My Little Bird

Asher didn't see Harry again at all that week. After the way things had gone with her and Abigail she wasn't even sure that Abby would allow him to see her. She went to Finch's a lot to see Olly and when she wasn't there, she mostly stayed at the flat. Perrie came by a few times to hang out with her and Eleanor and Liam even brought his new girlfriend by to meet her. Of course Sophia was lovely and she and Asher got along great. That only made her question even more why Abigail disliked her so much.

Eleanor had to go out for a few hours which gave her the perfect opportunity to hang out with Olly again without her cousin questioning her. She had told him to come over around one pm and she had originally planned to be dressed and ready by then, but that was before her sister Iris called her on skype. She was busy trying to keep up with Iris's high school drama to notice the time so when the doorbell rang at three minutes past, she cursed loudly and told her sister to wait while she went to answer the door.

Olly was waiting patiently on the stoop, his hands shoved into his jeans pockets and a crooked smile on his face, when she opened the door. "I'm so sorry!" was the first thing she blurted. "My sister called and time got away from me and I haven't even showered and-"

"It's fine, Asher," he chuckled. "We've got all day." She sent him a grateful smile and opened the door wider for him to come inside. He stepped inside the flat, grinning as he slid past her. "Nice glasses."

She automatically reached up to adjust the black glasses perched on her nose before sticking her tongue out at him. "I didn't feel like putting my contacts in this morning so you can fuck right off."

He laughed as he followed her upstairs to her room and as soon as she walked in, Iris was running her mouth again. Asher flopped down on her stomach, folding her hands under her chin as she let her sister finish the story. It was amazing how talkative the sixteen year old could be when it was 8am her time. "Iris, I know you have tons more to tell me but think I can call you back later? I kind of have plans."

"Oh?" The younger girl smirked, raising her eyebrows questioningly. "Has my big sister got a date?"

Asher rolled her eyes. "No, it's not a date. Just hanging out with a friend."

"Friend, my ass. Is he cute?"

Olly chuckled from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed and Asher rolled her eyes as she turned the laptop toward him, allowing her sister to see him. Iris's eyes widened when she realized that he had been sitting there the whole time. "Oh," she chuckled awkwardly. "Hi there."

He threw her a wave as he laughed again and Asher turned the computer back so that she could see her sister again. Iris mouthed a WOW to her and she laughed, shaking her head. "I'll call you later, okay? Give the girls a kiss for me."

"Yeah, right," the younger girl retorted. "Flora's been driving me crazy this week! And Millie won't even help me babysit her. She's too busy reading some stupid book on her summer reading list."

She knew that Iris had to be exaggerating because Flora was a perfect, quiet little angel who never bothered anyone. "Hey, be nice. You're supposed to be the adult while Mom and Dad are at work."

"Well I have better things to do than hang out with my little sisters," Iris grumbled.

Asher grinned. "Don't think I didn't feel the same way about you, baby sis."

"Whatever. I'm gonna go but have fun on your date!" Without allowing her sister to respond, Iris ended the call and Asher rolled her eyes as she closed her laptop, sliding it away from her as she sat up.

"Sorry about my sister," she sighed, shaking her head. "I still need to shower. I promise I'll only be like fifteen minutes."

"Take your time," he replied, waving her off. "Mind if I use your laptop?"

"Nope. Go right ahead. I'll try to be fast." She handed her laptop to him, sliding off her bed and going over to the closet to get some clothes before heading into the bathroom. She realized after she'd stripped out of her pajamas that she left her phone on her nightstand but it was too late to go back and get it so she just had to take her shower without her music.

She showered and got dressed in record time, fixing her hair into a loose side braid since she didn't want to take the time to dry and style it. When she went back into her room, Olly was leaning against the headboard, the computer in his lap as he typed furiously. He quickly finished whatever it was when she entered the room then looked up at her confused. "I just tried to add you on facebook, but I can't find you."

"That's because I don't have one."

"Why not?"

She shrugged, going over to the dresser to retrieve a pair of warm socks. "I don't know that many people. And of the people I do know, most of them aren't people I am or would be friends with. You'd be surprised how many people don't like me."

"Now that's impossible. Who wouldn't like you?"

Asher chuckled as she sat down on the edge of the bed to slide her feet into her socks. "Lots of people back home don't. Harry's girlfriend doesn't. I've heard it's because I'm kind of weird."

"How are you weird?"

"I don't exactly keep up with the girls my age as far as fashion, or movies, or music, or.....anything really. I feel like I'm from another planet when people start discussing celebrities or their favorite tv shows. Because I have no clue what they're talking about."

He was quiet for a moment before he smiled and stood up, offering her his hand. "Well, their loss is my gain."

They headed down into the kitchen and Olly leaned against the counter while Asher went to the fridge to see if there was anything to cook. Dissatisfied with her findings, she checked the cupboards, finding little more than a box of macaroni and cheese. She turned back to him, a playful smile on her lips as she set the box on the counter. "Well, it looks like you're in for a gourmet meal."

"My favorite," he grinned in return.

She laughed as she dug around in the cupboard to retrieve a pot then filled it with water and set it on the stove to boil. She leaned against the counter opposite him and crossed her arms over her chest while he stood up straight and walked slowly toward her. Her eyebrows rose and gave him a small smirk as he stopped in front of her, sliding his hands around her forearms. "What are you doing?"

He only grinned as he pulled her arms away from her body, eliminating the last bit of space between them and pushing his lips onto hers. It had been over a year since she'd been properly kissed and God had she missed it. She had to admit, Olly was a fantastic kisser, but at the same time, it felt rushed and it was rougher than she had imagined it would be. He had one hand wound into the back of her hair, his fingers slightly tugging it while his other hand rested on the curve of her hip.

"Ash? You here?" a voice called from the foyer at the same time the front door slammed shut.

She pushed him away immediately, taking a step back from him as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. "In the kitchen," she called to whoever it was when she finally found her voice.

"You really shouldn't leave the door unlocked when you're here by-" Zayn appeared around the corner, his eyes landing first on the blushing, clearly embarrassed girl and then the proudly smirking boy standing next to her. It was obvious that he had interrupted something. "Oh, sorry. Didn't know you had....company."

"Um, what's up?" she asked, ignoring his insinuation.

"Eleanor said you were home alone today so I just stopped by to see if you wanted to come out with Perrie and me. Guess I should've called first," he added, his eyes shifting back to the boy he'd never seen before. He'd heard of Olly from Niall and Harry and he knew that they (especially Harry) didn't like or trust him, which automatically meant that he didn't like or trust him either.

The hissing of hot water bubbling over the top of the pot snapped Asher out of her thoughts and she turned back to the stove. Olly stared right back at Zayn, neither of them breaking eye contact as Asher quickly took the pot off the hot burner and set it on the back burner for the moment. When she turned back to them, she cleared her throat awkwardly to break the silence. "Um, Zayn, this is Olly. Olly, my friend Zayn."

"Heard a lot about you, mate," Olly said, nodding at the other boy.

Zayn's stare didn't falter, even when Olly finally looked away. "Yeah, I've heard a bit about you too."

Asher glanced between the two of them, feeling the tension in the room. "Thanks for thinking of me, Zayn. Tell Perrie I'll text her?"

His expression softened as he looked over at her and nodded, taking that as his cue to leave. "Yeah, I'll tell her. But I should warn ya, Niall said somethin' about comin' over later. Might have some more visitors."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"See ya later, yeah?"

She gave him a small smile and nodded, watching as he took one last glance at Olly before disappearing from the doorway. Once the front door shut, Olly slid into one of the bar stools by the counter, chuckling. "Are all your friends gonna hate me?"

Asher sighed as she turned back to the stove to put the pot back onto the hot burner to start boiling again. "They just don't know you. They'll come around."

"If you say so."

Her phone dinged from where it was sitting on the counter next to the sink, notifying her that she had received a new text message. Olly watched her curiously as she slid her finger across the screen to read the new text from her cousin.

You're hanging out with Olly again?

Asher rolled her eyes as she typed out a reply. Of course Zayn must have opened his big mouth as soon as he got back outside on the front stoop. She wasn't sure what the problem was as far as the boys not liking him, but now they were in turn convincing Eleanor not to like him as well. It was obvious they were all very wary of him and Asher's relationship with him.

Her phone dinged again but this time it wasn't her cousin; it was Niall.

I'm coming over.

So Zayn hadn't just told Eleanor. He had apparently told everyone and now they decided to run interference. She wasn't sure if it was Niall's own idea to come over and be a third wheel or if it had come from someone else but it really didn't matter. What was she supposed to say? She couldn't be rude and honestly she really didn't mind all that much if he came. She liked his company, even if Olly didn't.

"Everything okay?"

She looked up from her phone, now noticing Olly's concerned gaze on her. "Oh yeah, fine," she replied, waving him off. "It's just El."

"Checkin' up on ya, eh? That bloke told her we were hanging out."

It wasn't a question; he could tell what was going on. He knew Asher's famous friends didn't like him and that once the dark haired one had left, he probably alerted all the rest and was sending in reinforcements so that they wouldn't be alone anymore. He hit the nail on the head, but of course Asher wasn't going to tell him that.

"Oh, no, she was saying she's gonna be a bit later than she originally thought."

They both knew she was lying but Olly didn't call her on it, instead shrugging his shoulders and giving her a lazy grin. "More time for us then."

Yeah, until Niall arrives, she thought to herself. She turned back to the stove and poured the noodles into the boiling water , stirring them for a moment before going back to her phone. There was a new message from Eleanor now.

Well don't be surprised if one (or more) of the lads shows up there. You know how they can be.

They were insanely protective over someone they'd only known for about a month. She knew it probably had something to do with the fact that she was the cousin of one of their girlfriends but she was still surprised that they'd so openly welcomed her in the beginning and now they were looking out for her as if they'd known her for years. It wasn't often that friends like that came along.

She sighed as she set her phone down, not bothering to text a reply because one of them was literally probably on his way to the flat at that exact moment. She decided not to inform Olly, rather just to let him find out when Niall showed up at the door.

Yeah, great plan.