“Come on Amelia!” I yelled up the stairs pacing like a hawk in the hallway.
“I’m coming!” she yelled back.
“Come quicker!” I shouted.
“Mum!” Sophie wailed. “Connor took my Barbie!”
“Connor,” I scowled. “Give Sophie back her doll please.”
“But she took my iron man!” he complained.
“Yeah because I wanted him to marry Belle!”
“No! Iron Man belongs with Pepper Potts!” Connor argued.
“Must you two always fight?” I sighed to myself. “Sophie give Connor back Iron Man and Connor give Sophie back Belle.” I stared them down sternly until they grudgingly gave each other back their respective dolls.
“But who’s Belle supposed to marry now?” Sophie frowned brushing her doll’s hair.
“What happened to the prince charming doll you had?”
“Connor broke his arm,” Sophie said with a sigh.
“You can have Batman?” Connor suggested and that seemed to please Sophie so I just went with it. Amelia finally came down stairs and I threw my hands up in the air shouting ‘hallelujah!’ to which Amelia poked her tongue at me.
“Okay you kids know the rules if you bring toys and lose them you aren’t getting new ones.”
“You’re such a tough mother,” Amelia said.
“I’m sorry did you want to spend hundreds of dollars to re-buy toys that they lose?”
“No.”
“Then shut your pie hole and lets get moving. Louis’s texted like five times. We were supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That my sister thinks she’s getting ready to meet the Queen. Cute outfit by the way,” I complimented taking in her green jeans with white leg warmers, black boots and white top and parka. “Very festive.”
“Well it is a St Patrick’s party,” Amelia said shrugging. “I see you dressed to the occasion too.” And I had. I was wearing a green skirt with a white top tucked in and black boots.
Amelia and I walked in to the hall each having a hold on one of the kids’ hands. The hall was a sea of green and white; they had green and white balloons, streamers, posters. But mostly it was just a get together. There was an open bar with tables spotting the place, no real place to dance or anything but tables could be moved to make room later.
I scanned the masses of green and white until I felt arms sneak around my waist from behind. I gasped at first until I heard the familiar voice.
“I thought you’d never make it,” he said in my ear.
“Yeah well blame Amelia’s unorganised butt,” I told him as he kissed my cheek.
“Mum I found Perrie!” Sophie squealed letting go of my hand and I watched as she ran off. Perrie immediately scooped her up and not two seconds later Connor squirmed out of Amelia’s grip to go say hi to Harry and Amelia followed closely behind.
“And then there were two,” I giggled turning around in Louis’s arms. I looped mine around his neck and brought him in for a kiss. It was short because there was a lot of people around and well he smelt like beer.
“You stink,” I scrunched my nose up.
“Geez, nice to see you too.”
“No seriously I think I’ll get drunk if I kiss you again,” I teased and he just poked my ribs making me jump a mile.
“I hate you.”
“I didn’t know that affected you so much,” he smirked evilly. He had a crazy look in his eyes saying this is my new weapon. I watched him cautiously, squinting my eyes as if to say ‘don’t you dare’. His finger poked my rib and I jumped back reflexively.
“Don’t,” I laughed as he walked towards me again, his hands threateningly in front of him, ready to attack.
“Why you moving back for?” Louis asked innocently.
“Because you’re going to tickle me!” I kept my weird backward walk going where my back was slightly hunched and my hands were in front of me ready to push him away if he got too close.
“Hope what are you doing?” someone asked and I turned to see Niall looking at me weirdly.
“Happy St Patrick’s Day!” I yelled, as Louis got closer, I bolted away. Bathrooms, seemed to be my foremost thought, find the bathrooms. I weaved in and out of people and tables laughing to myself as Louis advanced on me.
I spotted the bathroom and ran towards it just my luck there were two and both of them were occupied. Louis’s fingers poked at my ribs causing me to laugh hysterically. I bent over double, clawing at his hands in an attempt to get them away from my ribs and stomach. My laugh was a mix of stop’s and actual laughter.
“Say Louis is the best person in the whole world! Say it and I let you go!”
“Never!” I shouted and he tickled me so much that I actually collapsed to the floor.
“You alright, Hope?” Zayn asked coming out of one of the bathrooms.
I held up three fingers. “Just peachy!”
“Say it!”
“No!” I laughed.
“Say it!” Louis insisted but I just shook my head.
“Please stop I haven’t even said hi to anyone yet,” I begged.
“You know what to say,” he told me still tickling me.
“Fine!” I huffed. “Say Louis is the best person in the whole world!”
“Aren’t you a little smart ass?” I just shrugged as he helped me up.
“I hate you,” I told him as he slung his arm over my shoulder and led me to our table.
“Nah, you don’t,” he kissed my temple. “How was work yesterday?”
“Boring,” I sighed and went to tell him how ten hours alone at a shop is like being slow cooked in an oven.
St Patrick’s Day was pretty eventful. The kids had played games throughout the whole day. The adults had a game of poker going. Later in the night Amelia took the kids home and Louis said he’d take me home so I stayed later and most of the kids were gone so they brought out a beer keg.
“Drink! Drink! Drink!” we currently were trying to pester Perrie into doing it. Finally she huffed, sprinted for the beer keg, did a handstand and drank from it and we all erupted in cheers. Zayn looked completely shocked. His mouth hung open and his eyes were frozen.
“Okay now Hope!” Perrie shouted wiping her mouth.
“No I think I’m alright,” I waved off trying to take a seat but Louis pulled me back up.
“Do it!” he said. “Come on it’ll be funny!”
“Then you do it!”
“If you do it I’ll do it,” he bargained.
“Oh God,” I muttered. “I really do hate you.” I sprinted for the beer keg, did a handstand and drank before coming down neatly.
“Louis’s turn!” I shouted out wiping my mouth. Eventually everyone had a turn on the keg and we all ended up pissed.
“You got me drunk!” I complained as we both stumbled to the car.
“It was an Irish party what did you expect?” he shrugged.
“Irish music,” I laughed hysterically at nothing. “Do you have a voice inside your head saying we should catch a cab?”
“I can hear your voice saying we should catch a cab.” For some stupid reason we both laughed, madly.
“I love you,” I said so randomly that I wasn’t even sure where it came from. I just knew that I loved him and that I needed to tell him. I think the alcohol allowed me to express something that I was too scared to do.
“I love you too,” he said back and even though I was drunk and the memory was distorted with alcohol I felt like I was flying. Next thing I knew his lips were on mine. The kiss was hungry for power, I felt tingly, my toes curled as my arms wrapped around his neck.
“Did you feel that?” Louis asked pulling back slightly.
“There’s nothing,” I said going back in for a kiss and then I felt it. The heavens poured its roaring tears on us as we stood on the footpath.
“Come on let’s get in the car!” Louis shouted over the rain grabbing my hand trying to tug me towards the car.
I stood still and Louis just looked at me like I was crazy. “Kiss me.” I lunged into his arms and kissed him hard in the pouring rain.
.
“Thank you for shopping at Open Books and have a nice day,” I smiled cheerily at the customer who had just bought about ten books. They waved before walking out the door.
“Amelia!” I called looking at the time. “I’m going to go pick Connor up from school!”
“Okay,” she said coming to the counter and leaning on it. “I’ll close up tonight.”
“You sure?”
“We aren’t that busy,” Amelia said and she was right. Today we had on average ten to eleven customers the whole day. “Is Louis coming for dinner?”
It had become the norm for Louis to usually have dinner with us. Amelia was on the brink of bringing up the avoided subject of the day.
“No, he can’t tonight. They’ve got a fundraiser concert.”
“When are we going to talk about it?” Amelia sighed mentally exhausted.
“What?” I asked, not looking her in the eye and instead focusing on putting my bag strap on my shoulder.
“You know what,” Amelia told me with her hands on her hips.
“I have to pick up Connor,” was all I said as I grabbed my keys and walked towards the door.
“She’s back! I saw her,” Amelia called out after me and maybe she was back but I didn’t want to talk about it and I didn’t see how it should affect me now after five years.
Our hands swung together as we walked back to the car. Connor’s little hand in mine. His head was down and the usual after school chatter didn’t reach my ears instead an unusual silence filled them.
“Mum, is Louis my dad?” Connor asked looking up to watch my stunned face.
“Do you want him to be your dad?” I asked carefully.
“I don’t know,” Connor shrugged. “Can I have some cake when we get home.”
“Sure buddy.”
.
Today was a Louis day. I didn’t have work so Sophie and I tagged along with One Direction to the zoo. Jade came too but Perrie’s mum was visiting and was having some mother-daughter time.
Sophie loved the zoo. I think her favourite was the giraffes and because we were with One Direction she actually got to feed one. We actually got a private tour of the zoo, which was amazing.
“Do the kids understand everything that’s going on?” Jade asked as I watched Louis and Niall play with Sophie ahead of us.
“I don’t know to be honest. They both love Louis and he seems to like them but it’s hard to know what Louis wants. I can’t just ask him; what if he doesn’t want it and I have to end it? My relationships can’t just be for the short term – they need to be for the long term, not for me but for the kids.”
“Louis loves your kids,” Jade told me. “He’s just a goof and doesn’t want to admit it to you in case it freaks you out but he definitely sees your relationship lasting, and I mean for a really long time. He loves you so much and it’s only been a month and a half.”
“I love him too,” I said quietly.
“I know that’s why we all like you,” she smiled at me purposely. “You’re the first girl after Eleanor that’s with him because you genuinely like him.”
“Why’d he date the others then?”
“He thought or maybe he just hoped that they weren’t with him for the money but Louis can be naïve. That’s why when we met you we were happy for him. Usually we have to walk around eggshells with him when he dates but not this time because we actually like you.”
The others called for us to hurry up so our conversation ended us we walked faster to catch up. Louis joined me placing his hand in mine.
“Having fun?”
“Definitely. Sophie’s having the best time of her life,” I smiled watching Sophie who was now on Niall’s shoulders and pointing at the lions with enthusiasm.
“Maybe next time Connor can come,” Louis suggested.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Is it time for lunch yet?”
“We going towards the food court now.”
“Why do my feet feel like they’re about to fall off?” I complained whilst we were walking back to the entrance so we could leave.
“Because you’ve been walking all day,” Liam told me helpfully.
“Come on hop on,” Louis told me crouching down so he could give me a piggyback ride. Giggling I jumped on wrapping my arms around his neck as his hands held my legs up.
“I’ll choke you,” I joked slightly tightening my arms as if I was going to choke him.
“I’ll drop you,” he retorted. I just kissed his cheek before telling him that he needed to go faster. Jade’s words were still on my mind and it was awful to think that someone dated Louis only because of his name and not because of who he was as a person. I swore to myself in that moment that I’d never let the fame, money or anything get in the way. We were just two people who fell in love. That’s all we were. Other people could speculate but they couldn’t really know.
.
I was glad that I didn’t have a Twitter or Instagram because people managed to get hate seen without even sending it directly to the person it’s intended for. Amelia had tried to keep me off the computer for about three days when I finally had enough and took the computer. Sometimes I liked to go on Amelia’s tumblr – when I had the time. I scrolled through the tag she was on and my blood boiled more and more every time a hateful comment about Louis and I’s relationship popped up. It made me smile though when she told people to shut up because they didn’t know anything about Louis and I.
Amelia really would do anything for me and I would do anything for her. We hardly fought over anything serious and the longest we’d gone without speaking to each other was about three maybe four hours. We were always checking in with each other even if we lived a part. At school we were with the same circle of friends and even shared the same best friend. It was like we had an invisible rope tying us together.
People had photos of Sophie and Louis from the day at the zoo and some were creating imagine if that was your and Louis’s daughter and blah, blah, blah. I didn’t know how I felt about Sophie being all over the internet. Of course no one hated on her but it was weird like some man could be looking at her photo and I didn’t even want to finish that thought.
My phone buzzed and I answered it straight away.
“I saw the photos,” was all he said. “I’m going to get management to get them down, I swear.” He said it all in a rush that it took me a second to process what he was saying.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“No, I want to. Sophie is only three and you didn’t sign up to have her picture posted all over the internet. It just ergh! To think that anyone can see her now and what if someone isn’t having nice thoughts, if you get what I mean?”
“You’re sweet.” I loved the fact that he cared. I didn’t need to ask him he just decided ‘yes I want to do this’. “But leave them up.”
“You’re crazy,” he told me. I wasn’t crazy. I was in love.
“Maybe I am,” I murmured as I scrolled through the photos of Louis and I, in some we had Sophie in others we didn’t but I couldn’t help thinking we looked like a family.
.
“You’re going to have to deal with her at some point,” Amelia told me crossly. Her arms were crossed and I knew she was exhausted over this topic. The way her shoulders slumped said it all.
“I don’t have to! She has nothing to do with us anymore,” I spat back as equally cross.
“Hope. She is dating our brother. We kind of have to deal with her,” Amelia said clapping her hands together. “I don’t like it either.”
“Well they bloody deserve each other,” I retorted. “Tell me when she ends up pregnant so I can be a bitch about it to her.”
“Oh that’d be the best!” Amelia sighed dreamily. “But no he’s coming to London for Easter a to meet up with her and b for Easter and c to see yiayia. We’re going to have to deal with her.”
“Yiayia isn’t going to like her.”
“That isn’t the point,” Amelia said exasperated. “We need a plan to get back at her.”
“I like your thinking,” I smirked tilting my head down so it looked very evil. “I was thinking if she tried to talk to my kids I could just punch her in the face.”
“Nah, we already used that on Matt. Remember? And he had to tell mum that he got hit in the eye with a cricket bat. Besides Jake was there to punch him. No way am I breaking a nail to punch her out.” Amelia held up her hand as if breaking a nail was the worst thing in the world.
“Ok…can I poison her food?” I asked seriously and Amelia snorted.
“Yep and we can tell the police you didn’t know the difference between methane and oil.”
“They’d totally believe us,” I said placing a book onto the shelf. “Ma’am why did you cook with methane? Methane? What? No I used oil! Oh my God! The kids must’ve swapped it!” I acted out dramatically.
“Yeah blame it on the kids,” Amelia laughed. “They’re too cute to put in jail.”
“They get it from their mother,” I said waving it off.
“Whatever you say,” Amelia teased looking at me like I was crazy.
The door opened and closed and I walked to the counter. “Don’t break the mirror on the way there!”
“Shut up!” I called back looking over my shoulder before turning to the customer. “Hi, welcome to – get out of my store.”
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A/N: Hi Everyone!!! Sorry for the late update! Hope you liked this chapter!!
Tell me what you think by VOTING and COMMENTING!!! I want theories people!! I like theories!
1) Girl names for the mysterious girl that is dating Hope's brother.
2) Tomlinvans said 'I love you' to each other!!! Comment.
3) Who likes Iron Man? Because I think he's pretty awesome! (PS watched his movies on the weekend for the first time and they were awesome!!!!)
THANK YOU FOR READING!!!
-Natalie xx