prom date | wroetoshaw

Christmas '21

sorry for the long wait!! uni has been kicking my ass, but enjoy this chapter :)

By the time I'd pulled up in my car outside the house, there was already a long row of cars neatly lined up on the gravel. I gritted my teeth - in no way was I a bad driver, but I absolutely hated parking under pressure.

Just as I was about to start reversing into the spot, I felt a tap on the window, Harry standing there giving me the fright of my life. I stopped the car, drawing down the window and looking at him.

"Make sure you don't crash into my car, Lily," he teased, grinning at his own joke like it was the funniest thing in the world.

"Maybe I'll have to ram into it now after that," I say back, quickly wishing him a merry Christmas before continuing to reverse away from him. I was well aware he was still watching me, which only made me more determined to not fuck it up.

I manage to squeeze in next to his car, leaving the right amount of room between the two cars for me to climb out. I grab my bag and straighten out my top, walking over to where Harry was standing and clapping.

"You know, you're already starting to piss me off. It's not very Christmassy of you, is it?" I ask, both of us walking towards the gigantic house, now decked out in decorations to celebrate the holiday.

"Isn't that my job as a best friend?" He asks, but then getting distracted by someone's voice coming from inside the house. I noticed a second after he did - it was Isabella.

He looked back at me, and then to her before quickly back to me to say see you later, then jogging over to the house, greeting her with a quick kiss on the lips.

I was happy for him. Obviously - the situation was far from ideal, and that was clear, but after my first therapy session, I was starting to see how I could manage through this.

I was approaching the house now, and to my relief Freya was stood right inside the door, welcoming people in. Her face lit up when she saw me, and mine did the same.

"Lily! You look great! Happy Christmas, come in - it's freezing outside!" She beckoned, pulling me towards her, and away from the front door.

"Merry Christmas!" I reiterated, putting my bag into the separate room full of everyone else's belongings. I kept my phone in my pocket, but put my jacket on a hook.

I started to walk towards the lounge, and to my surprise Freya came with me.

"I thought you were welcoming people in?" I ask, moving my arm so we could interlink.

"Only until you arrived. All the other girls are here - we're in a separate bit of the lounge for the minute, but dinner won't be long," she tells me, pulling me through the huge room. I could hear Talia's laugh before I even entered the room, and it only got louder when I actually saw everyone.

"Hey guys!" Freya announced, all of them turning to us both, and literally all of them jumped to their feet to come and give us a hug. Isabella was there too, sat just further back from everyone else.

I started to focus on her instead of the other girls hugging me, and I started to feel sorry for her, feeling the urge to include her and make her feel welcome. If she made Harry happy, then I needed to actually try and like her, despite the situation.

"Hey, hey! Isabella, come join the group hug," I called out, making brief eye contact with Freya who looked a little impressed. She knew about the messaging situation and how much it had pissed me off at the time, but I was trying to look past it.

She looked hesitant, but the other girls soon started to open up and encourage her to join, and so she did. She was familiar with Kirsty and I, and I think it played a part in her warming up a bit.