the lonely hearts club || n.h au

seven

The door to her parents' home flies open before Alexandra has the chance to knock or ring the doorbell. Standing on the other side of the door is her mum, Claudia Oh. Who greets her with a frown and a, "I wasn't expecting you."

Not the kind of greeting she was hoping for but she knew this was coming. She'd told her parents that she'd be coming home tomorrow and she didn't inform anyone that there's been a change of plan. But surely her early arrival was a good kind of unexpectedness?

"Surprise?"Alexandra grins as she stops in front of her mum.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Her mum asks. Straight to the point as always.

"What do you mean where is he?" Alexandra quizzes as she draws her brows together. "You didn't see him?" Then she pretends to sling an arm around someone and says, "He's right next to me."

"You and your sarcasm," Claudia Oh mutters with a shake of her head, her lips twitching as she suppresses a smile. The last thing she wants to do is to encourage her daughter. "Where is he? I thought he's coming home with you."

"Can I get inside first?" Alexandra asks. Her mum nods and steps aside to let her in. As soon as she's standing in the hallway, Claudia closes the door and faces her daughter. Meanwhile, Alexandra looks around, peeking her head into the living room to her left. Apart from the impressive Christmas tree adorning the corner of the room, she sees no one in there. She turns to her mum, eyes wide with hope, "Tell me I beat Isaac."

"He's coming home tomor—"

"— yes!" Having lived with Isaac for over two decades and always coming up short in those decades, Alexandra has learnt to celebrate little victories like this.

"So, where is he?" Claudia asks again. She can see that her mum is getting impatient. "And does he have a name?"

Alexandra presses her lips together. She considers leaving her mum in the dark for a few more hours before Niall picks her up for their date later — holy shit she can't believe that's happening — but decides against it. If Niall could tell his friends — his inquisitive friends — about her, then she can tell the curious Claudia Oh about him.

Alexandra forces the next words past the lump in her throat, "His name's Niall."

"Niall?" Her mum repeats. Alexandra waits for her to say something else — something like 'Niall Horan? You're dating that boy?' — but nothing comes. Complete silence.

So, she tries again, "Niall Horan."

This time, recognition dawns on her face. But that look is quickly replaced by something else. Claudia Oh then looks at her daughter like she's just lost her mind. Like she's expecting younger her to take back what she just said.

"Alexandra Oh," Claudia says and Alexandra can feel shivers running down her spine. Her mum may be a few inches shorter than her — both her and Isaac inherited their height from their dad — but those two words are enough to make Alexandra feel small. To make her feel like she's a little girl again and her mum's about to reprimand her for doing something wrong. "Are you lying to your mother?"

"What?"

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" Panic squeezes Alexandra's chest. Why not?, she wants to ask, but doesn't have to as her mum continues, knowing exactly what's on her mind. "I could've sworn that boy's single. Everyone's been trying to set him up. Mrs Kelly told me she's setting him up with her granddaughter, Shay."

Right. Of course her mum knows that.

"Yeah, I-I know." Alexandra says, trying her hardest not to crack under the pressure of her mum's intense gaze.