He's Inevitable || N.H.

S E V E N T E E N

I turn to look at dad. Niall is directly behind him, wincing, as dad walks towards me. I try to keep a level head, but panic sets in quickly. I look at Niall and he shakes his head slightly, as if telling me to keep calm and play it off.

"I...I think you heard wrong, dad."

Uncle Louis nods fervently, "Mate, I was just playing around."

"Yeah, me too."

Dad furrows his brow, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "Ems...you don't..." He turns to look at Niall and then looks at Uncle Louis, "Would you two mind?"

"Oh, no. Of course not." Niall says walking towards Uncle Louis and pulling him towards the living room.

"I'm still mad at you." Uncle Louis mutters as he allows Niall to pull him away.

Dad rolls his eyes, and finally looks back at me "Emma...do you...still..." He takes a breath and runs his hands through his curly mop of hair, "Do you...still...fancy your..." He sighs again, loudly this time, "Uncle Niall?"

I avoid his stare, knowing that if I looked into his eyes I would cave and tell him, "No." I mutter.

"Emma."

"What."

"Baby, look at me."

I hesitantly look up at his green eyes, my stomach turning as I try to say it again, "No."

"You don't have to...lie..." He says awkwardly shifting from one leg to another. This was not his area of expertise.

"I'm...not."

"Emma, this is serious. Come on now, baby."

I look up at him, "What if I did?"

"It's just a crush..." He says looking at me nervously, "It'll pass...." He gulps audibly, "I hope."

I smile wearily, "Dad, don't worry about it. We were just messing around. That was so long ago that I had a crush on him...how could I still?"

How could I tell him? How could I tell him that it won't pass. That it's even worse than he could imagine. That...that Niall loves me too...

He chuckles, "You're right. Your dad's just being silly."

"Oh, dad." I say with a guilty smile. Knowing that for now, he wouldn't be as suspicious.

"Let's just eat, yeah?" He says uncrossing his arms and visibly relaxing."

"Yeah."

He wraps an arm around me, pulling me into his warm embrace, and walking us towards the entrance to the living room. He cheerily announces, "Let's eat!" to our large family. "Come on now, food'll get cold!" Dad turns to look at me, his eyes sparkling and his smile wide. He was at his best when we were all together.

How could I take that away from him?

–❈–

The strumming of Niall's guitar along with the melodic and rich voices of my uncles and dad fill the large room. Mum had dimmed the lights, the adults had refilled their wine glasses, and the children had sat around curiously looking at their fathers singing the songs that told the story of their lives.

I sang along quietly, knowing all of their songs by heart, as cliche as that may seem. But at the same time I studied them.

In this moment, it was as if I were eleven again...watching them rehearse for a show. It was...simply magical.

I lean back against the sofa, sitting on the plush carpet with Ollie. He leans his head against my side, Louis' little girl, Ellie, sitting near us.