And Her Name Was Olivia

One

Olivia's POV:

I thanked the cashier and walked out into the cold air with both of my hands full of groceries. I'm hoping that it doesn't snow anymore tonight; anymore than two inches and Pharaoh won't go outside. It's early December, so the Christmas decor is lit everywhere on homes and some apartment buildings. The Crazy Cat Cafe has their holiday sale sign up; buy one 16 ounce hot cocoa and get a free limited edition peppermint mocha. I thought about it, but I have groceries that need to get home. The cold wind blows over as I cross the street. I look down at my feet, not only to stay on the sidewalk, but also to avoid eye contact from strangers. My therapist said everything would fine, so long as I keep talking to my friends and classmates. But strangers and bystanders scare me, too many people get kidnapped and held hostage, especially at this time of year.

In the distance, there's silhouettes of what appears to be three men walking towards my direction. My phone vibrates violently in my pocket, so I stop to answer the text. 'Hey Liv, we need to talk tomorrow. Love you.', Morgan texts and follows it with a smiley emoji. I continue to walk and smile at the screen, relying her with, 'Okay, do you know what time you'll be over?'. We exchange texts over and over again until I slip on ice, dropping my phone and falling onto the concrete. My bag of groceries spills everywhere as I try to pick myself up. The people I ran into frantically tried to help, but was making the situation worse by talking to me.

"Are you okay? What's your name?" I stay silent as I pick up the bags and walk around them. I caught a glimpse of one of the men trying to help. He looked a lot like Harry Styles; dark and short curly hair, dimples, and striking green eyes that are full of life. I hurriedly walked to my apartment, trying to forget everything that happened back there before I slip into an anxiety attack. Stop walking. Turn around. No wait, don't do that. Doing that would make them suspicious of you. Just keep walking. Stop, you're not breathing. Chest is tight, slow down. Their voices call out from behind me, telling me to wait. But I keep going, hopefully they stop and move on about their evening.

As soon as I reach my apartment floor, I unlocked the door to my small apartment and let Pharaoh outside. I placed the groceries on the table and I start to notice the small hole in the side of one of the bags. It's big enough to be noticed, but small enough where nothing could fall out. Pharaoh meows at the kitchen window, so I get up to open it.

"Is it cold out there, babe?" I smile at him as he licks his front paws. I pat his head and without any thought, I walk into my bedroom and instantly fall asleep on my bed.

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Harry's POV:

"C'mon Harry, the sooner we get out of the cold the better!" We run into yet another walk cross light. At this pace, we'd be out here longer. The only reason I tagged along is because Liam wants us to take a 'nice stroll around the city'. That, and a buy one get one free sale is going on at the local cafe. I struggle to keep up with the group, mainly because I'm tired and I've been working on music most of the night. Houses on each side of the street are covered in Christmas decor. Americans take in a lot of pride in the holidays, I assume, despite the fact of major conflicts amongst themselves. I swear by the time everything's been said and done, my ears will freeze off.

In the distance, a young woman struggles with her bags. She's only about two or three blocks away, so chances of actually talking to her are slim. I can't help but stare at her. I'm now walking behind Niall so I can get a better view of her face, but it's hidden with her phone. I want to say something, anything really. We pass for a brief moment, then she slips on ice and falls, dropping everything. I help her up as Liam and Louis help with her things.

"You know, instead of looking at her you could be helping us." Liam shoots a glare at me.

"You know, it's more polite to help the person. Groceries can be replaced, she can't." I look at the woman. "Are you okay?" She says nothing but looks up at me. She's really short; she goes to the top button of my coat. Her face is small and pale, with little creases at her eyes. Her eyes are hazel with green in the centre.

Louis hands her the phone and asks, "What's your name?" She opens her mouth to say something, but no words come out. She turns from us and walks away, slowly at first then takes off down the street. Niall and I run after her but she disappears in the darkness.

"Mates, it's not worth running after her. You'll catch something running in the cold." Liam catches up with us. "Come on, she's probably long gone." Niall and Liam walk back the the cafe. Louis stands there for a few seconds.

"Harry, she's just a stranger. There's a slim chance that you'll meet her again." I turn to face him.

"It was a slim chance meeting her in the first place."

"Maybe it was fate, who knows. Lets just go." I nod and walk with him to meet with the others. They're already inside the small shop, so I open the door for Louis and walk in after him.