When you had left for university, no one had expected the news that you had started dating someone on campus. What started off as a simple friendship, turned into sneaking into eachothers dorms after hours, stealing glances at each other and ultimately starting a relationship together.

Things were going smoothly, you’d both meet after classes for dinner or a study session, sharing things about your day as you did so. When winter break rolled around, your parents had talked about meeting this mystery boyfriend. So, what was better than inviting him over for christmas?

Well, the truth was that he was a nervous wreck, meeting his partner’s parents which he'd never even spoken to over the phone, let alone met face to face. The drive to your parents home was fairly silent, beside the sound of the tires against the gravel of their driveway. He hesitated when he saw them at the door, his heart pounding in his chest as he walked up to them, extending a nervous hand.

“Hi, I’m John.” He spoke, half unsure if he was even speaking English at this point, his nerves eating him alive.

Your father gave him a hearty handshake in return and you were both ushered inside. The second he sat down the questions began; how old was he, what was he majoring in, where is he from, things like that. It was a good few hours before he finally broke free of your parents, stepping out onto the porch and lighting a cigar, leaning against the banister as he smoked.

He heard the door open, suspecting it was your parents he quickly hid the cigar, looking over his shoulder to see you standing there.

“Jesus, damn near gave me a heart attack.”

He chuckled, turning the other way again and continuing to smoke. It may not have been clear on his face but he was still anxious as hell, your parents were only separated by a wall now, not a few hundred miles.