Chapter 1
Summary: Louis moves to Holmes-Chapel after his parents die in a car crash. He has custody of his five sisters, and it is through the youngest he meets Harry Styles, a preschool teacher. Life just got a lot more complicated for Louis.
“C’mon Daisy, we’re going to be late!” Louis shouted down the corridor for his younger sister. Phoebe was sitting on the staircase, her brother knelt in front of her, tying her shoes. Her four year old twin came hurtling down the hallway, skidding to a halt in front of her siblings and dropping her bag on the ground. Louis did the final knot on Phoebe’s shoe, before picking up Daisy and putting her on the staircase. She hummed happily as he did up her laces.
“Lou?”
“Yes, love?”
“Will we like our new school better than Lottie likes hers?” Louis frowned.
“Lottie’s just having trouble adjusting, my lovely. She’ll be fine, and you’re going to love your new school. I hear the teacher’s really, really nice.”
He smiled at her and kissed her nose. She giggled before jumping up and grabbing her bag. She skipped over to her sister and grabbed her hand. Phoebe looked at her and smiled a little, before the two skipped out the door together. Louis grinned a little sadly at his two sisters. They were too young to understand, luckily.
Georgia barely did, as she was only six, but it was enough to occasionally have her climbing into Louis’ bed at night crying. But Felicity and Lottie were the worst. Flick was eight, so she knew that mummy and daddy weren’t coming back, that they weren’t just on a really long vacation. Lottie was having the worst time of everyone, though. Maybe even worse than Louis, because Louis at least had the girls to focus on. Lottie was ten years old, and she was having a horrible time in school. She came home everyday in a bad mood, went to her room, and didn’t come out until tea time. After dinner, she was back in her bedroom, until after lights out. Louis had been woken on multiple occasions by her crawling into his bed crying. It devastated him, seeing his little sister so hurt. He’d curl around her, rubbing her back and whispering comforting things in her ear until she drifted off again. Louis was nearly at his breaking point with all of the pressure that came with raising five young girls on his own. In the four months since the accident, they had moved to a small village in Cheshire, called Holmes-Chapel. Louis had needed somewhere quiet he could take his sisters, somewhere safe, with good schools and job openings. Lottie, Georgia, and Flick had been in school for almost a month, and today was Daisy and Phoebe’s first day of preschool.
Daisy scampered towards the car, pulling her twin along with her. After the move, Daisy and Phoebe’s personalities had really come through. Daisy became much more outgoing, and extremely overprotective of her twin. Phoebe turned shy, hiding behind Daisy, or Louis’ pant leg, whenever they were in new company. But most of all, it had brought the two already almost inseparable girls closer. They now slept in the same bed, played together, and went everywhere together. There was no separating them.
Louis unlocked the van with the key remote, the door sliding open automatically. He hoisted Daisy up, buckling her into her seat, before doing the same with Phoebe. He closed the door and climbed into the drivers seat, setting the GPS directions. He listened idly to Daisy and Phoebe chatting idly in the back seat, focusing more on getting to the school on time.
They pulled up to a long, red brick building, that looked like it only had one level. After parking the car, Louis extracted the twins from their car seats. Holding one of each of their hands, he lead the way into the reception area. Phoebe looked at the woman behind the desk and immediately started whimpering, clinging desperately to Louis’ hand. He sighed, leaning down and picking her up, allowing her to curl into him and hide her face in his shirt. Even Daisy looked a bit nervous as they approached the stern looking lady sitting at the computer. She clung tightly to his pant leg, half hiding from whatever monstrosity she imagined the woman to be. Louis leaned a little closer, subconsciously tightening his hold on Phoebe as the woman looked up.
“Hi, I enrolled my little sisters here a few months ago? Daisy and Phoebe Tomlinson?” The woman, Sheila, her name tag said, looked up at him sternly before clicking a few things on the computer.
“Four year olds?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Styles’ll be their teacher. Take a left at the door over there, then it’s the first door on your right.” She pointe one long, manicured fingernail at a blue door behind him. He nodded and thanked her, hurrying Daisy along behind him. As he opened the second door, he saw a young man talking to a little girl. He was the only one in there, so Louis decided to go ask him if he knew where the teacher was. The young man’s hair was curly and brown, and when he looked up at Louis, his eyes were a startlingly clear green. Louis cleared his throat nervously.
“Do you know where Mr. Styles is?” The green eyed man smirked.
“You’re looking at him. Harry Styles.” He held out a hand for Louis to shake, awkwardly, as Phoebe was still in his arms. He smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry, it’s just you’re so—”
“Young, I know. I’ve been working here for a little under a year, but I did a volunteer thing before I was legally able to work, and then I student-teachered last year, and this year I get my own class! Who’re these lovely ladies?” He smiled kindly down at Daisy, crouching at her level. She giggled buried her face in Louis’ leg. Harry laughed, straightening up to look back at Louis, his eyes twinkling.
“That’s Daisy, this is Phoebe, and I’m Louis. Tomlinson.” Harry grinned at him.
“Lovely to meet you, sir. Your daughters can just put their things in the cubbies over there, under their names.”
“They’re not my daughters. They’re my little sisters.” Harry raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, sorry. Over here then.” He moved toward the light colored, wooden holes in the wall that were the cubbies, Louis following slowly. He set Phoebe down, only to have her whimper and reach for him again. He crouched down in front of her.
“Phoebe, my love, you’re a big girl now. I can’t always be holding you, and how do you suppose the other kids are going to feel about you if they see you still being held? I know it’d your first day, and you’re scared, but you’ll be fine. Daisy’s here with you, and Mr. Styles is a very nice man, he’ll take very good care of you, I promise.” Phoebe sniffled a little and nodded, before turning to her sister, who had just put away her bag. Daisy smiled at Phoebe, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the legos. Louis smiled fondly after them before turning back to Harry, who had a calculating look on his face.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” Louis raised an eyebrow.
“I’m twenty. I could ask you the same thing.”
“Eighteen.” Louis’ eyebrows shot up.
“Eighteen? How do you have the requirements for the job if you’re eighteen? You should be starting Uni at this age!” Harry just chuckled at him.
“I graduated early. I skipped two grades, and the last two years of college I was getting Uni credits. I meet the requirements, don’t worry. They wouldn’t have hired me if they didn’t think I was right for the job.” Louis was stunned, and a bit confused.
“If you were smart enough to graduate early, why would you go into daycare?”
“Law school was boring? I don’t know, I just love kids, and I’m good with them. I don’t have to do this forever, but I like it, so I might as well do it now, while I’m young, and can run after them easier.”
Louis chuckled. He knew very well how hard it was to take care of kids. Even when his parents had been alive, he had done a lot of the care taking while his mum and dad worked. Daisy and Phoebe had been a handful, not to mention Georgia, who was only two years older than them.
Louis looked down as his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He quickly tapped in his passcode, listening to the shick as it unlocked.
Hey, mate, fifteen minutes till clock in. I hope you’ve left. Zayn
Louis’ hand flew to his forehead, shock crossing his features. It took him at least fifteen minutes to get there, and that was without traffic.
“Shoot! I need to go! I’m gonna be late! Daisy, Phoebe, come say goodbye, I’ve got to go!” Daisy and Phoebe hurried over to him rushing into his open arms. “Be good, okay lovelies?” They both nodded, but Phoebe’s lip started to wobble. Louis quickly stood up, walking towards the door, and throwing over his shoulder a quick “It was nice to meet, you, sorry I’ve gotta run” to Harry. His heart broke as the door swung shut, Phoebe’s whimper echoing in his ears.
*~*~*~*
Louis rushed through the door, all but running to the clock in. He punched his card just as the clock struck nine. He let out a breath of relief. He had made it. Barely.
“Hey, brotha, how’d daycare go this mornin’?” Louis turned around to see Zayn standing behind him, already in his uniform, with towel over his shoulder a bin of dirty dishes in his hands.
“Fine, I guess. Better than most first days go, I’d assume. Phoebe cried a bit, but I wasn’t there for the inevitable melt down. I had to run, because I got caught up talking to the teacher, and I didn’t realize the time. Phoebe was starting when I left. The teacher seems really nice, though. He should be able to handle her.” Zayn grinned.
“What were you talking to the teacher about?”
“His school. It was really embarrassing; I walked in there and asked him if he knew where the teacher was, ‘cause he looked so young, I didn’t think for a second he could be the teacher!” Zayn raised an eyebrow.
“How old is he?”
“Eighteen.”
“Eighteen? How is that even possible?”
“Apparently, he skipped two grades, then got uni credits during his last two years of college, so he graduated early.”
“Brains like that, why on earth would he go into childcare, of all things? He could be a billionaire, or something. Like Bill Gates.” Louis shrugged.
“He said he liked kids. I’m not really in a position to judge, though, am I?” Zayn shook his head sympathetically.
“It’s not your fault you’re stuck as a waiter. You’ve gotta be home for the girls. And, if you hadn’t come here, you never would have met me, your best friend for life!” Louis chuckled and slung an arm around Zayn’s shoulders.
“You’re right. C’mon, let’s go see what Simon has in store for us today.”
*~*~*
Louis nervously pulled into the daycare car park, switching off the ignition and sliding out of the van. He walked quickly through the reception area, nodding at Sheila, before opening the door to the classroom. Daisy and Phoebe were cuddled into Harry’s chest, Phoebe with her thumb in her mouth, as Harry read them “Skippy Jon Jones”. Louis’ heart melted at the sight, but he also felt guilty. He was the last one here, and he knew he had been a little too late, especially since it was the girls’ first day. Harry looked up as he walked closer, and nudged the girls, who were entirely engrossed in the pictures of the book. They looked up and immediately started squealing, detaching themselves from Harry, and running quickly at their brother. He crouched down with open arms, scooping them up into a bear hug. He pulled back a little bit, a wide smile on his face.
“How was your first day? Did you have a good time?” Daisy immediately launched into a story about her day, telling him about art, and reading, and physical game, and free play (“We got to play with the legos for a whole hour, Lou!”), and the smile on her face was brilliant and wonderful and made Louis finally feel like he had done something right. After Daisy finished, he turned to Phoebe, who had been watching him the whole time. She pulled back from him entirely and crossed her arms.
“You’re late.” Louis sighed.
“I know, my love. James cut his hand, so I had to cover for him. I couldn’t turn down the overtime.” Louis knew that this explanation wasn’t good enough for a four year old, but what was he supposed to tell her? Phoebe looked at him contemplatively for a moment, before sighing.
“Okay, I guess I can forgive you. Just don’t do it again.” Louis smiled at her and kissed her nose.
“I’ll try my best, my lovely. Now, can you two go get your things together while I talk to Mr. Styles?” Daisy and Phoebe nodded, rushing off towards the cubbies. Louis straightened up and smiled sheepishly at Harry.
“I’m really sorry about this, honestly. I just really need the extra cash, and his shift only ended a little while after mine, so I thought I’d be able to make it. It’s not going to be a regular thing, I promise, I just—”
“Mr. Tomlinson, it’s perfectly fine. I’ve seen a lot of parents be late to pick their kids up, in my time here. It happens to everyone, and the teachers are obligated, morally and legally, to stay with the kids until a parent or guardian comes to get them. It really isn’t a problem, and, frankly, I love your girls. They’re very well behaved, and very smart. They read. Fluently. That is not natural for most four year olds. I’m very impressed.” Louis beamed.
“I know, they’re so great. Did you get any water works from Phoebe?” Harry grinned at him.
“Nearly, but I managed to diffuse the tension. I don’t know if you’re busy, but there’s a parents’ night every year that they hold so that parents can get to know each other and the teachers. It’s usually a good place to get phone numbers and addresses of the other kids, so that you can set up play dates, and stuff.”
“What day is it?”
“This coming Friday, the fourth of October.”
“Will you be there?” Harry smirked at him.
“I’m a teacher, I have to be there. Here, take this flier. It starts at seven, because parents need to be home to put the little ones to bed.”
Louis accepted the flier, nodding along as Harry spoke to him. He looked down as little arms wrapped themselves around his calfs, smiling at his sisters. They grinned back up at him through their bangs.
“Ready to go, girls?” They giggled and nodded at him. “Say good-bye to Mr. Styles.” They grinned wider and attacked Harry’s legs, giggling as he crouched down and pulled them into a hug. Daisy and Phoebe then re-attached themselves to Louis, this time to his hands, and allowed him to pull them towards the door.
“Good night, Mr. Tomlinson.”
“Call me Louis, please, Mr. Styles.”
“If I’m calling you ‘Louis’, then you have to call me ‘Harry’.”
“Fine, then, Harry. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Comments
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed quickly and relatively uneventfully. Daisy and Phoebe were very happy with their new school; they absolutely adored Harry. Louis was quite fond of the preschool teacher, himself. Every morning that week, Louis had brought the girls to the daycare early, staying and talking to him for ten minutes or so before heading off to work. Everyday after school, Louis was the last one in, staying and talking to Harry some more before the girls started complaining that they were hungry, and they really should get going anyway because Lottie, Flick, and Georgia would be home soon, and he needed to be there to answer the door.
Harry really brightened Louis’ mood, and just about everyone had noticed his change in demeanor. Louis would waltz into work everyday, greeting everyone with smiles and a chipper “good morning!”. He treated the rudest of customers with kindness, something that was impressive in itself. This had gone on for a week, and as Louis glided through the door that Friday morning, barely making it on time for the fifth time that week, Zayn finally cracked.
“Did you meet a girl, or something?” Louis looked at him, confused.
“No… What makes you say that?”
“You’ve nearly been late everyday this week! And you come in with this massive smile and a great attitude, and I’m sorry, mate, but as happy and nice as you generally are, this is excessive, and not the you I know.” Louis shrugged at him.
“I’ve been late because I’ve had to drop the girls off at daycare, and my life if a lot easier now that I don’t have to find someone to watch them. They come home and sleep, too, because they’re so worn out from preschool. Harry says they’re very competitive during physical games, and they run around a lot during recess, so when they come home, they’re completely worn out.” Zayn raised an eyebrow.
“Harry? Who’s Harry?”
“The twin’s preschool teacher.” Zayn’s eyebrow disappeared into his hairline.
“I don’t usually deal with my sister’s or kid’s teachers, but aren’t you supposed to address them the same way the kids do? Like Mr… Whatever his last name is?”
“Me and Harry are friends, sort of. We don’t hang out, or anything, but we’re friendly enough that it’d be weird if I called him ‘Mr. Styles’ and he called me ‘Mr. Tomlinson’. Oh, that reminds me: do you think you might be able to watch the girls this evening? From about 6:45 to eight?”
“I mean, sure, but why?”
“It’s parent’s night at the preschool.” Zayn smirked.
“You going to talk to your new ‘friend’?” He raised his hands, making exaggerated quotation marks with his fingers as he said “friend”. Louis rolled his eyes.
“I don’t know, actually. I may not even get the chance to, because there’ll be a lot of parents there.”
“Lot of MILFs tryina steal your man?”
“Why do you keeping trying to insinuate that Harry’s my ‘man’?”
“Mate, it’s obvious that the reason you’ve been so happy this week is because of him. He’s the only thing that’s really changed in your life, recently.” Louis looked at the floor.
“That’s the thing, though. Every thing’s changed. Harry makes me feel normal, less like a dad. I haven’t been this happy, or felt this at home since my parents died. At this point, I’m not really up for questioning it, I’d rather just be for once. Not that you and Liam haven’t been great, but… I don’t know. He makes it easier. When I’m talking to him, I forget that I have obligations, and that my parents are dead, and that I’m the parent now. I feel like a kid again. He just… I don’t know. He makes me feel better.” Zayn looked at him with a soft expression, a small, sad smile touching the corners of his lips.
“I get it, Lou. What time do you want me at your house tonight?” Louis smiled softly back at him.
“Around 6:40? That’s probably a bit early, but it’ll give me a chance to explain what needs to happen, and maybe even be a bit early.” Zayn nodded, and threw an arm around his shoulder.
“Sure. Now c’mon. We’ve wasted enough time in here, and Liam’ll have our arses if he’s out there bussing tables by himself much longer.”
*~*~*~*
When Zayn arrived at the Tomlinson house, he was surprised to see Flick answer the door. She grinned at him and reached up for a hug.
“Are you watching us tonight, Zayn?” Zayn grinned down at the eight year old, kissing her cheek.
“Yes, love. Where’s your brother?” Flick giggled pointing upstairs.
“He’s having one of his episodes. Daisy and Phoebe are upstairs getting into every thing and—”
“Daisy, if you touch one more thing, I will tell Zayn that you’re on lock down, and there’ll be no tv, no sweets, and you’ll be in bed early. Do you understand?”
Zayn shook his head at his friend. Maybe he should have gotten here sooner, to help him out while he got ready. He sighed, turning to address Flick.
“Go on back to the living room, I’ll go see if I can help him out.”
Flick nodded and scampered off. Zayn turned and loped up the stairs, taking them two at a time. When he reached the landing, he turned down the hallway to the right, where Louis, Daisy and Phoebe, and Georgia’s rooms all were. He knocked on the door at the end, exactly opposite Lottie’s door, at the other end of the corridor. There was a yelp and some scrambling, before the door opened to reveal a shirtless, disheveled Louis, and a slightly frightened looking Phoebe and Daisy. Zayn snorted at him, giving him a once over, before turning to the girls.
“Come on, ladies, let’s go downstairs and let your brother have some time to choose his outfit. He has to make a good impression, doesn’t he?” Daisy and Phoebe ran over to him, giving his legs hugs.
“Thank you, so much, mate. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Louis sent him a grateful, yet exhausted, smile.
“Don’t worry about it, what are friends for? Come down when you’re ready, I’ll be in the living room with the girls.” Zayn said, before turning and walking, with the girls still attached to his legs and giggling, toward the stairs.
*~*~*~*
At 6:53 p.m., Louis came rushing down the stairs, grabbing his shoes before running into the living room. He hopped, trying to fit his shoe onto his foot, before realizing it was the wrong foot. Switching, he looked at Zayn.
“Okay, Daisy, Phoebe, and Georgia need to start getting ready for bed at seven thirty, I’ll put them to bed when I get back, but if I end up being later than eight thirty, go ahead and put them to bed. I’ll text you or something if that happens,” he switched to the other shoe, pausing momentarily as he pulled the laces out of the inside, “Flick should start getting ready for bed around eight, but I should be home around then anyway, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Again, I’ll text you if you’re going to have to end up putting them to bed. Make sure Georgia takes her cough medicine before brushing her teeth, I’ve put the stuff on the counter next to the sink in the bathroom. Um… No more than a half hour of TV, I’d like them to play, or read, or do something else. If they want they can have one scoop of ice cream, each,” here, he looked at the twins and Georgia pointedly, “but no more, because they won’t sleep otherwise. I think that’s it. You’ve got my cell phone number, and the number for the daycare center is on the fridge, in case of emergencies. Have fun lovelies, I’ll be back soon.” He bent to give each of the girls a kiss and a hug, squeezing them gently, and smoothing their hair. He looked towards Zayn once he’d made his rounds.
“Thanks so much for doing this. I’ll see you later, mate.” Zayn smirked at him.
“Have fun with Harry, mate.” Zayn winked at him, and Louis rolled his eyes in return. He made his way towards the door, tossing one last good-bye over his shoulder.
*~*~*~*
Louis realized, upon entering the classroom, that there were a lot more people than he had anticipated. A cursory glance around the room told him that many people were here in pairs, and a feeling of inadequacy setting in his stomach, suddenly feeling very out of place. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. No one had noticed his arrival, he could always just leave. His plans of escape were thwarted, however, when a beaming Harry came up to him, holding a name tag and a sharpie.
“You came! Here, write your name, and the names of the twins underneath. It’ll help people identify you.” Harry handed him the name tag and sharpie, watching Louis look at it for a moment before rolling his eyes and taking it from him. He pulled off the anti-adhesive backing and smacked the name tag to the left, breast pocket of Louis’ shirt. He uncapped the sharpie and wrote, in small, neat lettering, “Louis Tomlinson. Daisy and Phoebe Tomlinson”. Louis resisted shifting uncomfortably at the strange sensation of someone writing on him through his clothes and the paper of the name tag. Harry straightened up when he had finished, looking at Louis as he recapped the sharpie. He tapped Louis’ cheek with a large finger.
“Don’t look so scared, they’re only parents. C’mon, I’ll introduce you to a few.” Harry gently tugged on Louis’ arm, pulling him in the direction of a small group of parents to their left.
Harry put on a huge grin as they approached, is hand slipping down to Louis’ wrist, keeping a firm hold as if to say “you’re okay, I’ve got you”. The parents looked up from their conversation, smiling politely at the two young men.
“Hey, everyone, this is Louis Tomlinson. He’s new to the town, so he doesn’t know much of anyone yet.” Harry said, smiling around at the group. They looked him up and down, and Louis squirmed internally under their scrutiny, waving awkwardly and muttering “hello”. A blonde haired woman with too much rouge on her cheeks glared at him critically.
“You look a little young to be a parent. How old are you, anyway?” She asked, a bit rudely. Louis shifted nervously.
“Er, I’m twenty, but I’m not a parent. I have custody of my little sisters, and two of them are enrolled here, for while I’m at work.” A mousy looking brunette looked at him sharply.
“How do you have custody of your sisters? And how many do you have, anyway?” Louis’ eyes shifted over to her, defiance settling into his features. He felt Harry grip his wrist a little tighter, grounding him. He took a little breath before attempting to communicate again.
“I have five, and I have custody of them because four months ago, my parents died in a car crash. I’m the eldest, and rather than have them split up and put into foster care,” he spat these words as if they burned his tongue, “I agreed to take legal custody of them.”
He was slightly shocked when a young brunette woman, in her mid thirties, smiled brightly at him. She had her arm around a tall, relatively young looking man with a quiff. Their name tags said ‘Caroline Murs’ and ‘Olly Murs’.
“I think it’s admirable. You must have sacrificed a lot for your sisters, and I’m sure that, even if right now they don’t understand, they’ll be very grateful when they get older.” She said, sweetly. He instantly liked the woman, not just for standing up for him, but she and her husband seemed like very nice people. He was just getting those… Vibes from her. Her smile widened a little bit as her eyes flickered to his name tag.
“You’re Daisy and Phoebe’s guardian? My son is in love with them. He doesn’t stop talking about them ever. He has a lot of trouble telling them apart, you see, so he just talks about them like they’re one person. I hear they’re very intelligent, as well.”
Louis grinned at her. Yes, he definitely liked this woman. He and Caroline got quite caught up in their conversation, not really noticing as the other parents kind of moved away. Olly and Harry stood beside the two, chatting about sports and other “manly” things. Louis ended up getting Caroline’s phone number, in exchange for his, and they planned to set up a play date with her son, Jonathan. Louis was sad when eight o’clock rolled around and it was time to leave. He waited with Harry as he bade good-bye to all the parents leaving. After the last one left, the two of them exited, Harry shutting off the lights and locking the classroom door behind them. He grinned down at Louis.
“So, did you have a good time?” Louis laughed heartily.
“Yeah, I did, in the end. I was a bit apprehensive at first, some of those parents seemed really horrible. But Caroline was lovely, I’m really glad I got a chance to meet her.” Louis said, skipping a little bit all the endorphins making his body feel light. Louis, while looking over at his new friend as they walked to their cars, was struck by an idea.
“Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow? On Saturdays, my work mates come over for dinner, so I would already be cooking for eight, what’s nine? If you’re not already busy, of course.” Harry looked at him, slightly incredulously.
“Really? It won’t be weird?” They had stopped by Louis car for the moment. Louis shook his head vehemently.
“No! No, not at all! Daisy and Phoebe would be ecstatic, and I’d really love to have you there as well! Please?” Harry looked at the ground, biting his lip as though he were considering it, when in reality he was just holding back a smile. He looked back up at him.
“Yeah, I’d love to.” Louis beamed, launching himself towards his friend and wrapping his arms around his neck. Harry froze for a moment, before carefully wrapping his own arms around Louis’ waist. He slowly relaxed, a warm, fuzzy feeling settling in his stomach. Louis eventually pulled back, knowing he had to get going and put the girls to bed, as it was already gone eight.
“Great!” he smiled, “dinner’ll be at six thirty, but you can come around six. And thank you, you know, for getting me out tonight.” Harry grinned down at him.
“It’s not a thing. Good night, Lou.” Louis opened the door to his car as Harry started to walk away.
“Good night, Haz.”
well, I prefer post my stories in AO3 or tumblr than here.