I said.

"I wanted to give you and Ryan a chance to talk", she said.

"We weren't talking. He was having fun giving me weird nicknames and laughing at whatever he was laughing at!"

Julie's face brightened. "He gave you a nickname?"

"Julie, stop it! Ryan is just another jackass. He's not interested in me and I'm not interested in him. Besides, I only just met him yesterday!" I said harshly.

I was saying the words to myself more than to Julie. In truth Ryan gave me butterflies and I hated it. He was the first guy after Tristan to give me butterflies. His voice was unique, heavy yet came out in the sweetest way. He had this thing when he smiled; it was difficult to put into words. And of course the mystery around him was inviting.

I wasn't supposed to be having butterflies, I barely knew the guy. He was probably straight anyway.

"I was just teasing. You know that Rain, I always tease", Julie said desperately.

I sighed. "I know sis, I'm sorry".

We started walking.

"Is it...is it..." Julie started. She couldn't quite finish what she started.

"It's not Tristan", I said, my voice holding in it finality.

I didn't want to talk about Tristan. Sure he was somewhere in my mind, but he wasn't at the center of everything.

"Jordan says hi", Julie said cheerfully.

"How glad I am he's not a pile of ashes", I mocked her.

She hit me on the arm.

"Ouch woman, no need to be aggressive. I'm starting to think Jordan faked being sick just to be away from you for a day".

"Say that one more time and I'll smack the smartness out of you", she said.

I chuckled. "How's he anyway?"

"He's better than yesterday, but he's still sick".