When her mother opened the door, her smile faltered as she took them both in.
"You're late," she said flatly, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"The traffic was awful," Keira lied. There was no way she would tell her the real reason they were a few minutes late. The reason that involved an unusually long and steamy shower.
Her mother looked to Lewis and he nodded in agreement. To his credit, he didn't shrink away from her cold glare like most people usually did when they met her.
"I see," her mother said, although still not sounding quite convinced.
An uneasy silence passed between them. It lasted long enough to make Keira wish she could crawl away and hide in a hole for the rest of the day.
Thank god for her younger sister, Lilia, who suddenly appeared in the doorway, a bright smile spread across her face.
"Keira!" she squealed, running towards her and into her arms.
Lilia squeezed her so tight in a hug that it was hard to breathe, but Keira just laughed, brushing her hand through her sister's hair. They both shared the same long blonde curls, but Lilia's were slightly lighter with streaks of gold.
"I've missed you so much," she said as her sister pulled away, looking up at her.
Although she was nine-years-old, she was still so small for her age, only coming up to Keira's waist.
"Me too," Lilia chirped, but after the initial excitement about seeing her older sister again, she slowly turned to Lewis and gasped.
"H- hello," she said quietly, fidgeting nervously with her hands as she looked at him. Keira could tell she was clearly star-struck.
"Hey," Lewis replied with a warm smile, holding his hand up for a high-five. "So I'm guessing you're the cooler sister, right?"
Lilia giggled whilst giving him a high-five. "Keira is probably cooler than me."
Lewis scrunched up his face, his eyebrows pinching together. "Nah, nah. After all, wasn't it you that came up with the awesome name for her hamster?"
Her little sister nodded proudly. "You've met Hammie?"
"Of course," he grinned and Keira couldn't explain the amount of happiness she was experiencing just by watching them interact. He seemed to be so good with children and she could tell Lilia already loved him.
Her mother silently watched from the doorway before clearing her throat. "You should all come inside before the food goes cold," she muttered and turned to Keira. "Your father is waiting for you in the dining room."
Her mother and sister went in first whilst Keira made Lewis hang behind for a moment, still standing on the doorstep.
"Is this okay?" she asked quietly, aware of how standoffish her mother was being.
"It's great," he replied, gazing at her. "Stop worrying about me."
Lewis smiled, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.
"Okay," she nodded, watching the ground beneath her feet. "Sorry."
He gently placed his fingers beneath her chin, tilting it up so she would meet his eye. "There's nothing to apologise for. I enjoy being here. I like seeing where mini Keira would have grown up."
"You'll have to show me where mini Lewis grew up at some point," Keira smiled, pushing onto her toes and kissing him. Just the soft brush of his lips against hers was enough to melt her fears.
"I'll make sure to give you the full guided tour of where mini Lewis grew up, and sadly, where he still lives now," he chuckled as she pulled away.
"Sounds perfect," she said grinning.
He carefully tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Now let's get inside before they begin to think we've pissed off somewhere."
"Good idea," Keira laughed, grabbing his hand and tugging him inside, closing the door behind them.
-----------------------------------------
They all sat around the large dining room table, her mother at the head of the table, her father positioned at the other. In front of them was a selection of dishes ranging from cured meats, glazed bread and ripe fruits. And also, as Keira expected, a wooden board made up of fancy cheeses in wax covers.
"This is incredible," Lewis said as they all began to help themselves to the food.
Keira was sat beside him, with Lilia opposite them, swinging her feet beneath the table as she heaped some grapes onto her plate.
Keira had said a few words to her father when they arrived. He was always so much quieter than her mother, and argued less. He wasn't too bad. In fact, Keira would go as far as to say she got on well with him most of the time. He would almost be a bearable person if it weren't for the fact that he always agreed with her mother, regardless of whether she was right or not.
"Thank you, Lewis," her mother said smugly, but she still didn't bother to look him in the eye.
Keira began to cut herself some cheese, offering a slice to Lewis before placing the knife down and tucking in to her food.
"So how long have you been doing music for?" It was her father who spoke this time. His wrinkled forehead creased even more as he turned to Lewis, peering at him over the rim of his rounded spectacles.
"Ah, ever since I remember. I was always singing around the house as a wee kid," he said with an easy grin. "Which you could probably imagine, my parents enjoyed a lot. Nah, I'm kidding on, they wanted to strangle me by the end."
Luckily, her dad laughed at that, wiping his mouth on his napkin. Her mother, on the other hand, didn't look so amused.
"Did you ever think about going to university to pursue a proper education?" her mum replied, and just like that the energy in the room turned rotten. Like someone had poisoned the air.
Lewis shifted uncomfortably in his seat and all Keira wanted to do was apologise. That, and give her mother a piece of her mind.
"I was never great at school," he said, and she could tell he was trying to be as pleasant as he could. "But music was what I was good at. And I'm glad I decided to stick with it because now I'm here, selling out arenas and stuff." He shrugged, too embarrassed to brag.
Keira brushed his knee lightly beneath the table and he turned to her. She gave him a reassuring smile and nodded subtly. He was doing great. Despite her mother's attempts to throw him off.
"I see." She pursed her lips as if deciding whether to push him further on it. But she seemed to choose against it as she began eating again.
Keira's shoulders sagged with relief, trying not to make it too obvious. Lewis seemed to relax as well, going back to shovelling food into his mouth.
The conversation was mostly kept light after that, talking about her degree, how Lilia's dance classes were going and what they thought about the new crime show on the BBC.
Keira could tell her mother was itching to say something controversial and snippy, just to see how they would handle it. But luckily she held off. In fact, Keira almost thought they would get through lunch without any problems at all. But that was just wishful thinking.
They were just about to vacate into the living room for some coffee and biscuits when her mother said, "So have you thought about what will happen when you go away on tour, Lewis? Surely that will mean you're away for months? That's hardly good for a relationship so new."
She may as well have punched Keira in the stomach. She felt sick, a sinking feeling gathering in her gut. They had never discussed it. She'd never even wanted to think about it.
For once, Lewis didn't know how to reply. He just stared silently at her mother, his smile gone.
"I'm sure they'll talk about it at some point, Sarah," her dad answered calmly, noticing the sudden tension in the room.
"I'm just saying, these are the sorts of things you need to think before launching into a relationship," her mother muttered, shaking her head before gathering up a few empty plates and walking through to the kitchen.
All the laughs and pleasantries they had shared through the meal were ruined. Crushed by that single comment. But what if her mum was right? Dread churned within her. If it wasn't for Lilia still staring cluelessly at them, Keira probably would have sworn. Would have screamed and yelled and cried. But instead, she kept her composure, trying to ignore the pain in her heart.
Lewis looked just as broken. He took her hand beneath the table and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere," he reassured her, but there was something in his voice that she didn't quite trust.
She didn't know who she was kidding. Of course he would need to leave for tour. That was basically his job. She didn't know why she had believed anything else.
"I think we should leave," was all Keira said, getting up from the table.
Lilia blinked in shock. "But what about the biscuits?"
"Maybe another time, Lils," she said, feigning a smile as she walked around the table to give her a hug goodbye. "It's been so nice seeing you. Remember to call me, yeah?"
"O-okay, I'll miss you," she said, her lip beginning to wobble.
Keira crouched down so that they were the same height, brushing away one of the tears that began to roll down her sister's face. "I'll miss you too, cutie."
She pressed a kiss to Lilia's forehead before standing and going to walk for the door. Lewis joined her, giving Lilia a quick yet sad wave. She hated that she had to leave her sister in this house alone with her parents. But she didn't really have a choice.
They were about to reach the front door when her mother's voice echoed down the hallway, making them stop in their tracks.
"Where do you think you're going?" she snapped, gripping tightly to the tray of biscuits in her hands.
"We're just leaving," Keira replied over her shoulder.
"Stop all this nonsense," her mother huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If this was about what I said earlier, I only-"
"No," Keira interrupted, a little louder than she intended. "You can't keep doing this, mum. You can't keep ruining things for me. Lewis has been the only good thing that's happened to me in a fucking long time, so you don't get to invite me over, act all nice and then do what you always do. Destroy everything. Don't act like you haven't been trying to pick holes in our relationship this entire time. But it doesn't matter, it won't work."
She took Lewis by the hand, clasping it tightly. "He is the funniest, most caring, talented and downright incredible person I could have met. So you don't get to ruin this, and I won't sit back and let you."
Her mother opened her mouth as if to reply, then closed it, then opened it again. Her face was pale with a mix of shock and rage; she was gripping onto the tray so tightly that Keira thought it would snap.
"Thanks for lunch, the cheese was great" was all Keira said before turning and walking out the door, Lewis' hand still gripped in hers.
"I'm so sorry," she said as they hurried down the narrow path and away from the house. "God, I'm sorry about everything. I don't even know why I thought that would be a good idea."
They hadn't had time to call a taxi, but that didn't matter. They just kept walking, striding down the street and far far away from the mess she'd left behind.
"You were fucking amazing back there," Lewis said, running his free hand through his hair. "I always knew you were a badass."
He squeezed her hand softly.
Despite everything, she managed a small laugh. "Thanks, I guess."
After a few more minutes of walking in silence, Lewis asked, "Did you really mean all of that?"
That made her blush. She'd basically poured her entire heart out in front of everyone. But every single thing she had said about Lewis had been true. He was incredible. And she was grateful for every moment they had together.
"Yes," Keira said, "I told you she did a great cheese board."
He gave her a funny look and they both ended up laughing as they walked down the streets of London together, hand in hand.