„Hey mom and dad, I'm home again!", I yelled as I opened the front door of my parents house. „Sofia! We thought you'd come tomorrow and not today!", my mom immediately answered and a few seconds later, she and dad stood in the hallway looking confused at Niko and me. „Yeah, I took the train a day earlier. The guys picked me up and we spent the day at the studio. And then, as you can probably tell, Niko brought me home and now we're here."
„Yeah, I can tell", my mom said in an annoyed voice. She was definitely not happy about me being picked up by the boys and being at the studio before saying hi to my parents... However, that was not important to me anymore. I learned to do what I really want to do and not what only my parents want me to do. And since I have missed my friends so much, I knew it would do me better to see them first when arriving in Oulu.
„It's already late and we walked here so... Is it possible for Niko to stay overnight?" Bad timing, I know, but I was very tired after the long ride and I wanted to go to bed soon so we had to talk about this now. „Sofia... You know that we don't want men to sleep here", my father sighed and looked at me apologizing. My mom on the other hand wasn't calm anymore. „No, Sofia, Niko won't stay overnight. Don't even think about that!", she shook her head. „Why?", I asked calmly. I didn't want to start a huge argument, I wanted to understand and maybe tell them that they didn't have to worry.
„Because we say so." „Mom. That's not a valid reason. I thought you liked Niko, why don't you let me spend more time with him and offer him to sleep here? It's late and dark outside, he'd have to walk for thirty or forty minutes. Do you want that?" Before my mom could answer anything, Niko helped me. „Ma'am, I see why you don't want men to sleep next to your daughter. But she turned 22 a few months ago, she's an adult who can decide on her own what she wants to do or what not. Just because I'm sleeping next to her doesn't mean I will sleep with her. You don't have to worry about me doing anything Sofia doesn't want or her getting pregnant. I can assure that there will nothing happen. Why should we do something we both don't want?"
My mom again shook her head, apparently there was nothing that could change her opinion. But somehow Niko had managed to convince my dad. „Sofia, unused toothbrushes are in the cupboard next to the sink. And if you need another mattress for Niko to sleep on, you can find one in the attic", he smiled at us. Before my mom could complain – and judged by her facial expressions, she definitely wanted to – he asked whether we wanted to eat something before going to my room.
I slightly shook my head before I looked at Niko who also denied. „The cake was definitely filling enough, I'm not hungry yet." „Okay, then let's go upstairs", I suggested. After Niko had agreed, we made our way upstairs. Finally we can spend some time alone and just cuddle and talk, I thought. I had truly missed being in his arms, feeling the warmth of his body against mine.
Before we could reach the next floor, I could hear my mom talking. „Lasse, why did you allow that? Have you forgotten about what we found out about him?! That Tommi's and his band makes this loud, aggressive music and his skin is covered with tattoos?! You know well that I don't want such men to be around her! This bad company will only lead our daughter to leave the right path!" She was definitely upset but now I at least knew why she suddenly didn't want me to spend more time with Niko... Since I didn't want to accept that she disliked my boyfriend because of her prejudices against people with tattoos, I immediately turned around.
„So, the tattoos are your problem?", I asked loudly as I went downstairs, Niko slowly following me. „Sofia...", he whispered, trying to calm me down. „Yes, they are", my mom answered in a serious voice. „We want you to have a good job with a good payment. If that man convinces you to get a tattoo, he'll ruin your whole career. Additionally, we all know that they often deal with drugs. We want you to have good people around you. This will only destroy your life." I knew she had these prejudices but the fact that she actually dared to say it out loudly when Niko was in the same room made me speechless.
„I know you want the best for your daughter but I can promise that I'm not as bad company as you expect me to be. I don't take any drugs apart from alcohol and I only drink beer because I don't like the effect booze with more alcohol in it has on my behavior. And I will definitely not force Sofia to do anything, especially not something like getting a tattoo because you couldn't easily get rid of it if you eventually regretted it", Niko explained calmly. I had no idea how he could stay this calm and quiet while I was really angry and I was sure that inwardly, he was just as annoyed and upset as I was. I admired him for being able to stay this calm and controlled.
By now, I was able to say something again and since I couldn't keep my anger to myself anymore, I – without wondering if that was a good idea – decided to just tell her that it was too late now anyway. „Niko is right, he would never try to convince me to get a tattoo. Quite the opposite, even before I got to know him I liked tattoos but I never dared to talk about it or think more about it and my style in general because I was afraid you wouldn't like it. But the more time I spend with the guys who'd never judge me for my style, the more I realized that it is what I want, what I am. And therefore, I didn't need Niko to convince me that tattoos are nice, I wanted to have one myself, too."
After saying the truth after months of hiding what I truly liked, I took a deep breath and pulled my sleeve up a bit. „I decided to get this a few months ago and I haven't regretted it a second. In fact, I look at it daily and every time I see it, I'm glad I did it. I love the way it looks, I love the words and I love the meaning. And I'm incredibly happy the people I think about when seeing this, the wolfpack, are part of my life. I couldn't be happier about being friends with Tommi, Niko, Joonas, Joel, Olli and Aleksi."
Now my parents were the ones to be speechless. My mom went into the kitchen where she sat sown on a chair. „Oh come on mom, it isn't that bad", I mocked. Although I was kind of making fun of my mom for needing to sit down, I somehow understood her. I hated arguing and today when I had already been tired when coming home, it was even worse. I felt extremely exhausted but I knew we eventually had to have this conversation so I figured that now that I already started it, we should also finish it.
„Not that bad?! Sofia! It is that bad! You destroyed so many chances for your future! I knew Niko would have a bad influence on you since the day I found who he really is!" „Mom, I already told you that it was my own choice, my own wish to get this tattoo. And with a long sleeve, I could even hide it, if I wanted to. Niko doesn't have a bad influence on me, neither do the other guys. I am happy, mom, isn't that what's most important?" By now, I only sounded annoyed, I didn't have the power to talk loudly or yell anymore. I only wanted to be able to snuggle up to Niko, listen to his heartbeat and calm down.
Niko, I thought. He stood behind me during the whole argument and said barely anything. He must feel even more uncomfortable. The family of his girlfriend was arguing about him being a bad influence or not although they didn't even know about the relationship yet. A scenario I wouldn't wish anyone. I could bet that this moment, Niko wished to be somewhere else, as far away as possible. Or maybe he wished he could just disappear. But unfortunately, he stood here, behind me, and had to listen to all these mean words my mom was using while my dad silently sat next to her.
„Mom", I tried it again as she was still looking at me with a gaze of anger and disappointment. „You like Tommi a lot, right? You always liked him because he protected me. He tried his best to protect me from those who bullied me" – when saying that, I didn't mention that the best friend of the girl who even wished me to be dead was Niko's ex girlfriend – „and he still has an eye on me whenever we go to a bar together which sadly doesn't happen often anymore. He was the one who introduced me to his band members who are his best friends at the same time. He wouldn't have done that if he had thought that it would have a bad impact on my life."
My mom shook her head again but before she could say anything, I continued. „Tommi knows about Niko and me and although he always tried to protect me from men that could hurt me in some way, he is fine with it. Mom, Tommi knows Niko better than most other people do and when he approves it, then Niko will do me good. I'm happy the way it is and when it's Tommi-approved, although Tommi is very critical, then you should also be happy for me." I had planned to only talk about our friendship but without me noticing it, these words, which implied that there was more than friendship between us, were said. And apparently my mom listened well enough to notice my choice of words, too.
„Niko and me?! Sofia, what do you mean by 'Niko and me'?! Don't say that... This is your boyfriend?!" Luckily, it was again Niko who answered because I was still surprised by my own words and didn't know how to deal with this. „Yeah, it's true. I am Sofia's boyfriend", he calmly admitted. My mom gasped and looked at us in shock. I, on the other hand, couldn't take it anymore and since our secret was now revealed anyway, I decided that now I didn't need to keep my distance to Niko anymore. I turned around to Niko, loosely wrapped my arms around him and leaned my head against his chest. I needed to feel his heartbeat, now. I needed him to calm me down.
As soon as I had done that, Niko hugged me tightly with one if his hands wrapped around my waist and the other one on the back of my head, softly playing with my hair. After placing another kiss on my head, he quietly whispered „Hey... Everything will eventually be alright, okay?" I only nodded, hoping what he had said was true. I didn't want to argue with my parents but I also didn't want to leave Niko, I wanted my parents to be happy for us.
„What have we done wrong?", my mom whispered, „that she chose a man like Niko as her boyfriend? Lasse, please, can you say something, too? Maybe she'll listen to you." No, mom, I thought, I won't listen to you or dad when you, without having any valid reason, wanna tell me that Niko is not good for me. The, only ones I listen to when it's about Niko are my heart and maybe also my mind. I was so tired and exhausted, I only wanted to go to bed right now. I didn't want to listen to my mom or my dad anymore, I wanted to forget everything.
„Okay, if you want me to... I was skeptical at first, too. All these tattoos, a violent pop band...", my dad sight. But he said 'at first' which caused me to have some hope left that he'd maybe be okay with us. „Of course I was worried, too. But do you remember that one conversation a few months ago during the time Sofia was still here in Oulu and they met almost every second day? We talked about Sofia looking so incredibly happy.
And the Niko she met back then is the same Niko that is now her boyfriend. Only because we knew a lot less about him than we now do he has not changed. We liked him a few months ago because our daughter seemed so happy and when I look at these two, I'm convinced they are still happy together. And isn't that what we should care about? Of course, I wanted her to have a good job, too, but Sofia is right, if necessary, she can hide the tattoo. And even if not: I wanted her to have a good job because I didn't want to her to need to worry about money, I wanted her to be happy. And you know what? She seems to happy with Niko. I don't see any reason to not approve this young love."
„Lasse!", my mom gasped while my dad looked at me with a small but genuine smile on his face. „Thank you", I whispered quietly. Usually, my mom is the one whose opinion is the one on which we agree, my dad and I don't have a lot to say against her opinion. The fact that my father now supported me truly meant a lot to me. I could feel Niko's hand on my back starting to carefully stroke my skin through the long sleeve Shirt I was wearing before he thanked my dad, too.
„For me, there are two important aspects", he then started to explain. „One being that Sofia is happy. And the other one being that I get along well with you. I love your daughter and as long as Sofia is still happy with me, I don't think I'll ever break up and leave her, at least I don't plan to do so. I'm truly happy with her and I wish this would last long, even forever. But that would also mean that you don't get rid of me soon so we shouldn't hate each other, that would be horrible for Sofia. And we all don't want her to be torn apart between her parents and her boyfriend, right?"
„Yeah, you're right. We all want Sofia to be happy but the only one who truly knows what makes her happy is Sofia herself and she chose you, Niko. So, who am I to try to get between you? But it's already late, let's go to bed now. I don't think you need another mattress, right?", he winked at me. „And Sofia, don't worry, we'll get this sorted out. I'll talk to your mom", he looked at my mom who sat on the chair staring at the table, not saying anything anymore, „and eventually she'll also realize that we have to let you go and do what's best for you. And for now, you two enjoy the time you can now spend with each other before in summer university starts again. Okay?", he walked over to me to give me a short hug.
I only nodded before Niko and I went upstairs while holding hands. „I'm sorry", I whispered after closing the door to my room. „I hate the prejudices my parents have... But at least my dad supports us." „And eventually your mom will, too. She will realize that your are happy and then she has now option but admitting that I do you good." After Niko had placed another kiss on my forehead, we went to the bathroom to brush our teeth.
Half an hour later, we laid in my bed, snuggled up to each other and quietly talked to each other because we both couldn't sleep, there were too many thoughts keeping us awake. „I love you, Sofia... And if it helps your mom when I cover my tattoos with long sleeves, then I'd do that. I'd do everything for you to be happy", he said before he placed his lips on mine and pulled me even closer. If we had known that my mom would apologize for her behavior the next morning, we definitely wouldn't have spent the whole night comforting each other and cuddling but in some way, it did me good to feel Niko so close to me and have my comfort in him.
Sorry for this late update, I realized that it's Wednesday when it was already 10pm... So, no long author's note today. Tell me what you think about the chapter! The third extra chapter will be up next Wednesday (hopefully a bit earlier tho). I can already say: We'll jump to the present, at least for a while. What do you think is going on in their lives now?