AUTHOR: Hannah
FIC DISCLAIMER: This story is for entertainment purposes only. Any link to real characters is purely fictional. Any reference to Take That or their families, and any event, location that may fit their real locations or connection between them and the fictional characters is purely coincidental. The copyright for this story and their own characters belong to the author. Please do not steal/copy or use them without express permission of the writer.
SETTING: Anywhere and everywhere
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Jason Orange (of Take That fame) is my true love and fic about him is one of the bestest forms. I just hope you guys like it. I decided to go a little random with this one but anyhow, here goes.
Chapter 11 - Meeting The Oranges
"Eugh!" I muttered. It must have been about 10am because the sun was shining brightly through the gap in the closed curtains.
"Morning babes," came the sound of Jay's soft voice. I blinked several times before sitting up. I looked around the room. It hadn't changed much from when I'd woken up at 4am. Michael was still asleep in the chair and Kelly and Charlotte were sprawled out on their own beds.
"What time is it?" I asked, wiping the sleep from my eyes. My head was sore. It wasn't as bad as I'd expected it would be, but I knew it would hit me later.
"It's just gone quarter to 11, babes," he said, softly. He stood up and came over to my bedside. Squatting down beside me, he smiled. "Are you ready for today?" I gulped.
"I think so, but just not dressed like this," I said, giggling. I saw his warm smile and I went weak once more. "I gather my make-up is all over the place?" I watched as Jay's smile turned into a grin.
"A little, but you're still beautiful in my eyes," he said, and I blushed crimson. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips that sent shivers down my spine.
"Right, well I'd better start getting ready, hadn't I?" I said, giggling a little. Jay smiled at me as I stood up. I grabbed the things I needed and then went into the bathroom to get ready. I just hoped I wouldn't get too bad of a hangover, because that really wouldn't go down well with Jason's family.
"Hey Jay!"
My heart froze. Kelly and Charlotte had obviously just woken up. I could certainly hear quite a bit of movement from the other side of the bathroom door. I was just about ready and I had my toothbrush poking out of my mouth, so I opened the door to see Kelly and Charlotte grinning like idiots, talking to Jay.
"Morning Hannah!!" Kelly said. I could tell by looking at her that she was still clearly worse for wear. I saw Charlie looked rather ill, but I guessed it was from the ale.
"You two look terrible!!" I said, laughing. I saw the fake look of shock on both the girls' faces, and I grinned.
"You cheeky cow!" Charlie said, giggling. She looked as though she might be sick. I saw Jason watching me. I smiled at him as I heard movement from Michael's corner.
"Wassamatter?!" he said, groggily. I almost choked on the toothpaste that was still in my mouth as we all burst out laughing. That did it for Charlie, as she got up off her bed and sprinted past me to stick her head down the toilet. I heard a splatter as she started throwing up.
"At least it's not me this time!" Kelly said, as I quickly finished off brushing my teeth, otherwise I, too, would be sick. I left the bathroom and closed the door to muffle the sounds of Charlie a little.
"Typical little sis," sighed Michael. "You look nice by the way," he added, winking at me. "I'm loving the leggings combo."
"You always say that, Mike, and like I've told you for the past 5 years, you're not getting a piece of me," I replied, grinning. Jay was stood up and he put his arm around me. I watched as Michael stuck his tongue out at me.
"Sour puss," I said, as I leaned up and kissed Jay on the cheek.
"Ready, babes?" he asked me, as I put my belongings back into my suitcase. I smiled at him before answering.
"I think so, but I don't really want to be carrying this…" I indicated the suitcase. "…around with me when I meet your family," I said, sitting down on my bed. I watched as Kelly shifted to be a bit closer to Jay. I knew she was still in awe at the fact she was in the same room as he was, and so I smiled at her.
"We could always leave it at the penthouse and pick it up later if you want?" he said, and my face lit up. I heard the door of the bathroom open and Charlie stuck her head out.
"Did I hear you mention your penthouse?" she asked, and then she clapped her hand to her forehead, obviously remembering what she'd been like last night. "Oh, Jason, I'm so sorry for last night, pestering you about staying at the penthouse. I was bladdered, as you are probably fully aware of, and I'm sorry." Her face fell in shame.
"It's ok, Charlotte. You were all pretty gone last night and you were all asking to stay at the penthouse," Jay said. He checked his watch and then looked at me. "We'd better be going, cos I told them we'd be round about 1ish."
"Oh, ok then. I know Wythenshawe is a little outside of town," I replied, looking to Kelly, Charlie and Michael. I saw Michael roll his eyes at me.
"Do you stalk him or something cos you seem to know pretty much everything about him," he said to me, and I just grinned. "I mean I know you were a fan of him before you hooked up with him, but you know almost every single detail about him!!"
"You're just jealous, Mike," I said simply. "Right, well you three had better be good, and just be careful on the way home."
"We will," Kelly said, standing. She pulled me into a hug before continuing to speak. "I'll see you in the morning on the bus since fat arse here has got the car again," she said, grinning at her brother, who, in turn, stuck his middle finger up to us.
"How rude!" I said in mock offence. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kel. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself last night, Charlie. It was such a good night!" Charlotte smiled at me and came to hug me. She stumbled a little, alcohol clearly still in her system.
"Bye chicken pie and thanks for coming with us!" she said, smiling at me. I could smell the amount of alcohol on her breath and I wrinkled my nose.
"You're welcome, Charlie, but you might wanna get your teeth brushed cos your breath stinks of ale," I said, grinning. Charlotte blushed.
"Right, well we're off now," I said, walking over to the door. Jay had hold of my suitcase, and he took my hand as we left. "See you when I see you," I said to my friends, as Jay closed the door.
"What if they don't like me?" I muttered, as the car pulled up outside of Jay's family home.
"Don't worry. I know they'll love you!" he replied. He leaned over and pecked me on the cheek. We got out of the car and walked up the garden path. I was nervously fixing my hair as Jay knocked on the door. I took a deep breath as a man opened the door. With one look at him, I knew instantly that this was Jay's twin brother, Justin.
"Jason!! Hey bro!" Justin said, stepping down and hugging his brother. As the twins released each other, I saw Justin look to me. "You must be Hannah?" he said, taking my hand and placing a kiss on it. I blushed as Jay rolled his eyes. "I'm Jus…"
"Justin," I interrupted him. "I know. You are twins so it wasn't that hard to guess who you were," I said, grinning. Justin and Jay both laughed as they led me into the house.
It was so spacious. I could see numerous pictures lining the walls of Jay and his family. The twins led me into a room just off the main hallway, and I was greeted by several pair of eyes looking at me.
"Hey bro!" said one of the guys. "Welcome home!" He got up and came over to hug Jason. The remaining people did the same. I felt so nervous as I saw each of them eye me up as they released Jason. A woman stepped forward. She looked much older than the rest of the group and I guessed this must be Jason's mum. She had a warm, kind-hearted face, and she was smiling as she approached me.
"It's lovely to meet you, Hannah isn't it?" she said. I nodded, albeit a little nervous. "I'm Jenny, Jason's mother." She took my hand and shook it.
"Nice to meet you, Jenny," I answered, not sure if I was supposed to call her by her first name or call her Mrs Orange. She smiled again, as two females, Jay's half-sisters obviously, stepped forward. They looked a little unhappy, but that's probably because they saw how young I was compared to Jason.
"I'm Amy," said the shorter of the two.
"And I'm Emma," added the other. I smiled at them as they shook my hand. I looked to the remaining men who were stood there. As Amy and Emma stepped back, each of the guys stepped forward. The one who had spoken to Jay when we first entered the sitting room came forward first.
"I'm Dominic," he said. He had rather a gravely tone to his voice, but it was full of warmth and friendliness. I smiled as he stepped back and another brother stepped forward.
"I'm Simon," he said, shaking my hand and pecking me on the cheek. I blushed a little. I saw Jay stood at the back of the group. He was smiling, so I hoped that meant I was being accepted by his family.
"I'm Sam," said the third brother.
"And I'm Oliver," said the last. All of the family were smiling at me which I was rather glad about. At least I knew I wouldn't be getting my head ripped off any time soon…
A couple of hours had passed and everything was going well with the Oranges. They had invited me to stay for a barbeque, and Jay's sister's had cracked out a few bottles of wine.
"You know Jay's really, really soft at heart?" Emma said to me, as we watched the boys cooking up sausages and kebabs and all kinds on the barbeque. I smiled at her.
"Yeah, and that 's one thing I really love about him," I answered, looking in Jay's direction. He was deep in conversation with Oliver, but he caught my eye and returned my smile.
"He really likes you, Hannah. When we asked him about you after that picture was in the paper the other day, he went all mushy over you," Amy added. I blushed.
"Really?" I asked, my cheeks still burning.
"Yeah. I've never seen him like this with anyone before, you know," Jenny piped up. She was smiling at me, and I could see the truthfulness in her words. "You really made him open up. He's certainly not been this content for quite some time." I smiled at Jenny's words. Was I really making Jay that happy?
"Burgers are done if you ladies want any!" called Sam. I watched as he flipped one of the burgers into the air. It was meant to land on the bun in Dominic's hand, but it missed and landed on the grass. Myself, Jenny, Amy and Emma all burst out laughing.
"Well done, bro!" Justin said sarcastically, patting Sam on the back. Sam grinned embarrassedly. I could feel the full hangover from last night starting to hit me now. My head was pounding, but I tried to ignore it. I was having too much fun to be worrying about much.
"Here you go, babes," Jay said, bringing me a burger. He kissed me on the cheek before walking back over to his brothers. I blushed a little.
"Oy!! Why do you bring your girlfriend one and not your own sisters and mother?!" called Amy, grinning. I smiled at her as Jay rolled his eyes. Jenny and Emma were laughing. Jay, reluctantly, brought each of them a burger as I took a bite out of my own.
"Thanks oh dear brother of mine," Emma trilled as she took her burger off him. She grinned as he rolled his eyes at her. I laughed as I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that a text from my mum had just come through. Opening it, my face fell. It held just two words: "Ring me!"
"What the matter babe?" Jay asked me, concern all over his face at the look on my own face.
"I'm not sure. My mum wants me to ring her," I replied, standing up. I walked back toward the house to make the phone call.
"Hello?" came the strained voice of my mum.
"Mum, it's me. What's wrong?" I said, starting to feel panic rising in my chest. I heard her tone and I knew it couldn't be good news.
"It's Jake…" she replied. I felt a lump in my throat. That really didn't sound good. Jake was my brother and I knew he was serving in the army in Afghanistan.
"What's wrong with Jake? Mum?" I could hear her trying to muffle her sobs. I knew exactly what she was about to tell me and my heart broke.
"He… He's b…been killed in by a roadside bomb b…blast," she said, and I heard her burst into tears. I could feel tears brimming in my own eyes. I didn't know what to say.
"Oh my God…" I whispered, trying to comprehend my mother's words. "I… I'll be home as soon as I can, Mum." She didn't reply to me and I heard the line go dead. I felt sick. My world was crashing around me. I hadn't noticed that Jay had come to stand near to me. I started to shake, a tonne of emotions coursing through my body. I couldn't keep it in any longer and the tears began to seep from my eyes. I felt Jay pull me in to a tight hug.
"Are you ok? What's the matter babe?" he said, worry echoing in his every syllable. I couldn't bare to repeat the words my mum had just spoken to me. I just held Jay tight and sobbed into his chest. I felt him leading me somewhere but I didn't take any notice of where. It was probably the sitting room because a moment later he sat down, still holding me tightly.
I didn't know how long I cried for, but by the time I looked up, it was already going dark outside. I knew my face would be completely tear-stained but I didn't care. Jay must have realised I'd stopped crying because he pulled away from me and looked at my blotchy face.
"What's the matter?" he asked me softly. I blinked several times before answering him, trying to find the words to express what had happened.
"M…My brother, Jake, was serving in Afghanistan an…and he's b…been killed by a bomb," I said. Hearing the truth in my own words hurt so much, and tears started to fall down my cheeks again.
"Oh, I'm so, so sorry, Hannah," he whispered, wiping away some of the tears and pulling me tight. "You know I'll always be here when you need a shoulder to cry on. Just give me a call and I'll be there as soon as I can be." I looked into his beautiful face. I smiled weakly at him before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek.
"Thank you. That means a lot, Jason," I said softly. "I've got to get home."
"I'll take you. I don't want you going on your own," he said softly. I smiled at his words, holding him tight. He made me feel a little calmer, but the pain cut me deep. I didn't know what I'd do when I saw my mum and dad later.
After telling his family an edited version of the situation, Jay had taken me to the car, picked up my stuff from the penthouse and we were on the way back to my house. I was sobbing silently into Jay's chest for the whole drive as he held me tight. I never thought I'd have to endure pain like this for a good while yet, but it was only about 8 years since the loss of my nana cut me hard like the pain I was experiencing right now.
As we pulled up outside my house, Jay took my hand and squeezed it tight. I smiled softly at him as I got out. I didn't know what to expect when I opened the door. I fumbled around in my bag for my key and once I'd found it, I couldn't keep my hand steady enough to put it in the lock so Jay did it for me.
Stepping inside, the atmosphere was sombre. I could hear the broken sobs of my mother coming from the lounge. I dropped my suitcase in the hallway and made my way into the lounge as Jay closed the front door.
"Mum," I said, softly. I saw my dad holding her and they both looked up at me. I saw both of their faces were tear-stained and I just broke down again. I didn't notice Jay was stood in the doorway, but as soon as he saw me crying, he stepped forward and pulled me close again. My parents must have gotten up as I felt both of them engulf me in a hug. Jay stepped away from us to let us share the graveness of the moment.
After a lot of crying and holding Jay and hugging my parents, I couldn't bare it anymore. I got up quickly and sprinted up to my bedroom. I flicked on the light and flung myself on my bed, crying into my pillow.
I felt the mattress move as someone sat down and I looked up to see Jay, concern all over his face.
"Oh Jay!" I said, throwing myself into him, still crying. I didn't want to let him go and I didn't want him to leave. He gave me comfort and strength, which were certainly two things I needed at this point. Jay propped us up on my pillows and I just lay there holding him, thinking about what had happened that day, and how it had gone from being so good to being one of the worst days of my living memory.
I started remembering the good times I'd spent with my brother over the years, and those memories began to fill my dreams, as I drifted off to sleep on Jay's chest…
