A Cherry Sunset

I bit my bottom lip and looked myself over in the mirror one more time. Oliver’s parents had insisted on having us over for dinner the day after I was released from the hospital. Of course, I didn’t have anything too fancy packed so I was panicking about being under dressed. I wanted to make a good impression. Well, honestly, I didn’t want to go at all. I rolled my eyes before exiting the bathroom and going into the main area of Oliver’s apartment.

I was surprised at first when I found out that Oliver did not have a roommate. He did not own a house or any fancy furniture. He had a simple flat, a nice bed that I was more than happy to share with him, and less clutter than I had. It was a cute place and it fit him perfectly. I liked it.

Oliver was standing in the kitchen area when I walked out. He grinned at me and picked up a pair of keys from the counter. “Yeh readeh now?” He chuckled as he walked toward me.

I rolled my eyes again and muttered. “I suppose so.” He chuckled some more as he put an arm around my waist and pulled me to the door.

“’S nothin’ teh worreh ‘bout, love.” Oliver tried reassuring me as he kissed my temple. It was a sweet gesture that made my nerves calm a bit as my insides warmed. We walked out to his car, side by side and silent. It wasn’t until we were actually in the car, when our bodies weren’t touching anymore, that my anxiety came back.

“So,” I started and tapped my fingers on my knee. “Is it just going to me us and your parents?” I winced. I had never experienced this much pressure for just ‘meeting the parents’, but then, I hadn’t really had to ever meet anyone’s parents before either.

Oliver chuckled and reached over to grab my hand as he started backing out of the parking spot. “Not realleh. Dee’ll be there, probableh with Matt. And Tommeh’s bringin’ ‘is new bird ‘round.” I wasn’t quite sure whether I should be less or more nervous with December and Tom there. December was too brash for a quiet evening, which was what I was mostly hoping for.

“Great. So I’ll probably be teased all night.” I nodded and exhaled slowly before muttering. “Fucking fantastic.”

He squeezed my hand and glanced over at me. “Calm down, Em. They’ll love yeh. Trus’ meh.” He smirked and winked before pulling out onto the road. I scrunched my nose as he pulled onto the left side of the road. I really wasn’t used to that yet.

“How about for now you keep this hand on the steering wheel.” I placed the hand that was holding mine back on the wheel and patted the back of it as I bit my bottom lip. Oliver laughed hard as a car went by and I flinched.

“Yeh silleh, yeh know?” He returned his hand to mine and continued to drive with ease. I pouted and continued to cringe every time we passed a car going in the opposite direction. I was actually almost thankful when we got to his parents and parked in the driveway. I inhaled deeply and held my breath as I looked over the pale blue two story house. “Want teh come inside, Em?”

I looked over at Oliver and couldn’t help but smile. “Sure.” I giggled and got out of the car, gladly taking his hand again as we started up the front walk together. I didn’t realize that I was tightening my grip on his hand until he started to stroke the back of my hand with his thumb. I mumbled a “sorry” just before we reached the door.

Oliver winked at me as he opened the unlocked front door and then stepped inside the house, pulling me with him. I bit my bottom lip as I started to take in my surroundings. “’S tha’ meh Oleh or meh Tom?” A women’s voice called and made me jump.

Oliver shook his head as he slipped his shoes off. “’S meh, mum!” He yelled back as he waited for me to slip off my shoes as well and then he was pulling me down the hall and toward another room. A woman with blue eyes and short black hair met us in a nicely decorated room that had two couches.

“Oliver!” The woman grinned and opened her arms toward him. Of course he let go of me to go and hug her. “’S been too long since yeh been ‘round.” She laughed as she released him and then turned to me. “An’ yeh mus’ be Emileh, righ’?” My cheeks blushed as I nodded. “’S so good teh see yeh, love. Yeh gave us all a scare by goin’ inteh the hospital.” Before I knew it, she was hugging me tightly just as she had Oliver.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” I laughed nervously and hugged her back. It was strange to be welcomed so warmly, but it was a nice strange.

“As I ‘ear it, it wasn’t yeh fault in the slightest so don’t beh sorreh, love.” She waved my awkward apology away and then smiled. “We’re ‘appy teh ‘ave yeh, Emileh.” I blushed deeper as I nodded my head and then she glanced at Oliver. “Yeh sisteh an’ Matt are upstairs playin’ the video games. Go join ‘em an’ I’ll send Tom teh get yeh when ‘e gets ‘ere an’ supeh’s readeh.” She tilted her head back toward the hallway.

Oliver chuckled. “Yes, mum.” He sweetly kissed her cheek while she batted him away. They both chuckled and then Oliver took my hand again and led me through the hallway, to a small staircase. The steps were narrow so I carefully watched my feet as I followed him up.

Once upstairs, there were five doors that lined the walls. Two of them were open. One led to a small bathroom that had dark blue walls and the other contained two adults shouting at a television. This room had red walls, a simple bed in the middle, clothes everywhere, bookshelves that lined the walls but that had anything but books on them, and a small television that was hooked up to some gaming device. December was stretched out on her stomach on top of the bed while Matt was sitting on the floor at the end of the bed.

“Yeh bloodeh twat! Yeh jus’ fuckin’ shot meh! Wha’ the ‘ell was tha’?” December pushed Matt’s head as she tossed her controller to the floor. “I fuckin’ give up tryin’ teh save yeh arse.” I giggled and her eyes quickly snapped to Oliver and I. “Emmeh!” She screeched before scrambling off the bed to crush my lungs in a hug.

“I’m excited to see you too, Dee!” I tried hugging her back though she had my arms practically pinned to my sides. Oliver laughed as he picked her controller up and took the spot beside Matt on the ground.

“Thanks fer the welcome ‘ome Oleh.” Oliver sarcastically smiled at her. “I missed yeh too, Dee.”

“I see yer face too much teh miss shit ‘bout it.” December let go of me to swat at him. “Now yeh two stay ‘ere while I take Em teh Tommeh’s room teh catch up.” Neither boy was really paying attention as they’d started another round on the video game and I couldn’t protest much as she dragged me from the room.

She led me to one of the rooms that had been closed before and it made sense that it was Toms’ room. The walls were white as was the carpet, but the bed set was blood red. There was a couch at the end of it that had a laptop sitting on one of the cushions. A desk stood in the corner with papers and folders strewn across it. There was only one book case that did actually have books on all its shelves expect one. The top shelf had three cameras evenly spaced out on it. I only had a few moments to take in those details as December quickly plopped down onto the bed and pulled me with her.

“I cannot tell yeh ‘ow awful I feel ‘bout the whole airport incident.” December pouted as she squeezed my hand. “I didn’t mean teh ruin yeh surprise fer Oleh. I’m sorreh.”

“Don’t be.” I squeezed her hand back and smiled a little. “The surprise had more to do with what I had to say to him anyway. The bad part was just that the car reversed over me and that had nothing to do with you so everything’s fine.” I waved it off and then bit my bottom lip. December was giving me that weird-excited look.

“Wha’ did yeh ‘ave teh say teh ‘im?” She smirked and I could see the scream already building in her throat.

“Just that, you know,” I shrugged and tried my hardest to make it nonchalant. “I love him.” I muttered but it didn’t matter. December screamed anyway. Thankfully though, it wasn’t as loud as I was expecting it to be. The boys probably didn’t even hear her.

“Aw! Tha’s sweet! I’m so ‘appeh fer yeh an’ Oleh! This is great!” She hugged me again as she continued to rant. I couldn’t help but giggle as I hugged her back. Then she completely froze and pulled away with wide eyes. “Wait. Did,” she stopped and frowned. “Did Oleh say it back teh yeh?”

I started to blush automatically. “Well, yeah.”

She squealed again. I giggled lightly as I covered my ears. “Yer so damn cute!” I was sure the boys could hear her now. She was starting to pick up momentum. “I can’t bloodeh wait till yeh’ve got litt-el Emileh an’ Oliver Sykes runnin’ ‘round! I’m gonna beh such a great aunt!” This was the second time December had mentioned kids with the context of Oliver and I. My eyes widened a little with alarm. Last time it had been more of a joke, now though, we were a little closer to that being a reality.

“Oh, wow, um,” I couldn’t spit out words that made sense together. My thoughts were jumbled together at just the thought of having a child with Oliver. “I can’t … That doesn’t …. Without …” I was starting to breathe a little heavy when the knock on her door saved us. Tom stood in the doorway with a wide grin.

“Tommeh!” December yelled and hopped off the bed, throwing herself into Tom’s arms. Tom was looking at me with his eyebrows raised, probably because of how I was staring at him like he was my savior.

“’Ey Dee, ‘ey Emileh.” He waved to me as he put December back on her feet. “Can I ask why both of yer boys are in meh room while yer in ‘ere?”

“We were ‘avin’ some girl time.” December smirked and winked at me.

“Why’s Emileh look so green?” Tom frowned and I tried putting on a big smile when December turned around to look at me suspiciously. He chuckled at that and then pushed December out of the room. “Alrigh’ enough teasin’ Em. ‘S time teh go down fer suppeh. Go peel Matt an’ Oleh off the telly.”

December grumbled but I supposed she went anyway because her grumbling soon turned to mumbling and then I couldn’t even hear her anymore. Tom turned to me and gave me a look. I smiled honestly this time and held my arms out. “It’s nice to see you again, Tommeh.” I badly imitated their accent and that got a chuckle out of him.

“I think I missed yeh the most, Em.” He came over to the bed and hugged me tight. “The loons are startin’ teh get teh meh.” I laughed too and then pulled away. He sat on the bed with me and just grinned. “I ‘eard wha’ yeh ‘ad teh say teh Oleh.”

My cheeks flushed again and I immediately dropped my eyes to the red comforter under us. “Did, uh, did Oli tell you?” Tom laughed and I darted my vision up to his pretty blues for a moment.

“Well, I been tryin’ teh get meh fluke brotheh teh tell yeh since tour ended. ‘E told meh yeh beat ‘im teh it jus’ like yeh did ‘fore.” We both chuckled again. “’E’s startin’ teh be the bird in yer relationship.” I covered my face with my hands as we started laughing harder.

“I thought suppeh was readeh.” Oliver’s voice, even though it was sarcastic, warmed my insides. Both Tom and I looked up to see him standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He was fake scowling at Tom. Tom just rolled his eyes as he stood up.

“Keep yeh knickeh’s on.” Tom sarcastically shot back at him and then offered me his hand to help me up. “Yeh’ll get yeh stomach filled soon ‘nough.” Oliver rolled his eyes too and they both slightly shoved each other as Tom went out the door.

“Twat.” Oliver muttered after him too and I raised my eyebrows at him. “Wha’?” He smiled innocently and my insides melted again. I pretended to not be affected though as I smacked his chest lightly.

“I’m still not completely sure what twat means, but I don’t think you should call your brother one.” He laughed and put an arm around my waist.

“’E’s meh litt-el brotheh.” Oliver argued and I pursed my lips. I didn’t have siblings of my own but I’d seen enough shows on television to know it was normal to tease or argue with them. I still didn’t find it very nice though.

“Fine.” I shrugged and then walked out of his arms, toward the staircase. It wasn’t until I reached that first step that all my nerves came back full force. It was like I was frozen. Tom and December and even Matt, I could handle. Mr. and Mrs. Sykes scared the shit out of me.

Oliver’s hands gripped my hips and squeezed. “Take it one step at a time.” He whispered into my ear and then kissed my cheek. I couldn’t help but smile. I knew he wasn’t just talking about the stairs and the fact that he was trying to reassure me just made me want to melt all over.

I turned my head to the side and looked up at his hazel eyes. I smiled and then he smiled and then I just couldn’t help myself. I leaned up and kissed his lips softly. I pretty much forgot the rest of the world just like a cliché. My body slowly turned toward his and then my hands went in his hair, making us closer. Oliver pulled back first, laughing lightly.

“We betteh follow or else mum’ll send Dee teh come get us.” I blushed slightly, realizing just how lost I’d been in him, as he smirked. Then I turned around and slowly went back down the stairs, smiling the whole way.

Mrs. Sykes had dinner all laid out on the table. Her and Mr. Sykes each sat at the very ends of the table. Then December sat in between Matt and Oliver while Tom sat in between me and his date, Lane. I was a little anxious sitting by Tom and Mr. Sykes, but then I just had to look up and see Oliver right across from me and the anxiety melted away just like before.

Dinner was wonderful, thankfully. Everything tasted delicious. I complimented Mrs. Sykes on her cooking politely and got a stern look with the comment that I’d better just call her Carol. Conversation was easy. I laughed most of the time and just enjoyed the stories going round about Oliver and Tom and December when they were all young. Carol, Tom, and Oliver talked a little about some clothing line. December and Lane talked about hair styles and salons at one point. Matt talked about some game I didn’t understand with Mr. Sykes.

After dinner, Carol insisted we stay for a bit of warm tea in the front room. December sprawled out on the ground, lying her head in Matt’s lap, and almost instantly went to sleep. Tom and Lane sat on the couch while Tom inconspicuously laid his arm against the back of the couch. Carol sat with them and then Mr. Sykes sat in the chair closest to the couch. Oliver sat down in the other chair and I went to go join Matt on the ground, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him before I could. I ended up sitting on his lap awkwardly. After a moment though, I relaxed and got more comfortable.

I was really enjoying the evening, but I couldn’t help but think what if this was Oliver meeting my parents. There would be no laid back demeanor or easy conversation there. The air would hold too much tension and I couldn’t sit with Oliver like this without seeing them size us both up with their judging eyes. It was awful to think of my parents that way. I hated what they had become. They just put so much emphasis on social status.

“Oleh, yeh bes’ get ‘er ‘ome ‘fore she falls out ‘ere like yeh sisteh.” Mr. Sykes chuckled while Carol agreed. My head quickly snapped up. I hadn’t even honestly realized that I’d laid it down on his shoulder.

“Now yeh woke ‘er up, Dad.” Tom snickered. “An’ she looked so peaceful as she slept.”

“She’s a ‘ell raiseh.” Oliver commented as everyone chuckled. I glared at him as I straightened up a bit and he squeezed my waist. “In the best way.” He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

“Yeh should ‘ave jus kept yeh mouth shut Oleh.” Matt shook his head as he laughed. Oliver kissed my cheek and I immediately relaxed back into his arms.

“Why don’t yeh all stay ‘ere fer the nigh’?” Carol smiled as she reached over and grabbed Mr. Sykes hand.

“I ‘ave teh get Lane ‘ome. She’s got work in the mornin’.” Tom sighed and smiled a little as he looked over at Lane. She blushed like mad and ran her hands through her hair.

“We always love teh ‘ave yeh ‘round, Lane.” Mr. Sykes chuckled as Tom stood up and pulled Lane up after him. Carol quickly stood too and grabbed her son in a long hug.

“Dinneh was great, mum.” Tom hugged her back and I almost started tearing up. It was just so loving and warm. Everything around me was so like that simple hug.

“The whole evenin’ ‘s been grand.” Lane added as Carol finally let go of Tom and turned to give the small girl another bone crushing hug. Lane giggled.

“Oh, it was nothin’. Yeh come back soon, righ’? We do love ‘avin’ yeh.” Carol let go of her and then turned to lightly slap Mr. Sykes hand. “Well get up, Ian! Yeh got teh give ‘em a propeh goodbye ‘fore they both leave.” Oliver and Matt snickered as Lane giggled and also hugged Mr. Sykes.

“I’ll be by tomorrow.” Tom reassured his parents as he also hugged his dad. Tom and Lane said goodbyes to the rest of us too and then left. Carol excused herself to the kitchen after that while Mr. Sykes picked up a newspaper and started reading.

Oliver squeezed my waist a few moments later and whispered my name into my ear. “Emileh?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Hmm?”

“Do yeh mind stayin’ ‘ere fer the nigh’?” I glanced at him and those hazel eyes widened a little as he started to pout. Even if I felt absolutely uncomfortable in this house, I wouldn’t have been able to say no to him. I grinned and shook my head. He grinned too and quickly kissed my cheek before he started talking about something with Matt. I started to get a little drowsy again so I laid my head back down on Oliver’s shoulder for a bit.

I’m not quite sure how much time passed, but eventually Carol came back into the room. She got onto Oliver and Matt instantly for letting us girls sleep in such awkward positions. I giggled and lifted my head as Matt started to pick December up.

“I’ll jus’ take Dee up teh ‘er bed.” He mumbled and Carol smirked at him as he walked by her.

“Yeh can sleep ‘ere teh, Matt. Yeh practicalleh famileh.” Carol crossed her arms as Matt smirked.

“I love yeh teh, Carol.” Matt nodded before disappearing up the stairs. Carol shook her head as she laughed to herself. Then she turned to Oliver and I.

“I suppose yeh’ll be leavin’ ‘ere soon teh, righ’?” Carol raised her eyebrows and frowned a little. Oliver started to lift me so we both stood up. I bit my bottom lip as Oliver cleared his throat.

“We were ‘opin’ teh stay ‘ere, fer tonigh’.” Oliver smiled a little and the look in Carol’s eyes melted my heart all over again. It was evident how much it meant to Carol to have her son stay over and I was pretty sure Oliver was doing it just to see that look in her eyes too.

“Well,” Carol quickly looked away from us, turning toward Mr. Sykes. Mr. Sykes stood up and put an arm around her.

“Yer room is the same as yeh left it, Oleh. Though I’m not sure Emileh will enjoy sleepin’ there.” He smirked and Oliver rolled his eyes. “We’ll see yeh in the mornin’.”

“Good nigh’ Emileh, Oliveh.” Carol smiled at us and waved a little. Oliver put his hand on my back and gently nudged me toward the direction the stairs were in.

“Good night.” I called back before Oliver had completely pushed me to the stairs. Once we got to the stairs, Oliver went in front of me and led the way to the one bedroom I hadn’t seen yet.

The room wasn’t what someone would normally expect to be even remotely connected to Oliver. But it was so Oliver at the same time. It was the Oliver I knew, anyway. The walls were a pale blue color. The bed set was different sized stripes of different kinds of grays. There was only the bed and a small desk in the room. The desk was empty and against the wall, just under the only window.

It was clean and neat, like Oliver's own place. There were no band posters or small tokens like most teenagers kept in their rooms. I wondered if this was exactly how the room looked when he lived here. I must have been smiling as I looked around because Oliver raised his eyebrows at me. I did the same right back at him.

He chuckled. "Wha' yeh grinnin' like tha' fer?" He opened the closet and started pulling some items of clothing out, tossing them onto the bed. I sat on the bed next to the pile of clothes.

"It's nothing." I giggled and then bit my bottom lip, shrugging. "I just love you're room."

He turned toward me and gave me that odd look again. "'S empteh." He stated and then glanced around. "I took most of meh stuff out when I moved."

"That makes sense." I nodded and giggled again. "Do you ever make a mess though? Seriously? Everything seems to be picture perfect in your apartment." I trailed off as he smirked and walked over to me, leaving the closet door open.

"I make a mess when I need teh." His smirk widened a bit more as he bent down to cup my face in his hands and press his lips firmly against mine. I giggled some more as I kissed him back.

There was a low whistle from the doorway though that made us pull apart quickly. It was just Matt and Oliver cursed a good night to him as he went over, closing his bedroom door while Matt walked off laughing. I blushed as I stared at the closet, waiting for Oliver to come back.

Which he didn't really come to me. Instead, he went back to the closet. He grabbed a few more items and then turned toward the bed. "These are fer yeh." He handed me a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. "I can go teh the," I stood up before he finished his sentence.

"I'll go to the bathroom." I hugged the clothes he'd given to me to my chest and kissed him softly before I left. My cheeks were on fire again as I walked over to the bathroom. Thankfully I didn't run into Matt on my way though.

Once I got to the bathroom, I changed and folded my clothes, setting them on the sink. I put my hair up and splashed my face with some water. I sighed happily before I left the bathroom with my clothes in my hand again. I lightly knocked on Oliver's door, biting my bottom lip. He mumbled something that I couldn't really understand so I waited a few seconds before I cracked the door open.

The whole room was black since the light was already turned off. I tiptoed in but I couldn't see where Oliver was. I tossed my clothes to the floor in a random spot and heard him chuckle from the bed.

"Now look who's makin' a mess." I grinned as I went over to the bed. It was easy to tell now that he was lying on it.

"I'll pick it up in the morning." He chuckled again and as I sat on the bed his arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me toward him.

"Don't botheh. I like 'avin' yeh clothes 'round meh room." He kissed my neck and I shivered before giggling. I closed my eyes and snuggled into my pillow. My mind was officially made up. Oliver was perfect.