Here Forever (A One Direction Fanfic)

I breathe. My body tricks gravity; I am upside down, supporting myself with my arms. I have my knees locked straight and curled my toes. I slowly shift my weight on my left hand, letting my right hand rise to be parallel to the beam.

I hear something beep. And again. And again. I slip from the beam and almost fall on my neck until I open my eyes and find myself gasping for air under the sheets of my new bed. I groan as the beeping continue, I roll over and tap the off button on my phone. I slither out of the covers and my feet touch the cold wooden floor, sending shivers up my spine. I shudder. I move myself to the boxes containing my clothes. I am NOT dressing up for these strangers, I think to myself. I just came here from America less than 62 hours ago, I don’t know anybody except my parents and my baby brother.

I open the box; I see my Mega Star sweatshirt and a pair of good old light wash jeans. I take them out and place them on my bed. I bend down to a suitcase, thrown inside are most of the pairs of shoes I have, I see my red Converse and pick them out along with some socks. I feel my gymnast pendant dangling from my neck and graze my chest as I move.

The shower water is ice cold, I prefer it like that, and it eases my muscles and wakes me up. I needed to be wide awake today, Different country, different people, and different customs. I had been reminding myself of this since my parents had bought the plane tickets four months ago. Today’s my first day of school. In the UK of all places, a suburb right outside of London. I don’t know what the name is yet, something with an ‘S’ I think. I just call it London. It’s all the same to me. I need coffee. Oh wait, we ran out yesterday. “Shit.” I grumble.

I walk down to the kitchen; before I get there I can hear noises coming from Christian’s room. I peek through the door to find him sitting up and rubbing his eyes, his little voice calls “Julie?”

I walk to him, “Yeah, baby brother?” I sit on the edge on his bed, as it slightly dips he comes towards me.

“Are we home now?” His voice is tiny and soft, even compared to mine.

I sigh, “Yeah, Chris. We’re home.” I feel my stomach twist. This wasn’t my home. I spent my 16 years in the bustle of Georgetown in Washington DC, USA. My brother could call this home. He didn’t know the Metro routes and the streets named after letters and states. He didn’t know the difference between the Blue Line and the Green. He could learn the streets here, ones that I would get lost on. He had our mom holding his hand reading the names to him; he’d grow up looking at the maps. He’d see names with all the streets of here and he’d learn them on his own time. I could tell anybody how to get to Alabama street from the corner of M street and 6th. I have to learn these ones by force and I don’t know where’s the dangers here, I knew all the tells of danger in DC. I have no idea if you can get robbed here. And I have to walk myself to school every day.

“But this isn’t Washington.” He says. For a two and a half year old, he knew when things change. He knew that 15 hours on a plane means something’s different.

“No, hun, it’s not.” I kiss his forehead. I already miss everybody.

I miss Sunday dinners with my friends and Aunt Kate telling her stories about being a gymnast for Team USA. I miss blowing twelve dollars at Georgetown Cupcake after meets. I miss the way I had to carry Christian so nothing would happen to him when walking in the morning to his babysitter. I miss having school interrupted to see the President on TV when he was a few miles away. I miss saying the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning. I miss having the American flag hanging over our front door in the foyer.

Now Sunday dinners would be just my parents, Christian and me. Now Georgetown Cupcakes are a delicious memory. Now Christian doesn’t have to hang onto me because he doesn’t need to go anywhere because Mom’s a housewife now. Now we have to see the Queen talk. Now we never get to say the Pledge anymore. Now the flag is tucked away in a box and the Union Jack sails in the wind outside in the yard. I’ve never had a yard before.