2.1 | No Sparks Required

05 | lattice

A/N

Welcome back to another new chapter of No Sparks Required! I hope you've all been well!

As usual, the settings of these scenes, while loosely based on the original version, have also been completely rewritten to match the revamped plot. I hope you enjoy it and thank you so much for reading!

x Noelle

  

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F I V E

l a t t i c e

A regular repeated three-dimensional arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a metal or other crystalline solid.

AS PER MY arrangement with Brendan, I have my study desk all tidied up by Saturday morning, with nothing but my Chemistry notes, some freshly-bought cupcakes, and a pot of very strong coffee (that would probably come to bite me in the ass later tonight). The only thing left for me to do is to get my parents out of the house before Brendan comes over.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't love my parents. I do, dearly. It's just that they can be a bit...much. Dad's your average workaholic, but because of that, he tries desperately to not be the absent father when he doesn't have to go to work. A little too desperately, if I'm being entirely honest. Who's this boy? he'll say, if he ever met Brendan. How old are you? How did you two meet? What plans do you have for your future? And what are your intentions with my daughter?

It'd be a miracle if Brendan actually made it out of my house alive.

And don't even get me started on Mom. Her methods are totally different, but no less embarrassing. I suspect it's because she used to be a cheerleader back in high school, the one who dated the quarterback, the queen bee of the it crowd. Now that she's pushing fifty, she wants to be the fun mom, the cool mom. The mom who bakes (buys) the best cookies, drives around in a sports car with sunglasses and heels, and very enthusiastically taught her daughter all about safe sex (as soon as said daughter had her first period).

Yeah, okay, Mom and Dad have to leave. Pronto.

I square my shoulders resolutely and make my way downstairs. Dad still has his nose buried in the newspapers, while Mom's playing some game on her phone. She looks super engrossed in it, but I bet she's stuck at, like, level five or something. This is going to be tricky.

"...hi," I start, as morosely as I can.

Mom frowns at my face. "That is not a happy 'hi'. Poor darling, did something happen? Come sit and tell us. Do you want some cookies?" Dad doesn't look away from the newspaper, but he pulls out a chair and motions me to it.

I settle down with a sigh. "I'm okay. It's just that my friend Dani's parents are getting a divorce – " True. Not a lie. " – and she's pretty bummed about it – " Half-true. Okay, so Dani did see this coming from miles away. " – and she said it's probably because they haven't been out on dates for awhile." Total lie. Dani's parents haven't been out on dates because they've already been seeing other people for the past two years.

Am I a bad daughter for manipulating my parents out of the house because I'm bringing a boy over? ...but it's for my grades!

"Oh, that must be so difficult for your friend," Mom says with heartfelt sympathy. "And for you, too. I know a lot of kids your age have parents who are getting divorced. Even the Joneses next door are separating, aren't they?" she adds to Dad.