Demi's POV
No one really remembers how or when Harry ever went bad. He was originally a beautiful person. He was the type of person someone would observe for a long period of time and he would never notice. He was intriguing.
"Harry Styles."
I remember the low, raspy voice and the infamous Styles smirk as if it were yesterday. Even back then, he was a flirt without meaning to be. At just thirteen years old, I had fallen head over heels in love.
I never wanted to be in love with Harry. It was a gradual process of actually falling in love with him, nevertheless I was smitten with the dimpled boy I met in the eighth grade.
He was the new kid at school, so obviously he was interesting. He was also from the UK, and that made him even more interesting to everyone in the entire school, not just the eighth grade.
I remember our first conversation very clearly. It was a Friday afternoon in English class. We had a substitute that day and we sat at a table alone in the back of the class. Two of the classmates that normally sat with us were absent that day so it was only us.
Our assignment was to read chapter seven of To Kill A Mockingbird and write a small summary of the chapter. After I was finished, I pulled out a different book and started reading like I normally did. I heard a slight chuckle from across the table. As I looked up, I saw that it had come from a smirking Harry Styles. "What?" I asked, somewhat confused.
"You really like to read, don't you?" He asked as he chuckled once again.
I nodded slightly, "Yeah, I do actually."
He smiled, "What's that book about?"
"It's kind of odd but it's about a guy who goes insane and he fakes his death in order to frame his wife for his murder and run away with a woman like, twenty years younger than him," I laughed, slightly uncomfortable because I knew if he was anything like the other kids at school, he would think I was weird based off of my taste in literature.
"That actually sounds really interesting. Would you mind lending it to me when you're finished?" He asked, which took me by surprise.
The next Monday I was prepared to give him the book. He was absent. On Tuesday, I finally gave him the book. Apparently he had been sick. Wednesday he must've been sick again because he was absent once more. He was back Thursday and he had read the entire book. I asked if he had been sick again.
"No, I just wanted to read the book in peace," He smirked at me. That stupid, infamous smirk that had any girl wrapped around his finger within minutes.
Later in the school year, when we became good friends, Harry and I had formed something along the lines of a book club. We always read the same books and we would discuss the characters, the plot, the themes, what we liked and what we didn't like.
I never really had many good friends. I was more of a loner. A wanderer, you could say. I drifted through groups of acquaintances. Basically, I was a social nomad.
Harry was quite different. He was a loner, but unlike me, he liked to be alone. Originally, he was considered popular just because people were interested in him, considering he was from across the pond, but when that died down he didn't set aside time to make friends with anyone besides me.
We made it through the end of middle school together and moved forward to high school. The summer after eighth grade was probably the most eventful. Harry and I were free to do what we wanted which meant we would ride our bikes downtown to the water-park, the book stores, the mall. It was great having a sense of freedom for the first time.
It was at Hardy's - the local music store - that Harry and I met Jude. He was a bad boy with a bad attitude. Somehow he managed to get a job at Hardy's. I never knew how he maintained it, though. He was constantly bailing on his shifts. But he was also somewhat of a loner. The pattern of loners sticking together is never-ending in my life, honestly. Anyways, I recall our first encounter with Jude as being slightly intimidating.
He was sitting on a stool behind the counter, changing the strings on an old guitar. He was obviously older than us. Maybe two or three years.
"Can I try out one of the guitars you have in the back?" Harry bravely approached the counter.
Jude looked up at us. He looked at Harry and then me. When our eyes met, I was shocked by the piercing shade of blue his were. I could swear he was reading my mind or even looking at my soul and it felt like an eternity before he finally spoke. "Yeah, sure." He stood up from the stool and led us to the back of the shop.
We followed him quite awkwardly next to his suave movement. I stood behind Harry, seeing as I wasn't very interested in this guitar.
Jude pulled the guitar off the wall and handed it to Harry. "Do you play?"
Harry nodded as he took the guitar from Jude's hands, "Yeah, I have for about two years now."
Jude nodded cooly, "I think I've seen you two wandering around here before. How old are y'all?"
"We're both fourteen," I spoke at last.
"Are y'all going into high school next school year?" He asked as leaned against a rather large amp.
Harry nodded once again as he started to tune the guitar, "Yeah."
"Cool, cool, cool," He said as he nodded his head, "I'm goin' into my sophomore year, myself."
"Wow, I thought you were older," I said.
"Is that supposed to be an insult?" He sneered at me.
I laughed. "I don't think looking older is considered an insult until you're about twenty."
He grinned widely, showing off large, slightly crooked teeth. "Maybe so."
As Harry played the guitar, Jude and I conversed some more. I can't remember exactly what we spoke about but I do remember thinking it was so weird to see Jude and Harry standing next to each other. Harry was tall, lanky and a bit nerdy looking whereas Jude was the well-built, stocky and smooth young man.
Soon, the three of us became close friends. We would hang out every day. Being the stupid young girl I was, I saw that Harry was younger and therefore far more inferior than our new friend and at one point I felt myself slowly falling for Jude.
----------
A/N:
Thank you so much for reading (and waiting patiently for) the first chapter. It's mostly full of background info on the characters but there will be some serious conflict soon! If you would please vote and comment, it would make my day! :) x
