#(i forgot neil's facial hair)

[moonmeg]

seeing Kitty and Caleb AND Bree and Niel cuteness 🥺❤️ I’m now wondering if Ahana has a special someone?

Calyn and Breeil for the soul 🤧💕

As for Ahana,,

Maybe-

[barbiewritesstuff]

Secret Girlfriend

-- Just a cute little thing about how the team finds out that Hangman has a girlfriend. It started out as a bullet point headcanon list but I decided to make them little blurbs instead.

Taglist:@mavswife @unsurebuttrying @dempy @peaches-1999 --

Coyote finds out when he finds her asleep on his best friend. Her head gently rising as he breathes, his hand tracing her facial features. Jake’s listening to music on his headphones, and he doesn’t know anyone’s watching. 

Javi feels a little funny, like he’s not supposed to be seeing this and he needs to leave but he can’t deny it’s really sweet to see Jake like that, especially when Hangman coughs and she stirs and he spends the next minute coaxing her back to sleep. 

From the darkness he can even see Jake’s smile when his girl nuzzles her face in his sweater as she dozes off. 

Bob figures it out when he accidentally steps into the wrong hangar. He’s not fully awake yet and he ran out of the house too late to get some coffee in his system. His eyes are still a little blurry from the night and his brain is groggy but he swears he can see a picture on Jake’s dashboard. He knows he’s not supposed to look, especially since it’s not a crime for him to have a picture, it’s just out of character.

 Bob climbs up the ladder and sneaks a peak. He’s half expecting a picture of Jake himself to stare back but it’s a girl in a cheerleading uniform kissing a quarterback. It takes a second for his eyes to spot the name on the back of the footballer’s uniform. Seresin. They look young but Bob figures Jake wouldn’t be carrying it around if they weren’t still dating. 

He leaves when he hears footsteps in the corridor, careful to place the photograph back where he found it.

Fanboy meets her during family day. She’s about his height, his age and she’s gorgeous. 

“Can I help you?” He asks. Maybe he can shoot his shot at a date, it’s been a while and he’s out of practice but hey, he can always try.

“I’m looking for my boyfriend” Her voice is nice, soft, shy but it doesn’t dampen the disappointment.

“What’s his name?”

“Jake Seresin?”

Oh. At first he thinks the poor girl missed the fact that Hangman’s not the girlfriend type, but then her phone rings and he can hear Jake’s voice through the receiver.  Fanboy makes his exit before Hangman arrives. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see him, but he figures that if Jake goes through such lengths to keep his relationship private, he probably doesn’t want Fanboy sticking around. 

Harvard, Yale and Halo see him waiting inside of a coffee shop. He’s on his phone and they debate going in to say hi, but before they finish that thought a woman sits down in front of him with a coffee and Hangman smiles so genuinely and so happily that there’s really no mistaking who she is to him. 

She takes a sip, some of her hair dips into the foam and sticks to her lip. Jake leans forward and brushes it aside, he’s so distracted he knocks his coffee over and they scramble to move everything away from the spreading liquid, then, they look at each other and laugh.

Omaha finds out because he knows her. 

His girlfriend has invited a few people over for dinner and they’re bringing partners. She walks in first, a bouquet of bright pink roses and a bottle of wine in her hand for the hosts and he follows suit. It takes a second for Jake to notice Neil just sitting there on the couch, staring at him with eyes as wide as plates, but when he does, he shoots him a look saying “We will never speak of this again”. 

Omaha doesn’t. He sees Jake relax around his girl. He sees him being nice, funny and caring and Neil figures she’s good for him, so why ruin it by telling.

Rooster finds out when he pulls up to Jake’s house one day after training to bring back the jacket he forgot. He rings the doorbell and a woman answers. She’s wearing a shirt too big to belong to her and some bike shorts barely sticking out of the bottom. 

“Hi” She says, clearly confused. Rooster lets out a nervous cough

“I need to return something to Jake”

“Why don’t you come in?”

She turns around and leads him up the stairs to a living room and a kitchen. There’s pictures on the walls, one of those scratch-off maps of the world. There are pizza boxes on the kitchen table and Rooster recognises Jake’s usual order. 

Hangman saunters in a few minutes later with a can of something and looks at him like a deer caught in headlights. 

Rooster just hands him the jacket and leaves. 

Phoenix finds out last, when she and the team step out of the carrier after a mission. They’re just chatting when suddenly a dog beelines for the group. A woman runs after the pet, trying to catch it before it jumps and Hangman falls to the floor with a loud “THUD”. The dog circles him a few times, licking every inch of his person. He curls up on the floor, giggling.

“I’m so sorry! I swear I was holding her, the lead snapped and --” She grabs the dog by the collar and moves her away Jake. He stands up and smiles. 

Then, suddenly remembering where he is when his girl's eyes glance away from him and towards the team, Jake jumps back into reality.

“Err -- this is my girlfriend. Honey this is the team”

“Hi” The woman waves

Everybody but Nat looks at one another and simultaneously decides to act surprised, largely to soften the blow for Phoenix, as she usually prides herself on her detective skills. The team’s not so sure she could take the hit.

Phoenix is almost mad. She would like to be mad, but as she looks at Hangman she recognises the way her dad looks at her mom even after thirty years of marriage and three kids. 

She sees the look she has judged relationships by: “if he doesn’t look at me like that, then I’m wasting my time”. Phoenix can recognise pure, unadulterated True Love when she sees it. 

And she understands him then, because if she was to find her own True Love, she might not want to share them either.

[mourntheantagonist]

#HarringroveApril Day 7: Daisychain

***

“Mr. Harrington? Who’s your favorite student?”

The question came about at least once every year without fail, and he’d always answer in the same, textbook way.

“I don’t have favorites. I love all my kids equally.”

And, deservedly so, the whole class would grunt and moan because they knew just as well as he did that it was a load of bullshit. Steve loved every one of his kids, that part wasn’t a lie, but… he also definitely had his favorites.

For the graduating class of ‘90 when he was only a teaching assistant his name was Daniel. He was the youngest in his class because he started early, and he was incredibly bright. He could count higher, he could read quicker, and his mind just worked in ways that no adult could possibly understand. But it wasn’t the textbook intelligence that made Steve fall for this kid. It was his emotional intelligence. He was funny and he was kind and five year olds were cruel, but he never let that get to him. He had an outlook on life that Steve was jealous of, so when the other kids would turn him down for a game of checkers, Steve would happily join him, because Steve saw it as his job to keep that kid kind.

For the class of ‘91 it was Christopher. He was nothing like Daniel. He was held back and was repeating kindergarten, and that was evident in the way he walked through life. He was quiet and would voluntarily remove himself from the rest of the class. He’d sit by himself and read a book and get frustrated when he didn’t understand one of the words, he would swing by himself and he always tried to sneak off with the first graders when it was time to line up. And Steve perfectly resonated with that feeling of watching all of your friends move on without you. He was left in the dust too. When all his classmates moved on to college or hightailed it out of Hawkins, Steve was left there by himself, working at Family Video with his only friend in the grade below him, and it took her leaving him as well for Steve to finally get his shit together, haul his ass west of the Mississippi, and enroll in a community college and work towards his teaching degree.

And he did it, against all odds and obstacles in his way, he did it. It took extra work and the support of his best friend who he followed, and he did it. He saw himself in Christopher, and he wasn’t going to make that kid wait as long as he did to realize that setbacks don’t define his future.

Steve usually took a liking to the quiet kids, and that only changed in ‘93 with the girl named Amy and the familiar last name. She was loud, vibrant, and everyone loved her. Her smile was contagious and she could be the sweetest little girl at times, but she also wore her heart on her sleeve. She cried quite a bit, just the littlest thing could set her off. A boy accidentally knocking over her blocks, not knowing how to spell a certain word, accidentally coloring outside the lines. She didn’t throw tantrums like he saw in the other kids. She would just bow her head and cry and it would break Steve’s heart every time.

But other than those few moments, she was bright and charismatic and with the last name, the blonde curly hair, and the big personality, Steve really should have put it all together much sooner than he did.

He didn’t put it all together until he saw Billy Hargrove in the soup aisle at the local grocery store wearing a chain of little daisies on his head like a crown, and he knew exactly where it was from.

It was from the little girl named Amy Hargrove who frolicked in the field instead of playing on the playground, collecting flowers that she meticulously made into bracelets and crowns and anything else she put her mind to. She gave them to friends, she even gave one to Steve, and of course she would give one to her dad too.

He looked so different, and yet exactly the same. He still had the damn mullet, just dragging the eighties with him as far as he could, he was a little more cleaned up but still had a similar style to what it was in highschool. Still with the same denim jacket, denim jeans, Canadian tuxedo type deal. In a side by side picture situation you wouldn’t really be able to tell the difference. It wasn’t his dress or his hair or anything physical about him that made him look so different, it was the way that he carried himself. It was the relaxation and the eyes that didn’t droop and the smile lines that didn’t used to be there that made him almost entirely unrecognizable from the Billy Hargrove who pushed freshman against lockers and drove his car too loud and too fast and had cigarettes for three meals a day. Not the kid who ran off to California as soon as the hospital released him with only his Camaro and a small suitcase and a large sum of money the government used to keep his mouth shut, leaving just a note for Max on the fridge that didn’t get any more specific than that about where he was going, not even leaving a phone number for her to contact him with. He also didn’t look like the kid they all pictured in their heads after basically the whole town found out about exactly what Neil Hargrove did to his son behind closed doors.

Steve wanted to go up to him in the store, but he stopped himself. Because Billy left. Without a trace or a word, and who was Steve to think that Billy having to be reminded of something he voluntarily abandoned without a second thought would have any sort of positive outcome?

So he turned down the aisle and kept his distance from the man in the flower crown because he was scared. He wasn’t scared that Billy would see him and turn back to his old ways and hurt him again, he was scared that he’d turn back to his old ways and hurt himself again.

Because he’d been hurt enough already.

Steve successfully avoided Billy until parent teacher conferences had rolled around, and instead of seeing Amy’s mom on the list of names he’d be seeing that day, it was Billy’s.

Steve would be lying if he didn’t think about calling in sick and sending his TA in his place. But he still had to be her teacher for another six months, he just had to get the interaction over with.

Many of the parents that came before Billy had to have known he was on edge about something considering he excessively tapped the table with the eraser of his pencil and stuttered his way through conversations. His organized folders and notes of talking points had been entirely thrown out the window and he was an absolute nervous wreck. And he could only anticipate it being ten times worse when the cause of said anxiety walked through his door with the long hair and the leather jacket. It was only with the help of the little girl in the sunflower dress and daisies in her hair skipping from the entrance to the chair in front of him that calmed his nerves just a bit.

But Billy had just stayed at the door, no movement, and any hope that Steve had that perhaps his new haircut and the glasses on his face would be enough to keep Billy from noticing the obvious vanished when Billy snapped his fingers like the lightbulb in his head finally flickered on.

“I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence.”

Steve just held out his hand to shake like he did with any other parent, unsure how to gage the situation because Billy’s words could go either way and his facial expressions didn’t give him anything to go off of. It would be weird to introduce himself, he didn’t know what to say.

“Hi, I’m Amy’s teacher. Should we start?”

Billy looked a little confused, but he sat down in the little kindergartener chairs anyway. This meeting was almost more organized than the ones prior, likely because he was trying to go as quickly as possible and get it over with. Steve showed Billy some of her artwork and commented on how her reading comprehension was great but she could work on her spelling a little more. He didn’t want to bring it up, but he brought up the crying and it hurt to see how him bringing it up set her off again. The same bowing of the head and quiet sniffles into her sleeve.

But Steve thinks he just fell in love a little watching Billy comfort her. With one hand rubbing circles into her back and the other holding her small hand. Steve feels like shit watching her cry because of him and is also semi-fearful for his life because he already knows he can’t take Billy in a fight.

“Baby, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with crying. It’s okay.”

“You’re dad’s right Amy. I think it’s very healthy. Crying is good for you.”

She looks up at Steve with those big blue eyes and tear stained cheeks when he says that.

“Really?” she asks.

“Yeah! I’d say it even makes you more mature. Even some adults I know don’t let themselves cry and it’s not good.”

“My daddy cries a lot too.”

Steve looks at Billy who’s eyes widen when she says it, then tries to laugh it off like she didn’t just say that.

“Hey Amy, you wanna go and play while your daddy and I talk for a minute?”

She just nods her head and wipes away her remaining tears and quickly hauls the bucket of Lincoln Logs off the shelf.

“So. It’s been a while. Hasn’t it?” Steve starts.

“Yeah it has. So, you’re a teacher now.”

“And you’re a father. That’s crazy.” Steve was fiddling with his hands, trying to make the conversation less awkward. “She’s wonderful by the way.”

“Yeah. She doesn’t get it from me.”

Steve just shakes his head. “No. I don’t think that’s true. She has your charisma, and it appears you found a better way of channeling your emotions since last we saw each other. She’s a lot like you.”

“Thanks.” Billy blushed. He actually blushed. “I don’t know if this is allowed considering you’re her teacher, but would you want to catch up sometime? Maybe dinner or something?”

There it was. That was the olive branch. And Steve would be an absolute fool not to take it.

“I’d love to.”

Before they could come up with a time or a place, Amy was running over to the table with loudly stomping feet.

“I almost forgot! Daddy! show Mr. Harrington what I brought him!”

Billy reached into his pocket upon her demand and pulled out a little bracelet made out of little daisies and honeysuckle and handed it over to Steve.

“Thank you Amy! It’s lovely.”

“Daddy show him yours!”

Steve looked to Billy’s wrist where he slowly lifted his sleeve to reveal an almost exact replica to the bracelet in his hand.

“Looks like we’re matching.”

[ladyslice00]

Excerpt from Synergy, a Stony AU. Fanart by @negativesd09​!

“Sir., Mr. Parker is set to arrive soon.” J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted.

Tony untangled himself from Steve. He chuckled, pointing to the ceiling as he exited the kitchen.

“J.A.R.V.I.S., you’re such a cockblock!” He quipped.

“Only for your benefit, Sir.” J.A.R.V.I.S. responded.

Steve laughed as he followed Tony out of the kitchen and into the foyer. He found Tony standing near the elevator, studying his watch. Tony grinned at him before he walked over to give Steve another kiss as the elevator chimed with an arrival.

As soon as the doors opened, Peter jumped out to greet Tony.

“How did you get up here?” Tony cheerfully greeted back.

“I took the elevator!” Peter shouted with glee, holding up his watch which was also rigged for the nine-year old to program the private express elevator with ease.

Tony squatted to mess up Peter’s hair who made small noises of protest.

“Guess who’s here…” Tony whispered to Peter.

Peter looked past Tony to see Steve standing nearby. Steve waved shyly, unsure if Peter would even care.

“Hi, Steve!” Peter shouted as he waved back before turning to Tony, “is Steve staying over tonight?”

“I would like to, but that depends if it’s okay with Tony…” Steve meekly added before Tony could respond.

Tony straightened up, walking around Peter to lean up against the elevator doors, crossing his arms.

“I don’t know…did you hit your quota for today?” Tony asked; his joking tone suggesting he wasn’t sure he would allow Steve to stay over.

Peter clapped his hands together before flinging his bag onto the ground to pull out a notebook.

“Yes! I learned five things.”

Tony motioned for Peter to follow him into the kitchen. The nine-year old ran after him as Tony walked briskly toward the island. Steve followed them, curious to know what this ‘quota’ was about.

“Okay, so you already know the deal, Parker. Five things. And today’s reward is letting Steve stay over tonight.” Tony pulled out a stool before settling, extracting a tiny notebook from his back pocket. He looked up at Steve with a smile before writing down that day’s date on a fresh page.

“Tell Steve about your task for today.”

Peter turned toward Steve, beaming. “Tony gives me a—” He then glanced quickly at Tony as soon as he forgot how to properly pronounce the word “quota”.

Tony kept his eyes on his notebook. “Quota.” He carefully enunciated.

Peter’s facial expression turned determined as he took his time pronouncing the word the way Tony had.

“Tony gives me a quota every day to learn a new thing. Today I had to learn five.”

Steve nodded with a smile, but he found himself unable to verbally contribute; he was too captivated by this brief interaction between Tony and Peter.

“And?” Tony added, looking at Peter as if he were another scientist at Stark Industries.

“…if more than half the things I’ve learned today are things Tony doesn’t know, then he has to wear the mask of shame.”

Steve’s face twisted a bit as he laughed. “The ‘what’?”

Tony grinned at Steve. “The mask of shame, Rogers. Keep up.” He teased.

Suddenly, Peter broke out into a sprint toward his bedroom, nearly knocking into Steve. Steve watched him scurry away before looking over at Tony.

“He’s getting the mask of shame. He keeps it in his bedroom.” Tony explained.

Steve laughed. “This sounds like a serious game.”

Tony chuckled heartily. “Oh, you have no idea, Rogers.”

The two turned around as soon as youthful laughter drew near. Peter ran back into the kitchen with what looked like a pair of eyeglasses attached to a fake nose with a mustache. The glasses were also equipped with other items that had been glued to it like feathers, gems, and some other things Steve was unable to identify.

Tony rose from his stool to hoist Peter onto his lap without missing a beat. The mask nearly slapped him in the face.

Peter tried to put the mask onto Tony’s face. “Steve!” Peter squealed, “do you like this mask?”

Steve nodded as he laughed. Tony was also laughing as he pretended to struggle with Peter bouncing around.

“Not, yet, I haven’t lost yet.” He managed to gently hold off Peter and his efforts to get him to wear the mask before the game began.

Peter giggled as he hoped off Tony’s lap to pick up his notebook that had ended up on the kitchen floor. He vigorously flipped through a few pages until he found what he was looking for.

“Do you know the name of the first computer?” Peter looked up at Tony intently.

Tony had turned his body around to face Peter. He had one arm on the island countertop. “Good start, Parker…hmmm…” he began, “…I’m going to go with the IBM 360.”

Peter let out a whiny noise before continuing, and Steve had to prevent himself from grinning so hard.

“Do you know where they made the first robot?” Peter read carefully before looking up at Tony again.

Tony squinted before answering. “That I actually don’t know.”

“Japan!” Peter responded joyfully.

Tony slapped the edge of the countertop as he pretended to be upset that the score was now even. He pointed at Steve.

“Rogers, keep score. I can already feel this getting heated.” He joked.

Steve nodded with a smile as he held up both hands to keep score with his fingers.

Peter sat up straight on the floor as he continued. “Do you know the name of the first person on the moon?”

Tony chuckled as he posed thoughtfully. “Easy. Neil Armstrong.”

Peter made another whiny noise as he glanced upward at Steve. Steve made a sad face as he recorded the score with his fingers.

Peter flipped through his notebook with purpose as it became clear that he was trying to find something difficult for Tony to answer.

“Do you know when they launched Sputnik?” Peter asked, mispronouncing the name of the famed Russian satellite.

Tony clenched his jaw as he leaned forward. “Oh wow…the year?”

Peter nodded quickly. Tony’s face twisted with confusion as he looked at Steve before looking back at Peter.

“Uh, oh wow…uh…1958?” Tony attempted.

Peter giggled. “No! 1957!”

Tony squinted his eyes again as he kept up the charade. “Yes, of course. Absolutely no mercy, whatsoever.” He then clenched a fist in faux rage.

Peter kept giggling as he looked up Steve with a huge smile, and Steve laughed loudly at Tony’s expense.

Tony held up his hands. “Okay, okay. It’s 2-2. What else you got?”

Peter inhaled deeply which caused both Steve and Tony to laugh.

“How many planets are in the solar system?” Peter looked at Tony as he carefully finished his question.

Tony leaned back on the stool. He posed thoughtfully again as he stared Peter down. Peter managed to keep a straight face as Tony took his time answering.

“How many planets are in the solar system…,” Tony repeated as he looked over at Steve. He winked before looking back at Peter, “…nine.”

Peter jumped up with glee. “Nope! There are only eight!” He corrected with delight.

Tony let out a pretend groan as he slapped the countertop once more with a closed fist but not too hard. Steve laughed as he clapped for Peter who ran toward Tony with the mask.

“Of course! They demoted Pluto a while back.” Tony explained out loud as he let Peter put the mask on his face.

Peter giggled as he struggled to put the mask on Tony right side up. Tony took over and donned the mask himself, making a face at Steve who was still laughing uncontrollably from the scene.

“Another loss. When did you get so smart?” Tony hugged Peter as the latter bounced around in his lap.

“How long do you have to wear the mask?” Steve asked as his laughter subsided.

Peter clapped his hands. “Until bedtime.” He smiled up at Tony who was still making faces with the mask on.

“Alas, until bedtime…” Tony concurred.

[addictofsupernatural]

Emotions (pt. 4)

Billy Hargrove x reader

Summary: Billy gets sick, and y/n goes to his house for a surprise visit.

Word Count: 1920

Chapter 1 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 5

Over the next few weeks, the two of you had done many things together and had gotten even closer. You two went to the movies, a carnival, and even drove over an hour to a beach, where he teased you about your sloppy sand castle making skills. Most of the time he was at your house, eating with your family or just hanging out. There were even times where Hopper found Billy while driving and invited him to his house for dinner.

Because of that late beach night though, Billy ended up getting sick. Although he told you over the phone that he'd be fine, you secretly made a plan to visit him at his home. He always dodged your request to go to his house, but you made a plan to make him soup after school and deliver it to him.

Going to school without Billy felt weird and different. It felt lonely again, which became a foreign feeling. People began to treat you the way they treated you before Billy. Especially in biology.

One girl sat in Billy's seat and leaned into your space. "So how's it been being Billy's little whore?"

You didn't like that. Usually you didn't care about what people said about you, but her putting down Billy's name made you mad, something you didn't really ever have to deal with.

"I'm his friend, but maybe you don't know the difference." You tried to keep your voice calm, though it was surprisingly hard. You didn't want to look at her face, you were afraid that it'd get you angrier.

"Excuse me? You really think you can speak to me like that?!" You kept your eyes focused on the window. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

You looked at her. Her hair was full of hairspray, and you could tell that her hair is naturally straight, but she curled it. She wore heavy make up, and her hair was tied up high in a scrunchie. "Okay, what am I supposed to be looking at?"

She scoffed. "Someone who's way hotter than you." She glanced at a group of girls speculating, who nodded for her to go on. "Maybe you should leave it to the pretty girls to be with the guys like Billy. You probably aren't ready to give them what they really want."

You watched her smile at the group of girls. Your anger began to disappear. You understood now. She was just a girl, trying to fit in with bad people that control other people by bullying.

You looked in her eyes. "That's the wrong mentality. If someone isn't giving you attention, then you shouldn't try to give them your attention. You should just find someone who treats you the way you want to be treated."

She had her mouth open with something to say, but nothing came out. The bell then rang, and everybody went back to their seats.

After school when Hopper picked you up he also picked up Max so she could tell you where they lived. You first went to your home to make him soup and warm tea. When you finished, you told Hopper that you and El were spending the night with Max. So he dropped the three of you off.

"Crap." Max said. "Billy's dad is home. I don't know how he'll react to you giving Billy the soup and tea."

"El might have physical powers, but I have emotional powers. It'll be fine." That caused Max to crack a small smile, with the thought of that asshole of a stepdad losing to someone for once.

The three of you stepped inside, immediately causing Neil Hargrove to stand up from the couch. He eyed you, since you seemed around Billy's age. He stuck out his hand, to which you shook. "Hello sir. It's nice to meet you." You offered him a smile.

"Hey. Mind telling me what your doing here?" You saw him glancing down your body once more, with the snug clothes that Billy had bought you on.

"Oh, my sister and I are spending the night with Max. We just wanted to make sure that she goes to school safely tomorrow in case her brother isn't well enough to take her."

"Billy's always been a lazy ass kid. He can take her to school tomorrow, and you–"

You put a hand on his shoulder, sending exhausted emotions into him. "Sir, you look beat. You should probably go to bed."

"I... No, I–" You sent stronger emotions through him. "Yeah, yeah I'll go to bed now."

As he left for his room, you unzipped your backpack to take out the dinner you made for Billy. Max knocked on the door, and you heard Billy croak out a what?! "I have a surprise for you." Max said. "I'm coming in, so you better have clothes on!"

"What the fuck is the point of knocking when you just invite yourself in?!" He sat up angrily, but then saw you. His facial expression went from annoyed to shocked.

"Hi Billy."

"Sweetheart, what are you doing here?" You calmly walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. "My dad–"

"Is in bed right now." You said. "He agreed to let me and El sleep over for Max before he went to bed." At this point Max showed El to her room, leaving the two of you alone.

"No, that can't be–" He cut himself off with a coughing fit.

"Billy." You said. "I have a way with people. Just trust me. Please?" You asked him, in a teasingly innocent way. He nodded, his face becoming more relaxed. You handed him the soup and tea. "I made these for you, so you can get better. I hope you like them."

He set them down on his dresser and scooted closer to you. He hooked his finger under your chin and raised your head. "You're too good for me doll."

You smiled gently and put your hand over the one that had your chin. As you put his hand down, you gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You should give yourself more credit."

He stared at you, his face beginning to feel hot. "What was that for?" He quietly asked.

You looked down in embarrassment. "Um, I saw somewhere that a kiss on the cheek was a term of endearment between someone important to you. Maybe I misinterpreted the meaning. Sorry."

He quickly put a hand on your cheek in a slight panic. "No no, sweetheart! That did mean something! I was just a little surprised, is all." You smiled and nodded, leaning into his hand. He gave you one of his charming, cheeky smiles. "Can I get another one on the lips?"

You chuckled. "No, that's different."

"It's to help me feeling better." He began to crawl closer to you.

"That's not what it means." You covered his mouth with your hand as he laid you down, trying to nuzzle his way into a kiss. "Billy!" You giggled. "Your going to get me sick!"

Max made a loud cough, stopping the two of you. "So, maybe you should put on your pajamas."

You sat up and ran your fingers through your hair. "Right! I forgot to bring something to sleep in."

"Maybe you could use one of Billy's shirts."

You looked at Billy, who nodded his head. You then grabbed a Led Zeppelin shirt while Billy stared at Max's smug face. Max did always say that he was a horny ass who would get what he deserves. He guessed that this will be that time; the thought of you in only his shirt and your underwear just sounded so hot to him, and Max was just eating it up.

As Max left, you were about to follow her before you left Billy grab your wrist. "Wait," he said, his voice low. "Can I have another kiss? Please?"

You leaned down and brushed a piece of hair from his face before kissing his forehead. "Good night Billy." You then walked out, leaving Billy to push his face into the pillow, his face burning and smiling.

"Ugh, what do even see in him?" Max asked as you put on the shirt.

You chuckled. "He's a good friend to me Max. Besides you, he's one of the people I know who treat me like a normal person."

She let out a sigh. "Whatever."

"Good morning." You said as Billy watched you put up your hair in the open bathroom. Instead of leaving your hair completely down after taking your morning shower, you put up your bed head in a half bun. "How are you feeling?"

He leaned in the door frame. "Better, thanks to you."

You smiled at him before playing with his hair and getting an idea. "Can I do something with your hair? It'll be discreet, I promise."

He wanted to say the hell you can, but looking into your eager eyes caused him to be reluctant. The two of you went to the dining room for Billy to sit down. He felt your fingers play with the lower part of his hair, and he secretly liked it.

As you finished and tied it together, Max came up and let out a chuckle. "Looks good, which is weird since you always look like crap." She smiled at him, knowing that he wouldn't say anything in front of you.

He then got up to look in the bathroom mirror, and smiled. You made a small hidden braid. It looked good. "I like it." He said as he came back.

"Really?" You beamed as he nodded. You all then ate cereal together whilst talking to each other. Billy thought of you in adoration. You somehow managed to make his shithole house into a normal one by just being there. You truly are that amazing.

As you and the two younger girls got into the car, Billy grabbed his backpack and walked out of his room to see his father standing in the door frame and looking at you. "She's pretty fine looking, don't you think?"

Billy felt disgusted at Neil thinking of you in that way. He mumbled out a yeah to please him.

"She isn't like the usual sluts you have, so you probably don't have a shot with her. I think you should go for someone a little more easy." Billy said nothing as his father walked away after that.

As Billy sat into the car, you put your hand on his thigh as the two girls were talking amongst themselves. You gave him a look, silently asking if he's okay. He gave you a small smile and a little nod. You gently squeezed his thigh before bringing your hand back and contently looking out the window. You knew that just asking was enough to make him feel a bit better.

By next week you got sick, to which Billy was at your house every night after school; you had Hopper make sure he was at school instead of with you. He tried his best to take care of you, and it made you feel a different kind of happiness. You still don't know what it is, but it makes your face burn up from the things he says and does.

One day El opened the door while you and Mike were playing a card game, and Billy sat on the ground next to you, scooping you up and putting you on his lap. He handed you a piece of paper. A flyer for prom. "Guess where we're going."

---

Tag List:

@roxytheimmortal @shane-isa-shame @actuallyazriel @tanovic54321 @chipster-21 @jula-bear

[horansqueen]

AM Conversations : chapter 47

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 || CHAPTER 6 || CHAPTER 7 || CHAPTER 8 || CHAPTER 9 || CHAPTER 10 || CHAPTER 11 || CHAPTER 12 || CHAPTER 13 || CHAPTER 14 || CHAPTER 15 || CHAPTER 16 || CHAPTER 17 || CHAPTER 18 || CHAPTER 19 || CHAPTER 20 || CHAPTER 21 || CHAPTER 22 || CHAPTER 23 || CHAPTER 24 || CHAPTER 25 || CHAPTER 26 || CHAPTER 27 || CHAPTER 28 || CHAPTER 29 || CHAPTER 30 || CHAPTER 31 || CHAPTER 32 || CHAPTER 33 || CHAPTER 34 || CHAPTER 35 || CHAPTER 36 || CHAPTER 37 || CHAPTER 38 || CHAPTER 39 || CHAPTER 40 || CHAPTER 41 || CHAPTER 42 || CHAPTER 43 || CHAPTER 44 || CHAPTER 45 || CHAPTER 46

NOTES:

-one chapter is her pov, the next is his. -4k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

- if you want to be notified when this is updated, please message me or leave a comment!

- note for this chapter: simple chapter, i know. i tried to make it more dramatic but i love them and i like when theyre happy lol. it gets worse in the next chapters tho. :X btw, sorry for this very bad chapter.

PLEASE, i would love to know what you think about Louis and Olivia’s relationship/friendship or what you want to happen or expect to happen to them. he’ll be a LOT more present in the next few chapters so i really need to know.

no request for this chapter! some planned for the next :)

Chapter 47 : Her chapter

OLIVIA

I kept looking at the time on my phone and my leg wouldn't stop shaking. It's only when Louis put his hand on one of my knees that I looked up but even his warm and compassionate smile couldn't stop stress from invading me.

"Don't worry, he'll be there soon."

I sighed but sent him a smile anyway as I looked around the living room. I had invited home a lot of Niall's friends for his birthday and had imagined a nice evening with cake, beer and games but it was already late and he wasn't home yet. He knew I had prepared that since he was very busy these days and I wanted to make sure he'd be there but even if he had promised, he was extremely late. In fact, the word 'late' didn't really apply anymore. I would have used the word 'absent' instead.

Everyone was having fun anyway, chatting and drinking, but I couldn't seem to let go and when the clock told me it was 2am, I knew it was over. My gaze moved on the pile of gifts waiting for him and I just closed my eyes, swallowing hard. His friends started to leave one by one, first with Julie and Liam, followed by Harry and his girlfriend and after half an hour, I watched Louis close the door behind Willie. As soon as it was only us two, I quickly broke into tears and Louis ran to me, catching me before I let myself fall completely on the living room floor.

"Hey, hey, it's okay darling." he whispered near my ear, helping me sit on the couch before I brought my legs up and close to my body. "You know it's because he's busy right?"

I moved away from him, suddenly a bit mad, and sent him a frown.

"I don't give a fuck!" I just let out, feeling my heart beat hard and fast against my rib cage. "I told him, I asked him a million times, and he promised, Louis! He promised!"

I thought he would get annoyed but instead, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him. I started crying again, the sound of my sobs muffled by his sweatshirt. He didn't say a word and I was so thankful that he stayed that I just closed my eyes and tried to focus on the beating of his heart to calm down. It took a few minutes but it finally worked and I moved away from him, wiping my tears and placing my hair behind my ears while I sniffed.

"It's not the first time, you know." I pointed out, raising my eyebrows and looking down at my fingers playing with my mood ring. "He's been canceling plans for a few weeks now. I'm just so tired and I miss him. And this time he promised."

"I know darling, I know."

"The truth is, i've never felt so alone." I admitted, feeling my heart break more. "I mean don't take it personal, no offense, I know we hang out and text and shit, but everything is so different without Niall."

"None taken." he said in a very low tone. "I know exactly what you mean."

I looked up in his eyes and I could read how hurt he was. I knew how much he missed Eleanor and how he still loved her and I was not really sure why he didn't just call her and tell her that this breakup was a mistake.

"I know you do."

He sent me a sad smile and brought one of his hands to my cheek, running his thumb under my eye to catch the tears and wipe them off.

"I'm sure he'll have a good reason." he added, making me close my eyes and sigh.

It took an other hour until I heard the key in the lock. Louis and I had turned the lights off to watch a movie but we both fell asleep on it. The screen was blue for some odd reason and the sound of my boyfriend walking in woke me up. I sat up and rubbed my eyes with a frown. His lips curled slightly when our eyes met but I felt my heart shatter at his sight.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up, thought you'd be in bed, it's over 3am."

My lips parted and I saw him turn his head, his eyes falling on the pile of gifts. I saw his traits change as he looked around the room noticing the glasses and the food and after a few seconds, he closed his eyes and sight low.

"Oh my god, you forgot." I pointed out as I got up.

I could feel myself getting mad but after a few seconds I realized that I was not angry. I was sad and disappointed.

"You fuckin' forgot." I repeated slightly louder.

"What? No..."

"Don't lie to me, Niall!" I cut him, frowning more. "I can read your facial expressions better than your own mother."

By then it was impossible for Louis to still be asleep but I didn't look back to confirm it. All I could do was stare at my boyfriend, my lips parted as I tried to keep the tears in again. After a while, he gave in and took his cap off, throwing it on the couch before passing his hand in his hair. I looked at him as the lights from cars outside illuminated his face, and beyond the anger or the sadness, I felt the need and love I had for him overpass everything else. I knew he was busy, and I did understand why, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel like I was losing him slowly.

"I'm sorry Olivia, I really am."

"Everyone was here, we all took time for you Niall, and you weren't there. We didn't even cross your mind of all fucking night."

I wanted him to say it wasn't true, that he at least had thought about me, but instead, he groaned low and let both his arms fall on each side of his body.

"I said I was sorry I mean, what else do you want me to do?"

"That doesn't mean that I have to be fine with it and get over it immediately." I pointed out, making him close his eyes again.

"Look, we can talk about it tomorrow okay? I just want my bed right now."

I knew he was exhausted and so was I, and I knew he didn't want to have this conversation but I couldn't help it. I felt a hand on my lower back and turned around quickly only to see Louis sending me a look that seemed to tell me to relax and I sighed low.

"Yea i'm tired too, i'll leave you guys." he walked to Niall and sent him a smile. "Happy birthday, Neil."

They hugged and I crossed my arms on my chest, waiting until Louis was gone, but when Niall turned to me again, I knew the discussion was over.

"Come on, let's go to bed."

He walked past me and brushed his fingertips on my arm, giving me a small shiver. I didn't move at all and when he was almost in the hall, he turned to me and frowned.

"You comin'?" he asked again, raising his eyebrows.

Every time he touched me, I felt something electric cross my entire body. I didn't care if it was cheesy, it was still the truth. I thought the feelings Niall gave me when we were not dating were intense but now that we were together, it was even worse. I never really believed what I read in books about the chemistry two persons could have, or how special a connection with someone could be, but now that I was living it, I wondered how I could live if I ended up losing him. I just didn't want to think about it.

"Maybe I should sleep at my place for tonight."

"You're not serious." he just let out with a frown, shaking his head a bit. "It's officially been my birthday for a few hours, I don't want you to leave."

"Yea and everyone was ready to party for you on a monday night. It only missed you."

He sighed and brought his hand to his face, moving his thumb and forefinger over both his eyes, rubbing them. I didn't know if it was just tiredness or if it was annoyance but I guessed on a bit of both.

"Please, darling, please stay."

I knew it bothered him that I had kept my apartment even if I spend all my time with him. Almost all my clothes and stuff were in his house and I knew most of my drawers were empty at my place but it didn't matter. I couldn't get myself to get rid of my lease and be fully in his house. I also had a hard time to call it my house and I really had no idea why.

"Please." he repeated.

He blinked a few times but his eyes met mine and he took a step closer. I licked my lips, well aware that he wanted to make a comment about the fact that I still had my apartment. I knew he wouldn't though, and not only because he was tired. It was mostly because his priority was to make me stay the night, and not to start a new argument between us.

"I'm still mad." I let out.

"I know."

He reached his arm out, holding his palm up and I just stared at it for a few seconds. It was a lie, I was not mad, but I was hurt. He had canceled so many plans, texted for rain checks several times a week and even left me by myself at the restaurant or the movies a few times. I knew he was working on a few songs and could spend a lot of time recording until it was exactly what he wanted, but it scared me because I knew the worst was to come. He would have to promote his song and go to interviews. I didn't even want to think about when he'd be ready to get an album out and go on tour, it was too much stress and it was useless for now.

I reached for his hand and quickly but gently, his fingers wrapped around mine. He pulled me with him to our room and when I closed the door behind him, I felt his arms around my waist. I turned around and took a step back as he took one forward. I felt my back press against the door and tilted my head, the left corner of my lips raising up.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't want to make you sad."

I was happy he didn't try to justify himself and I nodded slowly. My eyes fluttered close when I saw him move closer and his lips pressed softly against mine.

"Thanks so much for staying." He whispered against my mouth.  "Can I hold you against me all night?"

                                                      ---

"Why did you bring me here, Niall?"

It was tuesday afternoon and I was still tired. It felt like I hadn't slept at all the night before. I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened and even if I felt like I should get over it, and wanted to get over it, I couldn't seem to.

"I just want to make you happy." he shrugged a shoulder as he pulled on my arm to enter the mall. "I remember you wanted a new game right? Mario something? And you mentioned a pair of earrings you thought were pretty, I remember. Also we can get take out from that thai restaurant you like, and I was thinking-"

I stopped walking and shook my head, cutting him before he could add anything. My fingers slid on his and my arm fell on my side.

"What are you trying to do, Niall?"

He walked closer to me and put his hands in his pockets.

"Are you trying to make me forgive you for last night?" he didn't answer and I knew I was right. "I don't want your money Niall. I don't want gifts and jewels and food. I want to spend time with you. I want you to keep your promises. You can't just buy forgiveness."

His face changed and he looked down.

"You want to make me happy?" I asked with an amused smile, raising my eyebrows.

His eyes met mine and he frowned, clearly unsure of what I had planned but I just grabbed his hand and brought him with me.

"Oh god." he whispered when he realized what I wanted to do, making me laugh even more.

I pulled on his arm to get him in the photo booth with me as he tried to get money from his pocket and I jumped slightly on my seat, pressing my lips together to hide my smile.

"You are a child." he let out, putting his change in the machine.

"Take that damn cap off!" I let out, grabbing it and taking it off his head and ignoring his comment just as the first click was heard.

We both turned to each other and started laughing as the second click happened and when he yelled "grimace!", I pulled my tongue out and crossed my eyes until the third picture was taken.

"Come here."

Gently but quickly, he cupped my face and moved closer. I felt his warm palms on my cheeks and closed my eyes when his lips reached mine. I knew the fourth picture was taken but I brought my hand on top of his and deepened the kiss.

"I did forget and i'm so sorry." he whispered against my mouth before kissing me deeply again. "I'm just so busy  I mean, my schedule is so hectic."

I sighed and pulled away, a bit annoyed that unlike the night before, he was trying to justify himself. Of course, i knew he was busy and I understood. I just felt neglected and even if I knew it was a bit selfish, I couldn't help it. I didn't answer him and just got out of the booth, taking the pictures who were already printed and looked at them. I smiled when I realized he was making an exaggerated surprised face on the first one and chuckled when I saw us laugh in the second one. The way he looked at me made my heart twist in my chest until I felt a presence behind me.

"The second one is nice." he pointed out as if he was reading my mind before pointing the last one, moving his arm over my shoulder. "I'm sorry i'm hiding almost all your face with my hands on this one."

My lips curled in a soft smile as my eyes were glued to the picture. I thought it made the picture even better. The way his hands were pressed on my face and how I could still feel the tip of his fingers behind my ears and on my neck made a shiver cross my back.

"Don't be. That's just how you kiss." I admitted, pressing my lips together. "I love it."

We remained a few seconds in silence, just staring at the pictures of us in my hands, and he finally took a step back and sighed.

"Okay, let's go eat."

I turned to him and raised my eyebrows but he just sent me a smile.

"I'm not doing that to be forgiven, i'm just starving." he shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "Besides, i'm not letting you pick the restaurant. I may even give you the bill."

I laughed and pushed on one of his shoulders gently, making him chuckle too.

"Fine, let's do that." I agreed. "I just got paid this morning. My dad was a bit late on my last pay."

"I was kiddin', there's no way i'm letting you pay anything."

I started laughing and shook my head before raising my eyebrows.

"We'll see who gets the bill first!"

                                                 ---

I thought things would get better but they didn't. I just lied in bed, my eyes wide open and all alone for the fifth night in a row. I knew he was getting prepared to put one of his songs out in a few days and I was aware of how excited he was. Niall was also a perfectionist and I knew he wouldn't come home until it was exactly what he had imagined but for some reason I didn't understand, I always felt nervous when he was not around.

I heard the front door open and it took less than a minute until he was undressed and laying in bed with me. I felt him turn around my way and sigh, probably thinking I was asleep. He moved one of his arms around my waist and pulled me closer with a groan, nuzzling on my nape, and I brought my hand over his slowly.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, I wasn't asleep."

I felt him tense and he remained silent for a while until I heard his soft voice again.

"Why not?"

I didn't want to make him feel guilty by telling him that I felt stressed when he wasn't home. That I felt alone and lonely, that I felt sad and bad in general. Instead, I grabbed his fingers and squeezed them hard.

"Can you come home for lunch tomorrow?"

The room fell silent again and I held my breath until he talked.

"Dinner?" he negotiated. I could easily imagine his eyebrows raised and his puppy face. "I could do dinner."

"Be there at 6pm." I just replied, feeling his grip tighten around me and his lips leaving a small kiss on the back of my neck, making goosebumps appear.

"I promise on my life."

I knew he'd be there. Not only because he had disappointed me on his birthday but also because I had made sure he put 5 alarms on his phone. I left the sliding door half opened to hear him walk in and when he shouted "Hello?" and closed the door behind himself, I felt my lips curl. I remained sort-of hidden on the patio and glanced inside to see him frown as he read the paper I had left.

'It's a watergun fight. If I win you owe me a whole day with only me and your phone off. Good luck!'

I saw his lips curl and he chuckled low before looking up.

"What if I win?" he yelled loud enough to make sure I would hear since he had no idea where I was.

I watched him put the paper down and his hand reached for the neon green and flashy orange gun I had left for him. I moved out of his sight and leaned against the wall of the house.

"You won't win, Horan!"

He laughed. "But let's say I do. Then you'll spend a whole afternoon playing golf with me."

I grimaced painfully and leaned my head on the wall a bit too roughly, hurting me slightly.

"You're being unfair!" I yelled again. "Spending time with me is fun. Spending a whole afternoon hitting on tiny rubber balls is not!"

"You overestimate how entertaining you are." he let out, making me frown. I was pretty sure his voice sounded closer than it did before. "And you underestimate how incredible golf is."

"Okay then but if I win, I get to choose what we do and you can't complain."

"Deal."

I heard footsteps and my lips curled into a smirk. Either way, I was going to spend time with him and it's all I really cared about. I missed him more than I could explain and spending a few hours sleeping next to him every day was clearly not enough.

"How do we decide who wins?"

"By who's wetter." I explained, still smiling in an amused way.

"Then i'll win, you can't aim to save your life."

Without thinking, I turned around and moved in front of the sliding door, tilting my head with a smirk, my gun pointing at him. He was right in front of me, very close and aiming at me too, but I just bit my bottom lip.

"There's just one thing you should have asked yourself."

"What's that?" he frowned, suddenly suspicious at how confident I was.

"'Why is my gun so light?'"

His face changed in a fraction of second and when he tried to shoot at me, he realized I hadn't filled it with water. I didn't waste any time and took a shot. He closed his eyes and let out a curse word as I started laughing and ran down the stairs to get into the backyard. I hid away again, knowing he was filling his gun and when he appeared and walked down the stairs slowly, I held my breath.

"I hope you enjoyed that." he let out louder, holding his gun on his shoulder. "T'was the only shot at me you'll get today!"

I aimed at him again but my stream didn't reach him and he turned to me, sending me a smirk.

"Shit!" I let out before running away.

I kept looking back, trying to shoot him but he had better reflexes than me and I missed every time. On the other hand, he hit me many times and I could feel my hair and shirt completely wet, sticking to my back. I ran quick enough to hide again but this time, I stayed curled up next to the patio and waited for him to appear. His eyes roamed around the backyard and I stared at his back and down his pants to make sure he hadn't kept his phone on him. I breathed in and got up quickly, running to him. He turned around just in time to know exactly what I was doing but didn't have time to stop me. I pushed him slightly and watched his arms move in circles as he tried to get his balance back without success and finally fell in the pool.

I was a bit surprised by my own audacity and it's only when his head emerged from the water that I realized I was still holding my breath. He moved his hair out of his face and my heart skipped a beat at how hot he was. His gun was floating, drifting away from him slowly and my lips curled.

"I won." I let out with a shrug. "You're wetter than me. In fact, you're drenched."

"You cheated!" he let out. I could see his feet moving in the water to keep his head out but he remained in place. "Twice!"

"Fine!" I gave in, moving my arms up, capitulating. "We both won. So one day together without phones where I decide everything, and one afternoon playing golf."

His lips curled into a large smile and he nodded slowly.

"Deal."

I watched him get out of the pool and pull on his shirt so it doesn't stick and mold his chest anymore. He passed his hand in his hair and walked up to me, quickly wrapping his arms around me. I did the same and closed my eyes as he hugged me tight and after a while, I felt him lean his cheek against the top of my head.

"I know why you did that, you know." he admitted in a low tone. "I know we barely spend time together anymore. It'll change, I promise. I know i'm gonna have interviews and stuff after my song comes out but I thought maybe you could come with me?"

My smile grew but I kept my eyes closed, hugging him tighter and making him chuckle.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes." I whispered, feeling suddenly lighter. "It's a yes."

[thewriterscraftblog-blog]

Short Story: A World Where Being Gay is the Norm, and Being Straight is a Minority

The writing of short stories is appealing because it is a platform for ultimate creativity and provides the writer complete and utter freedom. There are no restriction or rules to be followed when writing a short story. All decision are entirely welcome and up to the writer which is appealing because it gives a break from other forms of writing that have specific requirements that can lead to a person feeling very restricted when writing which in a sense can cause a loss of interest or passion in what is being written. 

Tears stream down Noah’s face uncontrollably as he clenches his jaw and holds back screams of pain and anguish. Before he knew it, another punch came soaring towards his face, slamming him right in his tear filled eye. He looks beyond the group of boys around him, in search of his boyfriend, William, but it seemed as though he had escaped. Noah sighed in relief after discovering this, but his comfort was soon interrupted by the word “faggot” being shouted at him from every corner of the room. Noah’s head bangs against the school’s locker as David swept him off the ground and pushed him with the force of 1000 winds. His lip quivers as David brings his face close to Noah’s. “If I ever catch you and your boyfriend fooling around again, I swear to God I’ll kill you both so quick,” The facial expressions on the faces of David’s friends all go blank as they look at eachother. The harsh words leaving David’s mouth sent shockwaves throughout the hallway. “Why do you care what I do?” Noah said as his voice shook. “Why? Because I don’t wanna see none of that gay sh*t in my school.You can take it someplace else, far away from my view.” Before Noah could have time to respond, David’s friend Mark rushes through the doorway. “David! Mr.Lawrence is coming upstairs we need to leave. Now.” With that, the whole squad bolted down the school hallway like an Olympic team at the start gun, as their shoes squeak on the shiny floors. Noah waits until they’re all out of sight, and he slides his back down the locker door, and sits on the ground. He wipes his bloody nose with a kleenex, and he thinks to himself. Why does he have to deal with this, only for being himself? What did he ever do to David? What did he ever do to anyone for that matter? He wipes his tears, and looks down at his shoes. His eyes trace his surroundings and the world around him seems to shrink. Why can’t he walk the hallways with his boyfriend without being attacked? Why can’t they go out without being stared at? Why does he have to “come out” to people about his sexuality, but others don’t? As all of these questions flood into Noah’s mind, he imagines a world where being gay is normal, and being straight is the minority.

  That night, David went home to his usual life, without a care in the world about who he hurt. He knows what he believes in, and in his heart he has no room for anyone who’s different from him.

  He slept at ease, but Noah slept in sorrow.

  The next morning, David crawls out of bed to get ready and go to school. It’s a regular day for David, but something feels different. He feels different. He feels anxious as he pulls his hoodie over his head and adjusts it onto his torso, he almost wants to stop getting ready for school because the idea of facing people brought an unfamiliar feeling to mind. Suddenly, all the reasons not to go to school come flooding into his mind, and he finds himself gnawing on the edge of his fingernails. A strange feeling it was, and David is scared. He’s usually confident, but today he’s simply not, and he can’t tell why. He pushes his feelings aside and rushes downstairs to greet his mom and dad. David is surprised to see that his mom and dad are not the ones waiting for him when he makes it downstairs. His mom is there, but in place of his dad is a random lady he’s never seen before. He walks slowly into the kitchen and examines the unfamiliar woman before him. “Good Morning son,” David’s mom says. David pulls his mother aside and whispers to her, as the other woman gives a curious look. “Who is that?” he asks. David’s mother stares at him in absolute bewilderment. She examines his facial expression for a moment, and then stares at the woman, suspecting that they’re playing a prank on her. “David? Are you on drugs?” David stares at his mother in complete confusion and she does the same to him. “No, mom where’s dad and who is this random person standing in my kitchen at 8:20 in the morning?” David’s mom gets fed up with his nonsense and pushes past him. The woman grabs her purse and keys,and gives David’s mom a kiss on the cheek as they say goodbye. “Have a good day at school son,” She said as she shuts the door. David stares at his mother in complete horror. The sight of his mother kissing a woman causes feelings of disgust to arise within him.     “Hold on did she just call me ‘son’? No seriously who was that?” David questions his mother. “Can you stop pretending like you forgot who your mother is? Go eat your breakfast you’re wasting time,” David looks at his mother in complete and utter fright and dismay. “Did you just call her my mother?” He asks. She stares at him with no words, she wonders what’s gotten into her son. “I need to go” David says as he shakes his head. “You didn’t eat your breakfast!” But before his mother’s words can be heard, the door is shut in her face.

   David, with a mind full of thoughts, makes his way down the sidewalk on his way to school. He was walking unusually slow, as if it took every bit of effort in him to put one foot in front of the other. The vision of his mother and the random lady replays over and over in his mind. He looks down as he walks and sees the sidewalk glisten under the morning sun. Just when he finds a sense of relief, he looks up and sees 2 men holding hands. He rolls his eyes in annoyance, but he continues to make his way down the sidewalk. A few blocks later, he sees yet another two men holding hands, and even 2 women holding hands behind them. He starts to question since when so many gay couples were open in his neighbourhood. David makes it to school, and enters the building. He expects his pride to return to him at this moment, but for some reason, the feeling of inferiority is still stuck to him, and it’s been stuck ever since he woke up this morning. The school halls are crowded with people laughing and making conversation loud enough for David to hear from the other end of the hall. He made his way to his girlfriend Roxanne.

   He approaches her with a smile and leans in to kiss her but she backs away. She gives him a piercing look signalling for him to stop, and David looks at her with a hurt expression on his face. “Roxanne?” David asks with an angered look on his face. “We can’t do this in the halls, I thought you knew that.” She says as she looks around the room checking if anyone spotted their interaction. “Okay, I’m officially confused,” David says with a fake smile. He brings his hand towards her face and tucks her blonde hair behind her ear, and she flinches to his touch. Before David can respond to her strange behaviour, their friend Neil makes his way towards them. Neil’s smug attitude is never appreciated by the majority of the population, and David sighs in annoyance as they make small talk. “So David, the guys and us saw you and Roxanne getting a bit cozy a few minutes ago, what was that all about?” He says with a laugh. Roxanne laughs anxiously and shoots a murderous look at David. “Uh, yeah she’s my girlfriend is there an issue or?” David says. “She’s your girlfriend?” Neil says before breaking out into a pit of laughter. Roxanne follows this as a way to make Davids words seem more like a joke, and David looks at both of them with a puzzled expression on his face. “I’m not sure what both of you are laughing at,” David says. “Bro, you’re scaring me,” Neil says as he continues laughing, convinced that David is still joking. “What’s so hard to believe, I don’t understand?” David says. “Man what are you? Straight?”  “Uh, yeah?” Neil’s laughter fades quickly and air in the room turns painfully awkward. “Uh, since when is that a thing?” Neil asks. “Neil, you know me. You know Roxanne is my girlfriend, you know I’m straight. Why is this news to you? Did you think I’m gay? I know damn well you didn’t think that when I beat the crap out of that Noah kid yesterday. Hell, I’m not sure why you’re acting so weirded out as if you’re not straight yourself,” David shouts at Neil as he attracts the attention of everyone in the hallway. Neil pushes David in anger and Roxanne leaves immediately in tears. “What did you just call me?” Neil shouts. “Straight? What on earth is the issue?” Suddenly, all of David’s friends that helped him beat up Noah started crowding up on him. “That’s freaking’ disgusting, that’s the issue,” David lets out a loud laugh that he couldn’t hold in much longer. Neil slams David against the locker, and David’s laughter cuts quickly. “If I knew you were straight, I would have never hung out with you, hell, nobody would have. You’re not like us, you don’t deserve the same things we do” He says as he gets inches and inches closer to David’s face. “I’m not like you guys? And what is that exactly? Gay?” David says. “Yes. What are you not getting?”  Davids voice gets louder and louder, David felt like he was being convicted of a crime, he couldn’t wrap his head around why he was being treated like this. “If you’re done playing this stupid prank, I need to get to class now,” David says as he tries breaking free of Neil’s grasp. Neil pushes David back hard onto the locker “No use going to class, God has a special place for people like you in hell,”

 The next thing David knew, his blood was splattered across the lockers as Neil’s fist meets his face. Suddenly, all of the people he knew as his friends were throwing kicks and punches his way. Everyone in the hallway decided to flee the scene, or they decided to join in on the fun. Neil and his friends threw vulgar slurs at David, ones that David had never heard before. At a certain point, he decides to stop fighting back, and he lets them do what they have to do. A few seconds later they’re done, and they all give him a disgusted look before exiting the hallway.

  David sat there for a while and he tried to understand why. Why was he being hurt by his own friends? Why was Roxanne acting so strange? Why did he feel so insecure and out of place this morning? Who was that woman in his house? Suddenly, the realization finally grew it’s way in David’s mind. For whatever reason, things had changed overnight. The roles of being gay and being straight have switched. He remembered the feeling of anxiousness he felt when making his way to school, and how he felt inferior. He thought to himself; that’s how gay people feel everyday. He thought about the woman in his kitchen, and realized that was supposedly his other mom, because he has two moms, no dad. He thought about Roxanne, and how their relationship is probably a secret because they’re straight, and being straight is “wrong”. David sat there with his head in his hands, and he found himself questioning how Neil and the others could do to him what they did. 

  Yet before David could ponder it further, he realized that it’s the same reason he did the exact same thing to Noah. With this thought, a tear trickled down David’s face. He felt shameful, not because he’s the minority in this world, but because he inflicted this pain on somebody else as well. He couldn’t understand why somebody would hate him for being straight, and he thought this was probably what Noah was thinking as well. Suddenly, the black, narrow, hallway doors creaked open and David quickly wipes away his tears. Noah makes his way through the doorway and sees David sitting there.They make eye contact, but David looks away immediately in shame. Noah takes a seat in front of him, and studies the bruises on David’s face. “They got you good didn’t they,” Noah says. David chuckles, but stops himself quickly. “Yeah. That they did.” he says. It’s quiet for a second, and Noah smirks before breaking the silence. “You know, it’s weird. This morning I left the house, and It’s almost as if I'm in a parallel universe or something,” David’s eyes widen when he hears these words. “It happened to you too?” He asks. “Yup, being gay is normal now. I walked through every single hallway waiting for somebody to call me a fag, but not one person did. I almost felt let down,” Noah says as he laughs. David and Noah both laugh for a second, but David feels a rooting feeling of guilt residing in him. 

  “Why are you being nice to me Noah?” asks David. “What do you mean?” Noah asks, but something tells David he knows the answer to that question already. “I beat you up, I bullied you, called you names, but now I’m the odd one out. Don’t you want to get back at me or something?” He asks. “No. I don’t. I think you’ve probably realized the wrong in your ways by now, nothing I say or do now will change much. Plus, I know how it feels to be the odd one out, and it’s not pretty. If I hurt you now, I’m not much different than you, am I?” Noah says. David stares at Noah with a faint smile on his face, but in his eyes one can see the amount of self loathe within him. “I’m really sorry Noah,” David says. For a second there’s a silence so loud it could echo through your mind for hours on end.

“It’s okay.”

[horansqueen]

BabyGirl 2.0

NOTES:

♥ this is based on a concept i received a few weeks ago and ppl asked that i made a story with it. ♥ i planned 3-4 long parts but i think it’ll be 8-10 short parts ♥ 4k. fluff. ♥ there may be smut but i doubt it and IF it happens it wont be as explicit as my other smut works. ♥ i didn’t proofread and if you read my stuff you know i never do because im a lazy ass. ♥ thank you so so much for all the notes and feedback for chapter 1! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! i hope you enjoy this chapter! ♥ if you have any questions please dont hesitate. ♥ read part 1 HERE

                                    2.0  ♥ DEALS & FEELS ♥

(almost 5 years later)

HIM

I've dated girls, i've had sex with girls, too, but in the end, I never really fell in love. Love is a weird concept I have a hard time to grasp. Wanting to spend the rest of your life with the same person, living with them, always having them in your personal space... It didn't seem to be for me. I never had to share a house with anyone, and if I spent too long with people it actually bothered me. I needed my alone time, I needed space and time to relax and think, and there was no reason for me to give this up. At least, not now, and not soon. In fact, maybe I never would.

Did I still think about her? Yea, from time to time, but it seemed to have happened in an other life, and the only feeling inhabiting me was one of regret. I regretted the way I treated her, and the way we broke up. After all these years, I had to admit that my outburst was ridiculous. I was younger, stupid, and slightly more selfish. There was no excuse for the way our story ended and even if some people told me the blame was shared, I was ready to take all of it.

It was over and there was clearly not much else to add to this sad love story. I didn't know where she was, or how she was doing, but I like to believe if she needed me, Louis would tell me, since we were still extremely close. But we never talked about her. I knew he was still seeing her from time to time, even more often now that the band went on hiatus, but i never asked anything and he never shared anything either. We seemed to have this unspoken agreement to never discuss her and Iit was definitely better this way.

My solo career was going well, and on the rare occasion I could see my old bandmates, it was just like it used to be between us, especially when it came to Louis.

"Neil! Where the fuck did you put that damn watch!"

I chuckled, shaking my head as I opened the fridge to grab a beer. I threw the cap in the bin and leaned against the counter just as Louis rushed in the room, making me smirk more. His hair was a mess and watching him running everywhere to be ready on time was entertaining.

"Seriously, I can't believe I'm spending Christmas Eve without my girlfriend!" he mumbled under his breath, making me roll my eyes.

"Oh please, you two can spend ONE night apart, can't you?" I argued with a shrug. "Or is it some superhero thing where you both will start getting weaker and eventually die?"

Louis stopped dead in his track and turned to show me an annoyed face that made me laugh again.  His eyes became smaller and he pinched his lips. I knew he was half-joking and I played along.

"Some of us actually care about love, you know?" he expressed, turning around again to open my pantry. "And when I say 'some of us' I mean like, 90% of the world population."

I grimaced and took an other sip of my beer, putting it back on the counter.

"I'm fine being a part of the smart 10%." I admitted. "And I'm pretty sure you're not gonna find my watch there. Why don't you try the fridge instead?"

He closed the pantry a bit too roughly for me and turned to face me again. I loved Louis, I knew he was not holding back, not with me not with anyone.

"Yea I know, you're an eternal bachelor. When I first met El-"

I pushed myself from the counter to get back on my feet and cut him before he could add anything.

"When you met El you fell completely in love with her. You loved her through thick and thin, whether you two were together or separated. She's the love of your life, and you don't see yourself with anyone else but her. I know."

He stared at me and blinked a few times before nodding.

"Yes, and one day, you'll find yours, too." he said, making me scoff, as he walked past me.

"I've never loved anyone, and i'm not gonna start any time soon." I replied, turning to him.

He stopped walking completely, making me frown, and finally turned on his heels. His eyes stuck into mine, he waited a few seconds and finally shook his head.

"You never loved anyone?"

I frowned and shrugged, glancing away and putting my hands in my pockets.

"Nop, never."

I was lying through my teeth and just repeating it made my heart jump in my chest. I knew it and Louis knew it too. His gaze was burning me and I finally closed my eyes with a sigh. I didn't want to talk about it and I hoped he would let it go. He normally does, we don't discuss about that time of my life. Louis was my best mate, he could sense it, I knew it. He finally turned around and walked back to my room, yelling as he reached the hall.

"That's a lie, Neil! And we both know it!"

I was happy he was not in the same room anymore. I breathed in deeply, my eyes still closed, and tried to get all these thoughts out of my head. The first time I saw her, the first time I kissed her, the first time I touched her... and then, all these last times too. Falling in love was like trying to swim in quicksand: totally useless and scary. There was no way to get out of it, no way it would end well, no way not to hurt. Love was complicated and hard.  I didn't want a complicated life. I wanted things to be easy, and fun. I wanted to lay down on my couch at the end of the day and be content. I didn't want to owe anything to anyone and the obligations I already had were enough. To be responsible for someone's happiness was something I didn't want to take or risk. There was too much at stake, too many mistakes to make, too many hearts to break.

The more I thought about it, the more I tried to convince that I did the right thing, and that this relationship was inevitably going to end anyway, no matter how hard we would have worked on it.

I was completely stuck in my thoughts when Louis reappeared. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times before noticing he was putting my watch on. In his other hand, though, something was hanging on what appeared to be a necklace. A heart. I recognized it immediately and suddenly felt extremely nauseous. Why didn't I get rid of this again?

"Mate, I found this." he chuckled, moving his arm up and making the silver of the heart shine with the artificial light of the kitchen. "That's not your type of jewels, where is this from?"

I stared at it a few seconds and walked the few steps separating us very quickly, snatching it from his hands. The metal felt cold in my hand but at the same time, it was burning my skin in a way I couldn't explain.

"It's nothing, just something a girl I brought here forgot." I walked to the counter and opened one of the doors to throw it in the bin. "I'll never see her again anyway."

"You never bring girls here..." he started, realizing what I was doing. "Hey wait, it seemed quite expensive."

Of course it was expensive, I would never buy something cheap for her. I turned around and shrugged, reaching for my beer and trying to act like it didn't matter.

"What do you want me to do? Sell it?" I let out with sarcasm, chugging half of what was left in the bottle.

"Give it back, maybe?"

He rolled his eyes and walked up to me, opening the door to search the bin. I stopped him, closing the door again without saying a word. He looked up at me, clearly getting pissed at my behavior, but i didn't flinch. I didn't have to talk, the expression plastered on my face said it all. Louis sighed and backed away.

"Whatever, we need to go or we'll be late."

I followed him to the door and grabbed my coat, quickly putting it on before searching for a beanie that would fit.

"Is your son with your sister?" I asked casually, putting the beanie on and making sure it hid my ears. "I haven't seen him in so long."

"Yea, we'll just pick him up on our way."

As soon as we walked out, Louis rubbed his hands together and blew on them to get them warm and I closed the door behind us, locking it quickly. I followed him to his car and sat on the passenger's side, glancing back to see the cute baby car seat. It made me smile and I turned my attention back on the road. I was not a fan of Louis' driving, I thought he drove way too slow, but since it was his car, I tried not to comment on it.

"Thanks so much for coming with me Niall." he let out after a few minutes of silence. "I know it's mostly a christmas party for kids, and that it's not really your cup of tea, but I appreciate it."

I patted his thigh gently and shook my head, glancing by the window.

"Don't thank me, you're very welcome. I'm sure it's gonna be fun with a couple drinks."

"It won't last too long too, ya know we can go back to my place after and drink a few beers." he proposed with a shrug. "I know you're going home only tomorrow."

"Alright, deal, but not too late, I gotta fly early tomorrow."

HER

Whenever I looked at my daughter, she reminded me of Niall. At first, it was almost torture but now, after over 4 years, I was used to it. She caught some of my facial expressions, and she talked a bit like me, too, but when she smiled, I saw Niall, when she laughed, I heard Niall, and when she looked at me with her tired eyes late at night, I could see Niall. Every single time, my heart would jump in my chest before melting immediately. I loved my daughter more than anything in the world and the truth was, I had never really been over Niall.

There are people you know you'll feel connected to all your life. Those two, Niall and my daughter, were on the top of my list. I felt something for them I knew i'd probably never feel for anyone else, and even if I knew it would be better for my sanity to forget about Niall, I couldn't. I had tried, I had made huge effort, I even saw a therapist, but deep down, I knew he was the love of my life, even if I'd never be the love of his.

I sat on my daughter's bed and pulled her closer, sending her a small smile.

"Come on, arms up!"

She stared at me and did as I asked, raising her chin up at the same time. It made me smile and I put her dress on, pulling on it at the bottom gently.

"Alright, turn around."

She moved quickly and gracefully enough for a child, her hair flying around her head, along with the skirt of her dress, making me chuckle.

"I love that dress!"

I tied it on her back and licked my lips as she turned around again to face me.

"I knew you would, that's why I bought it."

Her eyes softened and she let herself fall in my arms. I brought her closer to me, holding her against me and hugging her tight. It was always so surprising to me that she'd be so grateful for things like that. Kids tend not to be that happy about little attentions and it's totally normal, but my daughter was different.

"Mommy?"

I smiled and raised my eyebrows, knowing she had clearly something to ask me. It was in the tone of her voice, and the way she glanced down quickly before looking back deeply in my eyes. Every single time, it made my heart jump. It was definitely just a coincidence, but Niall did the exact same time and somehow, I think both of them were aware I couldn't refuse them anything, or almost.

"It's Christmas and you always let me unwrap a gift every year."

I laughed again and shook my head, twisting her gently and grabbing a brush, bringing it to her hair. She didn't complain, but I knew her eyes were shut tight, as if it would stop the painful feeling of the knots in her hair.

"First off, it's Christmas' Eve, sweetheart." I pointed out, trying to be as gentle as I can. "And second off, you're gonna get a bunch of gifts tonight, which makes me believe you can wait tomorrow to open your gifts."

She didn't wait until I was done and made a volte-face, surprising me slightly but mostly amusing me. She tilted her head and sent me puppy eyes but I shook my head again with a chuckle.

"How about daddy's gift?"

That word always made my heart jump in chest and I swallowed the pain it brought me to send her an other fond smile. It was true. Every year, I tried to give her a gift from Niall. He didn't know of her existence, and she didn't know who he was, but I had a bunch of stuff that belonged to him or reminded me of him, and I thought it was more important for my daughter than it was for me.

Last year, it was an old t-shirt he left at my place and the year before, it was a guitar pic I pierced to put on a bracelet. I knew she desperately wanted to know her dad if only for the fact that her dad's gifts were always her favorites, no matter what i'd buy her. She was wearing the shirt every night to sleep and I had to literally wash it during the day because she wouldn't fall asleep without wearing it. As for the bracelet, she wouldn't even take it off to take a bath.

I looked at her and saw how bad she wanted it. I would even say she needed it.

"Alright, wait for me here."

Her expression turned into an excited one and I quickly walked to my room, grabbing a small box and getting back to her. This time, I sat on the floor and she got on her knees, sitting on her legs. Her dress was spread around her and all I could think about is that she seriously looked like a princess. Or at least, she would when I'd do something with her messy hair.

She stared at the little box in my hand, her eyes so large that her impatience was almost palpable. She didn't say anything though, she waited and waited until I handed her the box. It's not that it bothered me to give it to her, but this jewel meant more to me than I wanted to admit, and although I knew it was just an object, letting it go, even to my own daughter, felt like a sacrifice.

She didn't even take time to try to guess, she simply opened the box and her lips curled into a large smile. She stared at the silver key with a very small purple gem and my heart twisted in my chest again. This brought back so many memories I felt myself tear up but swallowed my pain and sent her a smile.

"You like it?"

She didn't look at me at all, she kept staring at the necklace, fascinated but after a while, I cleared my throat and licked my lips.

"Okay my love, it's time to go or we're gonna be late."

"Can I wear it tonight?"

I held my breath, knowing very well that she expected a positive answer, but if I wanted to be honest with myself, I was so scared she was going to lose it that it made me want to throw up. Perhaps she was still too young for that necklace, but now it was too late.

"Mm, alright, but you need to keep it under your dress at all times, deal?"

I raised my eyebrows, looking at her and raised my hand up in a fist, sticking only my little finger up. A large smile appeared on her lips, showing her cute slightly crooked teeth, and she finally did the same, intertwining her pinky with mine.

"Deal!"

I grabbed the necklace and put it around her neck, sighing as I watched it hang loosely on her chest. She grabbed it with her tiny fingers and put it under her dress quickly before shaking her head, making an even bigger mess of her hair.

"Hey! Come here you little minx!"

She started laughing and my heart melted as I grabbed her and threw her softly on the bed to tickle her. She laughed harder, her legs moving and kicking me, making me laugh too. It lasted a few minutes before we stopped and I tilted my head as she sighed exaggeratedly.

"Okay, your hair now."

I started brushing it and we kept silent, probably both lost in our thoughts, but when she started talking, I knew we hadn't been thinking about the same thing.

"Is uncle Louis gonna be there?"

"Mmhm, yes, he said he would. He's bringing Freddie." I added, trying her hair unto a braid.

I turned her around again and grimaced when i noticed a lock of her hair was falling. It was too short to stick in the braid and even if I was sort of used to it, it annoyed me and I quickly pushed it behind her ear.

"You are the prettiest little girl in the world, you know that, right?"

She sent me a smile and nodded. "Yes, I know!"

"Good."

I walked to my room and she followed me, as usual. We always got her ready first, and then it was my turn.

"Will aunt Eleanor be there too?"

I looked through my closet found a pair of pants that were not jeans, throwing them on the bed.

"No, she already had plans tonight." I replied, trying to find a shirt that would fit and getting slightly annoyed.

"I wanted to show her my dress! I wanted her to see it! She said I could model you know!"

I laughed and glanced at her, noticing her disappointed face.

"You know what? Maybe we can take a picture and send it to her, how's that?"

I watched her quickly nod and did the same, walking back to my bed with a shirt of the same color shade as the pants. I hated getting dressed and I had no idea what was the point. If I could go in sweatpants, I definitely would.

"Noooo no no!"

Without giving me time to react, my daughter walked up to my bed, grabbed the outfit I had picked and tried as best as she could to put it back in my closet, without much success. It ended up in a pool on the floor but I decided to ignore it.

"It's Christmas!" she pointed out, her eyebrows raised as high as possible. "You're putting on a dress."

Her words were firm and her statement final, so I decided not to argue even if being uncomfortable in a dress for the whole evening seemed to be the worst idea I had heard today. We spent too long finding a dress in my closet since I was not even sure I actually owned one but when we were both ready, I got down on my knees to put her some baby pink lipstick with glitters.

"You look perfect." I pointed out.

"You too mommy, your make up in on point."

Her comment made me laugh and I bopped her nose gently.

"Yours too."

The ride was quick enough and we blasted our favorite spotify list on the way, singing loud together as I glanced at her a few times in the rear view mirror. We had out habits and I knew how close we were. We had people we loved and that loved us, but at the end of the day, it was just me and her, and I liked it that way. I wish someone would have told me five years ago how happy i would be with a daughter, but when I thought of the time I was pregnant, all I could really remember was crying myself to sleep every night and feeling extremely lonely. When I gave birth, however, it was a new beginning, and that new life was everything I wanted, everything I could have wished for.

I parked where I could and we walked inside together. I didn't even try to find Louis. knowing he would send me a text when he'd be there and I made my way to get myself a glass of wine, holding my daughter's hand firmly.

"There's chocolate milk, you want one?" I asked over the Christmas music playing.

She nodded quickly and I opened one for her, slipping a straw in it and handing it to her. I poured myself a glass of red wine and suddenly felt something pulling on my dress.

"Mom! The tree! The tree and the gifts!" she yelled looking up, showing me her perfect chocolate mustache. "Can I go!"

I sent her a smile and nodded.

"But stay where I can see you!"

"Promise!"

She ran away and I walked closer to the tree to check on her, staying up but leaning against a wall. A voice made me smile and when I looked up, I noticed Louis walking in, his son in his arms. I waved and he saw me, sending me a big smile and pointing me to Freddie before grabbing his small arm and shaking it to make him wave at me too. I laughed and they walked in my direction, my smile growing with every step they took.

"It's so nice to see you, Lou." I let out, kissing his cheeks.

"You too, where's the little princess?"

I pointed out next to the tree and Louis smiled again as we both stared at my daughter. She had already made friends and it made me chuckle.

"Look, I don't have time to explain, but please, love, forgive me."

I frowned and turned to look into his eyes, noticing guilt written all over his face.

"What for?"

He sighed and glanced back. When his face turned back in my direction, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"Just, I hope you forgive me one day."

I opened my lips to ask for more details but I didn't have to. I saw him, and my lips remained parted. He looked good and my heart jumped in my chest. It's been five years, five long years without him, and I thought I was almost healed. But here he was, his charming smile and his light and powerful eyes, and I was in it again. Totally ill. I held my breath as he turned around and when he noticed me, we stared at each other, both speechless and surprised by something we would never have expected : each other.