His eyes turn to me. The hazel is practically mocking, and even though I don't react, there's no way he doesn't notice the way my face warms when he stares at me a beat too long.
Jo would kill me. It's enough to get it from Amy, but me too? God.
_...
i fucked up the timeline LOL (in the original book Dad comes home at Christmas time but whatever I'm cramming material don't get testy)
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By the time I've changed and gone downstairs, my entire family is communing inside the dining room.
Amy is standing on top of a chair directing Laurie and Tom to hang decorations in different places, Mr. Laurence and Marmee are setting the table with Father, Beth is on the couch with Sawyer attempting to teach him how to knit, and Jo is chasing Hannah around the kitchen, trying to assist in the meal preparations.
Laurie, standing next to Amy, says something that makes her laugh. She grins down at him, tucking her hair behind her ears, and it startles me how pretty she's grown since she left when Beth was sick. She's maturing far faster than I'd thought she would've for a seventeen year-old—and I'm not the only one who's noticed. don't @ me I know I said she was fourteen but who cares I'm nothing if not inconsistent
Tom is watching her fondly, an expression I myself was on the receiving end of during my stay in London. The way he's looking at her jars me a bit—could Tom like—
"Lil'!" Sawyer calls, seeing my entrance, and Tom's eyes shift to mine, catching me watching him. His smile drops a fraction, and I look to his brother.
"Hey!" I call back, intending to walk over to him, but my feet have a mind of their own and somehow I end up beside Laurie.
"Hey, you," he greets me softly, as if we weren't just making out half an hour ago. A gentle smile pulls on my lips as I respond with a meek 'hi'. "We're decorating for a little party tonight," Laurie says, nodding to the decorations around. "Apparently Meg has exciting news," he frames 'exciting' in air quotes before continuing.
"News?" I purse my lips and glance around for my eldest sister. "Where is Meg, anyways?"
Laurie points wordlessly to the window across from the sitting room, and I spot her and John Brooke sitting on a bench below the tree outside. They're laughing about something, and her cheeks are flushed with warmth.
