Floss // A Harry Styles AU

one

I noticed as soon as I stepped out of the car that there was a strange buzzing in the atmosphere between the other parents today. I was late - which wasn't uncommon, but I was never the first parent on site. I could never leave work on time for that luxury. As I pulled into the school gate, another parent was already leaving in their frankly flash black Range Rover. I didn't even know anyone in the village had a Range Rover. I looked ridiculous in my bright orange 57 plate Ford Focus next to it. I looked ridiculous all the time in it, actually.

I folded my arms as I wandered closer to the gate where the other parents were waiting, and stood next to Geri who was the only other mum I could really tolerate. We had been friends since we were 5, to be fair. I had no choice but to tolerate her.

"You've just missed the new dad." Geri muttered to me, and waved at her daughter promptly afterwards when she appeared in the playground.

"Have I?" I pouted. "That the twat in the Range Rover?"

"That'd be the one."

"Shame. I didn't know there was someone new in the village."

Sharon - an older mother with a knack for knowing everyone else's business - leaned over to us then, clearly having been listening. She hummed pointedly, "It was all very sudden, from what I gather. Bad break up maybe, but it's just him and his son. Moved into that house next to the post office."

I turned to face Sharon with raised brows. "What, that one that's been empty for ages?"

"Yeah." Sharon nodded, a strange bugging to her eyes.

"Must have some money, then. That place is massive."

"I heard he's the new dentist." Debbie, another local gossip, added from just in front of us.

I grimaced. I hated going to the dentist.

"If he is, I'm having my check up five months early." Geri snickered.

Having not seen the elusive new parent-come-dentist, I wasn't much interested in the prospect of new faces or getting to know them. I took from Geri's comment that he was probably attractive in some kind of general sense, but I had absolutely no desire to ever find out. I really, really hated going to the dentist.

"I just can't believe someone would move their child in the middle of the second term of school." Debbie said, bored.

"Must've been important." Sharon shrugged.

"Maybe his old house flooded." Debbie suggested, now having completely turned around. She really plucked that idea out of thin air.

"Or his wife was having an affair." Geri sounded hopeful.

"I heard it was a lifestyle change," said Sharon.

This conversation was getting stupid. What could I input to make it more stupid? I was good at that. "Maybe he lived on the moon and it got blown up by aliens."

The three women looked at me with disgust. I ignored them. Clearly they didn't realise I was being serious.

"Mummy!"

I watched with a wide grin as my small child ploughed her way towards me from the school gate, and crouched down with open arms. "Hey, muffin!"

Ruby crashed into me and wrapped herself around me as tightly as she could. I pecked the top of her head and squeezed her back.

"Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah, there's a new boy!" She beamed up at me, plaited brunette hair now fuzzy and starting to come loose after a full day of running around.