Before the Factor

I wake up to sound of a bird being tortured. Well, not really. My alarm clock screeches like there will never be another day for it to live.
"Uggh." I say as I roll over and, gracefully I might add, fall off the bed to shut off the stupid thing.
The walk to the bathroom is as depressing as ever and start the grueling task of fixing my face, my brown eyes staring back at me from a rats nest of brown curls.

I guess I should introduce myself, I'm Amelia Evangeline Lucas. A fifteen year old American girl that moved across the world and over oceans at the age of thirteen so her dad could take a great job in England.
There were some hard parts ,about that, obviously. Leaving my family and friends was the biggest, but, going somewhere completely new to me was terrifying.
We arrived here and I found England to be completely different than L.A. Beautiful of course, foreign, and so wet. It rained like The Flood was happening all over again. But there are some great things too. I made friends, excelled in school, and the place I was most afraid of, this huge unfamiliar country with their strange accents, and their kings and queens, was the place I learned to call home.
I walk out of the bathroom and head to my closet, taking out my uniform of navy blue shirt and khakis.
"Mia!" My mom calls up the stairs, "Harry's here!"
I smile and grab my coat. Oh, did I mention my best friend? His name is Harry, Harold Edward Styles, but it's easier to call him Harry. And I've had a crush on him since I first got here to England. "Angela!" My mom calls again.

"Coming, Mom!" I yell back as I run down the stairs. Walking into the kitchen to find Harry sitting on the counter with a mug of hot chocolate in his hands.
He's been to my house countless of times. So it's not out of the ordinary when he sits there like this place is his second home, because it kind of is. Once and a while he sleeps over. You'd think it'd be weird and my parents would never let that happen, but they know Harry isn't that kind of person. He's basically family.
"Morning, sunshine." He says to me, voice rasping slightly. God, his voice is awesome. In the past couple of years it's gotten deeper, and scratches in the most heavenly way. How can it get any better I don't know, but his mom says it'll get easier every time his voice cracks and he starts blushing.

"Morning, Harry. Morning, Mom." I say as I grab a mug of my own.

"Did you finish the bio report?" He asks me after he drains his cup.

"Yea, I finished it last night." I say while waiting for the steaming mug to cool.

He mutters something about how stupid science is and then turns to me, "We should get going, don't wanna get stuck in the rain or anything." He says with a wink. I nod and drain my cup, almost cursing aloud when the hot liquid burns my throat.

"Bye, Mom." I say as I grab my backpack and walk towards the door, Harry following close behind and yells back, "Bye, Mrs. Lucas! I'll make sure she doesn't get in a lot of trouble!"

Mom laughs when she sees me blush. "Thanks, Harry!" She yells as we run out the door. We head right when we reach the gray sidewalk, toward our school, while Harry digs in his backpack for something.

"What are you doing?" I ask curiously since his backpack is basically a portal to some unknown world that spews out random junk.

"I'm looking for-," he stops and hold out a white bag, "Ah! Here it is!" He says as he hands it to me.
Laughing slightly I unwrap the paper, inside is a chocolate glazed donut, my favorite. I turn to him as he waits for my reaction, "Thank you, Harry." I say, color touching my cheeks.
My grin grows wider as we split it in half and hand a piece to Harry, knowing that he'll want some.
His long fingers take the pastry and shove the whole thing in his mouth. I laugh as he chokes and we turn another corner and wait for the light to change. I finish my piece and wipe my hands in my pants. "Did I ever tell you how cool it is that you work at a bakery?" I turn to him and smile

"Only a million times or so." He laughs, dimpled popping into a face made for only Angels.

I look I to his eyes and immediately start blushing. He probably knows that I like him. He just doesn't like me back, because let's face it, there's nothing for him to like!

The light changes and we start across the street. He takes my hand, which makes me tingle from head to toe, and starts across the street.
"Safety first." He tells me as he swings our hands between us. I smile and savor the moment as much as possible.
Too soon we reach school and I immediately tense. Sarah, and Jessica are there, sitting on the tops of the steps like the superiors they think they are. These girls are like the queens of mean, I guess you could say. Their dad's are extremely rich and they make sure everyone knows it. Now, my dad makes good pay, enough for our essential needs. But these girls are basically sweating money. They flaunt it, and pick on everyone else that has less than they do. So, I basically hate them, just in case you didn't know.
"It'll be alright." Harry says to me with a smile. I turn slightly to him and smile hesitantly back.
Our footsteps echo slightly on the steps, and just when I think that they won't notice, that maybe they didn't see us, a shrill voice calls out to us. "Aww!" Sarah says to Jessica "look at Harry and Amelia!" And then reverts into making kissy faces and make out noises.
My hand drops Harry's and I walk through the squeaky school doors.
I tingle from head to toe as I feel Harry's hand on my arm, he turns me toward him gently and steers me toward our lockers, which are right beside each other.
I open my locker and throw my backpack inside, it makes a louder noise than I expected, but I don't care. Those girls need to be taught a lesson. Harry leans on his locker and faces me. "They want you to get mad you know," he says to me, looking into my eyes "thats the whole point of them doing what they do. It gives them power. To make you mad." I look at him, anger flashing in my eyes, but it fades as quickly as it came. He's right. He's right and I know it.

"Since when are you so wise." I mutter to him as I gather my books.

"I was a great monk in my past life." He says and bows like an idiot. Beautiful green eyes look at me, but differently. Like he wants to tell me something, but thinks better of it. He scratches the back of his neck and starts blushing.
God, he is adorable. I reach up and fix his curls. He stands there, opens his mouth just as the bell sounds. I close my locker and smile at him.

"I'll see you in band. Kay?" I turn and walk turning back to see him looking down at his shoes. Wondering what he wanted to tell me.