Neighbors (Liam Payne AU)

Part 2

Eva decided to make a cherry pie. It was her favorite and she would make two, that way she would get to eat some. Once she had them in the oven, she hurried upstairs to shower , telling Arden to stay put. She showered quickly and went out to dress, seeing that Arden had crawled into her side of the bed. "Arden! Get! I told you to stay..."

"It's fine, Eva. I'm awake." Harry interrupted.

Eva stepped back. "Oh." She was still angry about the yelling and smashing he had done earlier. She didn't burn things on purpose. She was usually a good cook and he knew that.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Harry said. "I can tell you are mad at me. You are always mad at me. I'll fix it. Today. I swear."

Eva rolled her eyes. She didn't even speak. She just turned and went into the closet, pulled on her jeans and walked into the bedroom. Harry and Arden were wrestling on the bed. She cleared her throat. Harry looked up. "You need to fix the smoke detector. It's not safe to have it broken."

"I know! With your cooking?" Harry laughed.

Eva was not amused. She gave him a cross look, folding her arms over her body. "I am..."

Harry reached over and grabbed her. "I'm kidding. Lighten up." He pulled her over to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Holding her close, he rested his head on her stomach. "Don't be mad at me. You know I wake up grumpy. I work too much."

Despite herself, Eva smiled. He did work too much. Buying his house had been a good idea at the time. It wasn't his fault they needed money. She was a school teacher. She'd had been making nearly twenty thousands a year more when they'd bought this house, three years ago. Then the economy had tanked and the school district claimed they were broke, balancing the budget on the backs of the teachers. Three pay cuts in three years. It was harder and harder to make ends meet. He worked more and more, getting promotions to make more money, but getting less and less free time. "You will fix it?"

He looked up and smiled at her, nodding. Then he flopped back on the bed, taking her with him. She screamed with laughter as Arden laughed, climbing on her. They rolled around, giggling. "Family time!" Arden screamed.

From downstairs, Eva heard the beep of the over timer. The pies were done. "Hold that thought, baby." she said, kissing Arden and then Harry. She jumped up, ran to the door and down the stairs, pulling the pies from the oven. They looked perfect, golden brown crust and bubbling, scarlet red insides. She couldn't wait to meet the new neighbors. Hopefully they would be a new friends. She had been lonely since they moved here.

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Eva first saw Harry freshman year at Eastern Michigan University. She was moving into her dorm room, sweaty, dirty and tired, when he walked by. He was passing out fliers, inviting people to a frat party. She set down her box and stared. He was handing a flier to a girl in the hallway. She couldn't help but look at him. Something about him seemed magnetic. Her eyes wouldn't pull away. She stared at his lanky, but muscular frame. He was tall and handsome, wavy brown hair to his shoulders, electric green eyes. He must have felt her staring because he turned to look at her, giving he a smirk before looking her up and down. Turning, he took two long steps to her and said, "Hey. Freshman?"

She nodded, not trusting herself to talk.

"Do you want to come to a party? I was sent to find all of the cute freshmen. I think you qualify."

She nodded again.

"Do you talk? I'm Harry." He held out his hand.

She took his hand, shaking it. "Yes. Sorry. Evangeline."

He smiled that incredible smile again. "Great. Here." He handed her a flier. "I hope I see you there." Then he winked, walking away. There was no question in Eva's mind that she was going to that party. She was going to that party and she was going to find Harry. She wanted to see that smile again.

She and her roommate went to the party. Harry was a Alpha Xi, according to the letters on the outside of the house. She smiled, knowing that she looked better than she had this afternoon. A shower had performed a miracle as far as she was concerned. She laughed, thinking that she had admired Harry's hair and eyes, before realizing that hers were similar. Her own hair was long and curly, nearly an identical shade of dark brown as Harry's. His eyes were a prettier green than hers, though. Her eyes weren't truly green. She had a brown ring on the inside of her eyes, the outside was green. She could change the color they looked, depending on her mood and make up. She'd used lots of purple and black, going for a smoky look that would make them look greener. Her roommate had better clothes than her and she'd borrowed a black, slinky dress from the girl she'd only known for a few hours. Amanda. Her name was Amanda. She remembered every detail about Harry, down to the dimple in his left cheek, but she couldn't remember her roommates name. He had definitely put her under a spell of some kind.

She walked in the front door of the large white house and looked around, hoping to spot Harry. Her roommate asked who she was looking for and Eva's explained, getting a laugh. "Harry? Really? Did you ask the other girls? Look around. Every girl is here, after him. Even me. He's a junior. Hot."

Eva felt disappointed. She looked around at all of the beautiful woman, wondering if she even had a chance. As she looked, she spotted Harry. He was on the couch, a glass of something brown with ice in his hand, with girls all around him, including one in his lap. Well, that settled it in her mind. She had no chance next to all these people. She looked at Amanda and they both shrugged. Amanda grabbed her hand and dragged her into the house. Eva just laughed and followed. She could still have fun, even if it wasn't with Harry.

After having been there for an hour, Eva was drunk and hot. She went to sit on the back deck, finding a chair near a citronella candle that was giving off a horrible, chemical smell. She shrugged, and flopped down into the chair, wiping her brow. Someone was sitting on the stairs, leading to the grass. "I've been looking for you." the person said. He half turned, showing his profile. It was Harry.

"Me?"

Harry nodded. "You. Evangeline. The sweaty freshman from Phelps. 3rd floor."

Eva laughed. "Nice. You'll have to put that in our wedding vows."

"I will. Just you wait. I will."