Four for the Fourth; A Joult fanfic
With the recent Us article and the impending holiday, I got the inspiration for this fanfic. Enjoy!!!
This just felt so right. Jennifer Lawrence could have easily afforded the most expensive suite in the best hotel in downtown Louisville. But this was her hometown and, of course, there’s no place like home. She was waking up in her parents’ house late in the morning; having just wrapped her latest movie. Jen was certainly not alone as she shared the sofa bed with Nicholas Hoult, her husband. Their two kids were sleeping in her old room. At least, she thought they were. “Kathy? Billy?,” Jen said tiredly. “Where are you guys?” She had gotten out of that bed while Nick was still prone, having noticed something. “I don’t hear your parents either,” Nick observed. “Perhaps we have the place to ourselves. Freedom!” He yelled that last word in an imitation of Mel Gibson in Braveheart. “Oh, that reminds me,” Jen purred. “Happy Independence Day!” Nick was just about to get up when that proclamation made his head flop back onto the pillow. “Come on,” Jen laughed. “You’re an American now. You can celebrate.” “Yeah, by marriage and a wonderful one it is,” Nick replied. “Still, it just feels…” Before Nick could finish that thought, they both heard a car pull up near the house. Jen and Nick went to the window and saw her parents get out followed by Kathy and Billy. They were all smiles with Jen and Nick curious as to what was going on. They quickly went to the bathroom to get cleaned up for the day. If they were truly alone, Jen and Nick would have spent plenty of time in that shower washing each other sensually. Instead, they cleaned each other rather quickly, dried each other off and went to the bedroom where they left their suitcases. Jen soon found the right outfit, as she usually does. A plain white t-shirt with denim shorts that stop just above the knee plus white tennis shoes and ankle socks. When she saw what Nick put on, she covered her mouth laughing. “You are gonna burn up in that!,” Jen exclaimed. Nick was wearing black shirt and shorts plus black running shoes and white ankle socks. “I need to burn up this dad bod,” Nick claimed. “Besides, for some of us…” “This is a day of mourning, I know.” Jen finished. Now they were both dressed and ready to face the others. “Hey everybody,” Jen said as she entered the kitchen with arms wide open. Billy ran immediately to his mom while his older sister just walked over and both returned the embrace. Her parents also offered hugs to Jen and Nick as noon approached. “Where were you guys?,” Jen asked. “We woke up and there was nobody else in the house.” “You two were sleeping so soundly, we didn’t want to disturb you,” Jen’s mom, Karen, said. “We just took our grandbabies to breakfast, then around town for some quality time.” “Just showing them the sights and how their mother grew up,” her dad, Gary, added. “It was a lovely ride,” Kathy said with a British accent she picked up from her time with her dad and in British schools. “Especially that church. Did you really marry Dad there?” “Yeah, and the album’s here to prove it,” Jen answered, referring to the family wedding album and not that special issue of People. “Someone did get a little restless,” Karen said. “I wonder where he got it from.” Jen blushed as she looked at her son. He was an excitable type who got bored easily. “At least he can haul groceries,” Gary added. There was ground beef and wieners plus an assortment of buns, chips and condiments on the kitchen table. It was just perfect for a Fourth of July barbecue. “Oh that’s gonna be so good,” Jen drooled. “Yeah, but what’ll we do ‘til then?,” Billy whined. “I’d like to see that album,” Kathy suggested. “We can do that later,” Nick said. “It looks pretty nice outside. Perhaps we could play a little basketball.” “Yes!!!,” Billy exclaimed. “Uh OK, I guess,” Kathy stammered. “It’ll be fun dear, I’ll show you,” Jen soothed. “You guys have your fun in the driveway while the Grillmaster does his thing,” Gary proclaimed. As the family of four headed out the front door, Jen turned to her mother. “You do know the number to the fire department?,” Jen whispered. “Of course dear, now go,” Karen laughed. After finding an old basketball in the garage, they exited to the driveway with a basket and backboard hanging just above the garage door. “Hey, no rough stuff guys,” Jen asked of her family. “Let’s just shoot around and have fun. No keeping score.” They all nodded in agreement and took turns putting up the rock. Nick was finding nothing but net; Jen hit her share of shots and Billy got a few in sitting on his dad’s shoulders. Kathy, however, was just hurling the ball at the hoop with no success. “This definitely isn’t football,” Kathy complained. That was the sport she excelled at on her school club in London. Her dad calmed her down and taught her some simple shot mechanics. “It’s just like football, only you have to use your hands,” Nick joked. After a few tries, she finally made one and the whole family cheered. “That’s quite a team you’ve got there, Nitro!” Jen froze, then turned around and recognized one of her old classmates. “Johnny!,” Jen exclaimed. “It’s been too long!” “Same here, little Miss Superstar!,” Johnny replied. “Oh, it’s Mrs., isn’t it?” “Yeah, can’t complain. And you?,” Jen asked. “Remember Heather the Hammer from the softball team?,” Johnny asked. “I thought I was a good hitter but she,” Jen stopped herself a bit. “Wait, the two of you?” “Going on seven years,” Johnny bragged. “We teach and coach at the middle school and we’ve got a couple of future star athletes here. We’re not making what you make but it’s pretty good work.” “I know. It’s so unfair that teachers don’t make the money they deserve,” Jen observed. Johnny’s kids joined Jen’s brood for some two-on-two. Again, nothing too stressful and nobody keeping score. It was just kids having fun on the Fourth. It would become more of a family gathering when Ben and Blaine, Jen’s brothers, showed up with their wives and kids. Nick and Jen found themselves coaching against each other. It started to get intense as Jen almost sounded like Pat Summitt, the legendary women’s basketball coach that she would be playing in a big-screen bio-pic due that Christmas. One little noise, however, got all their attentions. “What’s that clicking?,” Heather asked. “Are those crickets?” “No, I know what that is,” Jen frowned. She caught a guy with a camera in a nearby car snapping away. The paparazzi had struck again. 'DON’T YOU HAVE ANYONE TO CELEBRATE THE FOURTH WITH!?,“ Jen yelled as she ran toward the shutterbug. Johnny decided to get in on the act as the photographer drove away. He hurled the basketball towards the car, cracking the back window and bouncing away. "Hey, two points!,” Johnny said. “No, that was long enough for three!,” Jen added. “Hope you all worked up an appetite,” Gary said. “The Grillmaster is done!” “And the house is still standing!,” Jen kidded. “Smart aleck,” Gary muttered with a grin. Everyone was starving as they made their way to the back patio and dug in. The food tasted great and there was plenty of it. Jen enjoyed her burger and laughed when she saw Nick take on a hot dog. “You can be so filthy sometimes, Lawrence,” Nick admonished. “It’s Hoult now, remember?,” Jen reminded him. “I just can’t help myself.” After such a big meal, some of the group sat themselves in front of the TV and slept it off. Jen remembered what she said earlier to Kathy, who was walking around a bit bored. She approached her with a big book in hand. “You asked about this earlier,” Jen said holding the wedding album. “You ready?” “Yes, mum!,” Kathy said excitedly. They took a seat on the couch and started flipping through all the photos. Kathy really loved the dress her mom wore that day. “That’s a Dior, isn’t it?.” Kathy asked. “No, but they offered me a lot of money to wear one of theirs,” Jen said. “That was actually your grandma’s wedding dress. It looked great and it was a perfect fit. We got it put away so if you want to wear it on your big day.” “Definitely,” Kathy smiled. As they kept going through the photos, Jen saw she was doing a great job raising her daughter. Kathy recognized many of their Hollywood friends in the album: Bradley, Josh, Liam, Emma, Charlize with Taylor in the role of wedding singer. She also knew many of the family in the pics. It did Jen good knowing her kids were more about family than the Hollywood scene. Soon, others came by to have a look at those wonderful pictures and recall their own memories of the big day. “You still owe me a hundred bucks,” Ben said to Blaine. “What for?,” Jen asked. “When you were coming down the aisle, he bet me fifty bucks you would trip snd fall,” Ben said. “Oh, God,” Jen shook her head. “And I didn’t.” “Right, so after the vows he wanted double of nothing that you’d trip on your way back up the aisle,” Ben said. “You have so little faith in me,” Jen admonished. “It also helped that I had great men by my side.” Blaine sighed and took out his wallet. He finally paid off though Jen insisted Ben charge interest. Dusk soon approached and everyone got in their cars to go to the park. It was the perfect place to watch the big fireworks show. Karen and Gary brought some portable chairs while Ben and Blaine had blankets and picnic baskets ready to go. As they waited for the first firecrackers, Kathy spotted a couple of girls playing soccer. When the ball came her way, she stopped it and dribbled it with her feet. Before she could be accused of showing off, Kathy kicked it back to the other girls and they started talking. “You call it football, right?,” one of the girls asked noticing Kathy’s accent. “I can call it soccer,” Kathy replied. “I am half-American.” Jen enjoyed this display of modesty. Several people approached Jen and Nick but nobody too obsessed. It was just the neighbors who were proud of their local movie star and just wanted to say hi. Eventually, the first rockets soared into the sky and the fireworks were on. Jen and Nick had seen their share of big explosions on movie sets, but this was still fun to watch. Everyone also got a chuckle out of Billy running around making noises to the fireworks in the sky. Once the last rockets had been fired, most people packed up their stuff and headed home. Neither the Lawrences nor the Hoults were in any rush to get into traffic. They kept to their blankets on the ground as Jen turned to Nick. “Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it Mr. Proud Englishman?,” Jen laughed. “This wasn’t my favorite holiday in the past,” Nick admitted. “But with a family like this, I can enjoy the Fourth.” Jen and Nick turned to kiss each other on the lips. Kathy and the other family members smiled while Billy made gagging noises. They broke the kiss to laugh at their boy as they noticed the crowd had dramatically thinned out. It was definitely time to go home and bring this wonderful day to an end.
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!
