Star Girl // McFly

Six

In the week leading up to the family dinner, Dougie had gone over social skills with Neila. She basically knew them all, except for she didn't know how to use silverware without looking extremely uncomfortable, and Dougie wanted to get her more comfortable with talking freely. Both skills were practiced religiously, yet neither was completely mastered.

Dougie also hadn't purchased Neila any normal clothes, which he told himself he was going to do at the beginning of the week. He had tried, but he didn't understand how women's sizes worked, so he gave up, and Neila was once again put in hand-me-downs; a light blue T-shirt tucked into a pair of blue jeans Dougie never wore. They were too big and had to be belted tightly, but that was a look these days, so Dougie didn't think it would matter. He also put her unruly, long hair into a low, messy bun on the back of her head, as buns were the only hairstyle Dougie knew how to do. Danny's mum, who was a hairdresser, taught Dougie how back when he had long hair.

Dougie was jittery all day before dinner, and even knowing that Tom knew about Neila's origins didn't help much. Plus, he didn't know what to do about what Neila had said about her home and feared that if he did tell Tom, he would bring up the whole alien thing again, which was starting to sound not crazy.

When the front door to Tom and Gi's house was opened, Dougie and Neila were not only greeted by Gi's sweet smile but the sound of screaming toddlers and adults trying to tame them.

"Hi!" Gi smiled estaticaly, looking back and forth between Neila and Dougie.

"Gi." Dougie smiled through his nerves. "This is my friend Neila. Neila this is Gi, Tom's wife." Gi immediately grabbed Neila's hand. Dougie had gone over handshakes with Neila, but they weren't usually this energetic, so when Gi grabbed Neila's hand, she looked frightened.

"It's great to meet you. Come in! Come in!" Gi smiled. Neila walked in first, looking around with Dougie following, handing Gi the big salad he had brought. They parted ways, as Gi went to the kitchen and Dougie ushered Neila into the living room.

"Dougie!" Buzz yelled loudly, running over and hugging Dougie around the waist. His younger brother, Buddy followed suit, hugging his thighs, and then Lola, hugging his knees.

"Come on." Harry said, picking up his eldest child, and Dougie's only niece. "You can't kill Uncle Dougie before dinner."

"Only after." Danny said, walking up with his son, Cooper, in his arms.

Dougie was not only the only unmarried member of McFly, but he was also the only member without a child. He felt more like a grandfather rather than an uncle, as every year it seemed the number of nieces and (mostly) nephews increased. At this point in life, they were up to six, and Dougie believed it would be a while until he gained another child to hold and play with and then give back at the end of the day.

Tom and Gi had the most; Buzz was almost five, Buddy was three and Max would be one in August. Then, Harry and Izzy, with Lola, 3 and Kit, one and a half; then Georgia and Danny with Cooper, who was one.

As the group welcomed the two in, Dougie's nerves began to grow. There was no way he and Tom were going to be able to pull this off alone. Maybe Harry and Danny could be fooled. They were too obsessed with the idea of Dougie finally getting a girlfriend, they would be too transfixed by their own imaginations to pay attention to the details right in front of them. It would be later. Tonight, maybe, after they had put all their kids to bed. Or maybe just before they fell asleep themselves. One of the girls would lean over and say, 'Dougie's new girlfriend is rather odd, don't you think?'. Tom might be able to deny it to Gi, but Harry and Danny wouldn't even bother pointing out that 'they're not actually dating according to Dougie'. They would just say something like, 'Maybe a bit odd, honey, but she seems nice! Give her a chance!', just so they could hold onto their daydreams a little while longer.