Meeting the Parents (Sav, Janet)

[Savannah Lyons]

"I trust you," Savannah said immediately, trying to reassure him. He kept saying that to her, as if he didn't believe that she really did trust him. But she had no reason not to trust him. She had known him for a very long time, although he had only recently begun to talk to her. But she had always listened to him, even when she had pretended not to. He might have been more mischievous at times than she would have liked, but he was a good person. She knew that.

She followed him as he got the car to stop, and had to refrain from staring at it. She had seen cars before, of course. But she had never been inside of one, and it was almost exciting when he opened the door and ushered her inside. She sat down on the leather seat and began to look around with fascination.

After Cameron had given the instructions to the driver, she turned to him, her eyes wide. "I've never been in an automobile before. Do they always smell like this?"

[Cameron Wilder]

(yes, I realize british taxies are probably not yellow)

Cameron couldn't help but laugh at her, and he lifted a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. The last thing they needed was the driver shooting them dirty looks. "And no," he whispered. "Not all of them smell like this. Just the yellow ones." That was simple enough, he thought, deciding that being more subtle in the can now was a better way to go.

He watched her for a moment, wondering just how overwhelming all of this was for her. Or if she was enjoying it.

When they finally pulled up outside his mother's place, he gave Savannah a boyish grin. "Well... we're here. You okay?"

[Savannah Lyons]

It was overwhelming for her, but in a good way. Her world had been too narrow for too long, and she was rather enjoying the idea of trying new things. It was no longer even about doing things that her father wouldn't approve of; this was completely about her. There was a big world out there, and she wanted to experience it.

Right now she had hundreds of questions, but she didn't ask them. At first she watched the driver, how he turned the wheel in front of him and it made the car move in different directions. When he was angry at another driver, he would bang on the wheel and a loud honking sound would come out. But she couldn't figure out how he made the car stop and then start up again. After a while, she got bored of this and just began to watch the scenery as it passed by the window. The muggle world was so different from the wizarding world!

When the car finally came to a stop, Savannah was puzzled, and maybe a little disappointed. She turned to Cameron, and his smile made her knees feel weak. "Oh... this is your mother's house?" she asked. A nervous fluttery feeling spread through her stomach and she impulsively reached out for his hand. "Are you sure I look acceptable?"

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron just stared at her for a minute, quiet. She looked great. Not that she was flaunting anything, because Merlin knew she wouldn't. And she wasn't like Brenda, but that was one of the things Cameron appreciated about her.

"You look perfect. Why are you so concerned? Trust me, my mom is the last person who would judge you. I promise."

He opened the door and climbed out of the car, helping her out before he leaned into the front window and paid the driver. Taking Savannah's hand, he lead her up to the house and opened the door, not making a ceremony of it or anything.

"Mom?"

[Janet Wilder]

Janet was in the middle of talking to Nina when the door opened. She didn't have to look or hear his voice to know it was Cameron. They were a fairly informal household, and she certainly didn't expect him to knock on the door or anything like that.

"In here, Cam," she called, just barely able to stop herself from saying "baby," which certainly no 17-year old boy would want to be called in front of a girl. She glanced quickly at Nina, then braced herself just slightly as she stood up and turned toward the door to see the girl that Cameron thought worthy of bringing home to meet her.

Whatever she had been expecting of the girl Cameron was bringing, this girl was most definitely not it. She was lovely, of course, with long brown hair and large brown eyes. But other than that, she was nothing like what Janet had pictured. She was dressed in a very demure, old-fashioned looking dress, and honestly wouldn't have been out of place among her high school classmates back in the 50s. The effect could have been pretentious and snobby on anyone else... but there was something so incredibly fragile about this girl that Janet adored her immediately.

She went to her son and hugged him. "It's good to see you," she told him, then turned to look at the girl with a gentle smile. "And who's your friend?"

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah followed Cameron into the house, and for just a second her grip on his hand tightened in fear. Deep down, she knew this was nothing to fear, but how could she not feel a little nervous? She desperately wanted to make a good impression.

Her eyes were wide as she stepped inside behind Cameron and looked around the house. It was modest and tastefully decorated, and very clean, with the vague scent of lemons in the air. But she didn't have time to really look around, because Cameron's mother was coming over to them, and Savannah looked over at her, keeping her eyes downcast just slightly, as was proper. She was... exactly what she had expected her to look like. She had an aura of warmth and intelligence, and Savannah liked her immediately. She only hoped that Cameron's mother would like her, too!

When Mrs. Wilder turned to her, she had to restrain herself from curtsying. Instead, she merely smiled shyly and waited for Cameron to introduce her.

[Nina Wilder]

Nina, on the other hand, was much more energetic about the whole affair, and she was off the couch and on her feet just seconds after Nina, and she had her arms around Cameron, practically squeezing the life out of him. "It's so good to see you, Cam! I missed my baby nephew."

After letting go of Cameron, she took one look at the girl, and shot a look back at Cameron. She didn't look very wild. She didn't let this stop her, thought, and she put her arms around the girl. "Hey, sweetie. Welcome!"

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah was taken by surprise when the other woman, whom she assumed to be Cameron's aunt, pulled her into a hug. Savannah wasn't particularly used to being hugged. In fact, she could count on one hand the number of times she had been hugged by someone other than Elliot. Her mother had hugged her a couple of times when her father wasn't around, and Cameron had done it once while she was crying. So it was not something she was used to. But she desperately didn't want to be rude, either. If she didn't respond, she would probably be marked as being rude and snobbish, and she certainly didn't want that. So she shyly wrapped her arms around the other woman, but she still didn't speak.

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron was about to open his mouth and make the introductions and everything, hugging his mother back tightly, when Nina made her whirlwind sweet through them. He laughed.

"Hey, Nina. Glad you made it." He didn't comment on being called her 'baby nephew,' but Nina clearly didn't have the discretion that her sister did. He could tell Savannah was uncomfortable with being hugged, not that he figured Nina would care too much, and he let go of her hand when she moved to hug the woman back.

"Yeah... Mom, Nina, this is Savannah Lyons. She's Elliot's sister. Savannah, this is my mom, Janet, and her sister, Nina." That was all he needed to say, right?

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah's cheeks were pink as she looked first at Nina (since she was right in front of her) and then at Cameron's mother. All eyes were on her, and she felt very self-conscious. Did she look OK? Did they like her? What was she supposed to say?

Again, it took every ounce of self-restraint she had not to curtsy. Her father had trained her to curtsy when she met someone, and not to make eye contact or speak until spoken to. But she had learned that people simply didn't curtsy anymore, and so she was trying to break that habit.

"It's nice to meet both of you," she said politely, smiling. "You have a lovely home, Ms. Wilder."

[Janet Wilder]

For a second there, Janet thought the girl was going to dip into a curtsy. But surely people didn't do that these days... it was the 70s, after all. Maybe wizard families were different, more old-fashioned. But Janet certainly didn't stand on ceremony... this was a casual house, and she hoped the girl would be able to relax a little while she was here. It seemed like she was trying to hard to be polite that it hurt.

"Savannah," she said warmly, taking the girl's hand. "That's a lovely name. I met your brother a couple of years ago, and I can certainly see the resemblance. Please, come sit down."

[Nina Wilder]

Nina let Janet usher the girl towards the living room, falling into step behind the two of them with Cameron by her side.

"Really?" she mouthed. Cameron rolled his eyes and shook his head, quietly trying to tell Nina that it wasn't like that.

"Mom," he said, instead. "Savannah's a musician too."



(sorry I kind of combined those...)

[Janet Wilder]

Well, that made sense, Janet thought, and she relaxed a little more. She had been wondering what, other than Cameron's friendship with Savannah's brother, he could possibly have in common with this girl. But if she was a musician... well, Janet understood a little more.

"Really?" she said, looking at Savannah. "That's great. What do you play?"

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah would not have characterized herself as a musician, and she blushed to her Cameron refer to her as one. As she seated herself on the sofa, she looked up at Cameron's mother and shook her head.

"Oh, no. I'm hardly a musician. I can play piano, and sing a little, but I'm really not very good. Cameron is much better than I am."

She looked over at Cameron for just a moment, and her eyes were wide with fear. She just had this horrible feeling that they hated her and that she was making a bad impression.

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron made sure to sit next to her on the couch, forcing his mother and his aunt to use the chairs in the room. He hoped some of the distance between her and his relatives would help her relax a little. The look she gave him both made him want to laugh, and broke his heart.

He took her hand again, and then just turned into... well, Cameron. He shot a glance at Nina, and the two of them could keep the conversation rolling. "No, don't listen to her. She's really good. So, Mom... were you surprised to see Nina? I was kind of proud of myself for coordinating that, you know." He didn't want the conversation focused on her. This wasnt about them getting to know her, but just letting her be in a more relaxed environment because he thought it would be good for her.

[Savannah Lyons]

When he took her hand, Savannah immediately felt better. Strange how such a simple gesture could be so comforting. She relaxed even more when Cameron turned the conversation away from her for a moment, and she smiled gratefully at him before turning to look at Cameron's mother and aunt.

His aunt was very pretty, and just a little exotic. She was, quite honestly, the exact kind of girl Savannah was intimidated by, mainly because there was a part of her that desperately longed to be just like them. Nina seemed like a free spirit, filled with energy and enthusiasm for life, who could make men fall in love with her just by smiling in their direction. She was confident and utterly unafraid. Savannah envied that.

Cameron's mother was more mature, like one who had lived life already and was hoping just to settle down. She was attractive and intelligent-looking, and just a little bit artistic.

Savannah wished she knew how to interact with them in a more casual manner. It wasn't supposed to be this hard.

[Janet Wilder]

Janet smiled at the girl. "If Cameron says you're good, then I'm sure you are. He has excellent taste in music... and I taught him everything he knows."

That wasn't entirely true, of course. Cameron had taken to the piano like a fish to water. In the beginning, she taught him, but after a while, he started teaching her in a way. And she had never really taught him the guitar at all... but they had both started learning it around the same time.

She noticed how he took Savannah's hand, and how she relaxed when he did. Janet determined in that moment that Savannah really was a sweet girl, just painfully shy. It still surprised her that her son would be interested in a girl like this, but to a certain extent she was relieved. If he brought in some trashy blonde with too much makeup and not enough clothes, Janet would have been horrified. But, oh, if he got this girl pregnant, she was going to kill him.

"That was very sneaky of you!" she teased him. "I was not expecting to see Nina at all... I wasn't even sure where she was. Do those owls of yours have the ability to find people where ever they are? Or has Nina been writing to you and not me?" She shot her sister an accusing look at this, but then broke into a smile.

[Nina Wilder]

"Oh... see, this makes sense to me. You're a musician too. That explains a lot."

Nina, of course, was nowhere near as subtle as Janet was. Life was too short to imply things, really, and she just had a big mouth. She was known for her opinions getting her in trouble. But whatever she expected this girl to be, and she wasn't, was all forgiven by the fact that she was a pianist. Had she known that Savannah was a singer, too, she might have told Cameron to marry her on the spot. Not that she would have judged anyone who wasn't a singer or somehow musically inclinced- it just made sense that this was why Cameron was attracted to her. She just barely held her tongue to ask if she was pregnant. So she had some tact.

"Well, you're in good company here. No modesty allowed. Janet's a cellist, Cam's a pianist, even if he claims he's not, and I'm a singer. Well, a dancer first, singer second. And you're a pianist too. Very cool. Are you hungry, sweetie? I know Cam must be. Janet ordered a pizza, but I'm sure we can find something in the cabinets until it gets here."

Her eyes drifted towards Janet and she laughed. "God, Cam's trying to get me in trouble, is he? No. An owl dropped off a letter for me. Which, by the way, I want one, Cam."

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron also chuckled at his mother's question, though maybe a little too quickly to take the emphasis off of Nina's words.

"No, Mom. Nina hasn't been so fantastic about keeping in touch with me, either. But owls are capable of finding almost anyone, as long as they want to be found."

His hand was still holding Savannah's, and he wished desperately for a moment that he could go talk to his mom alone. It didn't dawn on him because Cameron didn't think. Ever. But was beginning to see now how overwhelming this could be for Savannah. Even the pizza thing... he wondered if he could get her to eat with her hands.

"And Nina's a liar. I'm not a pianist or anything."

[Savannah Lyons]

Probably the only good thing that her father had ever taught her was how to behave with dignity and grace in the face of criticism. That didn't mean that she wouldn't cry about it later, when she was alone, but at least she could always hold her head up high and paste on a demure smile.

Nina probably hadn't meant it how it sounded, Savannah told herself. But the words still cut her. It made sense that Cameron liked her. because she was a musician. It explained a lot. Which meant that it didn't make sense before that. Which meant that somehow, some way, Nina was disappointed in her. Like she thought Savannah was somehow not right for Cameron. Never mind that they weren't a couple, or that she wasn't a musician. She still felt like somehow, she was wrong. There was something wrong with her. Maybe she wasn't pretty enough or her manners weren't right. Maybe she should have curtsied.

But Cameron's mother seemed to like her just fine. Savannah was puzzled and confused and she clung a little more tightly to Cameron's hand.

"The pizza is fine, thank you."

She just barely stopped herself from admitting that she had never had pizza before. She just had a feeling that Nina would somehow find that strange or weird, and she would be less inclined to approve of her.

"Yes, you are," she said to Cameron. "You're a very good pianist. You also play the guitar very well."