Adopted (a Zalfie fanfic) [1]

Chapter 25

*Lily's POV*
I still dreaded each visit to the Zalfie household, but it slowly got easier to accept the fact that I wasn't betraying my beloved parents. It took a while, but I slowly began to feel comfortable enough to just wonder off to the spare room for a while, or put my feet up on the couch, silly things like that. Although I didn't dare to go and help myself to food from the kitchen, or make my own hot drink for example. I would wait until I was asked, or someone offered to make me something. As much as I imagined it, I couldn't see myself ever treating their house like my home. It was a lot bigger in real life, very modern and spacious. The 'Zalfie Pad' as they called it, and the orphanage were pretty much polar opposites. The orphanage was always so loud, big kids arguing, little ones screeching. At Zoe's and Alfie's its always a lot quieter, even when the TV is loud and Alfie is singing at the top of his voice (never a good thing). I like it, I can actually hear myself think.

It's like going to a friends house. I saw Zoe and Alfie more like friends than family. We had a strong bond, but in the space of four months, I couldn't really class myself as part of their family. I knew (and I think they did too) that I was probably never going to call them "mum and dad" because I couldn't. I couldn't just replace my parents, even if they weren't here anymore.

It was a very peculiar feeling. I had seen their house in enough of their vlogs and videos to know my way around without too much trouble, but it felt so weird, as if I had stepped inside my computer screen.

It was hard to remember back when Zoe and Alfie were my idols, not my adoptive parents, even if it were only four months ago. I had only ever dreamt of meeting them, and to be able to tell them how much they saved me. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would sit on their sofa and watch Broadchurch with them on a Monday night.

I often visited them in the day time too, when the vast majority of the teenage population were in school or college. Considering I am home schooled, I could just take my books and laptop over to their house and sit at their dining table to do my studies. Most of the time I would skip history or art and do what I loved most. I would make up stories. I would put my pen to paper and the words would just flow. I could write page after page without getting remotely bored or stuck for ideas. I kept all of my stories to myself though, I didn't want anyone else to read them.

I think Zoe picked up on the fact that I liked to write because she bought me a whole load of cute notebooks and stationary from paper chase. It all matched my new room, which was slowly beginning to look complete.

Boxes of my things were starting to be moved from the old room to the new. I hadn't realised I owned so much. Most of it were pointless bits and bobs that I had collected over six years. Even though I managed to bin some of it, there were still stacks of boxes needing to be sorted further.

Zoe and I spent a full afternoon sorting and binning what I did and didn't need to take to their house, while Alfie finished painting my room. It was a nice afternoon until a pang of sadness overcame me when I come across the box under my bed containing old photo albums and precious things once belonging to my parents. I had a mini meltdown and wasn't really myself for the rest of the day. Seeing those photos bought back painful memories which I had tried to block out for the past few months. It bought back the feeling of guilt and betrayal.

Part of me wanted to chuck them all in a bin bag and throw them away, but I knew I would never forgive myself so I put them in the ever growing 'keep' pile, along with the rest of my family heirlooms, ready to be transported to my new house.

Alfie and I went shopping to IKEA one Saturday afternoon, looking for the few finishing touches to my room. We bought little things like pen pots and desk lamps, as well as a chest of drawers and an extra bedside table for the other side of my double bed.

I hadn't really spent much time with Alfie, and even though I was still a bit cautious around him, we slowly began to bond. He didn't act any different around me than he does in his videos. He does his weird voices and blurts out funny and peculiar things, and I love him for that. He makes me smile, they both do. They don't realise how much they, and the rest of the British gang, saved me.

That's the things about YouTubers, they make me smile even when I don't feel like smiling.

Author's Note:

Don't forget about my Q&A! I've only had 3 questions so far, and I want to answer at least ten, so if you have a question, be sure to ask me in the comments section!

Thank you for 17K too! I honestly can't believe it.

Love you all x