~sunday, the 23rd of december~
Amanda woke up with the faint memory of Louis saying the "L" word last night. She smiled, looking up at Louis' soft, sleepy face, looking so so beautiful. He always looked so young and soft, but handsome and she loved every bit about him. Amanda knew she loved him, and now she knew he loved her just the same. She reached out and carefully touched his cheek, and Louis woke up slowly, blinking at her until he grinned.
"Hey," Amanda whispered.
"Morning, love," He whispered as he attempted to stretch in the tiny twin bed. Amanda blushed, feeling so warm in his arms. Louis smiled down at her, "What?"
"Nothing..." Amanda mumbles, "I love you too, you know?" Louis looked at her and couldn't hold back a huge smile as he realized she had heard him last night. Louis leaned forward and kissed Amanda's lips gently.
"I love you," He murmured and cuddled close to Amanda. Suddenly, Amanda's makeshift door was shoved to the side by Zachary.
"Amanda!" He shouted before quickly turning around.
"Zack! Get the hell out of here!" Amanda shouted at him.
"Stop that, Amanda!" Zack yelled back and Amanda groaned, as Zack was still in her room, just facing away from them. Amanda huffed.
"What do you want, Zachary?" Amanda snapped.
"Mom made breakfast, get out here," Zack told them, before stepping out. "And get off my sister!" Louis laughed and Amanda just groaned and got out of bed.
"He's such an asshole," Amanda groaned. Louis laughed loudly and joined Amanda to get dressed for the day.
As they ate breakfast with Amanda's family, including Zack's wife and daughter, it all felt like something Amanda could be doing for years. It felt familiar and so comfortable for Louis to make jokes with Mike and bicker playfully with Zack, and make cute, funny faces at Julie. Amanda felt like she hadn't stopped smiling in weeks, which was somewhat true.
"Amanda, will you help Zack shovel the driveway?" Jen asked, as they cleaned up after breakfast. Amanda groaned, but she agreed.
"I'll help," Louis told her.
They got dressed up in hats, coats, and mittens before heading out with shovels. It had snowed another foot and half through the night, so there was a lot to get done. Before they could even start shoveling, Louis packed snow into a ball and threw it right at Zack's back.
"Hey!" Zack shouted, turning around to see Louis smirking and Amanda practically in tears from laughing. "Oh, you're dead! Both of you!" Zack packed up a snowball and threw it right at Louis' head. Amanda quickly packed a ball of snow up and chucked it at her brother as hard as she could. This turned into a ruthless snow fight, Zack versus Louis and Amanda, back and forth, filling the air with laughter and shouts.
Finally, Mike came out and broke up the snowball fight so they would actually get started on shoveling the snow. They surrendered and started work on shoveling the walkway along with the driveway. Eventually, Ally and Niall came out in their coats and mittens to help them finish the job. Amanda was freezing cold and damp everywhere but it was the most fun she'd ever had shoveling snow when she was alongside Louis. Louis wouldn't stop making jokes about anything possible, making even Zack laugh with everyone else while Louis just grins.
An hour later, they piled into Ally's house to drink hot chocolate and warm up. Today was another day of relaxing and watching Christmas movies that they didn't really like but, it's Christmas, what else is there to do? As Niall and Ally went to go put a movie on, Louis pulled Amanda into a hug while they waited for the water to boil for hot cocoa.
"Hey," Amanda giggled, looking up at Louis. She leaned in and kissed his jaw, making Louis grin at her.
"I love it here, thank you for letting me join," Louis told her, kissing her forehead gently. Amanda smiled wide, her chest feeling light when she thinks about how much fun she's had, even shoveling snow with Zachary.
"I love having you here," Amanda says, hugging Louis around the waist.
"I love you," Louis says, making Amanda flush and giggle nervously.
"I love you too," Amanda tells him and he leans in to kiss her but of course, Ally screams from the living room.
"Come on! The movie's starting! We couldn't find a Christmas movie so we're watching Zootopia again," Ally shouted, and Amanda rolled her eyes before finishing up the hot chocolate. Around noon, Anna and John told them to go grocery shopping to get everything for tomorrow.
"Tomorrow?" Louis questioned as Amanda grabbed a list from Ally. Ally and Amanda exchange a look before looking at Louis.
"It's a surprise," Amanda smirked and Louis wanted to groan.
"You know it's my birthday," Louis huffed, knowingly and Amanda squealed while Ally danced around. Niall shrugged as Louis glared at him.
"Liam told them," Niall sighed and Louis groaned even louder.
"I hate him, remind me to put chewed gum in his socks and pockets again," Louis sighed.
"Come on, baby, let's go shopping for your surprise that you're gonna pretend you don't know about," Amanda says as she hooks her arm around Louis' arm.
~~~
At the grocery store, Ally and Niall went to pick out everything for the party while Amanda and Louis got ingredients for cookies, a cake, and Christmas dinner.
"I'm so glad I'm not shopping with Ally, she's like a child," Amanda huffed, as she pushed the cart along. Louis laughed.
"I was just about to say that about Niall," Louis said, and they looked at each other, "Great, they're gonna end up buying everything they see," Amanda sighed loudly.
"Whatever," Amanda huffed, before grabbing all the frosting they had on the shelf. They had a lot to frost. Amanda and Louis went through everything on their list, and somehow it was fun.
"Why does it feel like I've known you for years?" Louis asks, grinning wide. Amanda chuckles.
"I have no clue, but I get it," Amanda laughs, as she tries to decide what kind of decorations for cookies. Louis smiles at her, thoughtfully.
"What if... No, never mind," Louis shakes his head, looking away. Amanda looks at him with raised eyebrows.
"What? You have to tell me," Amanda insisted, putting a hand on her hip. Louis sighed.
"I was just... maybe going to suggest we live together next year but... that's crazy, isn't it?" Louis said, shyly. Amanda smiled warmly.
"Maybe we could," Amanda told him, "I couldn't move away from Ally though but... I think the apartment across the hall just became vacant," She mentioned. Louis smiled wide.
"It could be like Friends and Niall could move in with Ally," Louis says, making Amanda squeal, because of course she loved that idea. Louis smiled at her before mentioning, "And the apartment with the boys is pretty crowded, they'd be happy to say goodbye to my mess,"
"Ugh, you're paying Ally to be our maid," Amanda teases, but she knows there's some truth to that. She loves Louis though, she knows she won't care about some mess. Amanda knows this isn't a for sure deal but it sounded so great to her right now. They continued to grocery shop, feeling like they've been together for ages, and Amanda loved that more than anything. She felt like she'll never be all alone again and nothing could wipe a smile off of her face.
~~~
That night, Louis and Amanda sat out on the porch trying to find stars in the busy Boston night. It's too bright in the city to see many, but the sky was clear, so sometimes you could catch a glimpse of the really bright, burning stars. They were under a blanket, holding onto mugs of hot tea that Louis insists Amanda has to fall in love with.
"I can't go to bed without a cup of tea," Louis tells her, and Amanda nods.
"I've noticed," She says, "It just... tastes gross," Amanda laughs at Louis offended face.
"You Americans," Louis scoffs, and Amanda just laughs even harder. Amanda leans her head on his shoulder and Louis scoots closer to her. "You know I've never had a birthday party,"
"Really?" Amanda asks, looking up at him.
"With it being so close to Christmas it would be a bit of a hassle and also... most people forget my birthday anyway so, it means a lot that you would want to do this for me," Louis tells her and Amanda feels herself blush.
"I'd do anything to make you happy, Lou," She whispers to him because it feels like revealing a secret. Louis gives her a small, thoughtful smile. He leans in and places a hand on her cheek, warming her up all over just from a touch.
"I love you," He tells her, before kissing her lips gently. Amanda melted in his arms and from his lips. Amanda pulled away to smile at him and her breath was practically taken away by the look in his gleaming blue eyes.
"I love you too," She mumbled and her heart flutters at the smile on his face.
"I started writing another song about you," Louis says, already getting up to get Niall's guitar from inside. Amanda smiled to herself, not able to contain her happiness. Louis came back and sat beside her again, so close that the neck of the guitar was resting above her legs. Louis began to strum. "It still needs a bit of work, but I have a lot of it written," He says.
"I'm sure I'll love it," Amanda assures him. Louis begins to strum and sing, beautifully.
"Am I asleep, am I awake, or somewhere in between? I can't believe that you are here and lying next to me, or did I dream that we were perfectly entwined? Like branches on a tree, or twigs caught on a vine. Like all those days and weeks and months I tried to steal a kiss. And all those sleepless nights and daydreams where I pictured this," He sang, "I'm just the underdog who finally got the girl. And I am not ashamed to tell it to the world... Truly, madly, deeply, I am, foolishly, completely falling and somehow you kicked all my walls in. So baby, say you'll always keep me. Truly, madly, crazy, deeply in love with you, in love with you," He finished, smiling shyly. Amanda couldn't believe she had found the most amazing, perfect man for her. Louis looked at her expectantly and Amanda just sighed, dreamily.
"It's beautiful... You're beautiful. I just... I never thought I could be so in love," Amanda admitted. Louis' eyes were lit up in such a stunning way, Amanda felt like she'd lose track of time if she continued to stare at him.
"Yeah, uh... I know what you mean," Louis told her, enchanted by her eyes just as much because he knew she felt the exact same and it was the best feeling in the world. It was the only Christmas present Louis could ever need.