beyond being friends | harrison osterfield

Part 1

You always thought that when you'd eventually move out, you'd move into a small flat in the city centre or student housing for uni. But you never imagined moving into a house that's a literal five-minute walk from your parents' house with two of your brothers and their best friend. With Tuwaine moving out because of his new job, a room in Tom's house became available and since Sam had his own place close to his cookery school, you'd been the first person to be asked to take the room. And you jumped at the opportunity.

You liked to be around your parents and Paddy, but you did crave a bit of the independence your older brothers seemed to have. Granted, Harry and Sam were only minutes older than you, but they never failed to remind you of that. Either way, you were now no longer living with your parents and it filled you with a sense of pride.

Okay, you didn't have to pay rent, just part of the additional costs, which was not really part of the typical experience when moving out, but you won't complain. There has to be a benefit to your brother being an international movie star, right?

"How do you feel now that you're the only one living in this house who isn't a Holland?" Tuwaine asks Harrison who's leaning against the kitchen island his arms crossed over his chest.

"At this point, he might as well be" Sam interjects before Harrison can even open his mouth. "I swear he spends more time with our family than I do"

"That's because you're too busy becoming the next Gordon Ramsey" Tom teases and nudges Sam's shoulder.

"Funny" Sam looks at him with a deadpan expression, you can't help but snigger.

"Hey, you're the one who's away for the majority of the year" You jump to Sam's defence. Because if one of the Holland siblings is too busy for anything it's Tom.

"Fair enough" Tom raises his hands in surrender.

"How long was it that you're leaving next time? Six months?" Harrison raises one eyebrow.

"Oh c'mon, it's only four" Tom rolls his eyes with a chuckle. He's laughing, but all of you know that he hates being gone from home for so long. That's why he takes someone with him most of the times. This time, Harry will join him in New York, leaving you and Harrison living alone in the house.

You knew it was going to be rare that all four of you would be staying at the house at the same time, but it was still sad to think about. All of you are family people, you love to be around the people you love. And with Tom's job sending him all around the world, you didn't get to see him a lot.

"I'm gonna miss you guys" You pout and Tom immediately comes over and gives you a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you, too." Soon you feel another pair of arms wrap around you, without looking you know it's Harry. And then the other boys join as well and you're one big pile of people hugging in the middle of the kitchen.

*

"Morning" You mumble as you shuffle into the kitchen where Harrison is currently making himself a tea. He looks at you over his shoulder with a grin and you wonder how someone can have so much energy in the morning.

"Good morning, sunshine" He has to bite back a laugh and you only manage to grumble something unintelligible. You're not really a morning person.

Yesterday was as draining as a day of moving can be and then Sam stayed over because he drank a little too much and he kept kicking you during the night. So you're certain you look like a mess but you don't care, it's not like Harrison has never seen you like this before.

"Tea?" Harrison offers you a mug and you take it from him gratefully.

"Thanks" You let out a sigh as soon as you take the first sip. Harrison makes a mean tea. It's got the perfect temperature, too.

"Rough first night?" He asks and pours himself a cuppa as well.

You must pull a face because Harrison is looking at you amused again. "Sam kicks in his sleep when he drinks" Both of you move to the table in the dining room. You let yourself fall into one of the chairs. "I swear he woke me up with a kick every five minutes"

"Sucks to be you" Harrison laughs as you glare at him. You're just about to give him the finger when a well-rested Sam enters the room. You can't even react as quickly as he's got your mug in his hands and drinks your tea.

"Hey! That's mine!" You attempt to grab the mug from him, but because he's a little shit he pulls it out of your reach and you're too tired to fight for it. You watch dumbfounded as he goes back upstairs, with your tea."I hate you" You call after him and slump down in your chair.

"Hmm, you love me" Sam calls back. Of course, he's right, but right now you're not his biggest fan. You're about to get up to make yourself another cup but Harrison beats you to it.

"I've got it"

"You're already my favourite housemate, you know that?" You call after him and you hear him chuckle. Not long after, another perfect cup of tea is placed in front of you.

"You're the best"

"Hey, what about me?" Harry comes strolling into the living room, his hands placed on his chest in mock offence.

"You never make me tea in the morning, so you're not even part of the competition."

"I'm wounded, sis"

"Get over it, bro" Harry sits down next to you and ruffles your already messy hair. You don't even muster up the energy to complain. Why are your brothers such a pain? Why can't they be as lovely as Harrison who makes you tea without you even asking for it?

"You look like shit," Harry says as he rests his chin on his hand and looks at you.

"Thanks" – you glare at him – "That's because I didn't get any sleep because Sam kept kicking me"

"Brutal" Harry doesn't sound one bit sympathetic.

"He's staying in your room the next time he's drunk"

Harrison just watches the two of you with amusement while he sips his tea.

Sam was right when he said that Harrison might as well be part of your family. For almost ten years he's been Tom's best friend now and you couldn't even really remember what it was like without Harrison in your lives. You'd been twelve the first time he came over and to say you had a little bit of a crush on him would be... accurate. He'd intrigued you. With his blue eyes, blond hair and that little smirk he still had today he'd been the cutest boy you'd ever seen.

Of course, he'd never seen you like that. What fifteen-year-old boy was interested in his best friend's little sister? And you eventually grew out of that crush. Your high school friends on the other hand didn't. And maybe that was why you were no longer interested in him.

It took you a while to realise that the main reasons they always wanted to hang out at your place were Harrison and Tom. But when you did you felt a little lost. Was the only reason you had friends your brother? Was that all you could offer them? Because as soon as you refused to host any more sleepovers at your place you were quickly disregarded from the group.

Now, a few years later, you could see that you'd rather have no friends than those girls, but at the time it was hard. The good thing about having four brothers, though, was that you'd never be without friends. Your brothers were your support system. They cheered you up and dragged you along to whatever mischief they were up to. And when Tom's career took off and your old 'friends' tried to reach out to you, you just rolled your eyes.

You were happy that Tom had found such great friends in Harrison and Tuwaine. Friends who were there for him and not his popularity or fame. Tom was a great judge of character and that was one thing you'd always admired about him. While you were a little naive at times and trusted people blindly, he knew who he could count on. And now, all of you were a tight-knit group of people you wouldn't give up for the world.

That's why you aren't even the slightest bit worried about living in the house with Harrison for four months. You're close friends. What is there to worry about other than household chores? Living with him should be plain sailing, right?