We Could Have Fallen in Love

“SJ, please, don’t be mad at me,” Kelsey begged her the next day as she put the last dirty dish in the dishwasher. SJ had been sitting in the kitchen for the past ten minutes, barely saying a word to Kelsey as she ate her breakfast—yes, eating at 12:00 in the afternoon was breakfast to her.

“I’m not fucking mad,” SJ muttered through gritted teeth.

“Yes, you are. You’re barely talking to me!” Kelsey exclaimed.

SJ dropped her spoon with a clatter into her empty cereal bowl. She didn’t say a word as she brought the bowl to the sink.

“SJ, talk to me,” Kelsey pleaded.

“What do you want me to say?” SJ snapped. “I’m not mad at you.” SJ wasn’t mad—she was just pissed off. If Dougie hadn’t been there last night and she’d been thinking properly, she would have realized from the first sip that Tosh had been spiking her iced tea. But no, instead, she got to wake up in the morning with a bloody hangover that she wasn’t completely over yet. So excuse SJ if she wasn’t fucking jumping for joy.

“You so obviously are,” Kelsey pointed out, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “I really am sorry, I really tried to convince my parents to let you come with us to France.”

Oh yes. And Kelsey’s last minute change in plans, which left SJ stranded in London for Christmas with nowhere to go, wasn’t exactly contributing to SJ’s glowing mood. Damn Kelsey’s grandma for breaking her leg, SJ thought angrily to herself as she stomped over to the cupboard and opened it. Mmm, a baguette…SJ tore a hunk of bread off and bit into it furiously. “I’m not mad at you,” SJ said once she had swallowed. “I’m just…mad.”

“Is this about Dougie?” Kelsey ventured a guess.

“No shit,” SJ replied sarcastically, before launching into a tirade. “How dare Harry bring him over? Who the fuck told him he could do that? I cannot believe him. And then he made me so nervous I couldn’t even say anything to him so I’m sure he thought I was, like, the biggest bitch ever because it probably seemed like I was completely ignoring him, but I wasn’t, I just didn’t know what to say to him! And I think he dyed his hair again, or undyed it, or something, because it’s blonder now and he was wearing a plaid shirt and you know I love guys who wear plaid shirts but I just couldn’t look at him, you know? And Tosh kept spiking my drink and I didn’t even realize because I was so freaked out about Dougie and it was just so weird.” SJ grabbed another hunk of bread and chewed.

“I’m sorry,” Kelsey said sympathetically. “It must have been really awkward.”

“Not just awkward, it was fucking terrible!” SJ opened the freezer and took out the chocolate ice cream. She found a spoon and took a big bite. She was bingeing, she knew. But at least eating made her feel slightly better. And in any case it didn’t matter; she would probably throw it all up later. “And now, since I have nowhere to go for Christmas, I have to ask Harry if I can celebrate with him, and he’s going to Dougie’s family’s house, which means I’m going to have to go, which makes everything even worse.”

“Aw, SJ.” Kelsey hugged her. “Je suis désolée, vraiment. But don’t let him get under your skin.”

“I know…” SJ sighed. “Thanks, Kel. Je dois telephoner Harry et le lui dire.” SJ stood up to hunt for her cell phone.

“I think they need to get back together,” Danny announced to Harry and Tom as they sat in Tom’s posh living room.

Harry stared at the guitarist. “Are you mad?”

“I’m serious,” Danny insisted.

“Did you not see how uncomfortable SJ looked last night?” Harry demanded. He shook his head. “I bet she hated me for bringing him.”

“She didn’t look that uncomfortable,” Tom interjected.

“Well, I’m her cousin. I can always tell,” Harry said. “And also, Dougie barely drank any of his beer. He must have been really upset.” Harry shook his head again, unable to even contemplate what could possibly upset Dougie so much that the prospect of getting drunk wasn’t even appealing.

“Exactly why we should get them back together,” Danny replied. He sounded proud with his idea.

Even Tom, ever the optimist, looked doubtful. “I dunno, mate. I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”

“Are you forgetting the fact that Dougie hates her?” Harry demanded.

Danny just smiled, as though they were all wrong and he was right. Before Harry could say anything else, Dougie wandered in from the kitchen. He gave them a suspicious look when they ceased talking right away. “What are you lot talking about?” he asked them.

“Nothing,” Harry and Tom said in unison, but Danny ruined it and blurted, “SJ.”

The expression on Dougie’s face darkened immediately. “I hate that bitch,” he muttered as he threw himself down on a couch.

Harry gave Danny an I-told-you-so look, but Danny looked smug. Before Harry could try and knock some sense into him, his phone vibrated. He checked the caller id. “It’s SJ. Speak of the devil.”

Dougie glanced over. “Literally,” he mumbled. Harry threw him a dirty look, and Dougie quickly looked away.

“Salut. Talk to me, cuz,” Harry answered the phone.

“Hey, Harry.” SJ’s voice seemed quieter than usual. “I kinda have a really huge favor to ask you…”

Harry hung up the phone a couple minutes later and exhaled. Tom and Danny, who had both been listening intently to Harry’s side of the conversation, exchanged looks. “What is it?” Tom asked, leaning forward curiously.

Harry looked at his bandmates. Dougie was reading a magazine indifferently, but Harry could tell he was very alert. He took another deep breath. “Er, Dougie, so it looks like you’ve got a new guest for Christmas,” he broke the news.

“What?” Dougie snapped, throwing down the magazine that he’d been pretending to read.

“I’m sorry, I really am,” Harry apologized. “Kelsey apparently bailed out on SJ and now she has nowhere to go.”

“What?!” Dougie spat again.

“Doug, she’s my cousin, whether you like it or not, alright? And if you think leaving her out on the street is how I treat my family, you are very wrong,” Harry told him, a little sharply.

Dougie shut up and fumed in silence. He looked furious. Tom looked almost amused. And Danny was looking even more smug than ever.

This is gonna be one interesting Christmas, Harry thought to himself.

He wasn’t wrong.