Jefferson and Andie lay on the sofa, she sat between his legs with her laptop in her lap. Jefferson was reading a book, mindlessly rubbing small circles into her back as he read. She was looking up interview footage of her father. She told Joe that they'd look at concert footage, but Andie figured they'd better work on his accent first.
There was a knock on the door and Andie scooter herself out from between Jefferson's legs, "That's Joe," she told him.
"Alright," he said, moving his feet to the floor so there would be more room on the couch.
Andie opened the door, seeing a smiling Joe on the other side, "Hey," she greeted him, "come in!"
"Thanks again for doing this," Joe sent an awkward wave to Jefferson, who lifted his hand from his book for a moment, but he didn't stop reading. He then looked back to Andie, who was wearing more comfortable clothes instead of something vintage, he smiled seeing her like this.
Andie grabbed her laptop from the coffee table, plugging it into the tv. "I know I said we'd be watching concert footage, but I lied." She giggled before asking him, "Let me hear your accent."
Joe gave her a nervous look before trying his best at her's and her father's accent, "Hello, Andie, it's nice to see you this morning."
Surprisingly he wasn't that bad, he just had to tweak the pitch and intonation in some words, "Not bad, Mazzello. She grabbed the wireless mouse from the coffee table and sat down on the couch next to Jefferson. He got up a few seconds after she sat down.
"I'm heading to the store to get things for the dinner party tonight," Jefferson said placing his book down on the table, "don't throw a rager while I'm gone." He pointed at Andie jokingly before grabbing his wallet off the counter, giving her a quick peck, and heading out the door.
"Dinner party?" Joe asked her and Andie's eyes lit up.
"Oh, yes!" She smiled, "I was going to text you all about it last night, but I realized I didn't have any of your numbers! It's here at seven, please text Ben, Gwilym, and Rami about it."
"Of course," Joe told her, pulling out his phone and bringing up the group chat he and the other guys were in. "Here what's your number, I'll put you in our groupchat and you can tell them yourself," He smiled.
Andie gave him her number and he quickly typed it in, adding her to the chat. Andie grabbed her phone and sent the chat a text.
Hey guys! It's Andie.
I just want you to know that Jefferson and I are hosting a dinner party tonight and you're all invited. It would mean a lot to me if you came. 😊
"Okay," She let out a breath before setting her phone down, "Let's work on that accent."
-
It was six fifty and every one had arrived at Andie's apartment. After all the accent practice, Joe went back to his apartment to change into something more dressy.
Andie had on a knee length black dress that flowed like water when she moved. Joe couldn't help but get mesmerized by it as she danced around the room, filling wine glasses and placing plates on the table. She was helping Jefferson bring the dinner to the table, which consisted of lemon and garlic roasted chicken and a kale pasta for Brian.
For dessert Andie had made an apple pie, and they had ice cream in the freezer for later. Joe had watched her make it while he practiced his accent, reading out the ingredients to her in a voice that wasn't his own.
After they'd finished their dinner, having animated conversations about the history of the band. "So, Freddie was a boxer in high school? I would've never thought." Rami smiled, taking a sip from his glass. Ben and Roger shared a laugh about something, while Brian and Gwilym were in an in depth conversation on astrophysics.
Joe and Rami switched the topic and began talking to Jefferson about his restaurant, "we'll have to go there when we film in England." Joe smiled at him.
"I'll make sure I'm only serving the best then," Jefferson grinned.
Andie was glad they were all getting along, Roger had seemed normal all night and Brian was asking questions about their relationship.
Thinking so much about the past, Andie had an idea, "I brought photo albums!" She gasped, setting her wine glass down so she wouldn't spill any of it's contents. "Let me go get one," she grinned, a little tipsy. She pushed herself back from the table and made her way to the bedroom where her luggage sat, not yet unpacked.
As soon as he heard the door shut, Jefferson began to speak, "Okay, I know you all want to know why I'm so protective of Andie, and you probably think I'm one of those dickhead fiancé's that doesn't let their partner do anything."
"That's exactly what I was thinking, yes," Roger said, taking a sip of wine. The rest of the men in the room had to stifle a laugh while Roger sent Jefferson a glare.
Jefferson let out a sigh, "I just thought I should explain myself. If you've seen that woman break down as many times as I have, you'd be protective too. She's plagued with so much anxiety and depression that she barely gets out of bed," Jefferson went on, his voice wavered slightly, "She's so scared that you're all going to hate her. It hurts to see her like that, because she's the most amazing woman I've ever met."
"Okay," Roger cleared his throat, Joe could tell that he clearly wasn't buying it, "If she's in bed so long, then how come every time I ring you tell me she's out? Or she's working on her novel? Or she's too busy to talk? I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm onto you!"
Brian was silent, but he was wondering the same thing.
Andie came into the room with a smile, photo album in hand, but her smile immediately faltered when she felt the tension in the air, "What's going on?"
"I think it's best if I left early," Jefferson growled, throwing his napkin down on the table with a huff and then storming out the door.
Andie looked shocked from the doorway to a nonchalant Roger, "What did you say to him?" She felt the tears welling to her eyes, she tried to calm herself down, but she couldn't.
"I just simply told him what was on my mind," Roger shrugged, but he saw his mistake as the tears started streaming down the brunette's face.
"He's still my fiancé, whether you like it or not," Andie shook her head before rushing back into her bedroom. She was clutching the album to her chest as she curled up onto the bed.
Joe immediately sprung up, sending a glance to the now extremely quiet table before heading back into the bedroom. He didn't know what compelled him to do so, he barely knew Andie. Yet, he couldn't deny the way his heart ached at the sight of her tears. Nor could he deny the overwhelming urge he had to protect her.
Seeing the woman curled up and crying made his heart break. "Hey, hey, hey," he whispered sitting on the bed beside her and placing a hand on her shoulder, "it's okay."
"Why does Roger hate him so much?" Andie choked out.
Joe furrowed his brow, deciding not to tell he what he knew, "I don't know," he lied. He rubbed her back slowly, not wanting to overstep his boundaries. Joe caught sight of the album, smiling he whispered, "show me some pictures."
"Huh?" Andie was finally looking at him know, her eyes red and puffy while her cheeks were flushed.
"Show me some pictures," Joe urged her again, "the sad thoughts in your head have to be replaced with something."
Andie's mouth gaped, he sounded like her father. She finally let out an, "Okay." Sitting up from her position on the bed and giving Joe room to sit beside her. Opening the album she pointed to the first photo, it was of John smiling while he held a small baby in his arms. "That's when they brought me home from the hospital. Dad didn't want to let me go," Andie smiled fondly, sniffling as she wiped some of the tears from her eyes.
"What about that one," Joe pointed to a photo of a young Andie smiling while holding an overnight bag.
She let out a single chuckle as she recalled the memory, "that was my first time at summer camp. I hated it," she giggled, "The councilors called mom three hours after she dropped me off cause I wouldn't stop crying."
Joe looked at her, "why?" He chuckled along with her as she leaned her head back with a huff.
"I wanted to go home so bad," Andie looked at him, "and you want to know the worst part? The camp was only a two day thing."
Joe shook his head, "Unbelievable," he told her with a grin.
-
This chapter low key sucks. Oops.