Everything About You

Chapter 75

“Oh God, I’m sorry Lauren!” Zayn apologized from afar.

I felt fingertips pry my hands from my face. Harry held my head delicately as he examined my it, pressing on what I assumed to be a bump due to the throbbing pain each time his thumb dragged across it.

“That’s not helping,” I muttered, pulling myself into a sitting position as I wiped the dirt from my jeans.

“The ball got you pretty good there. Don’t worry, the bump should go away pretty fast. Do you feel alright?”

“Peachy as could be,” I replied sarcastically.

“Yup, you’re fine,” Harry offered me his hand, yanking me onto my feet with a chuckle, “You should probably sit out for a bit though.”

“Nah, I’m good. A few bumps and bruises are no big deal.”

“Especially not when you’re Lauren and get them on a regular basis,” Louis chuckled.

Soon the ball was back in play, zipping through the air this way and that. I even caught it once (right after it bounced off of my head). A couple hours later, I was called in to help with diaper duty while Liam took a baby break.

“Okay Maxy, you are all done!” I announced to the fussy baby as he squirmed on the changing mat. “Bud, you still won’t be potty trained for another year. It is about time you got used to this…”

“Guess who?” Harry said, his fingers covering my eyes. I sighed, wondering what sparked his childish antics. Did he really think I couldn’t recognize his voice at this point?

“Hmmm… this is a hard one, but I think I’ll go with… Madonna. Definitely Madonna.”

“Almost!” A little voice squeaked.

“LILLIE!” I shouted, Harry’s hands disappearing as she sprinted towards my arms.

“LAUREN!” Her stubby arms wrapped around me to the best of their ability as she hugged me tightly.

“I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too! And boy have I got a lot to tell you!”

“I can’t wait to hear it all!”

“Dinner’s ready!” Katie’s mom called from the kitchen.

“But I think it’ll have to wait until after dinner,” I said.

“Nah, I can just cover my mouth while I talk during dinner,” Lillie explained.

I laughed, “Aren’t you talented at multitasking?”

Everyone gathered in the kitchen, piling food on their plates before dispersing to the available seating areas. The whole lot of us was able to find seating between the kitchen table, dining room, and living room. Harry, Lillie, and I sat at the dining room table with Louis, Eleanor, and Ed, all of us listening to Lillie’s babble.

“So, we decided we are on again. I just don’t know when he’ll be ready to fully commit. I’d feel better if he put a ring on my finger.”

“They have them for 25 cents in those little machines at the grocery store,” Louis interjected.

Lillie glared at him before continuing, “I have standards. I want a 5 carat diamond ring and it better be polished. Not to mention my proposal expectations. I have a ten page guide to the exact way I want this once in a lifetime… well, once in a marriage… moment to occur.”

“Do you plan on having more than one marriage?” Harry grinned.

“Eh, whatever happens happens. I mean, I just don’t know if I’ll still be physically attracted to the boy when he looks like a dried up Spongebob.”

“You might want to let your future husband in on that.”

Lillie shrugged, continuing to talk the rest of the way through dinner as she described her proposal expectations in great detail. If any man can actually get a hold of a unicorn and ride it up to a hot air balloon, he is a saint.

“Who wants dessert?” Katie’s mom asked as the final dishes were cleared from the table.

I leaned back in my seat, my shirt riding up to expose the bottom of my belly. Harry smiled, placing his hand on my thigh as I scooted close enough to rest my head on his shoulder.

“Are you full?” Harry questioned, chuckling because he already knew the answer.

“How do people do this every November?” I wondered aloud.

“Easily, we’re American. We eat, sleep, and spend the hours we are awake finding alternatives to do anything involving effort,” Katie explained matter-of-factly as she exited the kitchen with a pie in each hand.

“I am exhausted, football is a lot of work,” I yawned.

“I know, but look at the bright side! We aren’t sleeping in the tour bus tonight.” Harry pointed out.

“True. We should probably go join everyone,” I suggested as I watched everyone laughing in the living room. Harry muttered fine and stood up with an overdramatic groan.

We joined the bunch, finding a free spot on the floor to sit. Lillie was playing a game of competitive spoons on the coffee table with Zayn, Niall, Katie, Louis, and Liam. Danielle and Eleanor were talking baby stuff as they each cradled one of Perrie’s twins. Perrie was sprawled out on the couch, her sleeping head beside Zayn’s as he propped himself up in a sitting position against the couch. Katie’s mom was playing patty cake with baby Ed, trying to teach him that hitting someone in the face is not part of the game. I leaned against Harry, his arms holding me to his chest as Eleanor pulled him into their conversation. I drifted in and out of sleep, the babble and laughter of everyone doubling as both an alarm and lullaby.

-HARRY’S POV-

I pressed my lips to Lauren’s forehead, admiring her beauty as she slept. I looked up to see Lillie watching me with curious eyes, eventually scooting over to join us.

“Hey midget,” I greeted her as she plopped down beside me.

“Hi,” she replied, followed by a long sigh.

“What’s up?”

“How did you find it?” She asked, looked up at me with a determined expression across her face.

“Find what?” I wondered.

“What you guys have, most husbands and wives don’t have. How did you find each other?”

I smiled, proud to have a relationship someone as young as Lillie admired.

“Well, I found her on a bus where she put in an immense amount of effort to express her feelings of hatred for me.”

“Wait a second,” Lillie’s eyebrows furrowed, “I should be mean to boys until one of them loves me?”

I laughed, “Not quite. Despite Lauren’s efforts, I saw her and somehow, I just knew she would be more than a stranger to me someday. I didn’t think she would be the love of my life and I know she didn’t expect me to be hers. Love just kind of happens when you are least expecting it.”

“That doesn’t answer my question. How am I supposed to find a husband?”

“Well Lillio, for now, you should just make a lot of good friends. You have plenty of years to find a husband but right now focus on being little. Play tag, eat a lot of chocolate cake, and let your biggest goal be to stay up all night at a sleepover.”