Serenity

four

Songs for this chapter

Ghost Of You by Selena Gomez & The Scene
Somebody Else by The 1975

—

I have always been focused. I am a very observant person who always has a clear and open mind. But lately, my mind has been clouded and consumed with thoughts of a man who doesn't even know how much I am affected by him. Normally, I hate distractions. But right now, I definitely needed one.

Despite Harry's denial, I decided to go to the pizza parlor anyways; I brought my best friend, Daisy, along with me. Having a little bit of girl time with her always lifts up my spirits whenever I'm down. She has always had this affect on me ever since I met her in my junior year of high school, and I couldn't thank her enough for continuously being by my side.

"You have to admit that is the funniest thing you have ever seen," Daisy's pulls her ombré waves to one shoulder while small giggles escape from her mouth.

"There is nothing funny about a man tripping over his shoelace and dropping his plate of pizza on the floor," I shake my head but laugh along with her. "You are ruthless."

"You make it sound like I'm a cruel person who has no feelings whatsoever," She says before taking a bite of her pepperoni pizza.

I take a bite of my own then down it with a gulp of Sprite, "Drew doesn't seem to think so." I smirk and she scrunches her nose in disgust.

"Drew from Biology? No way." She shakes her head, "Plus, I've already got my eye on someone."

"The ruthless Daisy has her eye on someone? The same Daisy who usually has a crush on two guys at once? There is something very wrong here." I joke, earning a swat on the arm from across the table. "No, but in all seriousness, who is it?"

"You know Curt Byden? From Calculus?"

"Curt?" I lean forward in astonishment, "Daisy, I've never even seen you talk to the guy."

"Actually," She picks a pepperoni off her slice and tosses it in her mouth. "He offered to tutor me."

"Oh, so you're into kinky guys now." I laugh again when she rolls her eyes, but the red coloring on her cheeks contrasts her actions. "Is he like pi? Really long and goes on forever?"

"Cora!" She widens her eyes but her mouth breaks into a smile. "You can't make perverted jokes for everything."

"But am I right, or am I right?" I question her, and she buries her face in her hands. Of course, I was right.

This is our relationship with one another. I am the girl who always tells anecdotes or makes jokes. I never care for what people think of me; my father taught me that the only opinion that matters is my own. Daisy is the girl who does care about what people think of her. She is neat and tidy, and always wears the finest clothing, even to campus. She always makes sure she looks her best. She loves makeup, but what girl doesn't? Even I admit I enjoy it just a little bit.

We were both opposites, but in a strange way, we worked together.

"I was thinking of inviting him to my birthday party. I told you about that, right? It'll be a formal event so I'm sorry, but that means you have to dress up, Cora." I pick up my phone as she continues to speak, "Speaking of which, you need a date. Cora, hello? Are you listening?"

"Yeah, yeah, dress up and a date." I click on my messages and scroll through the conversations.

"Okay, this is the seventh time you've picked up your phone, and counting." Daisy pushes away her empty plate and crosses her arms in front of her chest.

"Sorry," I mumble and set my phone back on the table. "I'm kind of expecting a text."

Immediately taking an interest in the change of topic, Daisy leans forward and places her chin in her palm. "Looks like Cora has her eyes on someone as well." She wiggles her eyebrows making the both of us laugh. She knows me too damn well.

"Well, I'm trying. He's kind of hard to impress."

"Cora," She jokingly gasps, placing her hand on her chest for a dramatic effect. "You never try to impress anyone. The tables have turned, there is something very wrong here with you. Are you okay? Did you get hit in the head?"

I lift a shoulder, "No, I'm fine. I still don't give two shits about the clothes I wear, but I still want him to give me the time of day."

"Oh, Cora. You're in love." Her sarcastic tone proves she's making another joke but if only she knew just how in love with Harry I actually am. If only she knew how hard it was to love someone who didn't love you back. "What's his name?" She asks.

"Harry. Harry Styles. Do you know him?"

"Never heard of the guy. What's he like?"

"He's really tall. Green eyes and sun-kissed skin. Uhm..he wears glasses." I try reveal as little information as I possibly can, just to make it seem like I just met him but Daisy gives me a look as if to continue. "I don't know, Daisy. He rarely talks to me. But he's different, kind of like —"

"Kind of like that?" She cuts me off, and eyes something behind me.

I turn around in my seat and instantly frown at the sight of Harry entering the parlor, with a girl following behind him. The girl is petite and slightly chunky, with olive skin and dark monogamous curls that cascade past her chest.

They both take a seat at bar stools towards the front, picking up a menu to look over. He doesn't even seem to realize my presence which disappoints me since I had told him I would be here; I invited him here.

"He told me he was going to study at the library," I mumble, as I continue to torture myself by staring.

"I'm sorry, Cora." I hear Daisy behind me.

She doesn't understand. I love this man with all my heart, and seeing him come in here with another girl arose a pang of jealousy and sadness in me. My teeth clenched and if it had been possible, my eyes would have seared holes through her. I couldn't stand the sight of her as she gave Harry a bright smile when he spoke to her. I hated that he too gave a smile equally as bright every time she gave him a response.

"Don't let him upset you." I try to force myself to look away, but my muscles won't make any movement. "In fact..you know what? Cora, go get your man."

Confrontation never ends well, especially coming from my part. It always ends with arguments and insults, and I didn't want that. I didn't want to argue with Harry. If he wanted to spend his time with a girl who isn't me, then so be it. Maybe this is supposed to happen. Harry will never fall in love with me so he can get the chance to live. But just as if I was under a spell, the jealousy picks up my feet and takes me over to the bar stools.

I sit in the seat next to him, "How was studying at the library?" He looks at me as if seeing me was just a random encounter in town, and I give him a brittle smile.

"Oh, Cora. Hello." He adjusts his glasses with his thumb and forefinger and suddenly, realization comes crashing into his eyes. "Cora, I apologize. I finished up earlier then I intended, so I brought along my friend, Mary, with me. I thought you were already gone by now."

Ouch.

"What? No apology about offending me just like you did when we first met? Because now I actually am offended." I spit out. I glance at Mary sitting on the opposite side of him, and she quickly looks away from me. "The least you could have done was text me, like you promised."

"Cora — I know, Cora. I was planning to, I still am. My mind has been in a different place these past few hours."

I frown at him and he mirrors my actions. It takes everything in me to hold my tongue from saying anything else that I know I would regret later on. He doesn't deserve this from me; although my heart knows him, he just met me, and I am coming off as a clingy person. In a way, I guess I am overreacting. But regardlessly, I call over to Daisy, pick myself up and exit through the door, taking my disappointment with me.

a/n: in my opinion, this chapter wasn't my best work, but thank you all for reading this far. i always accept some feedback :)