every day is christmas when i'm with you

to be loved and to be in love

~sunday, the 30th of december~

Saying goodbye always felt bittersweet, but more bitter than sweet. It was nice to know they were getting back to New York, they're new home, but it felt like each time they left their old hometown, it always felt like they might never come back. That's always how their parents made it seem too. Mike and Jen hold onto Amanda, telling her to call and send pictures more often, making sure she promises to visit in another few months.

"Are you sure you don't want to take any more food?" Jen offered, already halfway back in the house. Amanda grabbed her mom's arm.

"I'm sure, Mom, Niall will devour it as soon as we're home anyway, so we're good," She jokes, before pulling her parents into another big hug. Amanda looked over to see Zack talking to Louis, telling him to hit him up if he ever wants to talk about music. Amanda couldn't hold back her enormous smile when Zack pulled Louis into a goodbye hug.

"Big brother," Amanda sing-songs, making Zack roll his eyes but pull her into a hug as well as Louis said goodbye to her parents. He thanked them excessively for the plane ticket to Doncaster and Amanda thought it was so sweet of him. Eventually, they had to go, so they pulled away from all the hugs and goodbyes and they got outside to see Ally and Niall packing their stuff into Amanda's car. Of course, Amanda and Louis said goodbye to Ally's family and Ally and Niall went over to say their goodbyes to Amanda's family, until they were all bursting at the seams with love and bittersweet feelings.

Finally, they got on the road, Niall driving because Amanda wasn't fit to drive and Louis insisted that he had to sit in the back with her to make sure she was feeling okay, and Ally is never  fit to drive. Ever.

They made good time since there was little traffic so they were home in exactly three hours, and that made Amanda so happy. She loved Louis, don't get it twisted, but she also was her own person who didn't need a caregiver. Louis was just a bit overbearing, especially in the car when he had nothing else to do. He worried about her the entire time, making sure she wasn't feeling car sick, or hungry, or head-achy. She was fine, you could say she was feeling great, because she had already taken her medicine and it had been a couple of days since the concussion. Louis was so caring and sweet though, and his intentions were great, so Amanda didn't have the heart to tell him to calm down and let her sleep the whole time.

They got to New York at around 17:00 and immediately felt like crashing into bed. They go right to Amanda and Ally's apartment and head straight to their rooms. Niall follows Ally into hers, both of them just wanting to sleep for the next twenty-four hours. Louis watches Amanda trudge into her room and he stays back to get her a glass of water and starts ordering food for everyone later.

Ten minutes later, he walks in to see Amanda laying in her bed, starfished out, face first in the pillows. He chuckles at her, which only wakes her up. Amanda looks around and groans.

"What time is it?" She groans. Louis looks at his phone and laughs.

"You've been asleep for ten minutes," He tells her, and Amanda groans, face-planting right back into her pillows. Louis sets the glass of water on her bedside table before awkwardly standing by the bed. "Do you need anything?" He asked. Amanda sighed, beginning to get undressed while still lying in bed.

"I just need to sleep," She tells him, trying not to sound so tired and slightly annoyed with Louis' coddling.

"Are you sure? Maybe you could shower, that always makes me feel better," He suggests. Amanda sighs, annoyed.

"People always say that, and it never works for me. I hate showering," She says and Louis looks around, trying to think fast. Amanda throws her clothes near the hamper and then pulls on a tee shirt from the floor, which is definitely Louis', and snuggles under the blankets to keep warm.