Life On The Flip Side [Harry Styles AU]

f i v e

"How are you feeling?" A deep exhale escapes between my lips as I glance over at my computer, Sarah's face taking up the screen.

"Honestly, Sarah. I don't know. A bit confused, I guess. I had a really strange - Actually, I don't even know what to call it, because I'm not sure if the images in my mind were those of a dream or reality. It just seemed too real, you know?" Sarah outstretches her arm to reach for something out of the camera's line of sight before retracting it back to reveal a bottle of water.

She turns the cap open and takes a few small sips, a humorous expression on her face. I raise an eyebrow at her. "What's so funny?" I say. My voice has a bit of an edge to it, and I watch as she sets the bottle back down onto the table, leaving the cap off.

"Nothing, really," Sarah grins and raises her hand to cover her mouth, attempting to stifle a giggle. "I just find it funny that you think your dream was something more than just a dream. Maybe you really are loosing it, like how your mom said you were. Are you sure you don't want to commit to counseling?"

What is with everyone today and their disgusting attitudes? First Ava, and now Sarah.

My blood begins to boil as I study the smug expression on her face. I think of my mother and her breathing exercises, inhaling and exhaling to blow off steam. "Are you okay?" Sarah asks.

Now you want to be concerned?

I look around the room before staring back at the computer, wondering what could have happened today that put me in such a compromising position.

"Actually Sarah - " I pause to recollect my thoughts before continuing. "No, I'm not." I don't wait for her to say goodbye before quickly navigating my mouse cursor to the red X in the corner of my screen.

Everything and everyone around me seemed to be changing, and I felt totally out of the loop.

----

"Well look who's up and at 'em! How are you honey?" I shrug and stand awkwardly at the kitchen counter, not sure of what to say. My relationship with my father has always been very distant, and that only intensified when him and my mother divorced due to 'marital issues.'

My parents continuously assure me that there wasn't an affair, but I had my suspicions raised about the secretary at my father's law firm for quite a while now.

"I'm hanging in there, I guess." I say. My father nods. "You'll feel better soon. I know you're probably wondering why I'm here, and trust me, I am too. But when your mother called me saying that she needed someone to watch over the soup while she stepped out for an hour or so, I couldn't say no. But that's only because I get to see my favorite daughter." He winks at me, and I sadly grin at him.

"I uh, I'm going to head upstairs." I outstretch my thumb towards the entrance of the kitchen, and my father nods before turning back to the soup.

Maybe a nap will be the one thing to soothe my current uneasiness.

----
-The Next Day-

Clutching the stolen key in my hand, I inhale a deep breath as I stare intently at the locker room door.

Never in my life did I see myself as the breaking an entering type, but with no one else available at the school, I was forced to improvise. Not only did I break into the athletic director's office to retrieve the locker room key, but I am now entering the locker room without anyone's prior knowledge. If anyone were to find out, I'd be in a shit ton of trouble. And to add on to it all, I was sneaking into the athletics wing before school hours.