Holiday

Chapter Fourteen: Potato Salad

Emily

I woke up feeling super tired. Good thing I didn't have any work today. I looked up at the clock and saw that it was ten in the morning. Wow, I overslept. Noticing that Louis and Harry were still asleep made me a little bit confused. They usually wake up first before me, along with the rest of the boys. I stood up and got out of the bedroom. Quietly peeking into the other room, I saw that the three other lads are cuddling into their one huge bed. I giggled silently as I took my phone out to take a quick picture of them. I probably won't ever post this because of obvious reasons but I would forever cherish this adorable photo of them. I decided to do the same thing with the lovebirds I was sharing a room with. 

Now that's done, what should I do? 

Smirking, I grabbed my markers and you know what happened next. I successfully drew objects and colored their faces. They sleep like logs, it's ridiculous. But Liam was a bit tricky because he kept on moving, causing Niall and Zayn, who already had stuff on their faces, to move as well. But I did it, so I'd like to call it an achievement. I took pictures of them once again before realizing that the whole house was actually a mess. 

I sighed as I proceeded to fix up the messy sink, wiped the dirty table and kitchen, swept the floor, folded the boy's messy clothes, and placed them on their suitcases. And yes, I am doing all of this while the guys are sleeping. Finishing with the mattress in the living room, I decided to go to the rooftop where the communal gym was. 

I don't really work out but getting my heart to pump every once and a while raises my serotonin. Makes me forget my sorrows and all. Dramatic, I know. I stayed there for about an hour before going back to rest and take a bath. While opening the door, I heard some shuffling from the inside. Are they awake? 

Stepping inside, I was faced with a fairy princess Liam Payne, a green leprechaun Niall Horan, clown Harry Styles, queen of hearts Louis Tomlinson, and an abstract masterpiece Zayn Malik. I pressed my lips together to prevent myself from laughing. 

"Hey, what happened to your faces?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows with a small smile on my lips. 

"I don't know, you tell us, missy," Louis replied, crossing his arms. I raised my arms as surrender. "Don't look at me, I was just outside, working out," I told them, shrugging. They all looked at each other before smirking at me. My eyes widen when I noticed that they were all holding a bottle of whipped cream and silly strings. Why they had silly strings with them, I would not know. "Anything else, Ms. Emily?" Liam asked with a wicked smile on his face. 

"Should I be scared right now?" I said, slowly walked backward while they make their way towards me. "Most definitely," Niall told me, and immediately they attacked me. 

I squealed as I tried to get away but one of them grabbed me and sprayed some whipped cream on me. I managed to steal Liam's bottle and went on to take my revenge over their revenge on me. Yeah, totally makes sense. I felt a silly string hit my back. I turned around and saw that it was Zayn. "You are so dead!" I screamed, running after him. "Not if I kill you first!" He said back, running away with him pressing the trigger, hitting me on the face this time. We laughed while we ran around the place. 

I noticed that Harry was filming us. I faced him and grinned. "Oh you are not going away with this looking that clean, Haz," I exclaimed then sprayed some whipped cream on his face. He laughed, putting down the phone, then proceeded to spray me as well. "You little shit," he chuckled. We went on for a few more minutes until we stopped when we all had nothing left in our bottles. "I've got to admit, nice work on the prank, kiddo," Niall exhaled heavily out of exhaustingly. I bowed, causing the guys to chuckle. 

"Now that the culprit has been punished, we should all probably clean this up,"  Louis said wiping the cream off his face with the others doing the same. 

Agreeing, we mopped the floor and wiped the walls. Surprisingly, we didn't get any on the sheets on the benches, mattress, and the beds which I was thankful for because that would've been a lot of work. We took turns taking baths and tidying up the place. Once we were all done, we decided to just chill out for the rest of the day. 

Thanks to the guys, I've started to learn how to take time for myself. I also have gotten to know them a lot more now the same way they've gotten to know me more as well. We were currently watching random videos on Youtube on the TV while snacking on some crackers and biscuits. 

"I just realized that I'm responsible for feeding you guys today," I said. They turned to me and chuckled. "You don't have to cook, we could just order," Zayn told me. I shook my head. "No, I want to prepare something for you guys," I whined, making them laugh again. "What are you going to do then? You don't even know how to cook that much," Louis said, raising an eyebrow. I looked at him in the eye "I'd like to see you try and do better, Tomlinson" I sassily said, causing the others to burst out in laughter. "Looks like someone out sassed the master," Harry said, smirking at Louis. He glared at him then rolled his eyes at me. "Not bad, Vergara," he said, slumping into the mattress. 

"No but seriously, Lou has a point though, what are you gonna make?" Niall asked me. I thought for a few seconds. I beamed finally thinking of something. "I'm gonna make you guys potato salad," I informed them. I stood up and went to the kitchen to start making the salad. "Guess the girl knows what she's doing after all," Zayn said, probably towards Louis. I heard a hit or slap which I am assuming that Lou hit him. 

After half an hour, I heard Liam call out "Need help in there?" I took the potatoes out of the boiling water when my hand accidentally hit the hot pot. "Shit," I quietly exclaimed, trying to not make the boys hear. "Em, you okay?" I heard Liam say from behind me. I turned around and nodded. "Yeah, I'm totally fine," I said, not minding the burning pain in my left hand. He furrowed his eyebrows. "No, you're not, let me see your hands," he instructed. Sighing, I showed him my red hand. He looked at me, worriedly. He grabbed my hand at the same time as he approached the freezer to grab some ice. 

"What happened?" he asked as he wrapped the ice to the towel from the fridge on my affected hand. "Li, I'm fine. I just hit the boiling hot pot by accident. You know I could do this on my own, right?" I said, laughing a little. "I know. Excuse my paternal instincts," he told me. Chuckling, I shook my head. He finished tieing the towel and patted it. "Now, I am definitely going to help you now, because we don't want this to happen again, don't we?" Liam said. I rolled my eyes, telling him what he has to do. Another half-hour passed, we finally finished the potato salad. 

"Lads, the food's ready!" Liam called out. They went out of the living room, smelling the aroma of the salad. "Hmm, that smells so good!" Niall excitedly said. "Wow, this surprisingly looks good," Harry teased me. "Oh shut up, Harold," I glared at him, making him laugh. "Let's dig in, shall we?" Louis piped up, sitting down in front of the table. 

I watched them as they took a bite. I don't know why but I was kind of nervous about what they'll think about it. Probably because it was quite close to my heart. "Oh wow. This is amazing!" Niall exclaimed, taking another bite. I giggled. "Really?" I questioned them, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, this is probably, the best potato salad I have ever tasted! What's in this?" Zayn said. "Chicken, boiled potato, boiled egg, mayonnaise, and pickles," I replied. "Where did you find this recipe?" Harry asked me. I inhaled sharply. "Its, it's my dad's recipe," I said almost in a whisper. 

Feeling the pang in my chest, I looked up to face the lads' gazing at me. "If you don't mind us asking, what happened to you and your parents?" Louis asked, placing a hand on my back. I sighed, leaning on the table. "Let's just say that something happened, and they didn't like it, at all. Resulting in our falling out," I vaguely explained. "And they haven't contacted you at all?" Liam piped up. Shaking my head, I rubbed my face with my hands. 

"Whatever it is you're going through, we're here for you, Ly. Always remember that," I felt Zayn ruffle my hair. I glanced at them and smiled. "I know, and thank you," I told them sincerely. 

It still amazes me at how kindhearted the guys are. I have always imagined what they would be like in person, and they have exceeded my expectations. At first, I told myself that they were all just going to be my idols, but now, they were more of friends. Family, even. And I am so happy, that I had the opportunity to get to know them. Because not only they have made me feel good about myself again, but I can feel that they deeply care about me which absolutely warms my heart because I really care about them too. Not as a fan but as a close friend towards them. It's crazy, how I see them differently now. And I'll probably see them as part of my family now.