Just another good night's sleep. Dreams flashed across your conscious but by the time you'd wake up you most likely wouldn't be able to recall most of it. Who knows what kind of strange worlds or even alternate lives you might visit on these ethereal journeys...

In any case, this one got cut short, first by a gentle tickling on the sole of your foot that was followed by a kiss on the cheek shortly after. The feeling was unmistakable, there was a certain warmth that diffused across your skin that felt in a way that you had a hard time to describe. The easiest way to explain it was "magic" even though that was a rather cheap shot.

_{[Minor lore note: I haven't felt to mention this explicitly every single time but I believe we can safely assume that when at home, Blaise and his family communicate entirely in Spanish. It may extend to Dolores' household and even Sheila's]}

"Hello, mom" You spoke groggily, eyes still closed but you knew that you'd have to get up soon. You felt a couple more kisses on your cheek and then her hand caressed your hair. You also heard someone else giggling, your big sis Ariadne.

"What?" You asked before you yawned and stretched your arms.

"You even wake up like a cat" Ariadne said with a playful chuckle.

"Would be nice if you liked fish like cats do" Miriam, your mom, chimed in.

"That again? I mean I do enjoy shrimp... you should thank grandma Regina, she made me eat too much fish when I was little" You replied as you gradually opened your eyes, trying not to get blinded by the sunlight. By the look of it, it was most likely around 9 or 10 AM.

"He's got a point" Ariadne said to your mom.

"Well, she was a nurse and she says that the phosphorus in fish is important for the brain. I'd say it worked, you two are pretty smart" Your mom said, patting your head.

"Anyway, to what do I owe the visit?" You asked before you sat up, raising an eyebrow. Your mom coming to wake you up was already odd but having Ariadne present for it definitely seemed off. Both of them often let you sleep in if it was a weekend, holiday or vacation and there were no important plans.

"What, can a mom not come and say good morning to her baby boy?" Miriam did a fake pout that was undeniably cute.

"Ok, touché" You chuckled, blushing some more from getting balled 'baby boy'.

"Same goes for a sister" Ariadne said, still with that cheeky smile of hers.

"But there's a good reason we woke you up" Your mom continued.

"You see, we're gonna be out all summer"

"Huh?! Wait, what?!" You almost jumped out of the bed.

"Why? Where are we going?"

"Relax" Your mom said, ruffling your hair with her hand.

"I meant 'we' as in your dad, your sister and I"

"Huh, are we doing the Mexican version of 'Home Alone' now or what?" You replied.

"Hah, that'd be something" Your mom chuckled.

"No, the thing is that I'm going to be traveling along with Mayor Patricia all around the whole state on various important business errands, she's gonna run for Governor, remember?"

"Oh, right" You nodded.

"I'd say it's gonna be rather boring but traveling all around the state is a little fun, but I knew that you'd rather stay and spend the summer with your friends, wouldn't you?" She then said.

"I mean, yeah" You nodded again. It was a fair point, you weren't all that fond of having to leave your home, plus you really wanted to spend whatever free time you had with your friends if it could be helped.

"Maybe you should hurry up picking a good wife so I can have grandchildren" Your mom said, playfully poking you on the tip of your nose with a finger.

"Mom!" You immediately got flustered at the suggestion.

"Wait, what about Ariadne? Why don't you ask her for grandchildren?"

"Oh, trust me, I will when the time is right. But that's besides the point. I still want grandchildren from you" Your mom said as she sat next to you and wrapped an arm around your neck, getting you to rest your head on her ample bosom.

"Being fully honest, I want to see a mini-you again, plus any mother would love nothing more than see the child that they raised with so much love and care finally blossom and give fruit of their own. A child born from your own flesh and blood, just like you were from mine"

"I'm feeling a bit attacked here" Ariadne giggled.

"Oh, shush! You know we all love you very much too. But I think even you know what I mean, don't you?" Miriam said and Ariadne nodded.

"Can't wait to be the cool, fun aunt" She further teased you.

"I swear every other American parent would be happy that their son isn't fooling around and getting in any sort of serious trouble. Besides, it's not like I'm super popular and have girls lined up for me, sheesh" You said, looking away.

"You said it, American parents, which neither your dad nor I are" Your mom smiled.

"Also, is that so? A little birdy's told me you're quite popular at school"

Your immediate reaction to that was to glare at Ariadne, who simply chuckled and shrugged, pretending to be entirely innocent. You rolled your eyes and sighed.

"I think that little birdy smoked something and saw things that weren't there" You said with a cheeky grin of your own.

"Nah. You literally are a better version of your father" Your mom said.

"You got his good looks AND you got both my skin, hair and eyes! She caressed your face as she complimented you.

"And your father was quite sought after back in the day so I don't believe you're not even a little bit popular with the girls"

Feeling to embarrassed to keep pursuing this line of conversation, you cleared your throat and tried to switch the subject.

"So, you're heading out today?" You asked.

"Yeah" Your mom nodded.

"I guess it's gonna be Ariadne, dad and I then?"

"Nope, she's also heading out" Your mom said.

"Wait, why? Aren't you on Summer Break?" You raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"I traded the summer break off, I'll tag along with mom as a sort of internship so it counts both as school credits and professional experience, and I'm getting my summer break's worth of vacation this autumn anyway. I'm gonna be home all throughout Thanksgiving, Christmas and at least 2 or 3 weeks after New Years. You won't have a chance to miss me during all that time" Ariadne explained.

"Uh, okay" You sighed "So you two are heading out, then it's gonna be dad and I this summer?"

"That'd be nice... but sadly nope" Your mom said.

"He's sharing the flight with us because he's on yet another those round-state-trips because that stupid company STILL doesn't have enough people capable of fixing their own silly machines. At least the bonus pay will be juicy but the sheer idiocy, I swear" She sounded quite bothered by it and you perfectly understood.

These sorts of sacrifices were what allowed you and your sister to lead a pretty comfortable life, and you couldn't help but feel bad at how much work they had to do. This was why any time you spent with them you tried to make the best out of. However, this seemed to be heading in a direction that you don't like so you had to press on.

"Okay, I really am gonna be home alone but that's alright, isn't it? I don't really need a babysitter or anything and it's not like I'm gonna go off and get into weird troubles" You said.

"I know, but still..." Your mom sighed. It definitely seemed and sounded like she wasn't quite content with the situation though.

[Paths]

1) Your mom then asked Ariadne to let you two have a more private conversation and she promptly left, leaving you confused. You saw that your mom then reached for her purse and began looking through it in search of something.

"I don't mind leaving you alone, sweetie but on the other hand, I feel like we don't spend as much quality time together as we should" She said.

"There's actually another option, honey" She then pulled out what looked like a metallic, futuristic looking toy gun.

"Huh, what-?"

"Do you trust mama?"

"I trust you, honey. But being alone in a house can still be dangerous, you know?"

"I mean I'm 190cm tall, I can fight back if someone breaks in" You shrugged.

"Not if they're armed" Your mom said with crystal clear worry in her voice.

"Okay, so what am I going to do?" You asked, feeling a bit confused.

2) "I called my sister so Aunt Betty will make you company for the summer along with your cousin Arianna"

"Wait, Arianna too?!" You were already panicking as you heard this.

"Relax, hon! Arianna will probably be too busy with work to bother you. You have no problem with your aunt, do you?"

"No, not at all. I mean it'd be cool if Aunt Betty came to stay over for the summer but I really could use not having the friggin Principal breathing down my neck. I'm on a vacation and I haven't even done anything wrong" You said, trying to explain your case but your mom giggled, finding your reaction cute in a way.

"I'll call her and ask her to make sure Arianna lets you enjoy your summer in peace"

3) "I called Aunt Betty but she's busy with her own modeling work. Your cousin Ari however has the summer free and volunteered to come house-sit"

"Wait, what? Mom! Arianna kinda hates me, I'm gonna be punished all summer for nothing!"

"Relax, honey. She's coming to house-sit, not babysit. She doesn't have any special authority over you, I made that clear. But it would be nice if you tried patching things up with her. You two are family and you know what they say, a house divided..."

"Mom, I swear on everything that's good that I've never really done anything to get her to hate me. But alright, because you say so, I will try my best" You hung your head in defeat. Your mom then kissed you, gave you a hug and told you she'd try to keep her in check.

4) "Since you'd be home all alone I think it's best that you stay over at Sheila's. I mean it's not even the first time you have" Your mom said.

"Yeah, that'd be alright. But it's literally the next house, is it really any difference?"

"Well, your mama would feel much better if she knew that her sweet little baby boy is sleeping safe with company instead of alone" She said, again with that cute fake pout of hers.

"Okay, okay, you win" You chuckled, earning a tight hug from her and several kisses.

5) "Look, I called your Aunt Betty and your cousin Arianna but neither is available to come house-sit..."

"Okay..."

"So I called your aunt Karen and she's coming over"

"For the love of... Mom!" You groaned and shook your head, pinching the bridge of your nose to pre-emptively suppress the incoming headache.

"Sorry hon. I know Aunt Karen's dumber than a bucket of bricks but I really had no other option. Besides I made it clear that she's gonna be there to house-sit, you're free to do as you please as long as you don't get in any trouble"

"Ok but what about-"

"Yes, obviously Celeste's coming too. That girl can't be left alone and unsupervised anywhere, but I also told her in no uncertain terms that she's not to bother you" Your mom said, sympathizing with you.

"I mean, you can also stay over at your friend's places if they let you so you don't have to suffer those two as much. But on the other hand, should we really leave 2 women alone? You being there might help keep things safer"

"I'll see what I can do, Mom..." You huffed, preparing for potentially the worst summer vacation of your life.

6) "Well, I called Aunt Betty, Arianna, even Aunt Karen and nobody's really available" Your mom sighed.

"This is why we should have a dog" You joked.

"Har har har. Anyway, I asked Sheila and she told me Jordana can housesit this summer" Your mom said.

"Mom..."

"She's not going to bother you, I made her promise" Your mom said, anticipating your potential complaints.

"She's just here to make sure the house's not left alone. And I mean that girl's real big and strong, you'd have to be an idiot to try and break in" She chuckled.

"Okay, I'll trust you mom" You said. These news were so heavy that what energy you got from waking up vanished, you were very tempted to go and take a nap to let your bad mood wear off, though you could also just visit some friends to avoid dealing with Jordana when she arrived...

7) "Since you'd be home all alone I think it's best that you stay over at Dolores' place. I mean it's not even the first time you have" Your mom said.

"That's mostly fine but I really would rather not deal with her daughters" You said, scratching your head.

"Yeah, I know they can be quite a handful but Dolores is gonna be right there, you don't have much to worry about. Maybe just stick close to her? I mean, it's really not that hard" Miriam chuckled "Just make sure she doesn't sit on you or you're gonna get lost"

"How funny" You narrowed your eyes in mild annoyance.

"Hey, Dolores' helped raise you and she really loves you, almost as if you were her son too. I think that's about the best a mom can ask for when it comes to looking after her baby boy. You'll be fine"

"Yeah, I hope I will" You sighed and your mom hugged you again.

"What happens now?" You asked, a bit curious but also concerned.

"I called your grandmas to see if they could come housesit, it's better than nothing" Your mom said with a shrug.