Word Travels - Harry Styles

1

She'd never been one for dating.

She'd only ever kissed like- one guy. And that was in preschool underneath the playground. So, it didn't really count.
The fact was, Darcy just wasn't that interested, or, she was, but no one was interested in her. She was your oh-so-typical teenage girl. Short, blonde hair, bland hazel eyes, small, thin and boring. She'd never considered herself attractive.
Like every other teenage story, she had just moved to a new town. Of course she was nervous to start a new school; who wouldn't be? A big part of her didn't particularly care, though.
"You'll be fine, right? You've always been my brave little girl." Her mother had said the day before, while they sat across from each other at their small kitchen table. Darcy had shrugged, picking at her food quietly. Her mother sighed, leaning over and taking her daughter's hand in her own, smiling a soft smile, "I know this is hard. But it's like a fresh start, you know? Maybe you'll have better luck in this town."
She knew what her mother meant. She'd had trouble making friends, keeping friends. She'd always been the target for snarky comments from her classmates, nothing big. Everyone goes through some form of bullying, right?

She had, in all honesty, spent the past 2 and a half months absolutely dreading the day she started school again. Her mother had been gracious when they had moved and let her hold off on starting school. but of course, winter break had just ended for them, and with the start of the new semester, she had to join the fun. As of right now, she was walking towards her small, white, four door car with her keys in her hand and her backpack slung over her shoulder. She wasn't nervous then, but she could feel that small anxiety creeping up her throat. 

She had dressed herself that morning, also. Wearing a very stylish outfit of dark blue skinny jeans, an old sweatshirt she had found at some throwback thrift store 2 states over, black vans and to top it off, a ratty beanie to cover most of her fringe. She also sported the amazing square, and black glasses everyone loved and wanted- all of this being said with sarcasm. She was petty, no doubt about it. Her expression almost constantly bland and sour. Maybe that was the reason no one liked her.. She laughed softly to herself at that thought, shaking her head. 

Now she was on the road, humming goofily to the song she was listening to. Swaying her head back and forth and mouthing to words to herself, a cigarette in her left hand, and her right hand gripping the wheel in order to keep the car from swerving into a ditch or a tree.  She finished her cigarette just as she was pulling into the busy parking lot, and she flicked it away. The cigarette had soothed her nerves while she was smoking it, but now she could feel the nicotine's absence in her lungs. Her chest felt heavy, and her heart raced now. But not for a good reason. She parked, and took a moment to compose herself.

When she was ready-and she never really was, she just had to force herself- she got out of her car. She could immediately feel they eyes of nearly 1500 teenagers on her body. Calm down, She told herself, You knew this was going to happen.  She took a deep breath, plastered the fakest smile she could onto her face, and walked to where she knew her first class was. Her hands shook vigorously, and she forced back panicked breathes. When she had finally found her class, and taken a seat in the back, she was able to ease her nerves slightly. 

The bell rang, and she felt it again; the rising anxiety. As students of all shapes, sizes, and colors filed into the small 30-person classroom, she hid her face behind her hand. She could hear them whispering about her, and she could only imagine what they were saying- what they were judging. 

"Hey," Someone said, deep and raspy, she froze, "That's my seat." 

"O-oh.!!" She stammered, starting to get up, she didn't look up at the voice, "I'm so so-"

"Don't worry about it. I can just sit next to you." 

She looked up then, and before her was a boy. A beautiful boy. Her whole body reacted in a way she had never felt before. She blushed, and as soon as they made eye contact, she looked away. 

"I'm Harry. Harry Styles." He said to her, taking a seat in the empty desk next to her. She noticed his slight British accent, and she tried to swallow the large lump that was forming in her throat. "I'm Darcy." 

"Darcy.." He smiled slightly, the edges of his lips curling up. "That's a nice name. I've never heard it before." 

She choked slightly, the lump now nearly blocking her airways. Holy shit, what is this feeling? "T-Thank you." She mumbled, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, her face nearly beet red. 

He hummed in response, the final bell had just rang and the teacher was now starting class. She couldn't get the tight feeling out of her chest, and now it actually had a reason to be sitting there. This boy, this beautiful boy, had just come into her life and stolen her breath with just a few words and she didn't even mind. She didn't even know the boy, all she knew was his name, and yet she could already feel something.. What was that something? Her mind raced, and she couldn't get his face out of her head for the rest of the day. Even as she got into her car at the end of the school day, and lit up her first cigarette since that morning, and drove off campus singing the same songs she had sung on her way in; all she could see was his face. 

This feeling troubled her, and when she sat down at the dinner table, and her mom asked how her first day went, she could only say one thing; "Great. I think I made a friend." 

A friend indeed.