Sooner or Later (Feat. 1D and 5SOS)

20. We're Not Morning People!

"We won't," Emma promised, and so the two set off in search of a good seat. They walked past a pair of gossiping old ladies, who were complaining about the church's steadily declining rate of attendance, which they blamed on the "Godless" younger generation. They walked past a family with a crying baby, who would no doubt become a source of annoyance for the two old women. They almost sat near a middle-aged gentleman, but he sneezed right on his hand just as they were closing in; then he wiped it on his trousers. Neither of the girls wanted to shake his snot-covered hand when the time came to greet their neighbors, so they moved on.

"Hey, there's Calum and his family!" Emma pointed toward the Hood family, who were sitting three rows away from the front. Calum sat sandwiched between his mother and older sister, but his body was slumped forward and resting against the backrest of the pew in front of him. Emma wondered if he was praying or just sleeping.

Probably sleeping.

"No, I'm not sitting with them," Heidi immediately said, so Emma suggested they sit in the empty row in front of them, but that still wasn't good enough. "The last time I sat in front of Calum," Heidi explained, "he stuck gum in my hair. Gum. In my hair!"

"That was like five years ago! Come on, he's not gonna put gum in your hair. Let's go sit down before all the good seats get taken." Before Heidi could protest, Emma grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the aisle while the blonde cursed under her breath. She pushed her friend in first and then slid in beside her.

Heidi could feel Calum staring at the back of her head. Without even looking, she knew he was smirking. More than anything she wanted to turn around and smack him, but they were in church and his mother was with him. She would just have to bear it for the next hour.

"So has Harry called you yet?" she asked Emma while she reached for her phone, which she kept hidden in her handbag. Her mother had told her not to bring her phone to church because it would just be a distraction, but Heidi couldn't bear to spend even a minute without her beloved phone. What if something important happened during the service? What if Perrie posted a new photo? What if some crazy feud broke out? What if one of her idols finally followed her? She needed to stay connected.

Emma frowned. "No, he hasn't called. But it's only been a few days. That's not unusual, is it?"

"Eh, it's hard to say. Could mean a lot of things: he's busy, he forgot, or maybe he's just not that interested. I saw on Twitter that he's been spending a lot of time with Alana lately. She's been posting pictures like crazy. It's kind of annoying, actually. I'm considering unfollowing her."

"Well, why are you following her in the first place?" She was, after all, Emma's biggest rival.

Heidi shrugged. "She's a bitch, but she has nice clothes."

"Whatever," Emma replied with a huff. "So what time are you coming to Liddy's party this afternoon?"

"Oh, I'm not going. Last night, Brittany Vetter called and invited me to the mall with her and all her friends. I just can't pass up that kind of opportunity. You understand, don't you? Besides, The Fun Zone is incredibly lame. I mean, it's a place for babies. I can't have Brittany thinking I hang out with babies."

"Yeah ..." Emma sighed and sank into her seat.

Feeling bored sitting with his own family, Calum decided to climb over the pew and plop down next to Heidi. He smiled at her sneering face. "Good morning, Heidi," he said, and then he leaned forward and spoke to Emma in an extremely sarcastic tone that caught her completely off guard. "Hey, thanks a lot."

"What did I do?"

"Sometime yesterday, your mom told my mom she was taking the family to church. So what did my mom decide to do? Take us all to church, too. She came into my room at seven o'clock this morning and ripped the covers off my bed. Seven o'clock on a Sunday. On a Sunday!"