I drove the car for two hours silently without uttering a word. It was absurd how Ted recovered so soon but maybe he was just pretending to be strong. He was again back to his usual self. He listened to music on his headphone selfishly, completely ignoring the presence of a beautiful, smart girl beside him.

"We should get down to eat somewhere," Ted suggested and removed his headphones. I scrunched my nose and shook my head.

"No, we'll reach soon at home. I want to have dinner with my family," I stated and he rolled his eyes.

"In Norway, it would probably be tea time. Anyway, it's not fair that you have met my grandma and now my dad who doesn't recognize my mere existence. You got to know so much about my family, now it's your turn," He said and I shrugged.

"Why that sudden interest in me?" I teased and he scoffed.

"I want to know about your family, not you," He said, emphazing on each individual word.

"Fine, I'll tell you. Okay, then er... let's begin with my sister. Her name is - "

"Poppy."

"You remember my sister's name?" I asked, impressively. My eyebrows rose high up.

"You have mentioned her name millions of times. Her name is easy to recall. 'Poppy' kinda pops out," He said and I giggled.

"So... how is she?" He asked and his eyes twinkled with mischief and excitement.

"She's only fourteen, you pervert," I said and slapped his arm playfully. He laughed and I grinned.

"What about your mamma?" He asked and I threw a disgusted look at him. He couldn't seriously think about flirting with my mother, right? He too looked horrified by my look and quickly explained, "I meant that tell me about your mother. And, not in that way! Uh," He coughed awkwardly and I squirmed. It was so wrong of me to think about Ted like that.

"Sorry," I muttered and concentrated on the road. "My mum is quite conservative. We haven't even discussed the birds and bees yet, but I think the topic never arised. We never talked about boyfriends or dates or even boys for that matter. Poppy brings up the uncomfortable topics daily just to irritate mum."

He laughed and said, "Your sister is cool."

"She's just fourteen," I reminded him and he rolled his eyes. I felt a burning sensation in the pit of my stomach at the constant mention of her name by him. It was not jealousy, I convinced myself. Maybe, acidity.

*~*~*~*

After narrating him my family's history right from my mother's diabetes to our dad's moustache , I must have not left a single detail. He looked sincere and keen while listening and for the first time, he allowed me to speak to my heart's content.

I was exhausted by the time we arrived at my place. I decreased the pace of the car when I noticed my parent's car parked. They were at home along with Poppy and it would be difficult to sneak Ted into my room.

I shuddered when I noticed my parents in the lawn. They were probably inspecting some gardening tools. I panicked as the thought ran through my mind if they spotted Ted. It was impossible to sneak Ted into the house with my parents lingering around the lawn.

Before I could drive away from home, my parents already spotted us and waved at me. Their waves died down as soon as they notice the presence of a boy beside me.