1) Mozzarella balls
2) Breaded parmesan chicken
3) Spinach and potato fritatas
4) Chocolate oat slices
Mel looked at the list Kathy had stuck on the overhead cupboard.
"Whoa. I don't think we'll be able to eat for days after tonight's dinner!" said Mel as Kathy chopped away at the onions.
"Scientifically, that's not possible. Now please help me cut the vegetables and call your sisters too." said Kathy, not looking up from the chopping board.
Mel called Bessy and Kylie into the kitchen. "Bessy cut the tomatoes for me please. And once you're done start mincing the spinach. Kylie please prepare the chicken. And Mel grate the cheese and then please grind the pepper." said Kathy giving orders.
"Guys..."Mel started. But she was interrupted by Bessy, "Its gonna be a real treat tonight!! I can't wait!"
"I know. But there's......" Mel was interrupted by Kylie this time "What's the chicken dish?"
"Breaded parmesan chicken. Now guys can you please......." Yet again Mel was interrupted. This time by Kathy, "Can you pass me the potatoes, Bess?" Bess replied "Yeah sure. Shall I....."
" I THINK I'M IN LOVE WITH LIAM!!" This time Mel interrupted them.
"What did you just say?" asked Kathy, turning around.
"I said, I think I'm in love with Liam." said Mel slowly, blushing.
"Oh Mel!! Did you tell him? Is that why you had him over today? So that you could tell him how you felt?" asked Kylie excitedly.
"No I didn't tell him anything. He was just cheering me up cuz I had been through a break-up. And......we..kinda.....almoooost......" drawled Mel.
"Almooost??" drawled others too, in unison.
"Almost kissed." said Mel.
Kathy's mouth opened in shock, while Kylie and Bessy jumped around screaming "I knew it! I knew it! I knew she had a crush on him!"
"No.....no its not.....its not" stammered Mel.
Kathy came in front of Mel and asked "Mel be honest. Do you have a crush on Liam?"
"I don't know. I felt something when we were close. But then I jerked away." replied Mel.
"You idiot. You should have kissed him!" said Kylie. Mel looked at her, sighed and turned back to Kathy. "I think I may have feelings for him. But.....I'm not ready for a relationship." said Mel. "I can understand that. Don't rush yourself." advised Kathy. "Yeah, but don't make him think that you don't care. Try to find out if he likes you too." said Bessy. "Hmm okay." said Mel. "Alright now, everybody back to work." With that they all returned to their respective work, and the only sound to be heard was the cutting of the knives and the sissling sounds of frying.
By 7.30, all the dishes were prepared. And in large amounts too. Dinner for ten people with huge appetites was as good as a dinner for 20 or so. Kathy began setting the table while the others went to get ready. They had only 6 chairs with them. Four people would have to adjust. And those four people would be the girls, excluding Eleanor, thought Kathy. She wanted to make her guests feel comfortable. She was also worried about what they would think of the food. It had been a long time since she had prepared a special dinner. She also didn't want to disappoint Niall, who apparently was having a very good opinion of her culinary skills.
Kathy thought about what Mel had said earlier. It was totally obvious that Mel was falling for Liam, and she wondered if she felt something for Niall. He was sweet and funny, and a total contrast to her previous boyfriend, Andrew. Andrew was quite a hothead. He always found some way or the other to put Kathy down and always blamed her for any problem that took place. Andrew too had seemed sweet in the beginning, but Kathy couldn't imagine Niall getting angry about anything. Of course she didn't know much about him, who knows how he would turn out. Only time can say......
After setting the table Kathy made her way upstairs. On the way up, she stopped at the small table at the foot of the stairs. On the table was a picture of their family, before the car accident. Her father was standing beside her mother with his arms around her shoulder. Kathy was standing in front of her father with Kylie and Bessy next to her. Her mother was having Mel in her arms. They used to be so happy together. They had no close relatives because all of their relatives had shunned them as this was Dad's second marriage, and that too with a girl whom his family did not approve. Dad had told them about his previous marriage and how they have a half-brother. They never met their half-brother and they don't even remember his name.
Once in her room, Kathy could see Bessy trying on different clothes. "Hey Bess, trying to look good for Zayn again?"
"Kinda. I don't want him to see me in my 'home' clothes." replied Bessy. "Should I wear my red knee-length one-piece, or this crop-top on jeans?"
"Go for the dress. I'm just gonna be wearing my blue tee and jeans." said Kathy.
"The one which has LOVE written in bold, pink letters?" asked Bessy. "Yeah. That one." said Kathy smirking at her.
In the other room, Kylie was forcing Mel to allow her to do her make-up. "C'mon Mel. Just a little bit blush and lipgloss. You don't want to look plain in front of Liam, do you?"
"I don't want him to think that I'm being fake. Alright...alright...you can do my make-up. But not too much, mind you. Its just a simple dinner." said Mel. "By the way, aren't you gonna be dolling yourself up? You know, to make Harry go weak in his knees."
"I will be dolling myself up. But it wont be for Harry." said Kylie. "Oh puhlease. I know you like him." said Mel. "Its a celebrity crush." said Kylie. "But now he's your friend. You wont go fangirling in front of him will you?" asked Mel. "No, of course not. But I don't want him to be disgusted." said Kylie shrugging her shoulders. "He wont be disgusted!! Why would he be?" asked Mel. "Well if what Luke said was true....." started Kylie, but Mel cut in, saying "Nothing that Luke said is true. Don't fill your head with anything that jerk said. Forget about him and move on!! Don't loose your chance with Harry, by thinking about what 'Luke said'." "Alright, alright. I'll concentrate on my crush and you concentrate on yours." said Kylie. Mel narrowed her eyes at Kylie.
At 8.05, the doorbell rang, and they all ran down excitedly. As expected, it was the boys and Eleanor. The boys were dressed casually, but still they looked dashing as ever. Eleanor looked stunning in a black one-piece. "Hey guys! Come on in." welcomed Kathy. There was a lot of hugging and greeting going on, until Niall said, "I am starving. I hope dinner is ready." "Haanh!" Kathy gasped. "I totally forgot about that. I haven't prepared anything!!"
"Whaat??" All the boys groaned. "Just kidding. I've prepared Breaded parmesan chicken, fritatas, mozzerella balls and chocolate oat slices." said Kathy smiling. All the boys had relieved looks on their faces. "Now please lead me to the food." said Niall.
The girls lead them inside. Once the boys and Eleanor were seated, Eleanor looked around and asked "Where you girls gonna sit?" "Oh we'll adjust." replied Kathy. "No. That won't be fair. Either we all sit together or we don't sit at all." stated Eleanor. Then Kylie suggested that they all move to the living room. They could sit on the couch or bring the chairs from the dining room. They all agreed on that. The boys moved to the living room with the chairs and the girls distributed the plates and food. Finally, they were ready to eat, with Niall, Harry, Zayn and Liam on the couch, and Louis, Eleanor and the girls on the chairs.
Niall took the first bite of his chicken. Kathy waited for his response. "Hmm delicious!!" said Niall. Kathy heaved a sigh. "Glad you like it." They began eating. "So you guys are on a break, right?" asked Mel. "Yeah." replied Zayn. "But there is this one concert we have to perform next week at the Roundhouse." "Ooohh the Roundhouse!" exclaimed Mel. "So tell us guys, how does it feel to perform in front of thousands of fans?"
"Its an amazing feeling. Seeing all those people out there singing along with you, screaming your name." said Harry. "Their cheers and smiles makes us feel loved." said Zayn smiling. "Its a wonderful career, you know. Doing what you love doing and getting paid for it. Not like those jobs where you have to slug it out. Just showing the world what talent you've got. Its amazing." said Liam. "Speaking of talent, have you girls heard of the Mystery Girls?" asked Louis. Mel coughed, Bessy's eyes widened, Kathy and Kylie looked at each other. "Uhh yeah. We've heard of them. They're the umm.....the girls who upload audios right?" asked Kylie. "Yeah, thats them. They never upload videos. People have tried hacking their account, but they never found anything." said Harry. "Oh!! Really?" asked Kathy looking at her sisters. "Yeah. We don't even know for sure how many of them are there. But its surely more than two. There's a guitarist and a keyboardist. We don't know how many vocals." said Niall.
"But they're really good. And they have also covered a few of our songs!" said Liam. "Yeah. We've heard them. They are cool. Pity we don't know who they are." said Kylie. "Hmm.....hey Kathy are there any more fritatas?" asked Niall. "Yeah. I'll get them." said Kathy getting up. "Shall I get the rest of you, your choco-oat slices?" "'Kay. That'd be nice." said Eleanor. Kathy and Mel took all their plates and went inside the kitchen.
Once inside, Mel started squealing. "Omigod Omigod!! They have heard us!! And they also think we're good!!" "I know. But we've got to be extra careful. Harry said people have been trying to hack our account." reminded Kathy. They placed the slices on a plate and Mel took it out and distributed them, while Kathy brought out fritatas for Niall. Louis got a phone call and he moved to the bottom of the stairs to answer it.
After a few minutes, they heard Louis call from the stairs. "Uhhh Kathy. Can you come here for a minute?" Kathy came, "What's up?" "Umm is this your family picture?" asked Louis pointing at the family picture of the Austins. "Yeah. Those are our parents. They passed away in a car crash 12 years ago." said Kathy. Louis' mouth was slightly open. "I'm sorry. Uhh what was your dad's name?" asked Louis. "His name was Troy Austin." said Kathy. Louis' mouth was hanging fully open by now. "Kathy........my step-dad's name was Troy Austin and he died in car accident."
(A/N :
Hey people. I'm sooo sooo sorry for not uploading sooner. I've been quite sick and unable to type. But now I'm fine and will upload chapters at a faster rate. Till then muaahh!!)