60 Disneyland

"Are you excited?", Desiree asked when she saw Matt walk into the kitchen.

"For what?", Matt asked, yawning as he sat down on a chair.

"Disneyland!", Desiree answered as she set down a cup of coffee alongside some toast.

"That's today?", Matt asked, "I forgot".

"No surprise there", Zephyr muttered, loud enough for Matt to hear him.

"Hey!", Matt stood up, "That was an accident and you know it".

"What was an accident?", Desiree inquired, looking between them.

"When I was 4, he took me to Disneyland and lost me", Zephyr explained.

"That is not the full story and you know it", Matt argued, still not sitting down.

Rolling his eyes, Zephyr added more context, "Right. Dad and I were waiting in a line but he went to get something and forgot about me. I went on the ride and waited for him for an hour but he didn't come. So then I went to one of the staff and used their phone to call Mom who picked me up".

"Uhm", Matt muttered, "Would you believe me if I said that I had a reason?"

In response, Zephyr and Desiree each raised an eyebrow. "What was your reason then?", Desiree questioned, internally hoping that he, at the very least, had a valid reason.

Before Matt could answer, Zephyr interrupted, "He accidentally lost his ticket so he went out of line to get another one. On the way there, he saw one of his friends and they were catching up at some churro place when Mom and I finally found them".

Hearing this, Desiree looked at Matt with disappointment evident in her eyes. Trying to defend himself, Matt exclaimed, "It was a mate from high school that I hadn't seen in years!".

Instead of letting him continue, Desiree raised her hand for him to stop, "No need to explain yourself", and walked away.

"You should be ashamed of yourself", Zephyr muttered, also walking out of the kitchen. As soon as he rounded the corner, both he and Desiree bumped their fists. "He doesn't remember and he's got no idea about your plan".

"I'm really glad you're helping me", Desiree said to Zephyr, "It's going to be such a big surprise when he finds out".

"Alex informed her parents and Jay. I've called Melaina, Nikos and his friends", Zephyr said, "What about you?"

"I told his parents about the plan and Cam helped me plan things as well", Desiree said, receiving a nod from Zephyr. "He's going to be so shocked when he sees it".

"With the amount of effort and planning that's gone into this, he better be shocked" Zephyr muttered under his breath.

"You can never be too sure", Desiree shrugged her shoulders, "But I hope that he doesn't find out". As she walked up the stairs with Zephyr, she looked at him and asked, "What about you? Happy to spend time with your girlfriend at possibly one of the most romantic places on Earth".

"I'm happy", Zephyr neutrally answered.

"Ugh", Desiree huffed, "You're no fun to tease".

"Then don't try to tease me", Zephyr rolled his eyes and walked ahead.

"Ahh", Desiree nostalgically sighed, "It used to be so easy. What happened?".

"I grew up", Zephyr yelled from the top of the stairs, "And I've had a girlfriend for over a year, I've gotten used to your mild teasing".

"Mild!", Desiree exclaimed, however, Zephyr ignored her and walked into his room. Seeing this, Desiree shouted, "Oy! Zephyr! Get back here right now! My teasing is not mild!".

[With the Dunphys]

Alex and Haley were walking down the stairs when the doorbell was suddenly run. "Ah", Claire exclaimed, "That must be Ethan".

"Who's Ethan?", Haley asked.

"Didn't I tell you?", Claire muttered as she put on her jacket, "My friend Bethany's nephew is coming over with us for today. He moved to town to go to college. He's very nice, very smart. Big hockey player as well".

"I know what you're doing", Haley deadpanned.

"Really?", Alex sarcastically replied, "She was being so subtle as well you know?".

Ignoring Alex's comment, Haley remarked, "I can't believe you did this. I'm not going to babysit Bethany's nephew. Alex can have him".

"I'm going to have to pass on your rejects", Alex stated, "I'm more than happy with Zephyr".

"Hi, Ethan!", Claire greeted as she shook Ethan's hand, "I'm glad you could make it".

"Thanks for inviting me", Ethan replied, releasing her hand.

"Hey. I'm Alex", Alex said, not paying him much attention and instead messaging someone on her phone.

"So. Ethan was it?", Haley asked as she shook his hand, "I'm Haley".

"Why are you not acting like Haley?", Claire whispered to Alex.

"It's simple", Alex replied, "Zephyr's just better".

Hearing Alex's answer, Claire's brain short-circuited before recovering a few seconds later. "Damn it!" Claire cursed, "You're right".

[Time Skip]

"And that Alex's boyfriend, Zephyr", Haley introduced, pointing towards the group of 7 coming towards them, "The guy next to him is his dad, Matt, while the woman is Desiree and her daughter Bella. The other guy is Nikos, Zephyr's uncle, while the blonde next to him is his wife Elena. The woman with black hair is Zephyr's aunt, Melaina".

"Wow", Ethan muttered, "There's a lot of people you guys know here today. You're all like a really big family".

At his words, Haley laughed, muttering, "Big family".

"She likes him!", Claire exclaimed.

"Yeah. Who wouldn't?", Cam remarked, "Where'd you find him? A Tommy Hilfiger catalogue".

"He got a 2200 on his S.A.T.s", Claire whispered, "And those eyes".

"Okay. Did you get him for Haley or for you?", Mitchell teased.

"Mitch", Claire murmured.

"Fine. Fine", Mitchell raised his arms in surrender, "But still. You have to remember why we came here".

"I know. I know", Claire said.

"Okay!", Phil yelled, attracting everyone's attention, "All people over 46 inches, our first stop is Indiana Jones!".

"Have fun at the teacups Lily!", Luke smugly said as he followed Phil.

"Actually", Zephyr interrupted, "Alex and I were planning on going to the Haunted Mansion by ourselves".

"So we'll all meet up later", Alex added. Grabbing Zephyr's arm, she walked away, "Bye!".

"Did they just?", Claire muttered.

"Yep", Mitchell agreed.

"But. But but but but but", Claire mumbled.

"Let it go Claire", Jay stopped her blabbering, putting his hand on her shoulder, "They're big kids. And they're smart as well so they know what to do if there's any problem".

"They both have phones", Mitchell added, "So they can call us if anything bad happens".

Claire sighed, "You're right. Let's just g-". Looking at Cam, she asked, "What is that on Lily?".

Cam proudly answered, "It's a child safety tether".

"I thought that was a leash", Desiree said.

"It's not a leash", Cam argued, tugging on the leash to stop Lily from bolting away.

"It's a leash", Mitchell conceded, "Please don't judge us. Lily's going through a phase".

"And it involved strapping a leash around her like a dog?", Matt questioned.

"She kinda runs whenever she's free and Cam can't keep up with her", Mitchell answered.

"So your go-to idea was to tame her?", Jay inquired.

"You think of a better idea!", Mitchell exclaimed, frustrated by the looks he was receiving.

"Get her high heels for children so she can't run anymore", Nikos said.

Elena nodded her head, "That sounds like a better idea than leashing her".

"That is a better idea", Mitchell agreed, "But won't her feet hurt if she wears them for too long".

"It's either that or having everyone look at you", Melaina said, gesturing towards the looks they were getting from people walking past.

"Heels it is", Mitchell muttered, taking the least from Cam's hand.

[With Zephyr and Alex]

"I'm so glad we ditched them", Zephyr commented.

"I have to admit though", Alex muttered as she took a bite out of her cotton candy, "The Haunted Mansion wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be".

"That's exactly what I thought", Zephyr muttered. Just as he finished speaking, loud ear-piercing screams could be heard coming from the Haunted Mansion.

"Is it just us that didn't find the ride scary?", Alex questioned upon hearing the screams of children and adults alike.

"How many rides have we been to so far?", Zephyr inquired.

"I think at least 5", Alex answered.

Looking at his watch, Zephyr's eyes widened, "Shit! We have to go and meet up with everyone at Fantasyland".

"For your Dad's birthday party! I almost forgot!", Alex exclaimed.

"Let's go", Zephyr held out his hand which Alex grabbed, "Everyone's almost there. Even my grandfather came and he never leaves his house".

"We better hurry up then", Alex muttered, walking a bit faster.