The Misfits

“Good morning!” Someone sung from the hall.

I opened the door to see an excited Eleanor bouncing on her toes, Sophia standing directly behind her. Both wore white football jerseys with their boy friends name on the back.
“Why hello!” I laughed as they ran inside.

“We brought you something!” Eleanor threw a white t-shirt at me. I held it up to examine it. It was for the charity and had the name of the charities printed across the front. On the back in big bold letters it read: TEAM NIALL. I let out a laugh and slipped it on.

“Where in the world did you get this?”

“They were selling them in the lobby when we got here yesterday! I figured you needed something to represent!”

“It’s awesome! Thank you so much!” I gushed while pulling my hair into a loose French braid.

“We were going to head down early to watch them warm up, want to come?” Sophia asked?

“Yes please! I have been so bored in here!” They both let out laughs and headed for the door. We skipped to the elevator and waited patiently while I quizzed the girls about the charity game. Apparently the boys had done a few charity games before but Niall, who was acting manager as one of the teams, helped put together this event. “And they’re all playing right?”

“Well except Zayn,” answered Sophia as we waited for the car. “He’s not much of a footballer though anyway.”

“Here we are!” Eleanor said. I realized it was my dad who pulled up in the SUV. “Hi Paul!”

“Hello girls,” he smiled as they climbed in the back and I took my place in the front. “How’re you all doing this morning?”

“Ready to see some football,” I said, turning on the radio.

“I didn’t know ya liked football.”

“Dad. Everyone likes football.”

“Oh it’s Perrie!” Cried Eleanor. Little mix had just come on the radio and I cranked up the volume as we all began dancing in our seats. Including my father. The stadium wasn’t very far away and we pulled into the parking lot just as the song ended.

My dad turned down the music, “Alright girls here we are. Lia, do you have sunglasses?”

“Yep.” I said, popping the ‘P’ and pulling out my sunglasses. I felt him pull a cap down on my head and I stuck my tongue out at him playfully before jumping out of the car.

The boys and my dad had tag-teamed keeping me a secret from the fans. They weren’t sure how fans would take the long-lost daughter of their favorite bodyguard suddenly showing up and getting close with the boys. I could understand that, though I wasn’t sure how much longer we could keep it a secret. Especially if I was showing up to things like this with two of the bands girlfriends.

Eleanor gripped my hand, leading me through the small paparazzi that had formed and into the building.

“Can we hang out down here until it get’s busier?” Eleanor asked one of the guards. He nodded and we headed down to the front row right next to the field.

“Well, look who decided to show up!” Cried Louis. He ran over and jumped up onto the fence that divided us so he could give Eleanor a kiss.

“Oi! Lou what are ya—GIRLS!” Niall spun around and smiled when he saw us. “Ready to watch the best team win?”

There were a few yells from the group next to the boys and Niall let out a loud laugh in response. As the boys began bickering, Sophia turned to Eleanor and I.

“We should get a picture with out t-shirts! Liam! Come here babe!” Liam rolled his eyes and took the camera from her hand. They wrapped their arms around me and we all smiled at Liam.
“Beautiful. Here you—”

“No wait! We need our backs too!” Eleanor cried. We shuffled around and wrapped our arms around each other once more as Liam took the picture.

“Nice to see you ladies reppin’,” Niall said. “Even Thalia!”

“Team Niall!” I said pimping my shirt.

“Who’s name do you have on the back love?” Harry asked, climbing up next to Louis on the railing.

“No ones. I love you all equally!”

“Alright back to warm-ups!” called the other manager.

Eleanor and Sophia quickly gave their men kisses. Harry turned to me with a smirk and said, “And where’s my good luck kiss?”

“Oh how smooth.” I rolled my eyes but leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He winked and dropped back town onto the pitch.

“Oi!” Cried Niall. “What about me!”

“Come here leprechaun!”

Niall ran over and jumped onto the fence. I kissed him on the cheek and ruffled his hair before sitting down next to the girls.

Eleanor, Sophia, and I chatted until the boys ran back into the locker rooms and the stadium began slowly filling with people. As we headed back to our actual seats I noticed a group of photographers with their lens’ aimed in our direction.

“Do they always stalk you guys too?” I asked. Eleanor and Sophia turned to look at the paparazzi, their frowns deepening.

“They follow us everywhere,” Sophia said with an eye roll. “It’s always worse if we’re anywhere near the boys though.”

“I don’t mind them as much as the fans,” Eleanor said as we took our seats. “The paparazzi just try to snap a picture but the fans want to talk to you. I always get so nervous.”

“They’re not mean to you though?”

“No! They’re all really nice! I just never know what to say to them.” She looked down and I could tell she was slightly embarrassed. “And whenever Lou and I go out they follow us. I know they just want to see him, but I want to see him too. It’s hard to share.”

“Especially after they’ve been on tour,” Sophia added.

“I can understand that.” I nodded. “I wouldn’t want to share my boyfriend either.”

“Oh look it’s starting!” Cried Eleanor. We all looked up as a few people walked out onto the pitch. I could see Niall walking out with the co-founder and opposing manager Robert Pires. As Pires began talking I heard Eleanor whisper, “My look at that crowd.”

I hadn’t realized how packed the stadium had become. There was hardly an open seat and the noise level was a dull roar. I briefly wondered how many of them were Directioners.

“First off—” As Niall spoke we were nearly deafened with high-pitch screams and for a moment I felt like we were at a concert. “First off I would like te thank everyone who has helped make this event possible. An’ also thank all the players who donated their time free o’ charge te support this event…I am delighted te announce tha’ we have raised significant funds fer Irish Autism Action, which is based in me home town of Mullingar, also UK based Heart an’ Minds Challenge…as well as the Leicester Foxes Foundation!”

There was another roar from the crowd as the match got started. I turned to see Eleanor and Sophia take out their phones and begin to record the match. They were such adorable girlfriends.

It was pretty entertaining to watch. The high-pitched screams from the One Direction fans were deafening. Every time the ball touched one of the boys the crowd of screaming girls would escalate to a new high. The first goal was scored by Pires, which gave Team Pires a 1-0 lead that was kept all through the first half. Thirty minutes into the game Harry got a penalty shot and tied the game.

The stadium erupted, and I screamed as loud as I could with the rest of the fans. And when Harry ran over to the sidelines and nearly tackled the rest of the boys I couldn’t help but laugh. The whistle blew at full time and a penalty shoot-out began. In the end the boys lost, though even from here I could still see they were all smiling like idiots.

After photos and a lap of honor around the pitch, in which the boys waved and thanked all their fans, we headed down to meet them in the locker rooms.

“THALIA!” yelled Harry, running over and practically tackling me to the ground.

“Get off ya sweatball!” I screamed, trying to push him away from me as everyone laughed. “You guys played amazing! Well done!”

“Good job on the goal Harry!” cried Eleanor, as Louis came over and hugged her. We headed with the boys back to the hotel where they had a chance to shower and change before meeting back up in Louis and Eleanor’s room.

“Thaaaaaalia,” Harry sang as he walked in. “We had a few questions about you from the paparazzi.”

“Seriously?” I cried out, raising my hands in the air. “We’re at a charity event! They should be asking about the game!”

“They did,” Liam nodded. “And then they asked about you.”

I huffed and dropped my head back on the foot of the bed where I was currently laying horizontal. Louis and Eleanor were sprawled out at the head of the bed while Sophia and Harry claimed the two armchairs, Liam on the floor in between Sophia’s legs. Niall was at the desk chair with his feet propped up on the bed.

“I bet they were curious about the good luck kiss,” Eleanor laughed.

Louis snorted. “Pssh. You lot aren’t good luck!”

“Excuse me? As I recall my kiss got a goal,” I replied, cocking an eyebrow.

“That wasn’t your kiss love, that was pure talent.”

“What ever you need to tell yourself Styles.” I said rolling over and immediately being met with Niall’s feet. I propped myself up on my elbows and began messaging his feet.

“Jesus that’s heaven Thalia,” Niall moaned. The boys let out a few chuckles while Harry frowned. “What about my foot message?”

“You don’t have socks on nasty.”

“Lou, can I borrow some socks?”

“Harry!” I yelled.

“What?” he laughed. I shot him a glare and he stood up with a sigh. “Come on let’s have some fun, shall we.”

“What are you doing?” I cried out as Harry opened the mini-fridge. “We have to pay for that!”

I heard more chuckles as Harry turned to me with a frown, “And?”

“And I can’t afford that!”

“Babe.” Louis scoffed. “It’s shot of tequila.”

“Lou,” I sassed. “I can barely afford to eat most nights let alone pay for a shot of tequila.”

“You can’t eat?” Niall gasped. He looked around to the others and then back at me, completely stunned.

“Help me I’m poor.” I gave him a puppy face and they all laughed.

“Relax Lil’s.” Harry laughed, throwing me a bottle. “It’s on us.”

We sat around drinking for a while and the boys had begun sharing their tour stories. Eleanor and Sophia rolled their eyes and smirked at all the stories they’d heard multiple times. I did my best to be a good listener and gasp and laugh at all the right moments.

“Alright, I want to know more about Thalia,” Harry said after a while. I nearly choked on my drink and a round of laughter followed. “Come on Lil’s. Tell us about your life.”

“It’s not nearly exciting as yours.”

“What about your sisters?” Liam asked. “You’ve talked about them some. Any more mini-Paul’s running around?”

I let out a laugh and shook my head. “They’re not really my sisters. My aunt takes in kids who have nowhere else to go. She gives them shelter and a place at our table.”

“How many?” asked Niall? I looked up to see them all staring at me and began playing with my sweatshirt nervously.

“Including me? Twelve.”

One of them let out a long whistle and I felt a blush rise to my cheeks.

“My goodness…do you help take care of them?” Eleanor looked genuinely curious.

“When I can,” I laughed.

“How old is the youngest?” Liam asked incredulously.

“Millie’s four, Archie’s seven, then there’s the twins…Layla and Leo. They’re eight,” I said, listing them off on my fingers. “Tilly’s nine—no! She’s ten now! She just had her birthday...um, Luca’s thirteen, Jasper’s sixteen, and Hugh’s seventeen. Mackenzie’s Nineteen. I’m twenty-one, same as Maeve. And then Elaine’s the oldest at twenty-two."

They stared at me for a moment.

“Ya had all those people living in one house?” Niall asked.

“Yep,” I nodded. “Well, plus my mom and Aunt Lucy.”

“Holy shit.” Laughed Louis. “Where the hell did you all sleep?”

“I shared a room with El, Maeve, and Kenz. Then the five boys shared a room, poor Leo and Archie had to share a bed…but now I suppose since we all left they might get our room. And then the girls in the last room.”

“You have twelve people living in three rooms?” Laughed Harry. “How big are they?”

I shrugged. “Probably about half of this room? Once Maeve, El, and I went to Uni it was fine. This summer was a little hectic though. We probably won’t move back in again. I think Tilly’s friend Rachael is moving in for good in the fall, and Ralph as been sleeping on the couch so long I’m surprised he doesn’t have a room yet. Do you want to see them? I think I have pictures somewhere!”

I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through photos until I found some. They all huddled around to look.

“Alright so what was like a normal day for you?” Harry asked curiously. I sat up while the others continued to look at my phone and turned to Harry. It struck me that he found me just as interesting as I found him.

“In the summer? Wake up at 4am and try to make it to the café. Work until nine and then head over to the family I nanny for. Head home around five or six. And then depending if I’m working the evening or night shift at the pub I would help Elaine make dinner for the kids.”

Harry listened to me intently as I spoke and broke into a smile when I finished. “You miss them don’t you?”

“So much.” I sighed. “But El, Mack and Kenz are coming to visit this week! Do you guys want to meet them?”

“Of course!”

Notes

I'm on a roll right now with the uploads.