Different Worlds // n.h.

chapter twenty-one // more like home.

Gracey POV

    Three more days until the Christmas Ball. There was still so much more to prepare. Reeja had come back a few days prior, however, Melody had us separated, doing different things around the palace. Reeja, of course, offered to taste test the food. And I was to be watching Adrian and Christian, making sure they didn't destroy any of the Christmas decorations.

    "Ma'am, get ready, they're here . . ." I overheard one of the queen's guards informing Melody.

    "Who are they?" Melody questioned. She seemed to have gotten her answer, however, when she heard the hullabaloo at the entrance to the palace. "Oh no, not them!"

    "OI OI!" Someone yelled in a thick accent as they burst through the doors.

There were a few shushes after he yelled. "Shh, Louis, we're in a palace, here's not the place," A very proper voice spoke.

    "Yeah, do you want to get kicked out before the actual ball?" Spoke a quiet — Bradford accented? — voice.

    "Louis! Liam! Zayn! Harry!" Niall came running past me down the staircase.

    "Oi, Irish Princess!" Spoke the thick accented voice — who I assume was Louis.

    "Oi, Boobear," Niall teased. "I missed you all so much!"

    Curious, I dashed further down the stairs to see who the voices belonged. I bumped into Reeja in the process, who must've been as curious as I was.

    "You didn't tell me hot boys were coming over!" She yell-whispered.

    "Trust me, this is a surprise for me too,"

    In the entrance hall, there were 4 boys — excluding Niall — and 3 girls, who I assume were their girlfriends.

    "One of them's single!" Reeja cheered.

    "Who're they?" A new voice spoke — deep and raspy. It belonged to a tall, dreamingly handsome, curly-headed boy.

    Niall whipped his head around to see me and Reeja hiding behind the great Christmas trees. "Reeja! Gracey! Come here!"

    "Reeja, Gracey, this is Harry," He pointed to the boy with curly hair. He gave us a cheeky grin and opened up his arms, gesturing for a hug. He smelled like vanilla — sweet and almost caramelly.

    "And this is my girlfriend, Chana," Harry took the hand of a girl a bit taller than me. She was quite beautiful; her blonde flowing hair reached her elbows. She had an inviting smile and her pale, delicate skin.

    "This is Zayn," Niall pointed to an extremely good-looking guy with dark brown hair, stubble, and a charming smile. He as well reached out to hug us. I assumed this was the man who owned the big news company.

    "And this is my girlfriend —" Zayn said, moving out of the way as another girl came running towards us.

"My name's Brooke! Nice to meet you." She was very ecstatic, the polar opposite of her shy boyfriend. She had her chestnut brown hair pulled up into a messy bun, looking effortlessly gorgeous — something she did have in common with Zayn.

    "This is Liam," Niall gestured to another handsome boy, this one seeming quite strong. His warm brown hair was quite wavy.

    "Hello darlings," He said in his regal accent, reaching out for a hug. "It's lovely to meet you! This is my girlfriend, Joy,"

He moved out of the way to reveal his girlfriend. She was around my height, and seemingly very sweet. Her dark brown hair was about the same length as her boyfriend's — not too short, but not too long. She gave us a small smile and a wave, seeming not to be much of a talker.

    "And last but not least is Louis," Niall gestured to the last boy, who was a lot shorter than the rest of them. His brown hair was ruffled up and messier, and he had a smile that was brighter than sunshine.

    "Hello loves, you both are looking beautiful," He gave us a wink, "And unlike the rest of the boys, I don't have a girlfriend." The rest of the boys let out a laugh, and he gave Reeja a smirk, whose face flushed a dark red shade.

    "And is this your girlfriend Niall?" Harry pointed toward me, causing me to blush harder than I ever had before. I looked to see Niall having the same reaction, which caused everyone to erupt into laughter.

    "She's not my girlfriend!" He said out of embarrassment, though I swear I heard him mutter, "yet . . ." under his breath.

    Melody came running in and everyone went silent. "Now boys, you need to be on your best behavior. Remember last year?" She sneered, causing everyone to giggle. "I don't think you want to be kicked out again,"

    "I put thumbtacks on her office chair and a rubber snake in her bed," Louis explained in a hushed voice, causing me and Reeja to burst into laughter.

    "I wish I could've seen that," Reeja whispered back.

    "Reeja, Louis, hush. I'm trying to talk here," Melody glared, Louis flipping her off in response. "Now I will show you all to your rooms. I've learned my lesson from last time that all of you sharing a room causes chaos, so each of you will have your own room. Reeja, Gracey, go back to work. Only a few more hours and you'll have the rest of the weekend off."

This Christmas Ball was going to be a lot more fun than I had anticipated.

Niall POV

The palace felt more at home now that my best mates — who were more like brothers — were finally here. They were going to be staying for another month after the ball, meaning more weeks filled with excitement. Much like Reeja and Gracey, there was disaster wherever us boys went.

"Which one is your Christmas date?" Louis asked.

"Gracey,"

"The one who you denied was your girlfriend?" Harry chimed in.

I felt my face grow hot yet again. "Well, it's not like I like her or anything," I spoke, not even myself believing those words. "but she's just so mysterious, I just want to get to know her — and she is quite kind,"

"Tell yourself that all you want mate, but I think you like her," Liam joined.

"Oh, whatever." I shrugged it off, trying to convince myself.

"Well I'm just glad that you're not taking that Reeja girl — is she single?" Louis said, thankfully changing the subject.

"I think so,"

"Sweet. Since I don't have a date, I may as well take her — she's pretty cute,"

"I'm sure she'd like that. Coming from a girl, I could tell she liked you," Chana spoke up.

"Who doesn't like me though?" Louis smirked, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

"Ladies, gentlemen," Melody spoke up, "here are your rooms. Get settled. Boys, you can spend some time with Niall. And girls, when you're done getting packed, meet me in the grand hallway. We're going gown shopping." The girls all cheered and we went our separate ways.

This was already going to feel a lot more like home.

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SKSKSKSJAHHAHS AYYYYY THE BOYS ARE HEREEEEEEEEEE

i loved writing this chapter so freaking muchjshsjdji

i hope you all had an amazing Christmas yesterday ❤️

i think there'll be like 2 more Christmas chapters so u still have Christmas heading your way 😂❤️

i love you all so much, i hope you enjoyed this chapter, have an amazing day ❤️❤️

oh, and p.s., when i say joy's hair is the length of Liam's hair, I mean quarantine Liam's hair. rip long hair Liam.