the only exception

 Hayley and Taylor picked Phoebe up bright and early Saturday morning, none of them able to wipe the smiles off their faces.

Phoebe had been to their house plenty of times, arriving there in this very car, but this time she wouldn't have to leave now. It was odd to think of it as her house too, and really she wasn't sure any of it had truly hit her and sunk in yet.

When they pulled up, Taylor offered to take her bag up to the guest room, or rather, her room. Phoebe crouched down on the floor to love on Alf while Hayley leaned against the island, smiling from behind her.

"You okay? You've been a little quiet." Hayley asked, her voice light.

Phoebe nodded, turning to face her as she continued to rub Alfs belly, "It's just crazy." She grinned brightly, "But I'm very happy."

"Good, we're happy too." Hayley breathed, pushing herself up off the counter, "Now, we need to go to the store, but we can wait till tomorrow if you want?"

"We can go today," Phoebe agreed easily, standing up from the ground as Taylor walked into the room, "What do we need to get?"

"Just some stuff for your room, maybe some clothes shopping if you're up for it? Then, a few necessities." Hayley shrugged, "Oh! Speaking of, I was talking to Brian and he recommended some products for your curls, said he'd bring them by sometime this weekend."

Taylor cut in, "I think Zac is gonna come over later too, if that's alright with you?" He asked, directing the question towards Phoebe.

"It's fine, it's your guys' house," the teen laughed.

"And now it's yours too!" Hayley grinned, pulling the teen into what felt like the millionth hug in the hour they'd been together. Phoebe couldn't help but to smile as they pulled away from the hug.

She made her way to the island, sitting on a barstool before swinging around to face the couple, "Are you gonna go shopping with us, Taylor?"

Taylor scrunched his face, "You know, I'd love to, but..."

"He hates shopping,' Hayley shook her head with a dramatic sigh, "we'll just have some girl time, but we'll probably be back by lunch?"

"I don't hate shopping," Taylor corrected her, "you are just awful in stores." He told her pointedly, "I mean, kid, have you seen her closet?"

"Nothing wrong with it!" Hayley told him with a grin, playfully elbowing his arm.

"You say that but then take up 99% of our closet. I mean, I basically just get a shoe box." Taylor teased making Hayley roll her eyes.

"Anyways, we should probably head out now if we wanna be back in time for lunch cause I have a few stores I wanna hit. If that's okay with you?"

Phoebe nodded, "Sure thing."

The girls left Taylor to go to the store, and spent far too much time in each shop. Hayley was practically dragging Phoebe around, and even if they only came for a few personalizations for her room, they left with plenty of outfits as well.

Hayley wore a dad hat and sunglasses most of the time, explaining she didn't really want to be spotted. It was another one of those moments Phoebe remembered who Hayley was. After the last store, Phoebe sheepishly asked to play some of Paramore's music which made Hayley laugh a little, but she readily agreed, asking which songs were the teens favorite.

They pulled up to the house to see a car parked in the driveway, "Oh, Zac's still here. Is that okay?" Hayley asked nervously, making Phoebe nod.

"It's fine, really."

"I just feel bad, it feels like there's always a million people coming in and out of our house and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything." Hayley explained with a sad smile as she parked in the garage.

"It's okay. I like Zac." Phoebe told her.

"Good, I'm glad." Hayley nodded, a bright smile on her face, "Just don't be scared to tell us if you don't want us having people around or if you're uncomfortable or something. I mean, obviously we'd never bring bad people around you, but still."

"It's fine, really." Phoebe told her with a light laugh, "I'm sure all your friends are nice."

In truth, it still stressed Phoebe out to be around people, new people especially, and even more so men, but she really did trust Hayley and Taylor. Knew they wouldn't bring around shitty people. So, she wasn't going to voice her discomfort, felt maybe it was good for her to get used to socializing again, and not just with the same 5 people she always talked to.

Plus, at this point she felt like she had a strong grasp on Zac's personality and knew she could relax around him. He was always nice and funny, and it definitely helped that he was Taylor and Hayley's best friend who they'd known for years. Most of the time when he was around he clicked right in, she knew he was family to them. Hayley had even said as much.

But turns out she wouldn't have to deal with Zac anyway seeing as he was leaving when they walked in the door.

"Oh, I was just about to head out! Thought I'd miss you guys," Zac grinned, pulling Hayley into a side hug as he gave Phoebe a fist bump.

"Leaving already?" Hayley asked, "Does that mean I can't guilt you into helping Taylor carry the rest of the bags in?" She grinned, batting her eyes dramatically at him.

Zac rolled his eyes playfully, "Fine."

Hayley and Phoebe went ahead and ran the bags they had upstairs into her room before coming back down, passing the guys carrying the rest. They got comfortable on the couch, falling into an easy conversation as Zac and Taylor came back in.

"Okay, gonna head out now." Zac told them, "It was good seeing you guys though, and welcome to the family Phoebe." He grinned, making her smile bashfully.

***

this chapter is lowkey shit im sorry oops. im still not feeling good and my brain is all foggy, but ive been very good at updating everyday so i wanted to keep it going lmao