Prove It (H.S)

Chapter Forty Eight

Claire's POV~

Jasmine and I walk out of the yellow building, both of us amazed yet again with Emilio's class. I put on my sunglasses, which I'm very happy that I remembered. The sun is so bright, I find myself squinting my eyes even under the shades.

"I'm gonna go buy something to drink, you want anything?" Jasmine asks. I adjust my bag on my shoulder and say,"No, thanks. I'm gonna go back to our room." Jasmine smiles and gathers her pesos. "Okay, see you there."

I turn on my phone, checking my texts. There's one from Aubrey, asking my how I'm doing. As I begin to type my response, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to a tall, tan, very handsome young man standing before me.

"Hello," he says, his voice ringing with what I believe to be a Spanish accent. "Hi," I say with a smile. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but notice you. Are you in the philosophy class?" His brown eyes are glued to me and I blush. "Yes, I am. Are you?" He shakes his head. "I'm here for the sociology course. I come from Madrid. My name is Andrés, by the way."

He holds his hand out and I grab it. "I'm Claire, from Oregon, at school in LA." He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my skin lightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you." I smile again. "Could I, ah, get your...number?" Andrés asks, his eyes glimmering. "Yes, sure."

He pulls his phone out of his blue shorts and hands it to me. I type my digits into his phone, slowly, glancing up at him every so often. He's staring at me, smiling. His hair looks soft and his features are welcoming. I look down, finishing my typing and handing Andrés his phone back. "Here."

Looking down, he smirks and puts his phone in his pocket. "Thank you. I'll see you later, Claire," he says as he turns and walks away. My name rolls off his tongue in a familiar way, and for a moment, I feel panicked.

Harry. This feels like a betrayal.

But, it's not. We aren't together. I get to start something new here in Mexico, and I will not feel bad about it.

I walk back to my room where Jasmine is, on her computer and straw in-between teeth. "I thought you'd be here when I got back," she says. "Sorry, I ran into someone." Jasmine looks up at me, raising her eyebrows. I sit on my bed and smile at her. "It was a guy. A very, very attractive guy," I say, grinning.

"Ooh," she says, closing her laptop. "Did you get his number?" Blushing, I say, "I gave him mine. You know, he seems really smart and he was very polite. His name is Andrés, he's from Spain." Jasmine turns her body to face me and rests her chin in her hands. I giggle. "Europeans are often very attractive," she jokes. "Yes, they are," I say. "And I seem to have a thing for them," I mutter, softly so Jasmine can't hear.

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Harry's POV~

The dark-haired woman crosses her legs at her desk. "So, Mr.Styles, tell me what makes you fit for this job." I clear my throat and run my fingers through my hair. "Well, I've always been a people-person, and I am good at getting the job done. I really feel like this job would benefit the company as well as myself," I say, thumbling my thumbs. The woman, whom I'm reminded of her name when I glance at the name tag on her desk, Cynthia, scribbles something onto a notepad.

"Well, I cannot find any flaws on your resume, and we are currently in need of a Guest Service Coordinator, so we'll be in touch," she says with a smile. Both of us stand up and she shakes my hand. "Thank you, so much," I say and Cynthia nods.

I leave the office and immediately dial Louis'  number. He picks up on the third ring. "Harry! How'd it go?" I walk out of the building into the sunshine. "I think it went well. Never did I imagine I would be applying for a job at IKEA, though," I say with a laugh and Louis returns it.

I walk towards my car and unlock it. "So, any plans for your birthday tomorrow? We could go out with the lads?" He asks through the phone. Getting into the car and closing the door, I say, "I just want to hang out with my friends. The last time we did that was in a hospital room, so...." "Say no more," he says before hanging up after a goodbye.

I pull out of my parking spot, driving up to the exit of the parking lot. Just before I pull onto the busy road, a man with a backpack walks in front of my car, completely in right of way. I screech on my breaks, my breath catching in my throat.

"Hey! Watch it!" He yells, walking away with an angry glare. I sit there, my heart pounding after gesturing my apology. Hands trembling on the steering wheel, my mind swirls back to my accident. Then to what took place before it happened, and then to the event that lead to that. I bring my hand up to my cheek to catch a tear.

I had the one thing that I really wanted. Claire was mine, and I crushed her. I crushed us and I was stupid for ever thinking that we could be repaired. She is everything I could ever ask for, but I lost her. In my time of need, she was by my side, even after what I did to her.

Suddenly, I hear a knock on my window. Realizing my car has been stopped in front of an exit, I quickly raise yet another apologetic hand to the pissed business woman outside my window and drive  away.

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Claire's POV~

I lay on my small bed, staring at the ceiling. The fan in our room is broken and the heat is becoming unbearable. Jasmine dropped it off to get fixed. "Hey, are you  daydreaming about that guy again?" Jasmine asks, lifting a pajama shirt over her head. I shuffle on top of my covers. "No, I'm trying to remember something."

"Oh?" She asks. I bite my lip and wipe my sweat ridden forehead with the back of my palm. "Tomorrow is February first, correct?" Jasmine nods. I close my eyes for a moment, trying desperately to figure out why that date is stuck in my mind. "What's so special about February first?" She asks, twisting her curls into a bun. Then, it hit me.

"Oh my god! I know what it is!" I jump from my bed to my computer. "What?" Jasmine asks frantically. "Tomorrow is Harry's birthday. I'm going to send him a birthday email." Jasmine laughs. "Can't you do it in the morning?"

I sigh, closing my laptop. "Yeah, I guess I can." The two of us get under our covers. Jasmine wishes me goodnight as I do to her. In my head as I lay in bed, my mind is switching back and forth between two thing: Andrés and the birthday letter I will write to Harry, word for word. It's almost like a battle between the old and the new. You know what they say, old habits die hard.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello! I am sososososososososo sorry about this late update. I know I say this every update, but this one was super duper late. I'm so sorry and thanks for sticking around. I have so much planned for this story.
~Lila