IN HER SHADOW (Oli Sykes Fan Fiction) COMPLETE

20. In The Darkness.

After seven months of silence from my sister and my only insight into her life being through her Instagram posts, Hannah reached out ready to have a civilised conversation with me. She had since found a new love and seemed happier than she had ever been, she'd even toned down the social media stuff so she seemed to be in a good place. It was strange to speak to her after so long and she danced around the topic of Oli and I for a while, but she did eventually ask about it. I was much more confident than I was when we last had contact, so I wasn't going to dilute my life for her or sugar coat anything to 'spare' her feelings. Oli had helped me believe that I didn't need to live that way anymore, that I wasn't 'second best' to her or anyone. I told Hannah that I loved Oli, that we were happy and that I had moved in with him... that I had lived with him for over six months. I guess our mum had already told her all of that because nothing I said really  surprised her or caused her to have a dramatic reaction. She told me that she still didn't know how to feel about it, but that if I was truly happy, that she was happy for me and that hopefully one day we could 'be close' again. I guess she would never approve of Oli and I's relationship, but at least she had tried to accept it. I wasn't sure when she had considered us 'close' though to be honest. She'd never really given a shit about me.

Oli had been away on tour a few times since I'd moved in, but I'd never gone with him, instead opting to stay home and take care of Luna and the customers at Subway, lol. He'd never been away for more than two weeks at a time anyway, but his next trip was for four weeks, heading to the USA. It fell on our nine-month anniversary and this time, he wanted me to go with him. I hadn't been to America before so I was excited to go and once I had the green light from work, he booked my tickets. Travelling was exciting for me and even though the tour was hectic, I enjoyed the adventure – especially with Oli by my side. He played tour guide and entertained my touristy ways, taking me to monuments and museums that I wanted to see in our free time. I loved the trip and it wasn't even awkward being around Matt because that version of me felt like a long, lost memory. I was so much different now that I was with Oli.

When the tour wrapped up, Oli surprised me with a little side trip to Las Vegas since the tour hadn't ventured there. We were staying for four days without the rest of the band before we flew back home. Honestly, I was excited to actually get Oli alone to myself for a few days. He had booked us the most gorgeous room overlooking the famous strip and on our first night in town, he took me on a helicopter tour. It was insane to see Las Vegas from above, amazing and breath taking being in a helicopter and when we landed on top of our hotel, Oli got down on one knee and proposed to me. I was completely blind-sided because I had absolutely no idea it was coming and honestly, I was surprised he would even want to get married again, but despite the shock of it, the disapproval people would have and the crazy realisation that he'd asked my sister the same question once, I said yes. Oli was the perfect person for me, the only person in the world I would ever want and I had absolutely no doubt about wanting to be with him forever. We got married the following night at the chapel in our hotel with casino staff as our witnesses, and we didn't tell a single person about it.

I didn't really expect anyone to be happy for me, but I told my mum and sister once Oli and I were back in the UK, as well as some friends. I didn't get yelled at, but nobody really seemed excited by my news, my mum didn't even bother to congratulate me. I think everyone was pretty shocked that I'd done it, but it still hurt that nobody was happy for me when I had never been happier, ever. I guess they probably thought Oli was just rebounding or that I was just in a phase or something... I guess they never believed we would last or understood how deeply in love we were, that or they didn't want to. It didn't matter though because we knew how solid we were.

After we were married, Oli and I stopped hiding and minimising our love and he openly talked about our relationship any time he was asked. We were definitely still private and didn't shove our relationship in people's faces on social media, but when Oli did talk about me, he spoke with pride and happiness. He told anyone who asked that I was the love of his life, his soul mate, the person who made him happier than he had ever been and I felt the exact same way. Of course we faced haters and criticism, but any time we ran into negativity, we reminded each other of our mantra; "You and me against the world." A reminded that we would get through it together. We actually both got the saying tattooed on the anniversary of our first date; the words perfectly laid out in a heart. It fucking hurt like hell to me, but Oli didn't even flinch as the needle repeatedly hit his skin. Such a show off. 

Some people celebrated our love, but of course a lot of people had negative opinions based on our age difference and my sister's past with Oli. I was used to being compared to her though so I just ignored the hate. My sister was always the favourite, always the better one and I would always live in her shadow, but I didn't care anymore because now I had Oli in the darkness with me and he was all I ever needed. 

THE END.