A/N TWO UPDATES IN ONE DAY WHATTT

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- January 8th

I walked out to the patio, a container of marinated chicken wings in hand.

"Go ahead and put that over there Azami" My dad yelled from across the lawn. He had a pair of tongs in his hand, Mr. Partridge and Mr. Williams by his side.

Smoke filled the air around them as I walked closer, they all had beers which they would take a sip out of occasionally. I began to raise the grill higher to fill it with more charcoal. My hands turned into a dusty black while the men in front of me engaged in conversation.

"Hey dad I'll get the meat kabobs and I'll put them on the table." I said to him, which he only replied with a nod, never turning in my direction.

I tried to dust my hands off as much as possible when I felt someone jog to my side. I look up to see Louis smiling down at me. "Hey Lou." He tried to hug me, but I backed away. "My hands are dirty let me wash them." He glanced at them and followed me back into the house.

I washed my hands in the sink, using as much soap as I can to get rid of the marks. "You look pretty today." The voice beside me spoke out. I blushed as I swished my hair out of my face.

"Thanks...you look good yourself." I said to him as he held my hair back. I dried my hands as Louis made his way around the kitchen island filled with food. His hand came across a certain platter filled with lumpia rolls, which I took away from him, earning a pout.

"Oh stop it, we're eating it later." He groaned as he came behind me. Hugging my figure as I tried to fix the plates which I would take out once the bbq my dad was currently cooking was done.

"Are you excited?" Louis whispered into my neck, goosebumps running across my body.

I took a deep breath, "Very, I can't want to get out of here."

He hugged me tighter as he buried his head deeper into my neck, tickling me. "Me too, I have so many plans." I turned around to face him.

He placed his hands on the counter beside me, sandwiching me between his body and the island. "Hey beautiful darling." He smirked at me.

I tried to ignore his comment that warmed my body, "What plans?" I asked him.

He pecked my nose. "You'll find out when we get there." I groaned at his response.

"Come on, dance with me." Louis pulled my hand, leading me to the empty space in front of the tv. We had no music playing so we just silently hummed as I laid my head on Louis's chest and he held my body in his. We danced back and forth, laughter coming from the outside which we ignored. His steady heartbeat filled my ears while he slowly swayed our bodies in rhythm.

We stayed in that routine for a while, slowly forgetting the outside world. I started to close my eyes when I heard the screen door open. We quickly let go of each other as I walked towards the kitchen, Louis hesitantly following after me.

We peered in to see my dad bouncing around the kitchen, putting down the cooked chicken and grabbing another foiled pan. He finally noticed us when I cleared my throat. He stop whistling as he eyed us suspiciously.

"Azami go to the grill and help me cook the rest of the food." I nodded my head making my way outside, leaving Louis.

I walked across the lawn looking at the people around me. Issie and the boys were playing corn hole while Millie was sat on the grass beside them, phone in hand as she held their cat in her arms. Mr. Partridge and Mr. Williams were deep in conversation next to the table we prepared for a late lunch. Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Partridge and my mom were lounging in some chairs on the patio, overlooking the scene in front of them, laughter filling the air.

I grabbed a pair of tongs when I came up to grill, flipping some of the chicken which were close to burning on one side when my dad came up across from me. My body stiffened as the air around us was silent and thick.

"Azami." My dad spoke out harshly. I hummed a response, not looking up at him as I was too scared to. "I already emailed your manager, your classes start on Monday." It was Friday.

I scoffed at him unaware, once the noise left my mouth, I immediately regretted it.

I noticed my dad's body freeze in front of me. "You are taking the class, I don't care what you say Azami." He whispered.

I wanted to tell him no. That I was tired of him pushing me down and ignoring my thoughts and wishes. I was done putting up with him treating me like crap, using the excuse that he was the parents and I was the child. So I did, I told him.

"I'm not taking the class, I don't care what You say." I said back, the guilt building in me flooding away as I stabbed at the cooking food in front of me.

I looked up a my dad, his face full of anger as I returned a look back.

"Are you talking back to me child?" He said, his voice rising with every word.

I kept my calm, not letting the fear taking over me. "Why can't you take no for an answer dad? Why can't you respect my wishes and just let me not take the class as I wished and asked and told you so? Why can't you stop treating me like a child and let me make my own god damn decisions? I am fucking 17 for fucks sake." I yelled back, completely forgetting the rest of the crowd in the area around us, but once again I did not care. I was not taking the class and I was making that clear to him now.

"I can't let you make your own decisions if you act like a child all the damn time! You are taking the fucking class Azami." He screamed at me back, his voice the highest I've ever heard. Surprisingly it did not make me cower or wince back like it's usually does. I stood my ground, not letting him know I was scared of the figure standing before me.

I looked at him, not daring to look away. "I am not taking the damn class." And I proceeded to walk away. Leaving my shocked dad behind and passing through everyone who had stunned and confused looks on their faces.

It was not until I passed my kitchen, the garage and made it to the edge of the staircase when my anxiety caught up with me. I felt like the walls were pushing me in as I tripped onto the stairs, trying to take deeps breaths and focusing on one thing, distracting me from the tight throat and the burning sensation I felt in my head. I felt a pair of arms go around me, comforting me as I tried to breath in and out.

"I am so done. I'm so fucking tired." I said out loud, not expecting a reply. I just wanted to scream. I just wanted to punch everything around me.

The body continued to comfort me, rubbing my back and arms. "I am so proud of you Ami, just let it out. You're okay, I'm here, you're okay." I then realized it was Mr. Williams.

We stayed in that position for a while. My head in his chest as his arms engulfed in a hug, telling me it was okay. That everything was okay. But my head was telling me otherwise.

Once I had calmed down and my breathing returned to normal, Millie walked into the room. "Hey you okay?" I nodded at her, not really looking up at her eyes. "Mm well the food is done, we're about to start eating."

She left the room, Mr. Williams leaving me to ready myself again to face everyone. I looked at the  mirror, luckily not much damage, only small clumps of mascara running down my face along with slightly puffy eyes. I wiped my face clear again, applying chapstick to my quenched lips.

When I walked out to the patio with the table full of food, surrounded by people, I noticed the air had gone noticeably quiet and still. I sat down staring at my plate, I felt everyone's eyes on me, but I did not have the energy to look at them one by one to let them know I was okay. I was deep in my thoughts when I felt a kick at my leg, I look under to see a pair of shoes who belonged to the person sitting across from me, Louis.

He gave me a smile, which I returned weakly.

"Dig in everybody." My dad piped up, which everyone reluctantly hesitated over the food, except my brothers. "Tastes good dad." I rolled my eyes.

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After everyone had left and everything was put away, I locked myself in my room, not caring about what my parents had to say to me after the scene we had caused today.

I laid on my bed, thinking about everything that had happened, about how tired I was. I was about to close my eyes when I heard a knock on my door.

I opened it to see my tired mom leaning against the doorframe. "Someones here to see you." was all she said before her body turned around and walked downstairs.

I stood there confused until I decided to go see who it was. I heard some muttering from the kitchen, walking in to see it was my mom and Louis. He turned to me, giving a small smile.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi?" I replied back, wondering what he was doing here even though he was here a few hours ago.

"We're going somewhere come on." He pointed out, grabbing some keys from his pockets.

I stepped back. "Oh I can't...I'm in my pajamas and I don't think my parents-" I started to say before my mom interrupted me.

"You can go, be back by 10, I'm only letting you out this late since your dad is too tired, now go." She said, rubbing her temples, clearly tired at the sight of me.

"Come on, let's go." Louis grabbed my arm and directed me towards a car.

"Since when do you know how to drive?" I questioned, not remembering a single moment he has been behind the wheel in the months I've known him.

"My dad has been taking me to lessons since I got back, but I don't have my permit yet, so if we get pulled over, we gotta switch seats real quick." He winked at me as I got into the passengers seat.

"You have your phone right?" He asked as he put the key into the ignition.

I nodded, "And 20 bucks, though I don't think it'll be much help here." He chuckled as he started down the road.

He never told me where we were going, but I didn't bother to ask. I just looked out the window as we drove past. The sun was already gone, the moon beginning to make its way up the sky, shining brightly down at us. It wasn't a long drive I noticed because we pulled in behind a long string of cars that led to the high school parking lot. I found a sign at the front that read "Holiday drive-through ; LAST DAY!"

"Where are we Lou?" I asked, turning to him.

He faced me with his hands still on the wheels. "This school holds this drive through for like a month and a half during the holidays even after and since you've never been, I decided to bring you here. To you know...cheer you up." He gave me a weak look, one I know all to well.

I didn't know what to respond with so I just nodded my head at him, turning away to look at the cars around us.

"Do you- Would you want to talk about it?" He asked quietly.

"I'd rather not." I mumbled back. I didn't hear a reply.

The wait wasn't long, maybe around 15 minutes or so. I didn't look at Louis much, only turned to him when I heard a voice speaking.

"5 pounds sir." It was a girl. I turned to her, she was pretty, but I don't think she noticed me just yet. Her hair was a pretty silky brown and she was wearing jeans that show off her curves along with a puffer jacket.

Louis handed her the money which she took, batting her eyelashes and touching his hand obnoxiously. I snorted at the sight which caught her attention. She walked away hastily.

"Thank you." Louis said to me, interlocking our hands. "Yup no problem." I held on tighter.

The drive through was a quick one, there were a bunch of Christmas themed inflatables along with lights strung around. There was holiday music playing as breezed by, it was a nice get away at the least.

Once we exited, there were a bunch of cars parking by a hot cocoa stand, which I perked up in my seat for. Louis took notice of that and parked.

"Let's go, yeah?" Louis nodded his head, unlocking the car. I was about to open my door when I saw Louis rush to my side and open it for me.

"Why thank you kind sir." I said in a fake british accent.

"Anytime for you M'Lady." Louis replied in his actual accent. I laughed as he interlocked our arms, guiding us to the stand.

"2 hot cocoas please." Louis said to the guy in the front. While Louis was paying and getting our stuff, I looked around at the people around us. Lots of couples, but the ones that stuck out were the happy families. Full happy families, not a fake smile in sight or a mean yell or scream in radius. I looked at them in jealousy.

"Here you go." A steaming cup appeared in front of me. I grabbed it, ignoring the hot pain I felt in my hands. I turned to him taking a sip. The whip cream on top mixing in with the hot liquid, luckily not burning my tongue.

I looked at Louis and grinned which he returned. I took another sip and slowly let the warm fluid down my throat. I looked up at Louis to see him chuckling at me.

"Why are you laughing at me?" I asked, nudging him in the stomach.

He didn't reply, instead he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Swiping right, he put the phone up the my face, the flash blurring my eyes.

"You look cute." He admired the picture for a while before turning it to me. I had a cheeky smile plastered on my face which I didn't mind, though my upper lip was filled with whip cream, which I knew Louis was talking about. My face felt warm with embarrassment.

Before I had a chance to wipe it away, Louis did it for me with a napkin he had in hand.

"Thank you." I mumbled.

"Of course." He answered back.

I don't think I thanked him for the drive through either.

"Thank you for the thing too." Louis turned away to throw away the napkin. Facing me again, he put his arm around my shoulder, pulling my body in close.

"Always."

A/N

I'm literally so tired. holy crap. I woke up at 5:50 am and couldn't go back to sleep. I left my zoom class early just to take a nap before my second class LOLOLOL. this was 2774 words btw omg.

anyways hope you all have an amazing and great day. Love you <33

- jules

questions :

• are you a messy or neat kind of person ?
a ; i think i'm both, i'm neat on some days, but i'm messy on others

• what's your fashion style ?
a ; tbh...i'm not sure. here's some pics of my outfits tho, you can decide for me ; i tried to make a collage but it didn't work smh.
i have more but i didn't want to be annoying and post all of them LOL ; someone tell me i have good fashion taste i need that boost of confidence 😀