Second Snapshot (Picture This Sequel: Niall Horan)

-Family feuds and suspicious sisters. [Chapter 38]

6:38.

Better go.

When I got there the rain had turned from fairly heavy (as described by Melvin the radio presenter) to torrential so it was needless to say I was all for shoving my design notes underneath my new coat as I jogged up the driveway kicking up loose and wet gravel as I did so. I didn’t allow myself time to become nervous as I slipped underneath the porch and the light flicked on. Running my finger underneath my eyes and removing any dripping eye make-up (I applied this at the absence of Niall’s assertive gaze) I pressed my finger against the doorbell. I could already hear it sounding throughout the house, bouncing off the walls it’s jolly tune etching into every crack and crevice throughout the house. If you listened really carefully, you could even hear it’s gleeful beat in the basement.

Before I had any more time to ponder on the radius of sound travel throughout the house the door was thrust open and I was greeted by my all too jolly sister. To go with her bright smile she was clad in what I observed to be a new Gilly Hicks t-shirt (navy blue) with a white cardigan I had seen her wear once before and some crème skinny fit chinos. Got the skinny bit right. Her hair was it’s usual bouncy blonde state reaching the middle of her chest it was straightened and not a single strand was out of place, unlike mine which was always imperfect she had been the lucky sister and got the naturally tidy hair. And her make-up was also it’s average bright but discreet self consisting of a not so natural pink lip-stick what had to be a new lip-liner, eye-liner, powder and mascara. But this was nothing new to me, she always looked good and never even had to work at it (this was not to say she didn’t work at it, she did) whether as to keep my appearance up was extremes, involving a lot of time and money.

“Ashley!”

Her gentle and girly voice sawed over the letters of my name the same way her voice glided over lyrics, or guitar chords, perfect.

“El.”

I replied with less enthusiasm. I was showing more than I actually possessed off, but only by a small fraction. As she hugged me her vanilla perfume aroma apparent as it transferred onto me I felt her light tone of voice convey into a whisper as her lips came level with my ear as she whispered things I didn’t exactly want to hear.

“We’re both in shit about your not so secret anymore boyfriend.”

She informed me. Oh god. The thing I expected to hear was that I, in fact, was going to pay for my antics of keeping Niall a secret from them for the past few months and I could handle that and it was what I expected. I mean you do a crime you serve a punishment, I’d watched this happen to my sister enough time within the household but the last thing I intended to do was to drag my unsuspecting and seemingly innocent sister into my punishment. It was not to say she hadn’t done this to me in the past but the past is the past and I’m not the type to hold grudges against Ellie. She’s too much of a perfection example of a human being for that. But judging by her welcoming ways towards me she wasn’t going to hold grudges either and I hoped that for this one, we were sticking together.

As I was pulled through the utility room and the door was shut behind me on both any chances of escape and the winter weather the heat hit me. It was also carried with the smell of spices that filled my nostrils definitely clearing them of any blockages. My eyes rolled over the crème walls that still possessed of the photographs that had been accumulated on many family holidays, events such as weddings and christenings, they of course carried on far into the dining and living room and much to my surprise the hallways upstairs were still lined with some of my canvased shots from over the years. The finished project of the process I went through with my beloved camera still evitable in my own home, this was surprising and I was unsure how I felt about it.