Can I dip? | Larry Stylinson

T w e n t y - s i x

"H-hi mum."

"GEMMA!" Anne runs up to her and engulfs her into a hug. Suddenly it was all tears.

She touches her daughter's face for the first time in years. "Y-you've grown...so much, my baby."

"Can I come in? C-can we come in?"

"What do you mean by 'we'?" Anne queries, looking down and she sees a little boy peeking behind Gemma's legs.

"h-hi gwanny." A little boy with hazel brown eyes stares up at her. He has chestnut brown hair. His baby teeth are only starting to grow.

Anne gasps and more tears welled up in her eyes. "I-is this him? M-my grandson?" Anne crouches down and sobs harder, hugging the little boy in her arms.

"H-his name is Maxwell, mummy." Gemma answers, tearing up as well.

"Come on in! Come on in! I'm so sorry for keeping you guys waiting." Anne ushers them into the house.

"Wow mum, the house is still the same." Gemma comments, sitting on to the couch with her son.

"Yeah, of course, I keep good care of it. Do you want some tea?" Anne asks, going over the kitchen to grab some for herself.

"I'm okay, mum."

Anne quickly makes herself some hot tea and comes back with a snack bar for Maxwell. She hands it to him.

"Here you go, sweetums." Maxwell shies away, "i-it's okay, gwanny."

"No, baby. It's okay! You can have it. Granny has plenty of it." Anne chuckles and pets her grandson's hair. "Thank you, gwanny."

"You're welcome, Maxwell."

She glances at Gemma. "You have quite the son, Gems. He's very well mannered. Really precious."

"Yeah, of course, mum. Raised him how you raised Harry and I." Anne softens even more.

"You know, I forgive you, Gems. I-I'm really sorry for acting that way when I saw that pregnancy test in the trashcan. I-I just don't know how to react since you're pregnant in such a young age. I mean, 16? 16 years old. I-I just got too overwhelmed." Anne explains, sipping a bit of her tea while Maxwell takes a magazine from the coffee table.

"I-It's okay, mum. I understand. I-I don't really blame you for acting that way. I ran away. You didn't really kick me out." Gemma sighs. "Maybe if I didn't run out like that, I could've still been here. We could've talked it out. I've wasted years of my life without you, mum and I hate myself for that."

"You know I'll always support you no matter what, Gemma."

"I know. I-I just panicked. I just thought I should kick myself out before you do. I know you never expected it. I never had any relationships with any of the guys in school. I was never that kind of girl who liked fooling around with boys. I was always the girl who preferred to stay at home and study instead of partying and smoking weed with the other kids. I guess I just assumed that you'd disown me, mummy."

"W-will you?" Gemma adds.

"No! Of course not, Gemma. I'm not that kind of parent. Any parent who would disown their own child should be ashamed of themselves. You will still be my baby daughter no matter what. Nothing will ever change that." Anne hugs Gemma again. She kisses her forehead.

"Thank you, mum."

"Now, would you like to see Har—"

"Gemmapoops? I-is that really yewwww?" Harry appears in front of them with his eyes all round.

"Yes, it is me, Harry. Oh my gosh." Gemma stands up and carries Harry, cuddling him. "I've missed you so much, froggo!" Gemma showers him with a bunch of kisses.

In the corner, Louis awkwardly sits beside Maxwell on the couch. Seems like he just intruded a private family reunion. Oops.

He sees Maxwell in the corner of his eyes, picking his nose and rolling the booger into a ball. Maxwell flicks it into Louis's lap without knowing. Louis gasps and stands up, dusting his pyjamas with a pillow. Hm, there's no doubt that he's related to Harry.

Maxwell turns his head and sees Louis sitting beside him. "Oh hellow, there! I am Max! Maxwell for long." He grins.

"Y-yeah uhm—hello, there." Louis waves awkwardly. He's not really into babies. He's not a big brother type considering he's the youngest. Speaking of it, He hopes his mum never adds another one into the family or else...he'd cry.

"How old are you? And what's your name?" Maxwell asks, seeming to be interested. Louis thought the conversation finished already.

"Uhm—I'm 9 now. I-I'm Loggy." He decides to trick the baby a bit. One trick won't hurt.

"Oh! Well, hi Loggy! I'm Maxwell." He giggles.

"Well, what do we have here? Seems like Maxy made a friend. Hi there!" Gemma waves.

Harry smiles, "oh! He met my bestie!"

They all had a few hours to themselves, just enjoying the presence of each other. Anne wanted Gemma and Maxwell to stay the night so they did.

Harry looks up the ceiling while going up the stairs with Louis. "Is Maxwell really my neh-few?" He asks Louis.

"Well, yeah. He's your sister's son." He simply answers.

"B-but I'm young! It doesn't make sense. D-does it mean he's like my son too? I don't get it."

"No, you guys are just related but he's not like your son."

"B-but I feel weird! I'm still a kid! I don't get it too."

Louis rolls his eyes, "whatever, Harry. It's just how it works."

That night, in bed, Harry still couldn't sleep. He keeps on squirming. Not because he's itching to reveal his gift but he's just really confused to why Maxwell IS his nephew. He's just young. He doesn't get it.

"I still don't get it. Is he like my son?" Harry whispers to himself.

"Shhhhh" Louis says.

"It's so simple, Harry. He's your nephew. He's the son of your sister."

"But I'm young!"

"It's just how it works, Froggo. Your sister has a baby. You are her brother. If you have a baby, it will be Gemma's nephew too. Ya get me?" He explains in details.

"No, b-but—"

Louis just puts his leg on Harry's body and covers his mouth while they sleep. Harry eventually got to sleep too.