Call Me Baby: Chapter 1
Pairing: Harry/Louis of course!
Word Count: 2644
Summary: Louis moves to Holmes-Chappell 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 loveyour 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.”
Continued here