She was on her third cup of tea, her legs tucked up underneath her with Tessa's head in her lap. Her hand was gently stroking behind the dogs ears as she listened to Nikki tell family stories with a photo album to go along.
She'd been there barely two hours and she already felt like she was apart of the family. It was almost like she'd forgotten all about the whole reason she was there.
Juniper almost didn't even notice the front door opening and closing. Apparently neither did Tessa, because her head stayed still in Juniper's lap.
"Mum? Did Harrison come by, he fucked off today and wouldn't tell me why."
"No, hun. I haven't seen him." Nikki stood up and walked around to the doorway of the sitting room, Juniper watched as Tom appeared, giving his mother a peck on the cheek and a hug. "How was work? Any surprises?"
"Uh it was pretty boring, same questions one hundred times. Why would-" His speech was stalled he saw Juniper sitting on his couch, with his dog. "Am I- this isn't real." He laughed slightly as Tessa jumped off Junipers lap and trotted over to Tom.
"No, I'm pretty sure I'm real." June smiled and stood up, she was about to walk towards him but he bet her to it. Tom all but ran across the room and scooped her small frame into his arms.
"You're actually here- how? When? Jesus Christ." He presses his face into her hair.
"When you decided to be annoying and never stop moaning about how much you missed her." Harry spoke up from behind the two.
"Sod off, Harry." Tom pulled away from the hug and flipped his brother off.
"By the way, I think Tessa likes June more than you." His voice trailed off as he left the room, taking their mum with them, leaving the two lovebirds alone.
Tom grabbed her hand and lead her over to the couch, sitting down with Juniper following his lead, leaning into his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head.
"I can't actually believe you're here." Tom spoke quietly and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.
"Well I only found out I was coming here yesterday, so, me neither." She laughed quietly and looked up at him. "Your mom is really nice."
"I told you she'd love you." He smiled. "I also told you Tessa would love you."
"Oh my god she's so cute, she- oh my god. I mean you know, she's your dog." Juniper looked down at their intertwined hands. "Your mom said I could stay in the guest room or in your room, but then she said she was too young to be a grandmother."
"Of course she did," He rolled his eyes playfully. "You don't have to stay in my room if you don't want too."
"No, I do." Juniper smiled as he kissed the side of her head. "It was a bit embarrassing for a couple seconds but it was fine. Your whole family is so sweet and your house is amazing."
"It's pretty small but it's home."
"Sam said pretty much the same thing but I wish I grew up somewhere like this. I lived in 6 different apartments over the course of 13 years, up until I was on X factor and started well, working I guess and making money. My money is what let my family have an apartment that we didn't have to worry about the price going up and not being able to afford it anymore.
"I also haven't told you this but I don't have a very good relationship with one of my moms. It's a long story I don't want to bore you with it but yeah, not a good relationship. I don't know who my dad is, obviously. I don't really care so it doesn't matter but yeah. Your family- I just met them and I already feel like a member of it and I already feel like they'd almost do anything for me. You're so lucky you grew up in- I don't know everything about your childhood but from what I gather- you grew up in such a supportive and loving family.
"And you have a home! An actual home that you made memories in and I know that for every room in this house you could tell ten stories about. I wish I had that."
Tom stayed quiet for a while, watching her fiddle with a lose thread on the couch that Tessa probably pulled up. He used his spare hand to turn her head to face him before cupping her cheek.
"You're right you know. I try to stay as grounded and humble as possible no matter what but sometimes I don't think I realise how lucky I am. Sometimes it- it slips my mind that my life has been so much easier than other peoples and I feel like I'm almost not as grateful as I should be."
"That's not your fault and it doesn't make you a bad person to not be constantly aware of your situation. Being privileged doesn't make you a bad person. I mean, I don't know every single detail of your life or exactly how you grew up. I also don't really- care? I don't care about our differences. I care about the person you are and you know I really like that person."
Tom smiled small and pressed his lips against hers gently. She melted into him, it just now hitting her that she was actually with him. June felt stupid, Tom had barely been gone two weeks and she could barely handle it. Instead of admitting it was a little pathetic, she pinned it down to the fact they'd only just acted on their feelings for one another.
Unfortunately, their reunion was broken up by Tessa shoving her nose in between the two. The dog jumped up on Toms lap and nuzzled her head into his chest.
"Oh alright, Tess." He shook his head, smiling, and stroked her fur. Juniper laughed lightly and scratched behind her ear. The two enjoyed the company of the dog in silence for a while before Juniper spoke up.
"Can I shower? I just realised I've been in these clothes for nearly 12 hours."
"Yeah, yeah, course." Tom whispered a sorry to Tess and he picked her up and placed her on the floor before standing up. He took June's hand in his own and lead her upstairs. "Is your stuff downstairs? I'll bring it up while you're showering."
"Yeah it is, thank you." She watched as he opened up a door to reveal a bathroom. Tom pointed out his room so she could go there after she was finished before heading back downstairs as she shut the bathroom door.
Once she'd showered, got changed and went downstairs, she found that the families dinner was just being served. There were two new faces in the mix, one she recognised to be Paddy and the other she assumed was Sams girlfriend.
"Hey," Tom approached her with two plates of food, one for the both of them. "We're eating outside, it's little cold but it's nice enough."
She nodded and followed him outside, looking around their backyard and smiling to herself before taking a seat next to him. June was introduced to the fresh faces and the meal began. Tom snuck a few pieces of chicken to Tessa under the table, it wasn't long before he was caught by his mum and scolded.
Juniper loved watching him interact with his family. It was interesting to her to see the dynamic between them all.
"So, Juniper," Toms dad, Dom, began when a moment of silence arose. "Tom says you're a singer?"
"Oh uh yeah, I've just finished recording my first album and I've released a few songs. The response has been really good and I'm really happy with it." She blushed a little but smiled as she spoke. She loved her job and that much was clear.
"She was on X Factor about 6 years ago," Harry chimed in. "Remember?"
"Oh yeah, yeah I do remember." Dom replied and took a sip of his beer.
"Oh gosh, the whole world got to see my go through my awkward stage it was a regrettable choice." Juniper laughed a little.
"Yes but everything happens for a reason, look at what you're doing now."
"It was an amazing experience and it did a lot for me, which I'm so grateful for. I just mean sometimes I wish I didn't go on as young as I did but yeah, I'm so happy I did go."
"Do you write your own music?"
"I do, I write my own lyrics, not all by myself but yeah I write my own songs. I play piano too but I'm not super good at it but the basics is all I really need."
"Piano? Sam plays the piano too."
"Oh really? I didn't know that. Gosh your whole family is so talented I can't believe it."
Everyone let out a bit of a laugh at her comment before Sam spoke up. "Speaking of talent, your music is amazing."
His girlfriend, Elysia, nodded. "It really is, I love it, I can't wait until the whole album drops."
"Thank you," Juniper blushed. "That means so much to me, you don't even understand."
Everyone at the table had finished their plates by now but they were still sitting around, catching up with each other. Toms hand found a place on her thigh, causing her to look up at him as he laughed at something Harry said.
Juniper smiled, feeling so content and at peace with the way her life was going at the moment. As she looked around the table and listened in on the conversations she realised how badly she wanted this to last forever.