No, you're not allowed to have more because you're never on

Chapter 12: Reunited

“Make yourselves at home, and don’t be afraid to ask if you need anything. I should be back at around five. Please let me know if you head out somewhere,” The elder Mrs. Way waved her hand goodbye and left the misfits in her home, alone. After spending about two weeks convincing his mom to let them continue the “hunt”, Adriana finally gave in, on the condition they would all return home if things got really bad again.

“I’m going to look for your mom’s file. Hopefully it won’t be too hard to find,” Kat said, heading up to her grandmother’s office and disappearing from sight. Stephen sat on the couch, taking his laptop out and setting it on the coffee table in front of him. Might as well find out more about his parents online, if it were still possible.

“Are you still mad at me about the letters?” Lexi asked, sitting in the opposite side of Stephen. Even after two weeks since he first read a letter, Lexi still felt as if Stephen would just stop talking to her because of it.

“Lex, that happened weeks ago, I’m not mad nor was I mad back then,” Stephen responded, typing away on his laptop. His eyes were going back and forth on an article about an upcoming modeling event in the city. It mentioned something about a reporter who will be covering the event and the main model, Diana Ricci.

“Alright, so do you want another letter?” she asked, going into her bag and taking one out. The envelope had deep wrinkles in it. Lexi could only ever keep her clothes without wrinkles but nothing else. Stephen took the envelope and set it down next to his computer; not wanting to read it at this moment. With a sigh, Lexi got up and joined Kat in the room. Losing focus on his search, the monster closed his laptop and lied down.

“Wait,” Stephen mumbled to himself and went back onto his laptop. Searching the recent article he was reading again, the monster paid more attention to what his eyes were scanning. Hurrying upstairs with his computer, Stephen tried not to trip on the stairs that always seemed to become slippery when he was on them. “Girlies look what I found,” he said, entering the room where Kat and Lexi were and settled his laptop on a desk. “This is an article about an upcoming modeling event, which your grandma is going to be at,” he said, nudging his head towards Kat. “If you could just kindly read this paragraph and look at the picture, you might understand where I’m getting at,” Lexi and Kat scanned the small paragraph and gasped at the same time.

“Stephy, does this mean that we finally found one of them?” Lex asked. Stephen shrugged, suddenly getting an uneasy feeling in him. Kat, not wanting to look for the file, just summoned it and began to look through its papers.

“It says here that Diana is one of the major models for Last Spare and she is married to someone named Raul. Is this the same lady from the picture?” she asked, pulling the photo out and placing it next to the one on the computer. Both women had the same color eyes, skin tone and hair to be the same person.

“Is there an address?” Lex asked.

“Umm, oh, it says she lives at 23-09 W. 75th St,” Kat answered. Stephen now felt a nervousness grow inside of him, with thousands of questions running in his head. Are they going to be excited to finally see him? Will they shun him away and not want to know anything about him? Or will they just stay speechless and let it all be awkward? “Oh look, her parents’ address is in here too!”

“Good, we’ll go here first. Kat, you’re taking us since we can’t apparate in the middle of the day. And don’t forget to tell your grandma we’re heading out,” Stephen said, writing down the address and feeling his hand, or entire body become all shaky.

“Are you alright, Stephy?” Lex asked, pulling a chair for him to sit on.

“I’m fine, just a bit nervous I guess,” he answered. Not really convinced, she placed her hand on his face and forehead.

“You’re warmer than usual and sweating a bit. I think you might be coming down with something,”

“I get like this when I’m nervous too,”

Before Lexi had a chance to say anything else, Kat came back from her little phone call. “Grandma says it’s alright for us to go. But we just have to be careful and to come back before it gets too dark,”

“Alright Kitty, lead the way,” Stephen said.

-----

“Kat, you never mentioned the underground train system would be so, what’s the word I’m looking for?” Stephen said, turning towards Lexi.

“Dirty, hot, crowded, smelly, or better yet, loud?” Lex answered sarcastically, holding onto both Stephen and a pole to keep her balance. But luckily on the following stop, most of people get off. The misfits had only guessed it was where most cooperate jobs were in the city. But the unexpected happened next. Two men got on their train, and began to play music.

“Does this happen occasionally?” Stephen asked, trying not to stare at the musicians towards the back of the subway cart.

“Yes, it’s not strange you see people play instruments and ask for a charity in the trains and stations,” Kat answered, making a path for the two musicians to walk through after playing their small set. They walked with a hat in hand, asking for a small charity as they passed by sitting and standing passengers. For a couple more stops, the misfits had to deal with being squished, obnoxious and loud teenagers and small children acting like monkeys on the poles.

“Next time, wherever we go in this city, we’re taking a taxi,” Stephen said, once they were finally out of the subway and out onto the “fresh” air of the city streets.

“I think it’s this way,” Kat said. The other two followed behind her for a couple blocks, not paying attention to much that was going on around them. The late winter air kept blowing, making it hard for Stephen to see. “You should wear your glasses more often, I think they suit you more,” she grinned.

“So you can start calling me names? No, thank you,” Stephen laughed, turning a corner and bumping into Kat when she suddenly stopped.

“We’re here,” she said, looking at the paper in her hand and up at the scarlet colored building.

“Relax Stephy, it’s going to be alright,” Lexi assured him by patting his back. Nodding, Stephen sighed and walked up the steps towards the off white door. Ringing the bell, he had so hoped no one would answer and he’d have to leave back to Kat’s grandma’s place. But to his bad luck, the door opened, revealing a woman with black and grayish hair and dull green eyes. She was most likely four inches shorter than Stephen and had a slender figure to go with her slender looking face.

“I was wondering when you three would finally show up here,” she smirked, with her boney fingers on her hips. “Well, come in. Wouldn’t want you to get sick in the cold, now would we?” With each misfit having a confused look and glancing at each other, they decided to take the risk and enter the house.

“Chelsea told me you were looking for your parents. Stephen is it?” she asked, leading them into a small living room.

“Yes, but how do you know my name or any of us? And how do you know I’m looking for my parents?” he asked, sitting down in a cushioned chair while Lexi and Kat took the love seat couch.

“I’m pretty sure you know my daughter, your mother, models for Chelsea’s clothing line. So Chelsea and I became close friends ever since Diana started working for her a long time ago. I always knew you were out there, somewhere with hopefully good people who taught you everything they could until this day,” his grandmother explained. “But I’m being so rude. My name’s Tatiana,” she smiled.

“Well, you already know my name. But this is Lexi and Kat, my best friends,” Stephen pointed out.

“I’m your best friend, Stephen?!” Kat yelped in joy. Excluding her from the “best friends” category would result in Stephen being ignored by her for the rest of his life. Though, it doesn’t sound so bad at times.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you all. But I’m sure you want to know the ‘long’ story of your past and all,” Tatiana nodded. “When your parents had you, they were still young. Fresh out of school, heading to college and starting a new life. But we were very strict on Diana to be in school and to do this and do that, so she began to act out and be reckless. When we found out about you, her father and I were furious about her foolish move. That same night, we met Raul’s parents and I personally couldn’t keep myself together and was rude to them. I’m sure you heard that we were not the kindest around, but we did have our reasons that night. We too told Diana that we would help her support you but she shunned us away. It wasn’t your parents who left you on that doorstep that night. It was your grandfather and I,”

“And where he is now?” Stephen asked.

“Sadly, he is no longer with us. Knowing how stubborn your mother could be, we decided that it was better if we left you with other people. It wasn’t in the greatest way to do so but it was less painful that way,” she finished.

“How exactly was it less painful? You left Stephen in the cold after being about three days old,” Lex spoke, not sure whether to believe this story or not.

“Going to an adoption agency would mean we’d have to wait in agony for someone to adopt Stephen. But before we left him with the Fanellis, Lucas and I did background checks on families who wanted to adopt. For some reason, Adriana and Giovanni stuck out to us the most, so we left you Stephen with them,”

“So you made sure I would go to a family who would actually take care of me?” bewildered, the monster asked. “But then why didn’t you take care of me yourself?”

“Because your parents would’ve known and taken you back. And of course we made sure you were with a family who’d take care of you. It wouldn’t be very decent of us if we didn’t. But, your parents were on and off for years until they finally got married and had two more children,” Tatiana finally finished, lowering her voice at the last part. Stephen began to sniff his suddenly stuffy nose, trying to breathe through his other nostril.

“Thank you, Tatiana, for your time but Stephen has to get back and rest. He’s gotten a bit sick since we arrived here,” Lexi explained, standing up along with Kat.

“It’s no problem. If you want to meet your parents, they’re both going to be at the modeling event a few nights from today,” Tatiana stood, taking Stephen’s hand, making him stand as well. “It was great to finally see you, Stephen. Now don’t jinx or hex anyone while you’re here. Wouldn’t want any more trouble, now would we?” Stephen arched an eyebrow at her. How could this woman possibly know so much? “I’ve been informed about your magical abilities and whatnot. It is a bit exciting to have a wizard in the family,” She smiled, hugging her grandson for the first time since she left him on the doorstep. “Good luck,” Stephen hugged her back, grateful for her actions and the new information he gathered. Letting go, he join Lex and Kat, who apparated with him back to Mrs. Way’s place.

“Off to bed young man!” Lexi demanded, pointing her finger to the guest room they were sharing here. “I’ll make you some tea or soup to help you fall asleep,”

“Thanks,” he chuckled, making his way to the room and making himself comfortable on the cotton sheets he didn’t want to get out of this morning.

-----

“Stephy, you really do have bad luck with so many things,” Lexi chuckled, as she took Stephen’s empty soup bowl away. The poor boy had been sick in bed for about three days now. And tonight was the modeling event he wanted to attend.

“I know, I know,” he mumbled, throwing the blankets over his head and trying to sleep. But not before he felt someone sit on the bed and place their hand on his head. “How is it that you know everything?”

“Mother always knows,” Adriana laughed, pulling the sheets away from his face. “Lexi called and said you were really sick, so I came out as quick as I could. Besides, I had to be at the modeling event,” she added, taking out a small vial from her purse. “Drink this, if you want to go out tonight,”

“But what if I don’t want to go anymore?” Stephen asked, sitting up on the bed. Adriana smiled, taking Stephen’s hand into hers.

“You don’t have to meet them tonight if you’re not ready. You can always come back another time,” she said.

“Honestly, I want to get it over with. But what if they get upset that I looked for them? Or are they going to be excited that I’ve found them? You know I’m never too positive about meeting new people,”

“If they’re glad to finally meet you, then be happy. And if they aren’t happy, you can say that you at least met them, but decided to not keep in contact with them. Now drink up, I would like you to help me tonight,” Adriana smiled, kissing Stephen head and heading out the door.

“Mom, I love you,” he smiled, finally opening the small vial.

“I love you too my monster” She walked out, just as Stephen drank the potion. He knew there was a reason why he didn’t really like to drink or taste potions. They had such a horrid tasting to them. But thankfully, it did the trick and Stephen could finally breathe through his nose. Heading out of the room and towards the kitchen, Lexi was munching on some apple slices while Kat was trying to feed the cat Cheetos.

“Is there something good to eat?” he asked, sitting down at the counter.

“I’ll go ask grandma,” Kat said, walking away with her chips, trying to get the cat to follow her.

“Lex, I, uh, I wanna talk to you about my brother. It’s okay if you guys are dating and all, we’ll just have to-,”

“Wait, what?” she asked, almost choking on her apples. “Your brother and I aren’t dating, nor would I want to date him,”

“Then what was the lovey dovey stuff in Australia?”

“I was showing him on how to propose to his girlfriend. It was all an act,” she laughed, tossing an apple slice to Stephen, which he caught in his mouth. “He didn’t go to your parents because they both would say something different. His friends and band mates would most likely worry about him not being around as much, so they were a no. No one would ever want to ask Kat. And you have relationship problems so that’s a definite no. So I was almost the last choice,”

“Next time, don’t do that around us. All the awkwardness shows up and it’s not a very nice feeling,” he said, his eyes gazing as Kat as she walked back into the kitchen.

“Grandma says there are frozen pizzas you can heat up,” She said, taking one from the freezer and putting it into the microwave. “So you’re going to meet you parents tonight?”

“I don’t know anymore, I’m too nervous to meet them now,” Stephen answered, placing his forehead on the counter and smelling the freshly warm pizza that was now in front of him.

-----

“Do you see them?” Lexi asked, jumping on Stephen’s shoulders to catching a glimpse of the top of peoples’ heads. Stephen shook his head, looking at the picture they had printed out from the computer. Not many people had dark hair and green eyes, right? Well here, they kind of did. Only his family stuck out like a sore thumb. Adriana was walking with Chelsea, who kept glancing over at Stephen and nodding.

“Can we go now?” Stephen asked his mom as she walked over. Adriana nodded, rubbing Stephen’s back as they started to head out the door with Lexi.

“Excuse me!” They heard a woman’s voice from behind them. The trio turned around, to see Diana Ricci almost in tears as soon as she saw Stephen. “I can’t believe it’s really you,” she sobbed, embracing the monster in a tight hug. Not wanting to be rude, or make himself feel more awkward, she hugged her back, only to have Diana hug him tighter. “Raul, look who it is!” she called out. Raul Ricci rushed over to see what the commotion was all about.

“Is it really him?” he asked, Diana nodded to his question. And yet again, Stephen was embraced in a tight hug.

“I see you guys like to hug a lot,” he laughed. Once being able to breathe, Stephen looked at his biological parents. All he could say was, “Hi,”

“How did you manage to find us?” Raul asked.

“Traveling all over Europe and almost dying,” Lexi chimed in. “I’m Lexi De Luca, Stephen’s best friend,” she smiled, hugging the monster’s arm tight.

“You go by Stephen now? I like it, much better than Marco,” Diana laughed. “But where are your parents?”

“That would be me,” Adriana stepped in and smiled. “Adriana Fanelli. All this time I’ve been doing your makeup and never once guessed you were my son’s biological mother,” Diana was about to say something, when a reporter interrupted the family meeting.

“Diana, a quick interview would be nice,” they said.

“Funny, Lindsey, but I found my son. Well, he found us. Linds, this is Stephen, his mother Adriana and his best friend Lexi De Luca,” Diana explained.

“Lexi De Luca? As in Alexis De Luca, born on January 5th in Italy?” Lindsey asked.

“Uh, yes?” Lex answered awkwardly, taking a step back and slowly shifting behind Stephen.

“I’m your mother,” Lindsey said, covering her mouth with her palms. Lexi now knew where she got her blonde hair from, including her blue eyes. She slowly inched closer towards Lindsey, but eventually jumped in her and hugged her tight.

“This is such a strange family reunion,” Stephen whispered to his mom.

“Don’t worry, I’ll come up with something to make things less awkward for you guys,” Adriana winked, stepping closer towards the newly found parents. “I wouldn’t want to break up the reunion, but maybe we can set us an arrangement so you all can get to know Stephen and Lexi better,” she proposed.

“I don’t see why not,” Lindsey smiled, along with Raul and Diana nodding.

“Alright, this is what I propose,” Adriana started, and then led the parents away from any press and the two misfits. Seeing her wink again, Stephen nodded and made his way out of the building and into the chilly spring air.

“Finally things can get back to normal around here. Oh, and your dad's parents were wrong. You look more like your mother,” Lexi said, taking Stephen’s hand and swinging it back and forth.

“This is us we’re talking about here. Nothing is ever normal for us. But hopefully, they’ll get better from here on. Yeah, I caught one when I saw my dad had dark brown hair,” he smiled, squeezing her hand and quickly apparating back to Mrs. Way’s home.