----------------------------------------------2 months earlier-------------------------------------------------

The cab pulled up at the front door of my father's huge mansion of a house. Just looking at the gigantic thing made me dizzy. I shook off the feeling and got out, carrying my bags out of the back of the cab.

"Thanks," I told the driver, handing him a few pounds from which I'd collected at the airport. I watched as the cab drove off before I got the courage to pick up my bags and walk towards my dad's house.

I opened the gate of my luxury summer retreat and walked up the pathway to the beautifully decorated front porch. I would have admired the brightly colored pansies bordering the white wooden fence around the elevated flooring of the front porch, but I was a bit preoccupied with the concern of seeing my dad for the first time in fourteen years.

I barely remembered him, and if it weren't for the picture of him in our family photo that hung in the corner of the living room, I would have totally forgotten he existed. My mom's choice to never bring up the topic of her husband or why he moved away left me clueless on anything related to my father. Their divorce had taken place when I was 4, so that would explain why all my memory of him had been completely erased.

Now, my mother had finally decided that I was ready to meet my dad. More like she was ready for me to meet my dad. Whatever the case, I agreed, and that's how I found myself at the front door of my father's mansion. A house like this would be way out of reach for my mother to buy back in California. I guess ever since the divorce, both my parents have been going on totally different paths.
I rang the doorbell and waited for it to open, taking in deep breaths, prepping myself to what was coming up.

The door creaked open, revealing a tall, thin man on the other side of it, dressed neatly in a black suit and tie with well polished shoes. My eyes widened, worried I’d knocked at the wrong door. This didn’t seem like my father from what my mother had described him as. He was supposed to be one of those fun to be with dads, not suit and tie formal fathers.

“Alyssa! Hello, darling. Welcome. You’re all grown up now. Wow. You look great!” the man said, a small brightening his face.
So he is my dad.
I blushed, “Thanks,” I said, “You look… trim, yourself” I said, trying to find the right word to describe his appearance.
He chuckled, “Why, thank you. But I don’t usually look like this. I have to head over to work soon. I tried to ask for a leave, but unfortunately, it’s been quite a busy week at work and I’m needed there,” he explained.
“I thought you were a bit overly dressed,” I said, smiling.
“Alright, then. Come in. I’ll show you around, and I’ll have to be on my way,” he said.
I nodded, pulling my suitcase through the wide glass doorway. The entrance hall was huge, designed with antique vases and Greek an Roman statues at every corner. A beautiful chandelier hung from the high ceiling, lighting up the room with sparkling diamond lights. The tall windows provided more light, making the room bright and full of life. I already loved my summer home.

“The stairs are right around the corner, over there,” he said, pointing to the right, “I’ve prepared a room for you. Third door to the left. Second floor. Check it out. I’ll be in the kitchen. That’s right over there,” he said, pointing to a door down the right hallway.
“Confusing… but I think I can handle it,” I said, smiling.
“Yeah, it’ll take a while to get used to,” he said, scratching the back of his neck, “Need help with that?” he asked, looking at my bag.
“Oh, no. It’s fine. I’ll be right back,” I said, dragging my bags up the round staircase.

Third door to the left. I found my way to my mahogany wooden bedroom door. I turned the knob and pushed it open. Just a glance at the inside made me gasp. It was a huge room with lavender walls and a dark wooden floor. A large, three panel bay window with a cozy window seat was placed on the opposite end of my bedroom. That would probably be my favorite place in the room. I smiled to myself.

Beside that was a white study table with a cute little shade lamp and a drawer attached to it. A bookshelf hung over the table, filled with several novels. I traced my fingers past the spine of the books, reading the titles. Looks like my dad had done some research. A few of my favorite books were positioned in the bookshelf.

In the center of the bedroom was the bed. A king sized bed with fluffy red and yellow pillows lay at the head, while a soft white quilt with a red border and small yellow flowers decorating its edges was spread across the bed. It was perfect.

The whole room was perfect. There was a door on the right wall of the room. I pushed it open and found it leading to an attached bathroom. I couldn’t believe it. I had my own bathroom. Enjoying myself, I quickly freshened up in the beautiful bathroom and exited my room.

I ran down the stairs and somehow managed to find my way into the kitchen. My dad was sitting at the dining table with a cup of tea in his hand and the morning paper open wide.

“I love my room! Thank you so much, dad!” I said, finding a seat across from him.
He looked up from the paper. “I’m glad you like it. Your mum gave me tips,” he said, with a wink.
“Well, it’s perfect,” I said.
“That’s good. So are you hungry?” he asked.
“I can eat,” I said.
“French toast or cereal?” he asked.
“Cereal, please,” I said.

He got up and pulled out a bowl from a cabinet and a pack of Corn Flakes.

“How was the journey?” he asked.
“It wasn’t all that bad. I mean, the first flight was pretty quick. Just to New York. But after that, flying across the Atlantic took quite some time. I slept through most of it, so it was fine,” I said.
He laughed, “So not much jet lag?” he asked.
“Not really,”
“Good, because I’ve got some plans for you today, if you don’t mind,” he said, pouring milk into my bowl of cereal.
“Sure. What plans?” I asked, curious.
“Before I tell you, I want to know something. Do you know One Direction?” he asked.
“Yeah, that famous British boy band right?”
He nodded.
“What about them?”
“First tell me if you are a fan,” he said.
“Well, not really. I mean, they’re cool, good looking guys with great music and everything, but I’m not crazy about them or anything. Why?” I asked, puzzled at the topic.

He placed my cereal on the table and took a seat beside me.
“Because one of the boys, Harry Styles, lives right next door to us. He’s on tour right now, so only his mother, sister, and step-father, I think, live here right now. But I think he’s coming soon.” He said.
I froze mid-bite.
“Did you just say… he lives NEXT DOOR to us?” I asked.
“Yeah,” my dad said, nodding.
“Woah, dad! That’s so awesome! He actually lives here?” I asked again, excited. I barely knew who he was, but I’d heard about Harry Styles quite often. I couldn’t believe I actually lived next to a famous pop star.
“Ok, now, Alyssa, I’m warning you. They like their privacy, so I don’t want you to go disturbing them or anything,” he said.
“Of course. I won’t do that. It’s just that Harry is like famous world wide and I am his neighbor… Aren’t there any paparazzi? Shouldn’t there be fans here 24/7?” I asked.
“They come once in a while, but not as often as you think. It’s weird, but there is a lot of security around their house.” He said.
“Wow,” I said, eating another spoon of my cereal.
“I told you this right now because while I’ at work today, Harry’s sister, Gemma, is going to be keeping you company. I’ve asked her to show you around the house, neighborhood, and just to keep you occupied for the day,” he said.
“Harry Styles’ sister, Gemma. Wow. This is going to one heck of a day,” I said.
“You’ll have lots of fun, I know it. Gemma’s really nice. She’s great,” he said.
“Ok,” I said, finishing up the last of my cereal.
“I’ll take that,” he said, taking my bowl.

Just then, the doorbell rang.
“You mind getting that?” dad asked, putting the bowl in the dishwasher.

I walked out the kitchen and into the entrance hall, pulling open the door.

A girl who seemed to be in her early twenties stood with a tray of cookies.
“Hey, I’m Gemma. You must be Alyssa,” she said, smiling nicely.
“Yeah, that’s me,” I told her, smiling back.
“Welcome to the UK. I brought you these,” she said, handing me the cookies.
“Oh, thanks so much!” I took the tray from her, “You really shouldn’t have,” I said.
“No problem. It’s just a welcome present,” she replied.
“Well, come in,” I said, giving her space to enter.

Gemma stepped in and closed the door behind her. I walked back into the kitchen with Gemma following behind me.

“Dad, Gemma’s here. And she brought cookies!” I said, placing it on the kitchen counter.

“Gemma! Thanks for coming,” he said.
“Don’t mention it. Besides, I wanted to meet your daughter!” she said, grinning.
“Well, I’d best be off. You two have fun, now,” dad said, walking out of the kitchen.
“We will,” Gemma said, “Bye Peter,”

So Gemma and dad were on first name basis. Seems like the Styles’ family were pretty close with dad. This just got better and better.

“Bye dad!” I called.
The door slammed shut and Gemma and I were the only ones left in the huge mansion now. Gemma Styles was in the same room with me, boring old Alyssa.

“So, Alyssa, you’re here from the US, huh?” Gemma asked.
“Yeah, California,” I said.
“So how’re you liking Cheshire so far?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“I love it! Considering I’m neighbors with a famous singer and his family,” I said, smiling.
“What can I say? That’s how lucky you are,” she said.
“So Harry’s on tour?” I asked.
“Actually, it just got over. He’s expected to be back home tomorrow,” she said.
“Wow, perfect timing,” I said.
“Yeah. I’ll bring him over so you can meet him tomorrow,” she said.
“Definitely,” I said.
“Let me guess, you aren’t a huge One Direction fan,” she said.
“No, but I’m still pretty excited. Wait, how do you know?” I asked.
“A normal fan would be head over heels dying to meet Harry, crying her eyes out, maybe even fainting at the fact that her father is neighbors with Harry. But you seem pretty calm,” she said, spreading a smile.
“Well, you’re brother’s got some serious fans,” I said.
“Are they that crazy in the States, too?” she asked.
“Pretty much. Half the freshmen in my school are crazed directioners,” I said.
Gemma smiled.
“Ok, so what do you want to do first?” she asked.
“Anything’s fine with me,”
“Alright, then. Let’s begin with a tour of your house, then we’ll head over to the park. It’s just a street over. Then after that, we can grab lunch at a my place, and I’ll show you to the library. I heard you love reading,” she said.
“Yeah. That sounds great,” I said.

Notes

Here's the first real chapter! :)
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I know it's a bit boring, but trust me, it gets A LOT better in the next two chapters! :)
So stay tuned!
~ Lily <3