She's a Man's World - DISCONTINUED

Sibling-Bonding

It was the early hours of the morning by the time I arrived in Manchester. I didn't want to inconvenience Joe and so took a taxi from the station whilst he had left a spare key hidden outside for me to let myself in to his house. Stumbling up to his spare room, I didn't bother to even change before collapsing onto the bed.

...

I awoke from my slumber, seeing that the time was 9:30am. Hearing voices downstairs, I pulled myself out of the sky blue sheets and headed downstairs.

"Morning Kendall", Joe called as he pulled me into a hug. "Glad you had a safe journey. What time did you get here?". "It's nice to see you too, Joe", I joked sarcastically, backing out of his smothering of me. In sync we both laughed at this, before I noticed a woman standing patiently behind the kitchen counter, smiling warmly at us.

Trying not to sound rude, I coughed whilst gesturing to the woman. "Oh, sorry", Joe spoke as he realised who I was gesturing to, "Kendall, this is my girlfriend Kimberley". She walked over to me smiling widely as she shook my hand. Like myself, Kimberley had long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, though I felt her features complemented her much more than they did myself; she was naturally extremely pretty.

Joe guided me through to the living room after Kimberley offered to make us all some coffee. Once setting them down on the table she wasted no time in "getting to know me".

"You know Kendall, stunning girl like you, you must have a boyfriend?". I was hesitant in answering her question, but it was as if she knew how my reaction would be since she spoke again immediately. "I saw the article Kendall. So Ross Barkley, huh?". I ducked my head so that her and Joe couldn't see me blush, but nodded shyly in reply.

"So what's actually going on between you two? Are you's a couple yet or...?". In all fairness, I had just met Kimberley; I didn't feel comfortable sharing all of this with her immediately. I knew I had to answer with something before I could try to change the subject. "It's, erm, it's complicated...so what's the plans for today?".

I glanced at Joe hopefully, a look he seemed to pick up on as he too changed the topic. "Well, Kimberley has to go to work so it's just me and you, but I'm going to show you around Manchester today". Gratitude showed in my smile, and I nodded as he spoke. "Just so you know", Kimberley added, "by showing you around Manchester, he really means he's going to show you around the Etihad". I laughed at her comment whilst Joe playfully punched her before kissing her gently as she got up to leave.

...

Kimberley was right. Joe really did only take me to the stadium. I didn't mind, however, since the stadium was truly fantastic and at least I would know my way around for tomorrow.

Joe took me into the stands, where we sat in two of the seats just admiring the pitch. Closing my eyes, I could imagine the booming atmosphere that would grace these stands tomorrow, surrounding me with an exciting yet nerve-wracking feeling.

For a while we had been sat in a comfortable silence, but as I felt Joe's eyes turn to face me, I knew he was about to say something. "Okay, I understand that you didn't want to share it with Kimberley earlier, but I'm your older brother. I feel it's my duty to know about this...So what's really going on between you and Ross Barkley?".

Sighing, I realised that I had to share it all with Joe. "I like him. A lot. I went out with Gerard to make him jealous, and when he found out that I was going out with Gerard, he did the same thing with some girl to make me jealous. It worked on both of us...In truth, I think he likes me too, but he's yet to tell me how he feels about me".

Joe listened carefully whilst I explained everything, silence falling for a few moments once I'd stopped talking. "In all honesty, I think he likes you too", Joe eventually replied. "Just be careful though Kendall; I don't want him hurting you". He placed his hand on my shoulder lovingly as he said this. I smiled at this, my heart melting. I'd never known the feeling to have a protective older brother until now, and it was something I never wanted to lose.

"He won't hurt me Joe. I won't let him", I somewhat promised Joe. "I won't let him either", he promised in return before we pulled each other into a warm embrace. I could have remained like this forever; finally I had what I'd been missing out on for so long. Finally I had a whole family.