all the love // H.S au (university series)

hours

My feet were sore. my nose was cold and running. my cheeks were pink and burning frozen to the touch.

"I think I've been frost bitten." I said through chattering teeth to who I thought was just myself inside the cozy apartment. Realization struck that I wasn't by myself when I heard someone clear their throat just down the entryway. Shit.

"How unfortunate." Aunt Irene's recognizable voice said. I sighed as I unbuttoned my coat and hung up my scarf, revealing the blouse I had spilled chai latte on a few hours before with Harry. We had a laugh at my clumsiness. I made my way into the brightly lit kitchen where my aunt resided, leaning over the counter reading a fashion magazine.

"where were you? I was expecting you to be home after my shift downstairs." She said to me, not looking me in the eye as she spoke. She's kind of disrespectful in small ways like that, but that's just who she is. Kind of sassy and confident which sometimes comes off as rude. I know it's not necessarily her intention to be rude though.

"I went for a cup of tea down at the coffeehouse and I met someone'" I shrugged' "Plus I got kind of lost on my way back."

"You're a horrid liar, Isabelle. You've been going to that coffee shop since the day you moved here." She said, finally looking at me with a grin. Whew, she wasn't in a bad mood after all.

"Yeah I don't even know why I try to sneak excuses to be honest. You're too good at catching them." I confess, sitting at the island and picking at the biggest grapes for my hungry tum.

"mhm." Is all she said as she returned her attention to the magazine.

"I'm sorry I'm late though. Can we still go?" I asked, my tone turning a bit more serious.

"If you want to, I guess we could still make it." She said, checking her watch.

"I want to go." I said. And with that my aunt and myself piled into her second hand car towards the university.

We arrived at the UNI campus and trekked towards the humanities building with a quick hustle. We crossed the courtyard of college students hustling to class and chattering amongst themselves. A nervous wave crashed through me and if felt as if hours ticked by before my aunt and I made it to the enormous double doors to a literature classroom.

we were only a few minutes late, both taking seats nearest to the back and closest to a door. Nobody pays any attention to us latecomers, as their attention was set directly on the professor who was speaking about the literary analysis on Milton's Paradise Lost.

I brought my own copy out from my bag and a pen for marking any important notes in the margins. Auntie Irene sat next to me, listening intently on the professors lecture. I liked this professor, he brought discussion into the class and involved the opinions on other students. That's also the reason why I didn't like his class, I had to be hyper aware of the days he held seminar.

An hour passed by, and the professor what still explaining the correlation of original sin to modern day songs like Take Me To Church or something like that. I started to lose my interest, until he began calling on students to ask questions. Irene nudged my side as if to tell me we should go before I get caught, but I needed to stay.

I needed to stay because there was somebody who looked very familiar raising their hand.

"Yes, Harry?" The professor called on the boy I was focusing on. My pupils dilated and my jaw dropped. Harry Styles, aka the boy I had met earlier that day and bonded over books with, was taking this class?

Harry asked a very intelligent question that made the professor stumble and fumble for an answer, which made me smirk a bit. What a smart ass.

A few other students asked some questions and I took it as my queue to go before anyone caught me. Aunt Irene and I snuck out the double doors quietly, letting out sighs.

"I need to run to the loo." Aunt Irene said, leaving me abandoned on the steps outside the UNI building. I sat on the cold concrete steps, scrolling through my Instagram feed. a few moments later hoards of students walked out of the building, passing me on the wide steps with out any recognition... that is until I heard "Isabelle?" from behind me. Instantly my head snapped up from the glam and aesthetic of Instagram back to the real world behind me, and there stood a wide grinned Harry.

"Harry?" I asked as if I hadn't recognized him in the classroom earlier. God, why did Irene have to leave me alone here?

"Hey, I didn't know you went to school here. Are you in Professor Burrow's class?" He asked plopping down on the spot next to me. His elongated legs compared to my shortened ones made for an extreme contrast. I giggled at the sight.

"No.. My aunt actually. I'm just here... to pick her up." I said the quickest lie they came to my mouth. "Oh, here she comes now. I'll see you around, Harry!" I said, getting up swiftly to Irene who just made it around the corner.

"wait!"
I halted.
"Can I get your number? I realized I hadn't as soon as I had left the coffee shop earlier. I went back to get it from you but you'd already left. I can't let you get away from me again." Harry confessed.

blushing and stumbling, I pushed my brown locks off one shoulder and tapped away my digits into a new contact filed under "Isabelle 📚💖"

"Very cute, thank you Isabelle. I'll ring you soon, alright?" He said with a smile that seemed to never leave his face.

"Alright, goodbye Harry." I said, stepping on the very tip top of my toes to give him a peck on the cheek just like he had to me a few hours ago at the coffee shop. I nearly skipped down the marble steps to Irene who was standing with her heavily tattoos arms crossed across her chest. "Who was that and do I need to kick his ass?"

I beamed, slightly embarrassed she watched that. "No... he's just a guy I met earlier today. I just happened to bump into him."

"Okay well, he's very handsome." She said, turning to walk towards the apartment. I felt uncomfortable, but I silently agreed. I hugged my book close to my chest and sped away so she wouldn't have the chance to pester me anymore.

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notes: I've had the first couple chapters of this story in my notes for MONTHS and I actually started to write the other book to this series called Daizy Mae, but I needed to get this one rolling before I could plan out the plot for that story. Tbh idek how this one is going yet so bear with me. love u for reading this! & I'll leave Isabelle's appearance up to imagination instead of casting her, I think it suits her character best to leave it up to your imagination. FYI she's loosely based off of me! My name is actually Isabelle, and I'm trying to create a character that has some similar personality traits as myself.
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