Nothing else but us right here

-

"Em, you have ten seconds to get in here and sit down at the table, or you're going to school without breakfast."

Emily stomps into the kitchen, bottom lip pushed out into a pout, and Louis sighs. She's got dark hair and bright blue eyes, a sharp chin and a heart-shaped face, and even when she's being rotten, Louis loves her so much his chest aches with it. Despite her sulk, Emily clambers up into her booster seat and picks up the cup of chocolate milk Louis had set out for her.

"Why are you pouting?" Louis asks as he pours himself a bowl of cereal and settles in across from her.

Emily sighs, like Louis' asked her the most obvious question in the world, and says, "I don't want to go to school, Daddy."

"What? Yesterday you were so excited! You wanted me to wake you up two hours early, just so you could pick out the perfect outfit." Emily rolls her eyes, and Louis makes a mental note to thank Lottie personally for that habit. She doesn't say anything, though, so Louis leans across the table and takes her hand in his. "Why have you changed your mind?"

"I don't know anyone," she mumbles, chin tucked down against her chest so she can't meet Louis' eyes.

"Well, that's rubbish." Her head jerks up at that, though she quickly darts her eyes away and stares sullenly out the window as Louis continues, "Robbie from next door is going to be in your class, and so is Bella from swimming lessons. And I'll be there with you for a little while, meeting your teacher and making sure you're having a good time. Hey." He squeezes her hand gently and waits for her to meet his eyes. "I promise, if you don't like school, we can find you a different one. But you have to try it out first, okay?"

Emily sucks in a breath, then lets it out on another sigh and nods.

"That's my girl," Louis murmurs. "Now eat your breakfast, and let's get going. Don't want to be late for the first day."

The primary school is only a couple of blocks away, so Louis buttons Emily up into her coat, takes her hand, and walks her there. The air is crisp with a dying autumn and the promise of winter, trees already losing their frail brown leaves, sad-looking as their shedding branches tremble in the wind. The school is small, a tidy-looking one-story brick building, surrounded by a wrought-iron fence that makes Louis breathe a bit easier.

The classroom door is propped open, and there are already a few kids in there with their parents, sitting at tables and chatting quietly. Emily's grip on his hand tightens as they walk in, and even Louis feels a bit apprehensive as he looks around for the teacher. He hadn't been able to make the parent-teacher meeting the previous week, so he's got no idea who to look for.

"Hi," someone chirps from Louis' left. He turns to see who spoke and comes face to face with a boy. Or at least, he looks like a boy. He's got a cherubic face, eyes sparkling happily and dimples flirting as he smiles at Louis, then drops into a crouch.

"Hi," he repeats, and sticks a hand out for Emily to shake. "I'm Harry, what's your name?"

Emily shies back, lets go of Louis' hand so she can grasp his thigh, and Louis pets his hand down over her hair, murmurs, "It's okay, Em, tell him your name."

"Emily," she whispers, twirling her hair nervously. She doesn't shake his hand, but he seems unfazed.

"Emily, what a lovely name! Well, Emily, I'm going to be your teacher this year. We're going to have a lot of fun, I promise."

She doesn't respond, just stares at him with wide eyes, and Louis sighs.

"She's usually much more outspoken than this."

Harry straightens up out of his crouch and holds a hand out to Louis with another smile.

"I'm Harry Styles, I don't believe we've met."