Word Travels - Harry Styles

2

As the days progressed they talked little. He tried making conversation and she tried her best to respond, but in all truth, she was incredibly awkward. She had seen him in the hallway with his friends, and had of course already noticed every girl he was around clung to him like a koala on a eucalyptus tree. She always felt a slight pang when she saw some girl on him, but she usually ignored it. When they made eye contact in the hallway, he smiled and waved, and she would smile back. 

On Tuesday the next week, he approached her car in the parking lot before school. She was huffing down a cigarette before she got caught, and he caught her by surprise. 

He greeted her with a smile, and she responded with a scared gasp and an attack of coughs and wheezes. He laughed quietly as she struggled to regain herself. When she had finally stopped coughing and could actually breath again, she smiled, "H-hey. Sorry, I-" She flicked her cigarette away, even though half of it was left, it hurt to waste a cigarette but she didn't want to embarrass herself further. 

"Are you alright?" He asked, sticking his hands into his pant pockets, his signature half-smile on his lips. 

"What? Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. I'm cool." She laughed, pushing her glasses up her nose and her hair from her eyes in one swift movement. His smile increased, "Good. I'm glad." 

They stood quietly for a moment, breathing in the cold January air. "So," Harry said, speaking up finally after the agonizing seconds of silence she had awkwardly endured, "I came over to ask if you'd like to sit with me at lunch today;" He smiled, "I noticed you always sit alone, and I want to introduce you to my friends." 

You mean your band of bitches?  She thought, internally rolling her eyes at the thought of the hundreds of girl she saw flocking him on a daily, "Uh.. Sure. I mean, if you think your friends will like me, then yeah.." 

He smiled a toothy smile, laughing softly, "Of course they will! They love everyone- trust me." 

She raised her eyebrows, nodding and letting out a soft chuckle, "Okay.. If you say so." 

He clapped his hands together once, "Great! Do you want to walk to first block together?" 

"Uh, sure." She picked her book-bag up off the ground, and walked beside him across the parking lot, her eyes averted towards the ground. They walked in silence. It wasn't awkward, though, it was comfortable. She thought about what she would say at lunch to make herself seem at least slightly cool. He was probably thinking about whatever girl he was gonna sleep with today or something dumb like that. 

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and spoke up, "You look good today." 

She looked up at him, surprised, a slight blush now apparent on her cheeks (Though, you couldn't tell because of the cold); she looked down at her body. She was wearing her usual outfit, jeans, a drug-rug sort of sweatshirt, Vans, and a beanie. Looking back up at him, she furrowed her eyebrows together, "I don't look any different than I normally do." 

He shrugged, "You always look good." 

Darcy let out a soft squeak, looking away from him because the slight blush on her cheek was now covering her face completely, and it was bright-fuckin'-red. Harry laughed at her flustered noise, nudging her with his elbow slightly, "What? Have you never been complimented before?"

She glanced at him, soft pangs of anxiety and fear rang through her body. She swallowed, pushing back faded memories and put on a small smile; "I mean, I have. I'm just not good at taking them."

He laughed, and they finally entered the building. Darcy could feel all eyes on her as she and Harry walked the slightly crowded hallway. She realized that she probably looked like another one of those girls he's with everyday. Just someone new.. She thought, looking down towards her feet. Why did she feel so insecure all of a sudden? Of course she wasn't like everyone else. She was new, yeah, and she was unique. Straightening up her posture, she lifted her chin up and tried to walk with the same confidence Harry had. His looked so natural, though, and she was sure she looked forced, and stiff. 

A few girls, and guys came up to her and Harry. They pushed their way between them and immediately started talking about something stupid. One of them turned and gave Darcy a rather weird look, like she was something unnatural and strange. Darcy swallowed nervously and pushed back her hair, stepping back and smiling at Harry when he made eye contact. His gaze was apologetic, but she was not moved, "I'll catch you later, Harry." And she turned on her heel, walking back in the direction of her first period class as quickly as she could. Her heart pounded and she could feel something welling up in her throat. Tears? Was she about to cry? 

She let out a soft whimper, finding her way to a bathroom and shutting herself in a stall. When she had shut the door she collapsed onto the toilet, breathing heavily. She could feel the panic rising in her chest and she tried her best to push it back down. No. She was not having an anxiety attack because someone gave her a look. She's fine. She shook her head, taking a deep breath and regained her composure. 

The warning bell rang, letting everyone know that they had a few minutes to get to their classrooms. She stood and walked from the stall, checking herself in the mirror before making her way to her classroom. 

Harry was already there when she entered, and he smiled when he saw her. As she sat down, he turned to her, "Listen, I wanna apologize for them. They just don't have good manners." He chuckled softly, shrugging. 

She sighed, smiling softly, "It's alright. I just don't look like someone you normally hangout with probably." She gestured to her hair, which was shaved except for one side, and her ratty, over worn clothing. "They're all so pretty and I'm- I'm not." 

He rolled his eyes, almost so hard that they looked like they were going to fall out of his head. "Darcy, hush. You're- " He was cut off as the bell rang, and the teacher shut the door alittle too loud to get everyone's attention. 

He gave her a 'this isn't over' kinda look and turned his attention towards the front of the classroom. She continued to stare at him, though, looking over his features. With a sigh, she turned her attention towards the teacher, aching to end the day.