exploration |mature h.s au|

one

I glance over at the alarm clock sitting on the night stand next to my bed.

6:45 am.

I groan, reluctantly getting out of bed and shuffling to the bathroom tiredly. My parents had left for work about 15 minutes ago, and they didn't neccessarily try to be quiet in the mornings, usually resulting in me waking up earlier than I had to. I stared at my reflection, my blonde hair was all over the place, and the stubborn bit of eye makeup that had refused to come off last night was smeared. I cringed, grabbing my brush and easing out the tangles, washing my face and patting it dry. I went back to my room and changed out of my sleeping shirt that was about five sizes too big and instead put on some light wash jeans and a simple flowy purple tank top.

I walked back to the bathroom, applying concealer over the little patch of acne on my forehead and layer mascara on my lashes. I decided to braid my thick hair, which fell just above my naval, and finished off with some lip gloss. I hurried and grabbed last night's completed assignment, placing it neatly into my bag and slipping on my sandals, before running out the door.

school went on slowly, and my hand was hurting from taking notes all day. I walked into my last class of the day and saw the teacher talking to a man. He was tall, had light brown hair that was curly and somewhat long, and his voice was so... husky?

I blinked quickly, walking briskly to my seat in hopes no one noticed me staring. "Mr. B, we got a new student?" One of the jocks shouted as he walked in the room, causing almost everyone in the room to laugh at his cheap crack. I rolled my eyes a bit, "i'm surrounded by idiots." I mumbled to myself. By then, the bell had rung and the class had settled down and the teacher started talking, "Class, this is Mr. Styles. He's one of the youngest men to become a successful cardiologist, at the age of twenty eight." The teacher spoke proudly, and I nearly choked on the air. This man could not be twenty eight years old, he looked no older than twenty one.

"Good afternoon, students." Mr. Styles said, smiling broadly at us. He started talking about the heart to us, but I found myself tuning in and out, as I was so focused on his feature. He had dark green eyes that sparkled as he talked, he had long fingers and a gold watch around his right wrist, his lips were plump and... "May I have a volunteer?" I heard him say, and I raised my hand quickly, even though I didn't know what I was even volunteering to do, I was desperate to get a closer look at him.

"Girl in the back, what's your name?" He said, pointing to me. I stood up eagerly, "Paisley." I said, walking up and standing to face him. He looked into my eyes for a second, and cleared his throat. "Well, Paisley, do you know where your heart is?" He asked. Of course I do, I thought to myself, but shook my head. "I always forget which side." I pretended to be a bit embarrassed, so it was more beliveable. He smiled at me, "That's not an uncommon situation, it's on the left side." He took his finger and placed it firmly on my left breast, and my eyes got wide at his unexpected gesture. Everyone started placing their hands, feeling for their hearts as if we were in elementary school again.

He kept is hand where it was, nodding towards the class in approval. "Good job," he removed his finger from my body, "remember where it is now, Paisley?" He said, and I could hear how smug his tone was, and I nodded. "Oh, i'll remember, alright." I mumbled so only he could hear me. He stiffled a laugh and sent me back to my seat. The rest of his presentation was anything but boring, and I could see him catching glances every now and then, staring at the same place his fingers had been.

The bell rung too soon, and I took extra time to reorganize my notes in my bag while the rest of the class and the teacher left the room, eager to go home. Mr. Styles was packing up his things, and I approached him. "Excuse me?" I said, fidgeting with my braid a little bit. He looked at me instantly, standing up and throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Yes, Paisley?" He said, and I saw him bite the inside of his bottom lip as he waited for me to talk. "I have an interest in cardiology, and I was wondering if you could maybe teach me a bit more?" I spoke nervously, trying to sound convincing. My interest in cardiology had gone up a lot since I met him, honestly. He smiled, "I would be happy to teach you more. If you were to come to my house, it's where I keep most of my materials, say tonight at 7? I'm booked between now and then, but I'm always happy to make time for people like you." He spoke slowly, but seductively. He was so smart and seemed to know what he was talking about.

"Yeah, that sounds good." I said, smiling up at him, "Thank you, Mr. Styles." I added, trying to hide my excitement. "Anytime." He said, writing down his address and phone number on a small piece of paper, handing it to me and walking out of the room.

I sped home, in a better mood than I had been in a long time. I hummed as I walked through the door, unexpectedly seeing my parents on the couch watching a movie. "Paisley, darling, so glad you're home." My mother started, getting up and pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around her, giving her a light squeeze, before hurrying to my room and starting my work. "Why such a rush?" she said, standing with her arms folded in my door frame. "Oh, I just.." I racked my brain for something to tell her, "am excited to be starting this project with Sarah. We're meeting up at her house tonight to start it." I said with a convincing smile, and my mom came over to me. "My good girl." She said, pressing a kiss to my forehead and leaving the room.

Little did she know.