Prideful {l.s.}

4- Just a Normal School Day

The Story So Far:

Harry and Louis are now married and have adopted Olivia, an eleven-year-old. Zayn and Liam are together but not yet married. Cheyenne and Niall just had their wedding, and the couple just admitted their pregnancy.

Louis dropped Olivia off every day at school in his car since Harry used his to get to the photography studio or a wedding if necessary. Louis still forced Olivia to sit in the backseat since she's on the smaller side. 

"It's just ridiculous," Olivia complained as she crossed her arms and looked out on Orlando passing by her window. "I'm 11 now!"

"I told you. Your father and I don't feel safe letting you sit in the front until you're four foot nine at least. It's recommended to keep you in the back until you're fourteen," Louis tried to reason with the young girl.

"Recommended by who?"

"By Florida laws."

"I question them."

"You question everything," Louis commented with a laugh. Olivia was not afraid to speak her mind, which was good but had some repercussions sometimes. "Why do you want to sit in the front seat anyway?"

"I want to control the music," Olivia admitted. "I like my playlists better."

"After school, we can work on connecting the Bluetooth in your phone to the radio of the car. You can control the music from the back."

Louis and Harry mostly tried to compromise with Olivia. They did sometimes have to have strict rules for her, but getting her input on the household rules let her have some independence. She was a strong-willed girl. Louis didn't want to change that, but he did need her to stay safe.

"And I have film club after school, dad," Olivia reminded Louis as Louis pulled up to the middle school.

"Alright. Have a good day, sweetheart."

Olivia unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward to kiss her dad on his cheek.

Olivia giggled. "You need to shave."

"Hey, I'm a fan of the stubble," Louis defended his choice in facial hair with a smile. "Love you, Liv."

"Love you too," Olivia replied before she hopped out of the car. She pulled her backpack out of the car and onto her back. She waved one last time before she shut the door and the car pulled away. 

Olivia turned to face Jefferson Middle School with her chin held up high, despite the fact that she wanted nothing more than to call her dads and tell them to pick her back up. She walked through the courtyard as quickly as possible since that tended to be where they hung out. She headed to her locker with determination. Olivia finally found her locker, but she didn't see Adam around. Louis had dropped her off late, so Olivia didn't have time to look for him before the bell rang. 

Olivia went throughout her day not seeing Adam until lunch like usual. They always sat together for lunch, and this day was no different. Adam seemed sadder than usual as Olivia took a seat across from him. The lunchroom was loud in general, but their table was quiet. Olivia and Adam sat together every day of sixth grade since they first met earlier this year. Another loud group of friends sat further down on their table, but no one else ever sat with Olivia and Adam. 

"Are you okay, man?" Olivia asked. She didn't notice Adam's small flinch when she said that. 

Adam nodded his head, but it wasn't very convincing. "Just got into a fight with my dad this morning."

Olivia set her sandwich down and focused her attention entirely on her friend. Adam had a rocky relationship with his dad. While his dad was a nice guy and a great single father, there was a wall between the two boys that Olivia did not yet understand. 

"What happened?"

"He yelled at me for wearing nail polish," Adam admitted with a sigh. Olivia looked at his hands to see traces of red nail polish left over in the corners of his nails as if it had been taken off in a hurry. "He told me that I wasn't going to have friends if I wore it to school, so he made me take it off."

Adam was different than most boys in Jefferson Middle School. He had one friend. He liked to paint his nails. In all honesty, he gets jealous of Olivia every time she gets to wear a dress or makeup. He had been ostracized from the rest of the kids at school when a rumor spread over from his old school. 

"Why don't you come to my house after school, and we can paint our nails," Olivia suggested with ease. She did not see the problem with a boy wanting his nails painted. Her one dad, Harry, sometimes had his nails painted. Olivia saw no crime in this simple act, but there is a prejudice in these types of things. She's seen her dads face issues with being a gay couple. She's been bullied for being their daughter. She understood these prejudices existed, but she never understood why. She had grown up being taught that love is love and people should be allowed to express themselves. 

So why was Adam any different?

A/N

Short chapter. I'm finishing school in the next couple weeks, so hopefully more chapters then. Any ideas about Adam?

xoxo Claire Marie