As Lovely As You (George Shelley Fanfic)

Chapter 1 - Hello London

"Where is my aunt?" I asked myself.

After a 10 hour flight from São Paulo to London I was finally stepping on British soil for the first time. I was thrilled and excited before but now I was hungry and tired. I had been standing outside terminal 2 for over an hour but it was clear that my aunt had forgotten to pick me up. The start of my journey wasn't a good one, so I tried to remind myself of when I first got the news of my trip.

"You are going to London Laura!" my mom beamed.

"What?" It was an obvious response. My vacations had just started 3 days ago and I wasn't expecting any kind of traveling.

"You know how your aunt Amelia moved to England a couple of months ago and now that her business is settled, we were talking and thought it was a great idea for you to go there and visit her"

"For how long?" I asked.

"The whole summer" mom replied. 

I was spending 3 months in England. A place I had never been and that I only knew from movies and TV shows, I was keen to get a taste of the real thing. I packed all my bags and left Brazil the next night. On the plane I couldn't sleep, I was pumping with excitement. Now I just had to wait for my aunt. I had called her numerous times and left dozens of messages but still no response.

The night was cold and I didn't know if it was the weather or the feeling of foreign land leaving tingles down my spine. It was all new and bright and I wished that I had brought another sweater with me. I completely underestimated the temperatures in the UK. That's what I get for living my whole life in a country where it's practically 9 months of summer every year and it absolutely never snows. 

Between my thoughts on how much snow was needed in South America my phone finally ringed:

From: Aunt Amelia

I am so sorry!! I put my phone on silent and totally forgot about it cause work was being chaotic today and I ended up forgetting to pick you up! SO SORRY!!

Take a cab and when you arrive I'll pay. I am really sorry I couldn't be there but I promise you I'll make it up with great dinner! So sorry again! xx

I sighed, my aunt was really busy with her new shop and I should have known that was bound to happen. I put my phone in my pocket and looked around for the cabs.

"First time in London?" the driver, who introduced himself as Marcus, asked me.

"Yeah" 

"You'll love it, tourists always do" he smiled turning the radio on. 

While Ed Sheeran was playing I looked out the window. The night was cold but the stars were bright, the city shined and my heart was pounding.

  "London" I thought "Miles and miles away from home" I smiled.

Even though I was missing my family, being in London was a dream come true, no amount of waiting, hunger or tiredness could tone down my happiness.

-

"Thank you Marcus!" I said closing the cab's door.

 "You are welcome Laura, if you need a ride just call me" he said handing me his card. 

"I will." I waved him goodbye and the cab left.

"Hey, it seems like you already made a friend!" my aunt smiled.

 "Was quite surprised to be honest, I heard that cab drivers in England are not that friendly" I replied.

"You got lucky, they barely speak to you in here. Funny how in Brazil is so different" Amelia said.

"Yeah, like the greeting thing as well" I agreed "It will be so weird if I have to shake someones hand instead of kissing their cheek"

"True, but it's more like cheek action than kiss action anyways" my aunt shrugs "Well, enough talking, let's get you and your bags upstairs!"

As we stepped on the elevator my aunt couldn't stop apologizing. I told her it was okay but  between her non-stop talking about the wonderful places we would visit, a couple of "I am so sorry Laura!" would always slip through.

When we arrived on the 3rd floor she opened the door and a very simple but still well decorated flat was in front of me. I entered in and immediately smiled at the loads of pictures of my family on the walls along with a journal article.

"You're on the newspaper?" I asked.

"It came out today! I had to frame it!" she clapped her hands  in excitement. 

Amelia's Carter innovating coffee shop was the article's title. A mixture of different flavors and treats from all around the world made her business a hit in London.

"I am so happy for you!" I hugged her.

"Thank you sweetie! I'll make some cupcakes for you later!" she promised.

 "My stomach would like that" I laughed. 

As Amelia was telling me more about the newspaper's article we dragged the bags in. When I got inside my room I jumped on the bed, I was so tired, I felt like I never wanted to leave the comfort of it.

A knock on the door interrupted my plans of a quick nap as Amelia came in.

"My room is that one on the left, we share the bathroom and I've gotta tell you I'm not really an organized person so don't be scared when you walk in!" she said as if it was a joke but I knew better, my aunt was famous for being the slob in the family.

"Well if you saw mine you'd be scared too" I admitted.

"I thought you would say that so let's try to team up and maintain the bathroom clean from now on!" 

"I'll do my best" I told her.

"Great, moving on, what would you like to eat?" 

 "I don't know Amelia, I'm really tired right now, I need sleep first"

"Laura refusing food? Oh my god that's something you don't see every day!" she laughed because she knew that I was known for being the one who's always hungry in the family "There's leftover pizza in the fridge in any case" 

"Thank you, I really appreciate it but sleep is like my number one priority right now"

"You're right, you must be exhausted. So goodnight then, see you tomorrow!" she said and a minute after the door was closed, I was already asleep.