"Welcome to Qatar airways" the voice in the speakers exites me. I have been dreaming of watching football worlds cup live this year that's why I had been trying to please mom so much. Never have I ever questioned why mom would just agree with me after whole anxiety drive I've been to whole year about how to ask her. "Enjoy your flight Hun" my mom smiles at me her sea blue eyes twinkle with something I can't understand before she flips her golden blonde ponytail. I return a smile. I've never seen my mom this happy. She's always serious or nagging me sometime teasing me. Yet never smiles genuinely. Her beautiful love shaped lips lifting making her even perfect. I can say I've never seen a woman as beautiful as my mommy.

You too Mom" I smirk, the thing she hates about me the most. But she doesn't say a thing.

Most people say I look like my mom, some would just say 'why aren't you into modelling?, You're so beautiful" others say 'such a waste of beauty' why? Because I'm not girly. I don't like dresses. Mom says I never liked dresses since when I was little. It's not like they aren't beautiful! They are beautiful and I might be beautiful in them it's just that they always get in the way when I'm playing. I like soccer, basketball and all types of skating, photography, racing cars and so. My most girly or at least where I wore a dress is figure skating which doesn't exist me anymore.

I plug in my earphones listening to Halsey's gasoline. I love this song.

I snap to the speakers anouncement. We are about to land, I had fallen asleep and the song ended long time ago. The knots in my stomach are back, that exited summersaults of my gut and bliss in my mind. It's not like I have never been to live world cup before. Infact I had. I was a little scrawny girl back there, my dad took me to Brazil we watched live as German won. I was just 9 then and I think my love for soccer was inspired by Dad.

Mom was exited as well, specially because she's watching Jung kook perform, she's an army great fan of Korean BTS band. We all bob our heads wave our hands and hum along. And the best part had began the game.

The game was fair. I loved every move and it was time to get to our hotel. People kept staring at me throughout. "Allah Allah look at her, no decency at all," middle aged man says to his fellow as they pass us. "Dad? Why is she dressed like that?" A young boy asks his father. " She's feeling hot my dear" he says and then he gives me these eyes..if looks could kill. I'm wearing nothing wrong, just shorts and a vest a Jersey one at that, my blonde hair in a messy bun yet my tennis shoes well fitted for occasion. Totally boyish. It's not like I care about their words or eyes they give me.

"Dakota" we turn to see a very tall and leanest man I've ever seen, he has his long black hair with gray roots tied in a manly bun. "Oh my goodness Henry!" My mom sequels like a highschool girl in a deep crush. I simply roll my eyes at the adult drama. They hug. Forgetting about me in the moment. "Wait.. there's a explicit duplicate of your beauty in here?" He laughs taking my entire appearance. He doesn't cringe at the sight of the manly dressed girl instead he beams. "Oh this is May my daughter, oh and May meet Henry childhood best friend" mom smiles with hint of flush on her cheeks.

" Nice to meet you Mr Henry" I say so gently as I could with carefree smile giving him a handshake. " The feeling is mutual May" he grins. "never knew you had it in your.. yeah such beautiful thing" he says my mom coughs embarrassed. " Dad, you can't be serious now..I just don't.." a very cold annoyed familiar voice says from behind Henry. And trust me when I say I was shocked…that might be an understatement and we'll the same applies for the latter. There stood our school's new Queen cheerleader Casey with her magnificent green eyes and her infamous blonde hair in long waves, tight in a bodycon pink short dress that highlights every curve on her body paired with biggest wedge boots I've ever seen." _get why you have to talk to everyone you meet" she says after brief pause switching from shock to annoyance once more.

"Oh Izzy, this is Dakota, a friend and well her daughter May" he says making me wonder how could my name rolls so naturally out of his thin lips..and just identical to 'Cold queen' herself!.

"okay? Hi Dakota" she says as her phone rings, she excuses herself.

" Right, see you around I live in briar hill just 10 minutes drive from your place is it?" He laughs.

" Oh and May, we'll definitely catch up..you know goddaughter?" He waves as he rushes after the vixen..ice gueen. She's giving him an eye like come-on daddy?. "You never told me he was my godfather??" I gasp at her. "He is..but we lost contact back when you were still young. Something about his wife's illness he needed to be there for her" she says in mostly clipped tone. "Now time to go" she ushers me and we settle in a hotel room.. sharing as she had insisted mother-daughter bonding time. The whole night was awful. Just imagine how I felt.. almost all night she wanted to cuddle with me..I felt like I was a baby again which is a nightmare. I'm mostly independent, I love to solve my things..well problems alone dad made sure I was..since when I was nine? The same Year we lost him.

And I can't explain why I never grieved. Some thought everything will come crashing down after funeral, some said I was just a little girl who was ignorant but deep with in me? I just knew dad wouldn't like to see me breaking down at his death. He taught me that one day he wouldn't be there and I had to stand by mom and make her see him in me. I had to be strong..for her.

Mom almost succumbed to depression and I had to seek help for her. She lost all of herself. She quit her modelling at Ralph Lauren, quit her job, her volunteer works and her charity event management talent. I myself was a puddle of water. Trying to stand up to snowman for her. Lucky she had seen it..the effects, the bigger picture of what was gonna happen to us..to me..to her.

She came back to me..to us and at that we had to start bonding again.. I was already 10. Took her almost a year.

Sleep finally get to knock me out of my thoughts and when I wake up, mom's prepping our things. We needed to go. School was starting again!! And my new basketball season as well so we had to get back.

" Honey there's breakfast in here" she calls from suite's mini kitchen. "Pancakes your favorite" she smiles from ear to ear. A genuine smile.

"Aww, okay so you said the other day you'd teach me how to make pumpkin pie" I remind her. "Oh honey..next week okay? The cafe is so busy RN, and hey I'm still working on this project.. your dady wanted to design these cool brief boxers for..um girls I'm in middle of it" she looks lost again. Whenever she talks about him, her face saddens. Never said my mom took over dad's company, we now own a million dollars P&D company that designs different fashion for teenagers.

"Oh I'd like to be first one to wear those.. lacy shits suck" I laugh. Waiting for her to nagg me at the curse words but she doesn't and it pains me.

" Hey, everything is ok, and he'll be proud of you..you are making his dream come true Mom, and we'll definitely make that pie before your birthday" I place my palm on her hand she smiles. " Definitely" she rolls her eyes. Sassy again huh?.

" Come here" she says and I get the billionth squeeze of my life.. she's hugging me no…squeezing life out of me .

"Sorry..haha got carried away" she shrugs and I take a deep breath.

"I wanted to take you out to a mall for shopping tomorrow..but I got this huge business deal.. guess you'll have to go alone" she sighs. "Well I'm used to it" she looks like she's about to cry. Oh what did I say??. I didn't mean to. But she'd think I was blaming her.

"Look, I don't blame you mom, you have lots of work..and if you come with me you'd loose the big deal..you promised me you'd do better with his passion" she sighs and I hug her. I'd became responsible as a teenager. Stopped shopping with her almost before I hit thirteen, she had just picked up her broken pieces and so used her time gluing or healing them. Time couldn't wait for her either I couldn't stop growing..so I had to be independent..much more independent.