Chapter 10

The next two weeks passed by quickly and so did the exams. It was Friday morning; we were in the last class of the semester and everyone was looking forward to the frat party that was going to take place later that night, in order to celebrate the end of the exams and the start of the holiday season.

Amy and I returned to our dorm, where we were greeted by Snowflake, who jumped on my lap as soon as I sat down on my bed.

“Fucking finally,” Amy said, throwing her bag under the bed and collapsing on it.

I stroked Snowflake’s fur and she started purring, burying her head into my palm. We were buying her food regularly and no one knew about her except Amy, Niall, and I.

“You think she’ll be alright on her own?” I asked Amy.

“I’m just surprised that-“, she started after nodding.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and we shared a look. None of us was expecting someone, so this was weird.

I got up from the bed and hid Snowflake under my blanket before I walked to the door and opened it. My heart started beating faster when I saw the Dean staring down at me with a stern expression.

“We’ve received an anonymous tip that you have an illegal animal in your room.”

I thought I was about to faint.

“What? There’s no-no animal.” I stuttered, right when I heard Snowflake meowing and I heard her jumping down from the bed.

“Oh, so I guess that that is not a cat?”

“No, it’s, let me explain-“

“Ms. Parker, is that cat yours, or does it belong to your room-mate?”

“It’s-it’s mine.” I sighed and I knew I was in trouble. “But she was freezing outside and she could’ve died–”

“That’s why animal shelters are for!”

“Please, I just–”

“I expect you to clean your dorm by the end of the year.”

“What? You mean–”

“I mean you better not be in this dormitory on January 2nd. Have a good day.”

Then he turned around and left.

“Holy shit,” Amy said and I closed the door in shock.

“What am I going to do now? My parents are going to kill me if they find out and they’re not going to pay for rent at a flat-wait. Can I join a sorority?”

She shook her head.

“You can only become a pledge during rush week, which is only at the beginning of each school year.”

“I’m fucked.” I said and dropped face-down on the bed.

“And not in a good way,” Amy muttered and I shot her a look.

“Too soon?”

“What do you think?”

I didn’t go to the party, because I was too depressed and sad. I chose to stay in the dorm and cuddle with Snowflake while listening to Ed Sheeran on loop.

I asked Amy not to tell anyone about what the Dean had told me, and she promised that she wouldn’t. I was going to call my parents and tell them, ask them what I should do.

An hour after Amy left, I got a text from Niall.

Niall: ur not cumin 2 the party????

Rey: nope. Not in the mood right now Niall: :(

I smiled and pulled the laptop across my lap to watch a TV Show.

***

The next day Katherine called me, telling me that they were all hanging out at the frat house, so Amy and I should come over there.

Amy and I eventually decided that we were too lazy and broke to go somewhere properly to eat, so we got dressed.

We arrived at 1 pm and I was surprised to see a lot of people in the living room, including Maddie, Ricky, and James.

“Hi!” I greeted and sat down on the couch between Maddie and Jake, who were currently watching a really bad reality show.

Half an hour later pizza arrived and I shared one with Katherine because Amy and I arrived right after they ordered it.

Everyone was gathered on the couch eating and talking about the upcoming holidays. They all had plans and I was just here, thinking about the lovely time I was going to spend in the dorm that I eventually had to leave by the end of the year.

“What about you Niall? What are you doing for the holidays?” Soph asked, leaning into him and smiling.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “’m going to take my brother to Disneyland on the 22nd.”

“In California or Paris?” she asked and Niall made a face.

“California duh. I got one more ticket though, so I’m thinking about taking someone with me.”

Immediately, three girls jumped on him, squeaking and asking him to take them with him.

“We should have auditions…” Soph said in a seductive tone and I rolled my eyes.

Niall saw that and smiled, pulling Soph closer to him.

“So do you have someone in mind you’d like to take?” another girl asked and Niall propped his left ankle over his right knee, leaning back against the couch.

“Maybe,” Niall answered and Soph lit up.

He then turned his head to look at me and shot me a wink. I frowned, confused, and pointing to myself just to check.

He nodded and smiled, and I couldn’t help but feel giddy inside. I wasn’t sure if he was actually offering to take me, but I could still hope, right? I mean, I’d always wanted to go to Disneyland and I didn’t have any plans for the holiday. Plus, I adored Eddie.

Everyone eventually went back to their previous activities, and I laid down on the couch, putting my head in Justin’s lap and my legs in Jake’s.

It was pathetic watching all these girls around Niall, playing with their hair and giggling, like bees around honey.

I got up and I saw Niall leaning against the wall with a bottle of coke in his hand. Soph had her hands under his shirt, probably trying to feel his abs as she flirted with him.

I rolled my eyes, smiling as I passed him to go into the kitchen and get a glass of orange juice. Someone came up behind me and I knew it’s Niall by the way he pressed his cheek against my temple and his hands came down to my hips, gripping into them.

“Wanna come upstairs for a bit?” he whispered into my hair and I closed my eyes because he was so warm and smelled amazing.

“Why don’t you ask one of the ten girls who think you’re going to take them all to California?”

He snorted and I turned around to look up at him.

“They’re really annoying and it’s a tough decision,” he said, whining.

I sighed. “Okay.”

“Where are you going?” Soph asked when she saw Niall walking up the stairs.

“Um? Upstairs. Uh-bathroom.”

“Oh, okay. Don’t take long.” she smiled and Niall turned around.

I walked up after him and as soon as he got to his room, he threw himself faced down on the bed.

I went and sat on his desk chair, crossing my ankles. He turned on his back and put his arm under his head.

“So you’re taking Eddie to Disneyland? For his birthday?”

He nodded with an amused look on his face.

“That’s what I said.”

“And who are you taking with you?”

He shrugged. “I got a certain person in mind.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm.”

After a short pause, I asked:

“Who?”

“You’ve never been to Disneyland, have you?” he chose to ignore my question.

“Um-I mean-no. Not really.”

“Do you want to go?”

“Wha-? You want to take me?”

“Don’t act that surprised, you knew if it was going to be anyone, it would be you,” he says and sits up.

“I honestly didn’t-okay maybe. But I can’t anyway.”

“Why not?” he asked and I stood up to walk towards him.

“Because I have no-“

He interrupted me by hooking his finger into my belt loops and pulled me over him on the bed. He lied down and I straddled his hips, placing my hands on his chest.

“I have no money.”

He rolled his eyes.

“I’m going to pay, duh.”

“No. I can’t take advantage of you like that.”

“But I’m offering! And besides, the ticket is already paid for, and so is the room. I’ll just pay for your food and entrance. That’s like, five hundred dollars tops.”

“Five hundred? Fuck no.”

“Don’t be so fucking modest, I know you want it.”

“I don’t want it. I just-I don’t want you to think that I’m like, you know, interested in the money.”

“Of course not.”

He smirked.

“You’re interested in my money and my dick.”

“Oh my,” I said and intended to get up, but he pulled me to his lips by the back of my neck.

“C’mon, it’s going to be fun! And I know you really want to go to Disneyland. Ever since you were a kid.”

“Wha-how do you even know that?” I asked and he pushed my hair to the side, kissing up my neck.

“You mentioned it to me two years ago.”

“Oh.”

“Got a really good memory,” he explained and sucked on my neck, but I pushed him away.

“No marking me,” I said, mocking him.

“You’re really bad at accents.”

“Well, you sound like that all the time, so.”

He stared at me for a second, and I didn’t know if I had just offended him.

“This position makes my neck go numb I’m getting up,” I announced and he let my hips go so I could stand up.

“So you coming with Eddie and me or not?”

“When is it again?”

“We’re leaving on the 21st, so we’re in California on the 22nd. We visit Disneyland and get back late on the 23rd so Eddie can have his actual birthday on the 24th and so he can wait for Santa on the couch. I promised him I’d take him to Disneyland for his birthday, in case you’re wondering why I did this.”

“I think it’s really nice of you to do this for him.”

“I know, I’m the best.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll pick you up at 9 pm on the 21st. The plane leaves at midnight.”

“And his mother and father are okay with this?”

He nodded, also getting up from the bed.

“Thanks. For um, inviting me. But how are you going to break the news to the other girls? They’ll hate me.”

He made a step towards me and started pressing kisses to my cheek, then eventually kissing me properly. He sucked on my bottom lip and bites down on it before he let it go and pulled away.

He smiled and turned around, going to the door.

“Wait you never answered my question!” I remembered as I followed him down the stairs.

“Exactly.”

***

“Get in loser, we’re going to the airport!” Niall yelled as he stopped in front of my dorm building three days later.

“You know, quoting chick movies won’t really keep up your punk reputation.”

He rolled his eyes as he loaded my suitcase in the trunk and we both got into the car.

“Hey, buddy!” I told Eddie as I put my seatbelt on.

I turned to him as Niall started driving.

“You excited?”

He smiled and nodded at me from his baby chair while he munched on a marshmallow.

“Whoa, I want one too! Do you have more marshmallows?” I asked, who sighed, shaking his head.

“I swear to god, I’m taking two babies to Disneyland.”

I smiled and he handed me the marshmallow bag, shutting me up as he turned on the radio.

Long story short, we got to the airport, got some coffee (and hot chocolate for Eddie) from Starbucks, then boarded the plane.

We arrived at the hotel around 1 am (California time), which was like 20 minutes by foot from Disneyland.

We were staying in a room with a king-sized bed, and I smiled, imagining Eddie cuddling up to Niall.

“Go and brush your teeth, then put on your pajamas,” Niall told him and Eddie nodded, smiling and taking the toothbrush from Niall’s hands.

“You’re so good with him,” I told Niall once Eddie started brushing his teeth.

He shrugged and I took off my parka, hanging it by the door.

“And thanks again.”

“Stop thanking me.”

“Thanks.”

“Stop.”

“Thank you.”

He sighed.

“Thank you so much. Honestly. So, so much. I mean it. Thank you so-“

He kissed me to shut me up, and that had been my plan all along, to be honest.

We heard a cute squeak behind us and I pulled away to see Eddie smiling at us.

“You kissed her!” he yelled and pointed to me.

“Let’s put your pj’s on and then bedtime, yeah?” Niall changed the subject and I got my toiletries bag before I walked over to the bathroom.

When Niall came out, Eddie was playing with one of his teddy bears and I was scrolling through Tumblr on my phone. I couldn’t help but take a picture of him in his Superman onesie, he was so cute.

“Get into bed,” Niall said and Eddie pouted.

“Can I have another marshmallow?” he pleaded and hugged Niall’s knees. I smiled, not taking my eyes away from the screen.

“Ugh. Fine. But it’s the last one or you won’t sleep from all the sugar in the system.”

“Whoa, look who did their homework.” I joked and Niall shot me a look.

Eddie stuffed way too many marshmallows in his mouth, before smiling up at Niall with his mouth full, and then jumping on the bed. He crawled up to Niall’s side and got under the blanket, pretending to be asleep.

Niall sighed and turned off the light in the bathroom, before he walked over to his side, rolling Eddie so he was next to me, and Niall can have a bit of space.

Eddie hugged his bear tightly before he rolled onto his back as Niall pulled the blanket over him. I had my own blanket and I was quite thankful for that.

Niall turned off the light and there was a short silence before Eddie suddenly decided to push the blanket off him with his tiny feet.

“Stop it,” Niall muttered, pulling it back up to Eddie’s neck.

Eddie pushed the blanket off once again and Niall covered his entire face with his enormous hand.

“Stop.”

I pulled the blanket back off and Niall hissed.

“Fuck, did you just bite me?”

“Fuck.” Eddie repeated and I laughed.

“This isn’t funny! It’s a bad word!” Niall said and Eddie turned to face him with big, ogling eyes.

“Then why do you use it?”

“Because I’m an adult and you’re a child.”

“So when I’m going to be an adult am I going to kiss girls too?”

“Yeah. Or boys. Or both.” Niall said and Eddie threw his short leg over Niall’s chest.

“Mom says that boys kissing boys is wrong.”

“Mom is a bitch.”

“Niall!” I exclaimed.

“But I don’t think boys kissing boys is wrong.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because love is love. And girls have cooties.”

“They don’t have cooties.” Niall laughed.

“Does Rey have cooties?”

“Rey doesn’t have cooties.”

I smiled and Eddie smacked Niall over the face.

“Ow! Stop violating me.”

Eddie laughed and managed to crawl on top of Niall, resting his head on his collarbones. I bit my lip to stop from smiling and turned on the other side, falling asleep.

“DISNEYLAND! WAKE UP REY!”

My eyes fluttered open and I saw Eddie jumping next to me, shaking me by my shoulder. He was in his underwear, brightly smiling.

I saw Niall on an armchair, running a hand through his hair. I looked at the clock on my phone to see that it’s already 9 am.

“Shit, why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked as I gathered the clothes for the day and rushed to the bathroom.

“We’re not in a rush,” he said and I closed the door.

When I came back out, Niall was already dressed and had Eddie sitting on the bed as he dug through his tiny suitcase.

“Oh my god, can I dress him up?” I said and Niall looked at me.

“He’s not a doll, but yeah, go ahead.”

He stood up and took out his phone to pick a cab company.

I kneeled down in front of Eddie and he smiled down at me as I picked out his clothes.

“I want up,” he said and lifted his arms up so Niall could hoist him up in his arms, which he did.

“Ready?” Niall asked, and both Eddie and I nodded.

The cab took 10 minutes to get to Disneyland and Eddie was excited and couldn’t stop talking and pointing out things.

Niall paid the driver and told us that we’ll have to stop for breakfast as soon as we got in. We stood in line but we didn’t wait long, so we were in Disneyland soon enough.

He picked a restaurant for us and we sat down at a table inside, because even though it was sunny, it wasn’t warm at all.

“I want cereal,” Eddie said.

“You can’t have cereal at a restaurant.”

“Then I want something sweet.”

“You can’t have sweets for breakfast, your tummy will hurt,” Niall told him and opened up to the kid’s part in the menu.

“But you always eat sweets for breakfast!” Eddie pouted.

“You’re getting French toast then.”

I got tea and pancakes, and Niall ordered waffles and coffee.

I smiled as I watched him cut Eddie’s bread into small pieces, be-fore feeding them to him.

“I can feed him.” I offered and Niall handed me the fork before he started eating his breakfast.

After we were done, Niall got a map of the whole park and circled all the kid attractions.

“I want to meet Peter Pan! And Minnie Mouse! And Goofy!” Eddie says excitedly as he clings to Niall’s coat.

“We’ll go anywhere you want to, okay?” he said and Eddie told him that he loves him, which made Niall smile.

We spent the whole day at Disneyland, and in the evening when we left, Eddie and I were wearing matching Minnie Mouse headbands and his mouth was filled with sweets.

“Where are we going now?”

“To a restaurant for your birthday. Already made reservations.”

“Are we going to have cake?”

“Yes. Vanilla cake.”

“YAY!”

I bit back a smile and Niall and I shared a look.

The waitress took us to a table for four out on the second floor on the balcony, so I sat across from Eddie and Niall.

“I’m so happy!” Eddie announced and I took a picture of him trying to taste a lemon which ended up spraying into his eye and causing him to scream.

“God, you’re an idiot,” Niall said, wiping his eyes with a napkin.

“You’re an idiot,” Eddie replied.

“You don’t even know what it means.”

Eddie shrugged and we ordered pizza, chicken, and fries for Eddie.

“When can we eat cake?” he asked after he finished his portion.

“Soon baby,” Niall said and held Eddie by the sweater as he leaned over the railing to stare at the view.

Four minutes later, a dozen staff members with a vanilla cake that has five candles appeared and they started singing Happy Birthday, accompanied by Niall and me.

Eddie couldn’t stop smiling through the whole thing, and I wanted to squeeze something because he was just. Ugh. So cute.

When the staff eventually clear out (after Niall gives each of them a pretty generous tip), Niall told Eddie to make a wish before he blew out the candles.

“Did you make a wish?” I asked him and Eddie nodded, as Niall took out the candles.

“Now wait until I…cut the cake,” Niall mumbled when Eddie was already hands deep in the cake, laughing as he stuffed it in his mouth.

I couldn’t help but laugh and Niall filmed him as he got his whole face smeared with cake.

“Happy birthday Eddie,” he said and Eddie licked his hands clean as I cleaned his face.

“THANK YOU NI!” he yelled and jumped on Niall, embracing him. Niall kissed his cheek and patted him on the back, before placing him back into his chair.

“Well, you ruined the cake for us.”

Eddie didn’t seem to care as he drank his juice and played with the presents from Disneyland.

“Best birthday EVER! I’m five!” he told me and showed me three fingers as we exited the restaurant.

He took my hand and Niall’s pinky, and we walked down the boulevard like that. It’s nice.

“Can we come again soon? Please?” Eddie asked looking up at Niall, nodded.

“For your next birthday, if you’re good.”

“Can you lift me up on your shoulders?”

“Yeah.”

Niall crouched down and I lifted Eddie up to place him on Niall’s shoulders.

“But if you pull my hair I swear to god.”

Eddie pulled at his hair a few minutes later but Niall chose to ignore it because it was his birthday.

We walked down a wide street with lots of expensive shops and I stopped in front of a Tiffany & Co. store to admire some necklaces.

“That has my initial on it!” I said pointing to the silver necklace with a small ‘r’ on it.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s an ‘n’,” Niall said and Eddie pressed his nose against the glass.

“It’s cute.”

“And five hundred dollars.”

“Shit.”

So that was pretty much forgotten.

“You’re the best brother in the world. Ever.” Eddie said that night as Niall got into bed next to him. The light is still on and Eddie didn’t look like he wanted to go to sleep.

“Thanks, little bro.”

“And you’re the best Rey ever,” he told me.

“Thanks.”

“Can you sing Niall?”

“Hm?”

“Sing that song you like. With the girl and the lights.”

“Hey There Delilah,” I said smiling and turn on my side.

Niall rolled his eyes and Eddie shuffled on his tummy to lay more comfortable.

“Mhm, okay.” Niall agreed and Eddie closed his eyes, smiling.

And Niall started singing, which was, wow.

I couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot and I was actually glad that Niall was staring at the ceiling, so he couldn’t see my expression.

“Again!” Eddie said and Niall shook his head.

“You need to sleep now.”

Eddie made a sad face but obeyed by turning on his back and pulling his Mickey Mouse toy by his chest.

“Goodnight Ni,” he said and closed his eyes.

“Night,” Niall muttered and made eye contact with me before he shut off the light and we were surrounded by darkness.

We slept in until 1 pm the next day, and I was actually the first one to wake up. As I got out of bed, I looked over at Niall and Eddie, who was once again cuddled up to his older brother.

The longer I stared, the more I notice extreme similarities. The way they both had a hand next to their head when they slept, the neck freckles that could only be seen if you stared close and long enough. And the same hair color.

I got a sudden uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Both Anne and Niall’s dad have naturally blonde hair, so what are the odds of Eddie being brown-haired?

“Holy fuck.” I said and Niall stirred awake, which caused Eddie to rub his eyes and roll over on my side.

“It’s not creepy at all that you’ve been staring at us as we slept,” Niall said and got out of bed, stretching.

“Um. Yeah.” was all I could say as I got my bag and rushed to the bathroom. Eddie couldn’t be Niall’s son. That was impossible. Wait a minute. Niall said that Ann left in the summer before he turned 16 and went to America. And that she was having an affair with Niall’s dad. Now Niall’s 21 and Eddie’s 5.

“Hey, Niall? Remember when you said that Ann left right before you turned 16?” I asked once we’re on our way to the security gates, a few hours later.

He nodded, confused, putting Eddie down.

“When was exactly the last time you had actually seen her?”

“Uh…like, in March or so? We had sex and then I never saw her again, and she sent me a text in July saying that she’s going to America for business.”

“Aha.”

“Why?”

“Nothing, just wondering.”

He looked at me weirdly but dropped the subject because we had a plane to board.

***

“I think Niall’s Eddie’s dad,” I told Amy one day later, when we were out for presents shopping, with Maddie and Katherine.

“What?” she asked and turned around to stare at me.

I made sure that no one else could hear us and pretended to look at a pair of shoes as I talked to her.

“I did the math, and the last time Niall saw was in March when they had sex. Then she leaves a few months later and gives birth to Eddie in December, which is nine months later after she had sex with him. And Ann has naturally blonde hair and so does Niall’s dad. Eddie has brown hair.”

“Maybe it’s a coincidence,” Amy said and I shot her a look.

“I’ve looked it up, and chances are slim for the baby to have another hair color than the parents.

“Then tell Niall to make a DNA test.”

“I don’t think he’ll like that idea very much,” I said.

“Do you think he’ll like these sunglasses though?” Amy asked, trying to change the subject.

I shrugged and she added them to her cart, crossing Niall off the list. I’d been informed (that morning, mind you) that each Christmas some of the frat boys and some of the sorority girls exchange gifts. As well as a couple of other people like James, Ricky, Ryan, Amy, Ashleigh, and Maddie. Katherine told me about it (since it was her idea three years ago) and I agreed.

And I was stupid because I was about to spend my last seven hundred dollars on gifts.

I wanted to buy something for Amy, Katherine, Maddie, Ricky, James, Zayn, Josh, Jake, Niall, Eddie, and even Justin.

The girls chose their own presents, and for the boys, I bought different video games (I knew exactly who wanted what), except for Eddie. I got him one of those remote control helicopters.

“We done then?” I asked them as we exited the video game store.

“I think you should make Niall another present,” Katherine said, pointing to the lingerie store. “I know I’m giving Ricky something extra.”

I shook my head because I have literally 25 cents left.

Katherine ended up buying some sexy lingerie and God knows what else before Amy called a cab and we could finally head home. There were a couple of hours left until the Christmas party.

Which meant that the other girls would spend hours in front of the mirror and I would take a nap for a bit.

When Amy woke me up I took a shower and put my makeup on before I got dressed.

“You’re going to freeze to death,” Amy told me as we walked towards the frat house.

“Every girl is going to wear a skirt and dress anyway, so I’m way better.”

She shrugged as I tried to balance all the presents in my arms. It’s lightly snowing like it had been for the past week, but there’s no real, stable snow.

We got to the house and I knocked on the door with my foot because neither of us had available hands.

Justin opened the door with a dimpled smile and a Santa hat on top of his blonde curls.

“Hi.” he smiled and helped me with the presents.

We walked together to the kitchen, and I smiled at the smell of gingerbread in the air.

“Who stole gingerbread?” I asked as I arrived in the kitchen, greeting people left and right.

“Ha ha,” Josh said sarcastically from the stove as he pulled out a tray full of freshly-baked gingerbread men.

“What is this?” I smiled, pointing to his apron.

“I bake.” said a deep voice behind me and I turned around.

Chris was smiling at me, wearing big kitchen gloves and a matching apron with Josh.

“Hi!” I said excitedly and he waved, enveloping me in a hug.

“You’re staying here for the holidays?” I asked.

He nodded and I saw Louis emerge from the living room in a sweater that I saw was too big for him, so it must’ve been Chris’s.

“Hello, hi! Rey!” Louis said and hugged me too. “You look amazing!”

“Thanks.”

“So how long are you staying?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“We’re thinking of moving here next year, actually. Found a great flat near Times Square where I can go to work and Chris can intern.” Louis said, leaning into Chris, and I wanted to puke because they were too adorable.

“But, to answer your question, we’re staying here until the 2nd. At a hotel nearby.”

“Cool,” I said and someone called Louis’ name, which had him running off.

“He’s a manchild,” Chris told me and I smiled.

I eventually walked into the living room to see everyone I knew spread out on the couch, armchairs, and floor. Every frat boy had a Santa hat, well, except for a certain lilac haired boy, who was wearing reindeer ears, probably to show off his hair color.

Niall was turned away from me, talking to Soph in the corner. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and her flirtatious pose; my chest was pushed out in a small dress and knee-high boots.

Justin had placed my presents under the tree already, which was upside down, hanging from the ceiling for some unknown reason.

There was no room left on the couch, so I attempted to sit down on the floor and watch the Christmas movie everyone seemed to be watching, but I felt to hands grip into my hips and pull me on a lap.

I turned my head to see Jake smirking at me.

“Don’t worry, I won’t get an awkward boner if you sit in my lap,” he assures me and I can hear a couple of people laughing.

I got up from his lap and crossed my arms over my chest, debating who I should sit on.

“Can I sit in your lap?” I asked James after I make sure Zayn was nowhere in sight.

Where is Zayn actually?

I aw Niall turn around as I spoke to James, looking through the room until his eyes landed on me.

I turned my attention back to James, who smiled and turned me around by my hips, pulling me on his lap, and then placing his chin on my shoulder.

I leaned back into his chest, staring at the TV screen, not really getting what was going on in the movie.

“This is a boring movie,” I mumbled and James laughed, before he pressed a kiss to my cheek, and then my neck.

“Let’s open presents before the food gets cold!” Katherine yelled appearing in the living room, followed by Ricky and Zayn. I could see Zayn looking at me like he wants to kill me.

I got off James’s lap and everyone started pushing each other around, searching for gifts that have their name on them. No one knew who they’re from, but they had a pretty good idea.

I got nine presents: a Nirvana sweater from Zayn, a Batman sweater from James, a new cheerleader uniform from Maddie, a perfume and heels from Katherine, the new Ed Sheeran album and a ‘Eat a lot, sleep a lot’ sweater from Amy, a sweater that says ‘I Have Issues’ from Josh, the entire collection of Jake Kennedy’s porn movies from Jake himself, a new pair of Vans from Justin and a pair of sneaker wedges (probably picked out by Katherine) from Ricky.

My eyes trailed over to the rest of the people in the room, still busy opening presents.

I noticed another present in my pile, in a bag.

I couldn’t help but smile and roll my eyes when I pull out an ‘I <3 Niall’ sweater. I noticed all the girls got one too, so it was nothing special, really.

I hear some wolf-whistling and catcalling so I look up to see Niall pulling off his tank top and pulling on a sweatshirt with an ‘N’ on it. Judging by Soph’s expression, it was from her.

She was wearing the ‘I <3 Niall’ sweater and I had to bite my lip in order to not laugh.

Everyone eventually started talking about the presents and I started going through the Ed Sheeran small booklet that came with the album when I saw Niall coming towards me and sitting down.

“Did you like the present?” he asked, smiling.

“Yeah. Very original. I always wanted a shirt that expresses my love for you.”

He frowned for a second, but then smirked, handing me the bag.

“Check it twice babe.”

I looked at him confused and then spotter a smaller box in it.

“It’s not an engagement ring, is it?” I joked and he snorted.

“As if.”

I opened it and my eyes go wide. It’s the r/n necklace from the Tiffany & Co. store.

“Holy shit! It’s the-the necklace from-but it’s-it’s really expensive! Niall! You can’t!” I said and he took it from the box.

“Just say thank you and give me a kiss,” he said and I smiled.

“Thanks.”

I kissed him on the cheek he was patting with his index before I asked Justin to put it on for me.

“As you can see, all the girls have to wear my sweater today,” Niall informed me a few minutes later when everyone had sorted their presents in piles and gathered in the kitchen for food.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” I said as Josh handed me a plate filled with fries and chicken wings, probably from KFC.

“That’s Christmas dinner a la Theta Delta Chi,” he told me and I laughed.

“So why won’t you wear my sweater? Every other girl is. Even Jake, and that says something.”

“Because I’m not desperately trying to get into your pants, Niall.”

He stared at me before he smirked.

“Hey, I’m not trying to get into his pants either!” Jake said, appearing next to me with his plate half empty.

“Don’t lie to yourself.” Niall and I said at once, which caused all of us to laugh.

“Is this a dare?” Jake asked, eyebrows wriggling in a daring way.

“No?” I said.

“It’s not like you wouldn’t enjoy it if I made out with Niall.”

“I’m not-ugh! You’re the worst, I swear.”

Jake laughs, throwing his arm around my shoulder.

“Maybe later, when we play spin the bottle.” He said, winking.

“What?”

“It’s a tradition. After we drink a whole bottle of expensive wine all of us sit in a circle and spin the bottle, until people start passing out or get bored.” Niall explained.

“That’s what I call Christmas spirit,” I said sarcastically.

“Hey Ni, we’re still on for tomorrow, yeah?” Katherine asked, appearing next to Jake and me.

“What’s tomorrow?”

“Christmas dinner at his dad’s house. We always go.”

“Oh.”

“You can come too,” Niall told me.

“Um, well if you’re only inviting me now, it’s like-” I started.

“I forgot to ask you a few days ago.”

“Oh. Well, I also have a present for Eddie so. Okay. I guess.”

“Also, dress fancy because Ann is really bitchy when it comes to formal attire.”

“Yeah. I think I’m going to wear your heels.” I told her and she lit up before she turned away and left.

We ended up in a large circle in the game room a few minutes later, TV playing dimly in the background.

“I feel like we’re 14,” Jake said, sitting down next to me.

“Well, you’re pretty close to that age,” Josh told me and laughed when I showed him my middle finger.

It kind of annoyed me when he made fun of me. I mean, it was fun at first but now I got the feeling like he actually meant it.

The first one to spin was of course Niall, and it landed on a sorority girl who couldn’t have been more excited.

The rules were simple: if you don’t want to kiss someone, you’re out; if you have a problem with kissing someone of the same gender you’re out; and you have to kiss for 15 seconds.

They snogged for fifteen seconds before he pulled away and she looked disappointed because it was over.

It was her turn to spin the bottle and it landed on Justin. After they kissed, Justin spun it and I was surprised to see it land on me.

He shot me a dimple and I smiled back before we both got up and met in the middle of the circle. He cupped my face and I stood up on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his. He tasted sweet and smelled amazing, not to mention he was a great kisser.

We pulled away after fifteen seconds and I could see Amy wriggling her eyebrows at me in a suggestive way.

I sat back down and spin the bottle, which landed on Josh. He sighed, pretending to be extremely devastated by this, and leaned over to me since we were sitting next to each other anyway.

Our lips touched and we made out for fifteen seconds until I pulled away. He was a good kisser, I had to admit that, but I was pretty sure that all the people there were good kissers.

“You’re better than I thought,” Josh told me as he spun the bottle.

About an hour later I had snogged Jake and the girl that made out with Niall first. It was James’s turn to spin (he previously made out with Soph) and it landed on me.

I stood up and he was kind enough to come over to me, before placing his hands on my waist and kissing me softly. He tasted like gingerbread and smells like vanilla, which was. Just. When we part-ed, someone announced that it’s already eight and some of them have to catch the bus/train/whatever to get to their actual homes so they could spend the next morning with their families.

The last people left were our group; Niall, Soph, Katherine, Ryan, Ricky, Zayn, James, Jake, Chris, Louis, Amy, Justin, and I.

“So what are we doing New Year’s?” Soph asked once we were all back in the living room, watching A Christmas Carol (apparently it was Chris’s favorite Christmas movie).

Soph was cuddling up to Niall and giggling to literally everything that came out of his mouth, and as much as I wanted not to like her, I couldn’t. Soph was funny and nice and hell, even I would’ve dated her because she was attractive and outspoken.

“We said we were going to see the ball drop!” Katherine said and Niall agreed.

“And then we can party at our suite! It’s right next to Times Square!” Louis suggested, looking up at Chris, obviously excited.

Chris nodded, smiling, and wrapping an arm around Louis’s narrow shoulders.

“It’s settled then! We’re going to Times Square!”

And the attention drifted from the movie to the conversation about the New Year.

“Are you coming?” I asked Jake and he shrugged, nodding.

“Do you have anyone to kiss at midnight?” I continued and he shook his head, smirking.

“Do you want to kiss me at midnight?” he asked, voice dripping with amusement.

“Well, I mean, if you want to. As friends? I won’t kiss anyone anyway so it might be fun.”

“Alright babe.” he agreed and poked me in the ribs. “But you have to promise me that you’ll watch all the movies I gave you.”

“Okay, discussion over,” I said and he laughed, pulling my legs over his lap. I ended up kicking him in the face when he attempted to tickle my sides.

***

The next day my ringing phone woke me up from my well-deserved nap. It was Katherine.

I groaned and answered, checking the time. It was half-past seven and I started to panic because I knew that Niall would be here to pick me up in less than thirty minutes.

“Yeah?” I answered as I brushed my teeth and combed my hair at the same time.

“You’ve just woken up, haven’t you?” Katherine asked and I snorted as I spat out in the sink and put down the brush.

I set the phone on the sink and put it on speaker so I could put makeup on and shave my arms.

“Uh, no! I’m almost ready, fuck!” I yelled as I tripped over and accidentally scratch my razor against my skin.

Blood oozed out of my wrist and I started panicking because it looked like I had cut myself.

I quickly wrap a bit of toiler paper around it and start putting makeup on as Katherine rambles on and on about what she should wear. I just agreed with everything she said and twenty minutes later I was putting the heels I got from her on.

“We’re on our way right now!” was the last thing Katherine told me before she hung up.

I sighed as I put on my earrings and then my parka before I grabbed the keys and exited the dorm. I still had no idea what to do about the fact that I was going to get kicked out of the dorm. The car was already waiting outside, and I greeted them as I climbed in the back next to Katherine.

All three of them were dressed formally and even Niall had a blazer on, his lilac hair in a soft fringe swung over his forehead.

The house was big, it’s a mansion actually, and I was not at all surprised to see that almost everything was made out of marble.

We were greeted by Niall’s dad in the hallway, followed by Ann, who was holding Eddie in her arms. He looked so cute in a tiny suit.

“Rey!” he exclaimed as I took off my jacket and a maid came to hang it up for me.

“Santa came this morning!” Eddie told me and Ann placed him down so he could come over to me and pull at my dress.

“Come on, I want to show you my presents! You too!” he told Katherine, and we both followed him to the (of course) elevator, which took us to the second floor.

We were told that food is being served soon, so we should hurry.

He showed us all his presents and told me that he liked the helicopter the most. I smiled and pecked his cheek, but he wiped it and made a disgusted noise.

“You can only kiss Niall!” he told me and Katherine raised her eyebrows, from her place on the armchair.

This room was pretty big for a four-year-old; four times the size of my dorm, with a big crib and thousands of toys.

“Ni bought me all these toys,” he said and went to jump in a pool filled with colored balls.

“He loves playing with balls,” said a voice from the doorway and we saw Niall leaning against the doorframe with Ricky laughing behind him.

“Dinner is ready,” he continued and Katherine stood up.

“Get Eddie and come down,” Niall tells me and they disappear.

I sighed and walked over to the pool to get Eddie out of it.

“C’mon Eddie, dinner is ready,” I said to him and he lifted his arms up, a sign to take him into my arms.

I did so, and as we walked towards the elevator, he gripped my bracelet.

“It’s pretty,” he said and takes it off to look at it.

“You have booboo’s!”

“What?”

“Just like Niall! In the same place!”

I stopped and took the bracelet away from him.

“They’re not-my booboos are an accident because I was clumsy.”

“Oh.”

I put my bracelet back on and pressed the ground floor button. It was ridiculous; an elevator in a house.

I sat next to Katherine, across from Ricky, Niall, and Eddie.

“So Renee, I haven’t seen you since…two years, is it?” Niall’s dad asked, and the attention at the table shifted to me a few minutes into the meal.

I can see Niall feeding Eddie more food than he’s allowed (that’s such a stupid thing to do, not feeding your child properly) when Ann is not looking.

“Um, yeah. I think.”

“You were Niall’s girlfriend back then if I’m not mistaken?”

“Uh.”

Ann looks at me weirdly, before bitterly smiling and digging her fork into her salad.

Katherine changed the subject to something more comfortable, and I exhaled, finishing up my plate. Everyone was taking part in the discussion except Niall, Eddie, and me.

“Rey has booboo’s just like you on her hand,” Eddie told Niall and I panicked, looking around to see if anyone else heard it, but they were too occupied to notice.

“What?” Niall asked confused.

Eddie pointed to his wrist and Niall turned to me, but he was interrupted by Ann, who told Eddie to go wash his hands if he was done with eating.

“I’m going out for a smoke,” Niall said before he looked at me questioningly. And then I remembered that I told him that I smoked too, so I better play along.

“Yeah, me too.”

I got up and follow him outside after I put on my parka.

He leaned against the wall outside the door of the back garden and handed me a cigarette. It was silent and I felt a bit uncomfortable.

Our shadows looked long in the porch light. After we lit up our cigarettes, he let out the first smoke and turns to me.

“Show me your wrists.”

“Hm?” I asked, confused.

“Put the fucking cigarette out and show me your wrists.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and he sighed, exasperated. He took the cigarette out of my hand and stepped over both of our fags, before he pulled my arms out and pushed the sleeves up to my elbows in a rough manner.

He took off my bracelet and stared at the rough lines on the skin. He didn’t say anything, and I wondered if he could actually tell that they had been just an accident.

He ran his thumb over them, biting his lip. It was absolutely mind-blowing, seeing him like that. He didn’t even know they’re fake, but he cared so much and I thought that maybe, just maybe, he realized how much it hurt when someone you care about is hurting themselves on purpose.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” I asked after a heavy silence.

 He frowned, letting go of my wrist.

“Why?” he asked.

“Um. It was just an a-“

“You’re too beautiful to cut your skin,” he said in a soft voice, and I was taken by surprise because it sounded so genuine and it was so different from all the other times that he talked to me.

His fingers tucked my hair behind my ears as he spoke, and his hands were cold.

“You’re too beautiful for lung cancer,” I replied, immediately proud of myself.

He stared at me for a second.

And then he pushed me against the wall and kissed me.