ADOPTED BY THE SIDEMEN

Girls day out

A couple of months in...

***
Holly's POV

***

"I'm so happy we stopped," Remi sighs, taking a long sip o her iced coffee. "I think we shopped till we dropped, to be honest"

We're exhausted and have been shopping for well over three hours. Most of it was Talia's fault. She took us to the best mall and of course we had to check out every shop. I got a few shirts and pants but Talia and Remi are loaded with new kit. Now, we're at a cafe sipping iced coffees and chatting. Freya and Gee have joined us and it's turned into a huge girls day. Remi and Gee hit it off amazingly well and both match with the electric blue hair. Talia, Freya and I have been talking about the trip the Sidemen have been planning. JJ and Simon broke the news last night and I swear I didn't hug them tight enough.

The Sidemen, me, and the girlfriends are all going to Mykonos, Greece!

"Greece in June will be amazing!" Talia sighs dreamily. "Clear water, hot weather, cocktails on the beach, beach bungalow sex..."

Talia slyly winks and I feel my nose wrinkle up. Gross.

**

"How was your girls day?" JJ asks, seeing us come through the front door.

"Good," I smile, accepting his kiss on my hair. "Talia knew all the best places. I'm exhausted now"

JJ raises an eyebrow. "I thought girls could never get tired of shopping"

"You'd be surprised," Talia chuckles.

"You girls should go get showered for dinner," JJ says, checking his watch. "We leave at eight"

I check my phone. 6:00.

"Are you saying we smell?" Talia asks, scrunching up her eyebrows into mock offence.

JJ laughs and shakes his head. "No, I just know that it takes girls two hours to get ready a lot of the time"

"I don't have to wear makeup, do I?" I ask quietly.

JJ frowns. "Of course not. If you don't want to, don't put it on"

I nod and take a deep breath. Even though I've been living with JJ for a very long time I still think of the orphanage. I shudder at the thought of me having to wear makeup every day like I used to.

Holly, pull yourself together. You're with JJ, not that horrible woman. He understands.

I push away the negative voice in my head telling me I'm ugly and walk to my room. When I look at myself in my mirror I stand straight and move around, looking at all the angles. My legs are long and slender, my brown hair is soft and long, my eyes are dark but hold beauty, my teeth are straight and white and my freckles just add onto my facial features.

It took me a long time to realize I wasn't an ugly girl. Being surrounded by people who put you down all the time wasn't good for my mental health. Now I'm surrounded by people who love and care for each other, including me. It feels good. Really good.

"Hey," Talia smiles, walking into my room and sitting on my bed. She pats the spot beside her and I sit.

"Do you want to borrow my hairdryer again?" I chuckle, knowing that she always comes into my room or it.

"I will but first JJ wanted me to talk to you"

I sigh and she smiles, shaking her head.

"It's nothing bad. He just wants to know if you're okay? When you spaced out in the kitchen he said your breathing was really heavy. He thought you were having a panic attack"

I shake my head. "Talia, I'm fine. I just feel a little insecure sometimes, that's all"

She chuckles and squeezes my shoulder comfortingly. "I get it, love. I always get self-conscious when I'm filming videos or streaming. Everyone's insecure about something"

Talia tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear and looks at me, smiling.

"Holly, you're a beautiful girl"

I nod and we hug. Her perfume smells lovely and her fingers gently run up and down my back.

"Don't let your negative past define you," Talia whispers softly. "We all love you. Simon, JJ, the sidemen. Freya, Gee, Remi....You want me to go on?"

I laugh and shake my head. "I got it, thanks"

"No problem, kiddo," Talia says, grabbing the hairdryer out of my hands. "Thanks for this. I'll see you soon!"

She leaves my room and I shut the door. I strip, get in the shower and clean myself thoroughly. Once I'm done, I let my hair dry on its own and sort my outfit (Black turtleneck tucked into a short peach pencil skirt)

I sit in my towel and watch YouTube for a bit before actually getting dressed and applying some mascara and lipgloss. When JJ texts me a five-minute warning I pull on my heeled black boots and grab my black purse with a silver chain.

"Beautiful," JJ smiles, opening the door for me. Simon and Talia smile at me too.

I smile at JJ gratefully and we all pile into the lift. JJ looks at Simon and they burst out laughing.

"What?" Talia asks, looking at Simon.

"Simon decided to cook dinner tonight," JJ says, rubbing his hands together. "He ended up burning everything and that's why we're going out to dinner"

I laugh and Simon rolls his eyes, chuckling.

"For fuck's sake, JJ," Talia says, smacking Simon on the arm. "You know he can't cook for his life!"

***

We end up going to Nando's. I feel happy because somewhere inside of me is craving chicken. I love chicken.

We get a booth and sit down. As I look over the menu, I choose a lemon chicken and water. While Talia, Simon and JJ study the menu, I look around and spot people that look like Ethan and Vik. I nudge Talia.

"Is that Ethan and Vik?"

Talia looks over to where I'm pointing and smiles, nudging Simon. Soon, the whole table is looking at Ethan and Vik. JJ pulls out his phone and texts Ethan. Sure enough, he turns around and waves at us, smiling. He and Vik make their way over.

"Hello, lads! Fancy seeing you guys here"

I get up to hug Ethan after Talia does and do the same with Vik.

"You alright?" he asks, holding me tightly.

"I'm alright. How about you, Vik? Racking up all that Warzone money?"

He nods and chuckles. "I can't lie. It's been great"

Simon invites them to eat with us and soon we're a big group. We end up going home at midnight and I'm surprised we've been talking that long. It felt like an hour tops.

***

The sound of JJ's keys hitting the front table at home jolts me awake a little and JJ chuckles. He takes off his coat and stretches.

"Holly, love, go to bed. You look exhausted"

I nod. I am. Shopping and going out to dinner has killed me. It's also left a warm happy buzz in my stomach and I feel good. I feel loved.

"Ok, goodnight," I smile, hugging the boys and Talia.

I walk to my room and just manage to change into some PJ bottoms and a sports bra. After that, I conk out on top of the bed covers and curl up.

When I wake up at 3 am I realize someone's tucked me into the overs and left a glass of water by my bed. When my fingers wrap around the glass the condensation melts in cold trails down my hand and I hear JJ in the room next door laughing, probably filming a Reddit video.

I thank JJ mentally and snuggle down into my pillow, pulling the sheets closer to me. This is my life and I can't believe it.

I'm so lucky.