80 Days of the United States
 

Maria Charday was not having a happy summer. After getting out of Italy for a year, she was dragged across the Atlantic and brought to a small town on the East Coast of the United States.

She missed Hogwarts, and Diagon Alley, and all the quirks of the Wizarding World in Europe.

But most of all, she missed her family. And she was quite certain that they weren't showing up anytime soon.

She had only been in this house for 80 days. 80 days of being in the States was enough to drive her mad.

The house she lived in was small. Two stories, two bedrooms, one bathroom, a normal sized kitchen, a living room, a dining room, and a closed in porch.

The one bedroom upstairs was quiet and well-lit. Maria claimed it as her own the minute she walked in, and spent all her time there, and out on the small balcony extending from the window.

Characters:
Maria Charday
Catarina Charday

Guests:
Alex Hendricks
Mikey Grainger
Adrianna Hendricks
Bradin Westerly
Justin Hendricks

*dances*
 

Maria sighed and blew her orange hair from her face and stared up at her ceiling sadly. She was bored out of her mind! She rolled off the bed and walked downstairs, and the smell of stewing tomatoes hit her nose and she groaned. "MUM! I've told you not to cook tomatoes when I'm in the house!" she complained, already feeling her face start to break out as she flopped onto the sofa with a pillow over her nose.

Catarina Charday raised an eyebrow and poked her head out of the kitchen. "Maria, it's for dinner. You aren't going to eat it. So deal with it!" she snapped, her Italian accent thick and harsh.

Alex sighed glancing over at a rather silent Justin. Was he thinking about something? He was under the impression Justin rather liked the idea of being back in the US again but it didn't seem like it now. He shook his head and nudged his son to try and break the trance he seemed to be in. "Are you getting out of the car or not? We've not got all day y'know!" he said putting his hand on top of the car door waiting for Justin to listen up and get out already.

Justin sat quietly in the car not taking notice of his surroundings or even the fact that they'd arrived at their destination. He was too busy thinking about the past. He had a lot of memories of being in the US and if he was honest, some were memories he wished he could just wipe out of his memory forever. Finally snapping out of his trance, he looked up at his dad and shrugged. "Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about a few things" he replied and climbed out of the car. His eyes widened when he saw the house they'd arrived at. And this was where Maria was living now? Why couldn't he have lived in a house like this when he was growing up. He shook his head and made his way toward the door and knocked lightly. If he was honest, he was kind of nervous. As far as he knew he'd never met Maria's mother so this was going to be the first time.

Ad sighed and slid out of the car and stood next to Justin and sighed as she heard Maria's mother shout in Italian. "I don't know why Maria still puts up with this woman, honestly...." she mumbled.

Catarina set the ladle down and flipped her short blonde hair from her face as she walked from the door. She opened it and her eyebrow shot up at the group at the door. "What do you want?" she asked lowly.

Maria moaned miserably on the sofa, the pillow still over her face as the smell of stewing tomatoes got stronger. "Mama...who is it....?" she asked with a moan, earning herself a glare and a 'no one'.

Justin folded his arms and tapped his foot on the floor impatiently. He looked over at Ad then realised who she was talking about. Why exactly what she talking in Italian? They were in the US. Unless she didn't want them to know what she was saying. He sighed waiting for her to eventually answer the door. His eyebrows rose at her tone and his eyes narrowed. Was she really taking that tone with guests? Now that was just plain rude. "We're here for Maria. Y'know, after you dragged her all the way here away from the people she knows" he responded, his eyes shooting wide open and his glare sharpening. Last time he checked Maria was allergic to tomatoes so why exactly was she stewing them? "And since when do you give your daughter who's allergic to tomatoes tomatoes? Or stew them where she is?" he responded. He knew he wasn't in a position to be judging her style but it was beside the point.

Alex shot a warning look at Justin the looked at the woman standing in front of them. "Excuse him! He's just a little fact based. But we are taking Maria on a road trip, I trust she told you?" he told the woman. He didn't even know her name but he did know she was Maria's mother and he didn't particularly like her. That was just from her tone alone.

Catarina raised an eyebrow. "I took her away with good reason, I'll have you know" she said curtly, looking behind her. Her daughter was curled in a ball and hiding her nose. She looked back at the group. "It's not my fault. She eats away from everyone else anyway, and I can cook whatever I damn well please in my kitchen!" she snapped.

She shook her head. "No, I wasn't told. And honestly, I don't care. She can go. I wouldn't care if you didn't bring her back either!" she threw her hands in the air. "Go, Maria" she said, muttering in Italian.

Maria looked up in shock, but didn't question it and dashed upstairs to throw some stuff together, and came bounding back downstairs, covering her nose until she was out in open air. "I'm free!" she laughed a little.

Ad chuckled and grabbed the shorter ginger girl in a fierce hug. "I've missed you, Mari" she mumbled into the girl's hair. Maria was her best friend, cousin, step-sister. They'd had their moments but always got over it.

Justin felt his jaw fall. He was shocked. She didn't care about her own daughter? "I beg your pardon? You don't care if we bring her back or not? Some mother you are!" he replied shaking his head. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Looking at Maria he rolled his eyes and then smiled at her. "Looks like we got here just in time" he muttered turning away from the house and making his way toward the car. He'd heard enough.

Alex rolled his eyes at the woman before him and shook his head. "I can guarantee here is the last place we'll be bringing her back to" he responded. Why would he bring Maria back to someone who didn't appear to care whether she went back to England or not? And what did she mean by 'good reason'. "Oh and if that good reason for dragging her away was to make her unhappy, you're doing an amazing job. Now if you'll excuse me, we have the US to explore and a teenager to give happiness to" he said before turning his back on her and looking at Maria. "Ready to go?" he asked with a polite smile.

Catarina rolled her eyes and slammed the door behind her daughter, scowling heavily.

Maria watched Justin walk back to the car and looked down guiltily. She hadn't meant for them to go through so much trouble. She looked up at Alex. "I guess so..." she sighed, realizing the one person she wanted to see most, she didn't see. She half expected Mikey to be right there with them.

Justin's head shot up the minute he heard what Maria was thinking. "Don't worry, Mikey's in the other car with Bradin. They sorta got lost though I don't see how, they were following us" he told her leaning against the car waiting for them to join him.

Alex shook his head at Maria's mother then concentrated on Maria herself. "Let's go. We've got a lot of cities to explore and one very impatient person waiting" he said making his way over to the car.

Maria's face lit up at what Justin said and smiled wide. "Okay" she nodded and slid into the backseat and Ad flopped down beside her. "So, where are we going from here?" she asked curiously, clinging to the the seat in front of her.

Justin climbed in the car and looked over at his dad then at Maria in the rear view mirror. "To get something to eat. I'm starving" he replied.

Maria snorted in laughter and shook her head. "There's a bunch of little cafes and restraunts around here" she nodded. She looked at the people in the car and grinned to herself. "So how's everyone been?" she asked with a smile still plastered to her face.

Ad chuckled and rolled her eyes. "You're always hungry, Justin!" she said, giggling. She looked at Maria and shrugged. "I've been alright. Missing my Mari LOADS" she said, giving Maria another tight squeeze, making Maria squeak.

Justin looked at Maria in the rear view mirror again with an eyebrow raised. "I know, I used to live around these parts" he replied shuddering at the bad memories that continued to float around his brain. He looked at his dad and smiled a little then concentrated on the road ahead. "I don't know about anybody else but I've been great" Looking at Ad, he shook his head. "Not always. Only when I've not had anything to eat for like an hour" he replied. So that was pretty much every two hours then? He forced back the urge to roll his eyes seeing the two girls in the back. "Girls..." he muttered to no-one in particular.

Alex looked at Justin then concentrated on the road again listening as the three of them continued to talk away amongst themselves. He was just concentrating on getting to their destination without anything going wrong.

Maria tilted her head. "Oh..I didn't know that..." she said. She always found different stuff out everyday. She looked behind them in the rear window and sighed. "So, where are Bradin and them, exactly?" she asked softly, biting her lip.

Justin smiled and shrugged. "There's a lot you don't know about me. The states holds a couple bad memories for me but believe it or not the good overpowers the bad" he admitted. He looked at Ad in the rear-view mirror and smiled then concentrated on Maria again. "Well if I know Bradin, he forgot the roads around here and got himself lost on the way to your place. He'll probably be stuck in the middle of town somewhere" he replied.

Ad sighed as she listened to Justin, and rested her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly. She returned the smile sweetly.

Maria raised an eyebrow as she watched Justin and Ad. Did they think she didn't see the looks they were exchanging? She sighed heavily and nodded in response to what Justin was saying. Even though she was in a car full of people, she still felt a little lonely.

Justin smiled slightly at Ad again and concentrated on the road ahead. Something told him he'd just made the atmosphere more awkward than it should have been. Looking over at his dad, he sighed biting the inside of his cheek nervously. What could he possibly have to be nervous of? Aside from possibly seeing aunts and uncles he'd not seen in years.

Alex glanced at Justin then glanced at Maria and Ad through the rear-view mirror and raised an eyebrow. "You okay back there?" he asked. It was too quiet in the car and he didn't like it. Maria didn't seem as though she was particularly happy being here, Justin was over-thinking and Ad knew exactly what the poor kid was thinking. The atmosphere was either tense or extremely awkward. He couldn't quite work it out.

Ad squeezed Justin's shoulder again and sighed softly. She didn't like Justin being so quiet. 'I love you' she sighed mentally, trying to cheer him up a little.

[color="green"]Maria looked up. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just, I dunno...I guess it hasn't really registered that I'm not at home still" she lied.

Justin smiled lifting his head up. "I love you too" he smiled.

Alex looked at Justin then at Ad and shook his head. "I do wish you two wouldn't do that" he complained. It was annoying. They could have a conversation without anybody knowing what it was about. He looked back at Maria and raised his eyebrows. "You know I can spot a liar a mile off, right?"

Ad smiled slightly and slung her arm over the seat. She looked over at Alex and raised an eyebrow, then stuck her tongue out at him like a child. 'You should smile more. It looks good on you' she said mentally again.

Maria sighed. She looked out the window. "I just...kind of wish I was in the other car..." she sighed, and it sounded like all one word from saying it so fast.

Justin smiled again taking hold of Ad's hand gently and holding it to his chest. "My smile is the one trait everybody comments on" he responded.

Alex shook his head. "Okay, do what you want!" he muttered. Finally arriving at their destination, Alex parked the car in the first parking bay he came across and turned in his seat after turning the ignition off. "Why?"

Ad smiled sweetly. "Because it's such a brilliant one" she said.

Maria stayed silent, still looking out the window. She knew Justin would pick up on her thoughts, but she felt selfish by wanting to see Mikey so badly.

Justin smiled back. "So we're back to talking openly" he smirked with a slight giggle. Picking up on Maria's thoughts, he slid his phone out of his pocket and phoned Mikey. "Where are you?" he asked when Mikey finally picked up.

Mikey looked at Bradin then concentrated on the phone call. "Umm, somewhere in the middle of town. About five minutes away from the cafe on the corner" he replied. Not that it helped much.

Ad giggled and nodded. "We are" she smiled.

Maria watched as Justin called what seemed to be either Bradin or Mikey. She bit her lip a little anxiously.

Justin raised an eyebrow and listened as Mikey spoke. "It's a good thing I know these parts better than you. We're already at the cafe you're talking about so hurry up. Maria wants to see you" he responded before ending the call before Mikey could start a conversation about her. He looked at Maria and smiled. "They'll be here in a few minutes. They got lost in town" he told her before opening the door and climbing out of the car.

[color="green"]Maria bit her lip as she listened to Justin talk to Mikey, then smiled a little when he spoke to her. "Okay" she said.

Justin smiled closing the car door. "Am I the only one getting out or what?" he asked leaning against the bonnet of the car.

Ad slid out of the car and leant against it. "Nope" she responded cheekily, giggling.

Maria got out of the car and sighed. She was nervous about seeing Mikey again. She didn't know why, but she was. She was crossing her fingers behind her back that she hadn't changed too much for him and chewed on her lip.

Justin looked out onto the road and raised his eyebrows when Bradin finally pulled into the parking lot. "About time..." he said randomly crossing his arms across his chest. He tilted his head to the side with his eyebrows raised and his foot tapping on the floor. "And where did you get to?" he asked with fake anger.

Mikey climbed out of the car and immediately walked over to Maria with so much excitement he was almost bouncing over to her. He looked at Justin and shrugged pointing at Bradin. "Ask the person who can't read a road map properly" he responded before concentrating on Maria and pulling her into a tight hug. "Hey princess" he whispered.

Climbing out of the car, Bradin rolled his eyes and looked at Mikey and Maria. "So that's what we've gotta put up with?" he muttered half jokingly to Justin. But that wasn't what Justin was asking. "I read the map wrong, ended up on the wrong road" he admitted.

Ad smiled as Justin waited for Bradin, and watched the two talk , and she smiled sightly, chuckling a little.

Maria squeaked and threw her arms around Mikey tightly. "Mikey..." she mumbled as she clung to him tightly. "I missed you so much" she said into his shoulder.

Cass slid out of the car to stretch her legs, and walked over to where Bradin was standing with Ad and Justin. "No, I just think he has an awful sense of direction" she teased lightly, smiling.

Justin glanced over at Mikey and Maria and shook his head. "Were we like that at their age?" he asked turning back to everyone else. He raised his eyebrows at Bradin and shook his head disapprovingly. "I knew you couldn't read maps very well but enough to get lost? I thought you knew this place?" he responded. Looking at Cass, he giggled. "I don't disagree with that. He always was a bit of a lost pebble"

Mikey smiled holding her close to him. "I missed you too" he replied with a wider smile.

Bradin looked at Maria and Mikey and shrugged. "I dunno, ask Alex. He seems to know more about us than we do ourselves" he replied with a another shrug. Looking at Cass he shook his head. "My sense of direction is perfect thank you" he replied. Bradin narrowed his eyes at Justin's comment and smirked. "Compared to Musical Marauder?"

Ad feels so awkward with Justin, Cass, and Bray because she's youngest, she says :3
 

Ad looked over at Maria and Mikey and smiled a little, locking her fingers with Justin's on impulse. She looked back to the other three and chuckled.

Maria lifted her face from Mikey's shoulder so she could kiss him softly. "I love you" she said softly.

Cass snickered at Justin's comment and then stuck her tongue out at Bradin. "Half and half" she said. She raised an eyebrow as she listened to Bradin and Justin go back and forth between each other.

She knows Justin doesn't like her feeling awkward
 

Justin looked down at Ad and smiled. "You okay, babe?" he asked squeezing her hand slightly and pulling her closer. He looked at Bradin and pretended to be shocked. "Musical Marauder is history and I was young. It sounded cool at the time" he replied defensively. Well he was young. To him anything sounded cool. He looked at Cass and raised his eyebrows. "How far out did he actually go?" he asked curiously.

Bradin shook his head and waved his finger in front of Justin's face. "I never forget these things, Prince of Cali" he responded teasingly earning a harsh look from his cousin. He loved winding Justin up. It was like the icing on the cake to him. He looked at Ad and smiled. "Sup, Ad" he said then concentrated on Cass again. "Okay, so my sense of direction isn't perfect but it's not awful. Is it?" he responded.

Mikey glanced over at everyone else then back at Maria. "I love you too, baby girl" he smiled before leaning down and kissing her sweetly.

Ad looked up and smiled a little. "Yeah..." she smiled a little. "I'm the youngest of the four of us so I feel a little awkward is all...." she explained mentally. She looked over at Bradin and smiled. "Hey"

Cass giggled at Justin and shook her head. "Not too far" she said. She looked up at Bradin and grinned. "Of course it isn't, Bray" she told him, smiling cheekily.

Maria returned the kiss and smiled. "I hated not talking to you" she told him softly.

Justin raised his eyebrows curiously. If she felt awkward then why didn't she just break the awkwardness and join in the banter? It might stop her feeling so awkward and it'd stop everyone else feeling awkward too. "Then join in" he whispered in her ear before concentrating on everyone else again. "Okay Prince of Cali wasn't that bad. And again, I was young, naive and one of the most popular kids on the block" he responded defensively. It was all true. Those were the happiest times he had in America. And they'd continue to be happy memories. "How far is not too far?" he asked Cass curiously.

Bradin raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "One of the most popular kids? Justin, you went around on your skateboard with almost every kid on the block following pretty close behind. You were the ring leader of that group. Even when they all knew I was there" he replied with a shrug. Bradin had always been that little tiny bit jealous of Justin. He was the kid who everyone liked simply because of what he had. But Bradin knew beyond the exterior. There was always more to Justin than what all the kids on the block saw.

Mikey smiled and interlocked his fingers with Maria's. "Distance has never been something I can cope with. I think Bradin told me to shut up about twenty times on the trip here" he admitted.

Ad smiled a little and nodded in agreement. 'It doesn't help that I don't know what either of you are talking about' she whispered back. That was exactly it. It was their past they were talking about, something she knew hardly anything about. She listened to Bradin and Justin go back and forth and smiled a little.

Cass shrugged. "What he said. Just the wrong street" she told Justin. She listened to her cousins and chuckled. "You realize that out of the four of us, you two are the only ones who are really talking and know what it is you're talking about, right?" she raised an eyebrow.

Maria chuckled. "I know the feeling. Although, I think the portrait you drew of me when we first met helped when I was missing you" she told him, a soft smile on her face.

Justin shook his head at Bradin. "Nah! I was never followed" he replied. Well at least he wasn't being sassy! He looked at Cass and shrugged dismisively. "Probably because our past is about the only thing we can agree on and use as a secret chats" he replied with a smirk. Looking at Ad, he smiled apologetically. "We're talking about how jealous Bradin used to be" he answered shooting a smirk at Bradin.

Ad chuckled a little. She rested her head on Justin's shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Bradin? Jealous? I honestly can't see that being possible..." she said honestly.

Cass snorted. "Secret chats? Okaaay..." she shook her head, laughing quietly. She looked up and tilted her head. "I agree with Ad. I can't see Bradin being jealous..."

Justin shrugged keeping his eyes fixed on the girls. "You'd be surprised how easy it is for Mr. Westerly over here to get jealous. It's actually quite entertaining. Though a jealous Bradin does spell some-- trouble, so to speak" he explained not daring to look at Bradin. He didn't need to look at him to know he was getting a little wound up over the current conversation. Whether it was true or not. "And as for the secret chats, Cass, well we're guys. I can't really explain it"

This is such I fail post I am so sorry-
 

"...Right..." Ad was still uncertain as to seeing Bradin jealous, until she turned to face the other brunette, and saw a gleam of envy in his eyes.

Cass looked up at Bradin and took his hand, squeezing it gently, smiling. She cast another glance in Justin's direction, an eyebrow raised. "If you say so, cousin dear..."

Don't worry about it, lovely.
 

Justin shrugged looking at Bradin. Perhaps now would be a good time to shut up. He could tell Bradin's patience was wearing thing. "Guess I hit a nerve" he muttered hoping nobody could hear him. Why could he never keep his mouth shut when he wanted to?

Bradin narrowed his eyes glaring at Justin. "Grow up, Hendricks" he said turning away to look at Cass. "Let's go for a walk" he smiled keeping his eyes fixed on her, his grip on her hand tightening slightly.

Ad touched Justin's shoulder gently. "Hey, listen. Don't get upset over it, okay? Just let him cool down and everything will be okay, okay?" she offered him a small smile.

Cass nodded and looked back at Ad and Justin, look on her face telling them that she didn't want to get stuck in the middle of all this. Frowning, she looked back at Bradin, and smiled slightly. "Bradin..." she stared quietly, looking back over at him.

Justin sighed looking down at the floor. He really did need to learn how to keep his mouth shut. "He's not annoyed at me, he's just taking it out on me" he responded folding his arms across his chest.

Bradin looked back at Justin and Ad before concentrating on Cass again. "What..?"

Ad sighed and hugged Justin's waist gently, nuzzling her face into the side of his shoulder. "I understand..." she had taken out her emotions on other people in the past, even when they hadn't done a single thing.

Cass frowned. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.