We were all sat around the lounge telling stories and laughing together. “Oh Fer, remember that time we went to the river and your shoe got stuck?”
“Yes! I had to pull my foot out of it and couldn’t wedge my shoe out. I loved those boots.” Everyone snickered as Jen sat there slightly pouting at the memory.
“Now, I’ve heard the cute pet-names you use for one another. Is there a story behind those?” Louis asked, looking between me and my sister.
“It started off as a joke really.”
“Yea; it seemed that every member of our family referred to each of us with a different nickname, whether that be shnookums, sweetie, honeybee, or whatever.”
“So we were talking one day and Fer said, ‘Watch next they’re going to be calling you Lee and me Fer.’”
“And we decided that since everyone else can have a different name for each of us, we would use those two for each other.”
“And anytime someone else tried to use them we were like, ‘nope that’s something just between us as sisters.’”
“That’s so cute!” squealed Eleanor from beside Louis.
“Thanks El.” I heard the oven timer again. “Oh that must be the cookies,” I said hopping up. “I’ll be right back.”
I walked into the kitchen and grabbed an oven mitt, pulling the cookies out and settling them on the counter to cool. “Anything I can help with Love?”
I jumped a little at the booming voice placing my hand over my heart, “Oh Liam, you startled me.”
“Are you alright Natalie? You’ve been acting a bit strange towards me all evening.”
I hesitated before I stuttered, “Um… I… uh.” I sighed, “How drunk were you last night Li?”
He knit his eyebrows together and looked deep in thought for a moment before he was overcome by embarrassment. “Oh no. What did I do?”
“You hit on me… then tried to kiss me.”
“Oh my gosh,” he put his face in his hands, “I am so sorry Natalie. I was heartbroken over Dani and I had waaay too much to drink.”
I stuck my hand up to wave it off, “It’s okay Liam. We all make mistakes every now and then when were drunk.”
“Well, I don’t know if it was a mistake. Some people say you’re more truthful when you’re drunk instead of when you’re sober.”
My eyes pulled together as my mind raced through reasons he might have said that. Not landing on one I liked I replied with, “Let’s just put it behind us and go have cookies, yea?”
He hesitated and his face slightly fell, “Yea sounds good.”
“Can you grab some small plates out of that cabinet there?” I pointed as I piled the cookies on a big serving plate.
We made our way back to the lounge and everyone’s eyes were on Jen as she was telling a story, “So we were having a bar-b-queue at my uncle’s estate in Cheshire to celebrate my cousin’s engagement-“
“Oh Fer not this story,” my cheeks were already flushed with realization of the forthcoming story. “Any story but this one!” I took my seat with a cookie in hand.
“Oh Lee, it’s not that bad.”
“Easy for you to say it didn’t happen to you.”
“You will live. Besides, these are your best friends right? They deserve to know stories about you.”
There was a chorus of “yea” and “she’s right” from the people in the room. She was right, I considered these people family. So with a reluctant eye roll and a wave of my hand I bade her to continue.
“Okay so Lee was about fourteen and it was just before I was to leave to America. She was wearing these adorable white pants and helping to bake pies with our Aunt Ruth. So she goes to hop up on the counter to wait for the pies in the oven and doesn’t realize there is already a blueberry pie there.” As soon as she finishes the room erupts in laughter. “That’s not even the worst part,” I put my face in my hands to hide my rosy red cheeks. “She was too scrawny to fit into anyone else’s pants. So she walked ‘round the rest of the day with a bluish purple bum.”
The room erupted again as I groaned and looked over to Harry, “remind me to kill her later.”
He smiled at me, “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Oh you think that wasn’t bad…” and she went into another of countless embarrassing stories from our childhood.

“But the one from your uncle’s wedding,” Harry smiled at me as he clambered into bed with a giggle. “When you stood on the table and danced.”
“I was three!” I whisper-shouted in my defense and he laughed.
“It’s still hilarious.”
I rolled my eyes at him and then rolled over, “Goodnight Haz.”
He chuckled again as he switched off the light, “Sweet dreams, Nat.”