Noel awkwardly knocked on Anne's door. She was so nervous that the palms of her hands were actually sweating, despite the cold weather. When she was met with no person to open the door, she mentally prepared herself to knock again. But once Noel was about to knock, Robin opened the door.
"How may I-" He paused and a very surprised facial expression was glued to his face. "Noel?"
Noel slightly laughed and gave a small wave. "Hey, Uncle Robin. Uh, is it okay if I come in?"
A few moments passed until Robin's surprised expression finally faded away. "Yes, of course, of course. Let me get Anne."
"Robin, darling, I need to continue kneading the- Oh my goodness!" Before Noel was able to give a greeting to the woman who she considered to be her second mother, Anne engulfed her into a tight hug and even started tearing up. "You're here! You're actually here! It's been forever!"
Gemma them came walking in just at the right moment, and Noel actually had the time to beam at the appearance of some of the people she loved the most. "Mum, what's all this ruckus for?" Gemma's eyes finally landed on Noel, and she screamed as well. "Noe-ee! You're home! This is the best Christmas ever!"
Anne and Gemma continued to smash Noel in endless hugs and giggles. Noel saw Robin smiling at them from a distance away and she reached her only free hand as far as she can towards his direction. "C'mon, Robin. You know you want to join this huddle." He nodded his head and joined the three women in their happy moment.
Noel was engulfed in such a happy moment that she didn't notice the front door open again. "Mum, I'm home." Anne didn't notice the familiar voice until that person tapped her shoulder and she emerged from the hug in a mess of tears and smiles. "Are you okay? Did something bad happen?" Anne only shook her head and smiled even more. She pointed to Noel, who was no longer in the center of their penguin huddle.
Harry's eyes widened at the sight of her. He wasn't expecting her. After her promise of coming back a year after they broke up didn't happen, he expected her to not come at all anymore to the Styles' annual holiday celebration.
Noel calmly kept her composure and gave a cute little wave towards Harry's direction. "Hey, uh, Harry."
Harry merely nodded in her direction, much to Noel's dismay. But she wouldn't let that bother her. "Noel," he addressed her simply, also to her dismay. "It's been, um, a while."
"Yup." Noel rocked her feet back and forth, slightly panicking at how she didn't know what to reply back. "So, how have you been?"
"Quite well actually. Thanks for, uh, asking. You?" Harry, along with everybody else in the room, sensed the extreme, tangled ball of tension that was left between Noel and Harry. He didn't know what to say. If anything, he was lucky enough to say as much as he already has. That's how fragile the surface him and Noel were crossing.
Luckily, though, Anne stepped in. "I'm going to have Gem and Robin help me in the kitchen. I'll the two of you bond." Noel's and Harry's eyes both widened in panic. Before any of them could protest, she gave Robin and Gemma the look and made her way away from the awkward and former lovers.
"Why don't we share a drink?" Noel asked with a fake smile. "So then I can get drunk and not remember this disaster," she mumbled out.
Harry gave her a confused look. "What was that, love?"
Noel's heart fluttered a bit. But she kept her walls high. "Hm?" She walked ahead of him and mentally beat herself over being so awkward in front of the person who didn't care that she was the type of toddler to wear her knickers on her head. 'Nice going,' she angrily told herself.
• • •
Author's Note - December 25, 2016
here's another one just for the sake of it :)
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
