MADILYN HOLLEY
As we approached Liam's house for the first time my jaw dropped and my entire body froze. After about fifteen seconds of pure shock I turned to see him sitting in the drivers seat chuckling.
"I take it you like the house?" He asked.
"Lee this is the most beautiful house I have ever seen. Are you kidding me? You really live here? Wait oh my gosh. I'm going to live here. I'M going to live HERE?" I blurted out, not taking the time to breathe in between sentences because the shock was just too much.
Liam laughed again at my state of shock and hopped out of the car, running around the back to grab my suitcase from the trunk. I continued sitting in my seat, gawking at the gorgeous house before me. It was incredible. I had never seen a house like this before and I couldn't believe that I was even going to enter it, let alone live in it. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Liam's knuckles tapping my window, and I looked up to see an amused look on his face.
"You gonna come in or are you just going to sit there and stare all afternoon?" He asked.
I shot him a look and jumped out of the car as well, following Liam into the house. He gave me a tour of the house and I was in awe the entire time. After we finished touring the house we walked outside and he showed me the backyard. Once again I was in a state of shock, and Liam was left to laugh. There was a gorgeous pool, outdoor patio, basketball court, an entire bonfire area. Towards the back of the yard was a pool house with the cutest little porch swing out front. It honestly didn't even look like a pool house though, it was about the size of an average house.
"Do you want to go check it out?" Liam asked, looking over at me.
"Sure!" I replied, walking over immediately. I had my eye on that porch swing, it looked so relaxing and I already know I'll be heading over to the pool house to hang out there when I need a break. I jumped on the swing and tested it out, proving my own theory correct with how comfortable it was, knowing that I would definitely be spending a lot of time there.
I followed Liam inside to see the inside of the pool house and fell in love instantly. There was a small, but decent sized kitchen that connected to a fairly large sized living room, a really cute dining area, two doors leading somewhere else, and a set of stairs against the right wall that lead somewhere unknown. We viewed the two rooms downstairs, one being a bedroom and the other a bathroom. What shocked me about the pool house was the fact that it was fully furnished and beautifully decorated, even more so than the main house. I didn't expect it to be considering it probably hardly got used.
"What's upstairs?" I asked as we finished the downstairs tour.
"I was hoping you'd ask that." He says smiling.
With a confused look I followed him up the stairs to see a long hallway that lead to the most gorgeous loft ever. This was the most shocked I had been since the initial shock of the outside of the home. I was so lost for words as I glanced around the room. The room was decorated so beautifully, the entire room covered in plants, books, and all sorts of things. It was beautiful. It was really beautiful. I was taking it all in until I came to a realization, this loft was decorated pretty girly. Not to say guys wouldn't like this style of decor, but it definitely didn't match Liam, or the way that the main house was decorated. The pool house was decorated so differently.
"Why is the decoration style so different out here?" I asked. Right after the words came out of my mouth my eyes landed on nightstand next to the bed, a familiar photo catching my eye. I walked over and picked it up, seeing the picture was of Liam, Alex and I when we were kids. Liam and Alex couldn't have been more than 11, and I looked like I was about 8 or 9. The three of us were standing in our swimsuits in front of a pool, which I remember being the community pool near my home. All three of us had the biggest smiles on our faces as we group hugged for the camera. I remember so vividly my mom taking this photo right before we went into the pool for the first time that summer. I turned to see Liam next to me, also admiring the photo.
"My mom found that photo and gave it to me back in London. When you told me you were thinking about coming here I knew I wanted to save it for your room." He said.
My eyes grew to the size of saucers as I slowly looked up at him. "My room? This is my room?" I asked, awe written all over my face.
"I asked Tess how I should have the house decorated and she sent me a link to your Pinterest. I gave it to the decorators so they would make it feel like home for you out here." He said shyly.
"This whole house is for me? You had the whole thing decorated for me? You don't have to do that Liam, I-" I was cut off by Liam responding to me quickly, "Yes this house is for you, Yes I had it decorated, and it's too late because I've already had it done." He replied.
"Why would you do all of this for me?" I replied, feeling my cheeks grow hot and my eyes gloss over. It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me, and I didn't deserve it.
"We're family Madi. We always have been, we always will be. You have always been like a sister to me. With our families so far from here, we are really all each other has to call family out here." He said, pulling me into a tight hug. "I'd do anything for you. Plus, I figured it would be best for your Youtube career if it looked like you lived in your own home rather than in mine. That might start up a few issues."
That was all I needed to hear before the tears started falling. I held on tighter and Liam let me as I said, "I can't believe it Lee. Thank you. Thank you so much. And thank you for the photo, I love it so much."
I definitely cried for a bit. Liam's gesture mixed with the craziness of moving to a new country mixed with the feeling I got when I saw that photo and missing Alex definitely was all overwhelming. After awhile Liam headed inside the main house as I was about to hop on a FaceTime call with my parents. We talked for awhile and I gave them the tour of the pool house and showed off the backyard. I even went into the main house for a minute so that my parents could say hey to Liam.
When we finished our call I send pictures of the whole place to Tess, who send about forty texts and three voice memos once she saw the house. She was almost as in love with it as I was. I still wasn't feeling super clean after my "freshening up" that I did in the airport that morning, so I decided to take a shower. There was a second bathroom upstairs in the loft with a beautiful glass shower, jacuzzi tub, and vanity. It was pretty big, and the closet was even bigger. I searched my bags for my toiletries and quickly took a shower. Most of the things I would need for the next few days were in my suitcase. I packed it that way so I wouldn't have to unpack all of my clothes immediately after getting here, and with the jet lag settling in I was thankful I did that.
After my shower I threw on a beige crew neck and a pair of shorts, tucking in my crew neck in the front. I laid out a pair of combat boots near the door for when I left, knowing I wasn't leaving right away since I hadn't done my hair yet and it was only 4pm. When we left breakfast this morning, Harry invited us both over for dinner and said a few other friends would be there as well. Liam happily accepted on behalf of both of us, excited for me to get to meet his friends. I was excited too, but nervous at the same time. What if they weren't all as nice as Harry?
Speaking of Harry, that boy was so sweet. He asked me so much about myself while we ate breakfast this morning and was very genuine in trying to get to know me. I smiled at the memory and glanced down at my hands twirling the ring he gave me during our fake proposal around my finger. I had forgotten that I was still wearing it, and silently cursed myself for forgetting to give it back. I made a mental note to do so as soon as we got over to his house. I threw my hair up into two buns and then decided that since Liam and I weren't leaving to go over there for a bit, I could get a jump start on unpacking all of my clothes, so I grabbed my first box and got started.
About an hour and a half later it was time to go, and I quickly pulled on my combat boots and gave myself a glance in the mirror. I liked the way that I looked and how I felt in my outfit, so I got ready to head downstairs. I grabbed my necklace before I did, quickly putting it on. I wore this necklace every day, it was my friendship necklace with Tess. I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't one of those heart shaped necklaces that says best friends split down the middle. It honestly just looked like a normal necklace, but it was a dainty gold chain with a golden half circle at the bottom of it. When you put Tess and I'd necklaces together they made a circle, like they were complete. She and I were in love with them. After I managed to get it on I grabbed my phone and headed to the main house to see if Liam was ready.
I walked in the sliding glass door to find Liam laying on the couch watching TV.
"Hey Lee. Ready to go?" I asked.
He gave me a quick nod before jumping to his feet. I followed him to the car and we headed towards Harry's house.
"Who is going to be there?" I asked Liam nervously.
"I think only a few people, obviously us and Harry, and then Niall, but Louis has been living back home since the hiatus began, so he wouldn't be there. Harry's friend Mitch will be there as well as his girlfriend Layla. I think that may be all." He replied.
I was definitely happy there weren't going to be a ton of people there, it would have been too much for my first day there. I wanted to ease into things, but I think Liam knew that so I wasn't worried. As we pulled up to Harry's house my jaw dropped again, leaving Liam laughing once again. It was absolutely beautiful. We walked to the door and Liam rang the doorbell over and over in an attempt to annoy his best friend. I stood there anxiously, unknowingly playing with the ring on my finger as we waited for Harry to open the door.
A moment later, the door swung open as Harry yelled, "Oh knock it off would you?"
"HARRY!" Liam yelled as he attacked Harry. "I haven't seen you in so long!" He shouted, laughing as he ran in and jumped on Harry.
"What are you talking about? We had breakfast this morning?" Harry asked, giving me a confused look that made me laugh.
"That is still too long!" Liam replies, making all of us laugh.
I locked eyes with the curly haired boy in front of me and for a moment I lost all brain function. His eyes were so green, and so kind, and as they locked with mine I felt my heart begin to flutter. I'm not really sure why I was feeling this way, but I tried to brush it off and ignore it as I shook the thoughts out of my head. His eyes moved down to my hands which were still playing with the ring on my finger and then back up to my eyes, a smile forming in his face.
"Hi Madilyn." He said, bringing the butterflies right back to me again.
"Hey Harry." I breathed out, trying to suppress the feeling of the butterflies swarming once again.
"Would you like to come in, love?" He asked, opening the door wider so I could follow him and Liam inside.
I took a deep breath and stepped inside, knowing that I was in for a long, long night.
*************************
A/N: I'm not sure how to upload more than one photo above so the pictures of her room will be below and her outfit she wore to Harry's house will be above! The girl in the photo isn't Madi, but I just wanted to use this outfit so ignore the fact that there's a blonde girl instead! (:
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
XOXO