Chapter Two  

"What?" Louis exclaimed. "And what kind of name is Orlando anyway?"  

The old lady sitting next to him removed her sleep mask and glared. "Young man," she said. "Some of us are trying to sleep."  

Louis dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "Since when, Harry?"  

"I dunno," Harry said. "But I don't like his name any more than I like him."  

"I can't blame you." Louis scoffed. "Orlando."  

"Turn off your cell phone," the woman said. "It's the rules of the airline."  

He covered the mouthpiece with his hand, both to save Harry from being subjected to her venom and to save his phone from being showered in a spray of her saliva. Uh. Gross. "During take-off or landing. Near as I can tell we are thirty thousand feet above the Atlantic," he told her, turning his attention back to the phone. "Sorry, Harry." 

"What should I do?" 

"You have to tell her," Louis advised. "You talk about her all the time."  

"What if she says..." his voice trailed off. 

It was as though the words were too painful for him to speak. "She won't," Louis said assuredly. "Trust me."  

The woman tapped his shoulder and pointed to her sleep mask.  

Goodness! Could she be any more irritating? Louis gave a tight, forced smile. "What is the matter? Is your mask broken, dear?"  

"The mask is fine. Your talking is interrupting my sleep."  

"I'll only be a minute more," he said, angling his body away from hers. "Trust me," he continued his earlier thought. "Jessica would be right mad not to feel the same way."  

The woman audibly huffed. Weren't the elderly supposed to be sweet? Louis widened his eyes. "Have you something against a love story?" he asked her. "You're a bit nippy."  

She grunted something virtually incoherent and pulled the mask down to cover her eyes.  

"Worse part is," Harry continued, "she wants me to meet him."  

"So meet him and then tell her," Louis said.  

"You think?"  

"Yes Harry, I do think." 

The woman cleared her throat and he couldn't take the implications anymore. "Listen, Miss whatever your name is. I'm sorry if my hushed whisper is disturbing you but I can assure you I won't be much longer." 

"Good," she grumbled.  

If he could have growled, he probably would have. "Listen Harry," Louis said. "I have to go but do tell her how you feel. The worst two words to put together in life are 'what' and 'if.' Take it from someone who knows."  

Harry's voice had notes of hesitation. "Okay," he said. "Thanks Lou."  

"Anytime," Louis replied. He turned his head in the direction of the miserable woman and fought an intense urge to stick out his tongue at her. What a vile creature she was. After hanging up with Harry, he found himself nervous for his friend and angry at the woman. Truly, he could not wait to get off the plane. 

A few hours later, he wondered what on earth he'd been thinking. Bloody hell it was cold! He reminded himself it was Christmastime, a worthy cause to be so out of sorts about the weather but as he stood in line at the car rental, he folded his arms around himself and his teeth chattered relentlessly.  

He'd been insistent with his mother that following his red-eye flight, he'd simply rent a car and drive himself to the house. No need for her to wake up in the middle of the night on account of his arrival. "I'll let myself in," he'd said. Now, he wished more than anything his mum was waiting for him in a car she'd driven and warmed up on the way there. 

When he arrived at home, the house looked empty and dark but he could make out the distinct form of the Christmas tree. For as long as he could remember, the tree had been his favorite part of Christmas. He had fond memories as a child, of sprawling out underneath it, smelling the pine needles and looking up at a makeshift sky, filled with twinkling, magical lights.  

He entered quietly and set his bags down and drawn by the pull of days gone by, he plugged the lights to the tree in. A soft, faint glow illuminated the lounge and Louis smiled. It was so good to be home.  

He grabbed the throw from the edge of the couch and stretched out, bringing the blanket to his chin. He was knackered from travel and needed to rest...for a minute.  

                                                                                             *** 

A solid weight settled on his stomach and the minute his eyes opened, they focused on a set of small blue ones peering back at him behind a blonde, jagged, fringe. "Whereth Niall?" Daisy, his little sister, asked.  

Daisy had once advised everyone she was going to marry Niall, so it was understandable that she might question where he was.  

Louis smiled at her, and brought his hands up to inspect her mouth, which was missing something. "Niall is off to the North Pole to tell Santa all you want for Christmas is your two front teeth."  

She moved around on his chest, effectively knocking the wind from him. "I don't believe you. You think you're funny Louis, but you're not," she stated, unimpressed with his joke about the gap in her mouth.  

Louis picked her up and rolled to the side, setting her on her feet. "You think you're a lightweight," he said. "But you're not so that makes us even. Where's Phoebe?" 

Daisy shrugged. "Do I look like Phoebe?"  

He laughed. "A trick question? I do think you and Phoebe have a striking resemblance to one another, yes," he said of Daisy's twin.  

Little blue orbs bore into him and sliced like lasers. She was cute when she was mad. "I told you, you aren't funny." She wagged her finger. "And ith I get teeth for Christmath, you're in so much trouble Louis William Tomlinthon."  

Louis stood and put his arm around his sister. "I've missed you, Daisy."  

Before Daisy could respond, Charlotte sauntered into the kitchen. Her eyes were lidded and heavy with sleep. She turned on the stove, setting the kettle to boil and turned to him. "I had a nightmare and I wake up and there you are," she teased, "and then my nightmare became shockingly realistic."  

She giggled and turned to the cupboard to retrieve a tea bag and Louis began to settle in. He could be gone for months on end and after just a few brief moments with his sisters, it felt like life had never changed much in the first place. With Daisy demanding answers and Charlotte's teasing, there was nowhere in the world he would have rather been. He looked at Daisy. "Did you hear that, Daisy?" Walking over to Charlotte, he wrapped her up in the tightest hug he could manage. "Lottie said she missed me!" Louis proclaimed. "Same way you're missing your teeth."  

Charlotte tried to pull away but he held on tighter. Whether she liked it or not, he would always be older, bigger and stronger. She cringed. "Ew, Lou. Let me go!"  

Louis widened his eyes. "Daisy, did you hear that? Lottie wants me to hug her tighter."  

Daisy giggled.  

"I did not say that," Charlotte protested.  

But her objections fell on deaf ears and Louis squeezed her hard, maneuvering her into a headlock. A high pitched laugh escaped from her mouth and she wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to take him down at the knees with her legs.  

"Ha!" Louis yelled. "You'll never take me alive!"  

"Mum!" Charlotte yelled. "Felicite help!"  

Phoebe came from nowhere and wrapped her arms around his knees, trying to assist Charlotte in mission impossible. "I got him!" she declared.  

"Do not!" Daisy said, jumping up and down. "Go Louis!"  

"Hey," Lottie said, "that's hardly fair."  

Louis pointed at Phoebe and said to Daisy. "I found your teeth! Phoebe stole them."  

"Mum! Fizzy!" 

"Scream all you want! They can't hear you," he yelled at the top of his lungs and made his best evil voice. "No one can hear you."  

"I can hear you," his mother's voice cut in. "Loud and clear, Louis." His mum entered the kitchen with Felicite right behind her.  

"Mum! Fizzy!"  

"Let your sister go, Louis."  

His mother looked tired. Perhaps he should have waited until the household was up and in full swing before his attack on Lottie but he could hardly help himself. He dropped his hands, freeing his sister. "Sorry, Mum."  

Lottie stood taller. "Mum? How about sorry Lottie?"  

"Never." Louis mouthed, grinning.  

His mother cleared her throat. "We need to talk about your schedule, Louis."  

He didn't want to talk about his schedule. He didn't want to have one, let alone discuss it. Way to rain on his parade. He sat and the chair and zoned out on Charlotte who prepared tea while Phoebe climbed on him.  

"Yeah?" he said.  

"You've got something every night that you're here except Christmas, which is of course, Christmas."  

Louis rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he said. "I know. Can't I have a holiday?"  

"Be humble," she warned. "Always be grateful for your blessings."  

"I am," he assured her. "I am. It's just I kind of wanted to spend time with you guys."  

"And you will," his mum said. "Lottie is going with you to a couple of the parties, starting with your Birthday Bash."  

He looked at his sister for confirmation and she nodded. "I'm going," she told him. "But Iris has agreed to be your date."  

"Yeah," Louis said. "About that, I'm not really a fan of the whole affair. It's a little too black tie for me. I reckon we should skip the entire event and let Iris off the hook."  

"You're the guest of honor, Louis. It's your birthday," Felicite said. 

"Minor details."  

Phoebe, who up until then had been using him as a climbing wall stopped. "There's posters all over the place." She jumped to the ground and took off, her feet padding down the hallway. Moments later she returned with a small sized piece of paper that had remnants of tape along the corners from wherever she'd removed it. "See," she said.  

He took the paper to examine it. His likeness took up the majority of the space and the words "LOUIS TOMLINSON'S 21ST BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA" were emblazoned across the bottom. In smaller print underneath was a warning that the event was invite only.  

He set the paper down. "Since when did my birthday become an event?"  

"Not sure," Charlotte said, "but it is, hence Iris' most generous offer to be your date. It would be silly if you arrived with me."  

Quite frankly, Louis saw nothing wrong with going to a party with his sister. "Iris. As in the girl who used to play football with us? Isn't she-" he waved his hand in front of his face. "Doesn't she sound congested all the time?"  

"Her voice is fine now," Charlotte said. "I'm sorry, but it was the best I could do on such short notice."  

"Short notice?" Louis asked. "You've known I've been coming for at least a fortnight."  

Lottie looked at him apologetically and shrugged. "Sorry brother," she said. "I've been a busy girl."  

He took all of his sisters to the shops that afternoon. Even though Christmas was just a few days away he enjoyed spoiling them because he was in a position to. The entire time, everyone was subjected to listening to Daisy inquire about Niall's whereabouts. 

Louis promised her they'd video call Niall when they got back to the house, which is what finally got her to stop the interrogation. What was it with girls and that Irishman? Worse, his sister. He thanked the powers that be that it wasn't Lottie or Fizzy who had a thing for Niall. Louis might be forced to intervene if that was the case.  

The weather was terrible. After their meal and much debate, it was decided that Lottie would leave first, getting a ride from their mother and Louis and Iris would follow. Lottie was right, Iris' voice had evened out and she seemed to be a lovely-albeit nervous-girl.  

The rain came down in sheets and as they rushed to his car, Louis was sure to try and keep the umbrella close to Iris. "Thanks for accompanying me," he said. "I realize going to a stuffy party is probably not how you wanted to spend your night."  

"It's okay," Iris said ducking into the car. "To be honest, I lost a bet with your sister."  

Well, that was fantastic, wasn't it? Louis tried not to laugh as he got into the driver's side. "You lost a bet? You're accompanying me because you lost a bet. That's just brilliant."  

Iris folded her hands in her lap. "That probably sounds dreadful," she admitted. "I didn't mean it that way. I just mean...you're a fit guy, yeah? But the thing is, I can't help but think of you like an older brother. You were always so careful to watch out for us when we were kids and always doting over Lottie and Fizzy and me. Being your date is a little strange."  

He couldn't possibly agree more. "Let's not consider it a date then," he suggested. "If you walk in with me, you're off the hook as my date."  

"Really?"  

Louis nodded and she exhaled. He imagined it was much like a deflated balloon, all of the tension easing out in one swoop. "Oh Louis are you sure you don't mind?"  

"I don't mind at all."  

It was a good thing he didn't mind. It took Iris approximately thirteen minutes to ditch him. Truth was, he really didn't mind. With all due respect to Iris, he didn't want to be there and he most definitely didn't want to be forcing a conversation with someone from his past just to be polite.  

After taking countless photos with people who he'd never seen in his life, he stood near one of the tables adorned with blue ribbon and cotton for mock snow. It was also adorned with food. He scooped some prawns on a plate and for the first time in a long while, took the opportunity to fade into the background and people watch.  

A tacky disco ball hung and rotated over a dance floor that held the most interesting array of people. A Gothic looking couple. An elderly couple. A very tall boy and super short girl couple. Louis ate and absentmindedly observed them and that's when he saw her in the middle of them all. A Christmas angel...  

He was about to chat her up, when his phone vibrated in his pocket. "Hello?"  

A very angry sounding Daisy was on the other end of the line. "Ith there something you forgot?" she queried. 

"Hmm," Louis said. "I don't think so."  

"Niall!" She exclaimed. "You said we could call him and you forgot and then you left."  

"You're right, Daisy," he said. "I did. I reckon if you wait by the phone, I'll get Niall to call you himself, alright?"  

She sighed. "Fine."  

"Alright," he said. "But you have to hang up with me so he can get through."  

"Bye," her tiny voice said.  

Louis laughed and fired off a text to Niall.  

Can you video call D? She's been waiting all day to hear from u. I forgot. Thx.