Until Now (Harry Styles)

Chapter 13

 I walked out into the sun after leaving the student center in a rush. Nicks ran after me after I suddenly rushed back to the table and grabbed my things to leave. “Ashleigh, what’s wrong? What happened?” She frantically asked me. I brushed her off, hoping that she would not be nosy at that moment, but she stuck to it. “Ashleigh…”

“I’m just-“ I grabbed at my hair and spun around, facing her. “I thought I could handle everything thrown at me, but it’s all too much. I’ll call you later. I’ll be fine.” I was utterly defeated. I would be lying if I said it didn’t have anything to do with seeing Jake for that split second the other day, or seeing Will in a relationship because I never gave him the chance. I was a wreck, and I put it all on myself.

“Okay, if you need anything…” Nicks stopped walking after me. I waved her goodbye and covered my face as the tears attacked me.

I stood there as the bright sun above me beat down on my skin and my thoughts clouded my mind. I was overwhelmed by my emotions, my hurt feelings, and Harry’s absurd words. I did not sleep with him. I wasn’t that type of girl, but now Liam thought I was, and probably a whole bunch of Harry’s “friends” thought so as well. I was the type of girl who would make sure that my feelings were true for the person I would share such an intimate moment with. Like Jake… but even that didn’t end well. But it sure as hell wasn’t Harry Styles.

The sun was too bright outside and my eyes stung from the tears that filled them. I was sure they were red and puffy. I ran my fingers underneath them and pulled back to see the black smudges left behind. Great. My makeup was definitely messed up. I must have looked like a raccoon.

I ran to the nearest building and rushed into the bathroom to wash away the effects of Harry’s words. I splashed water onto my face and looked into the mirror. I was a complete mess. I wiped away my smudged makeup with a gritty, brown paper towel. A few girls in the bathroom gave me strange looks, but I brushed them off. I knew I looked like shit. There was no sense in trying to hide it. After wiping away the rest of my makeup and looking overall run down, I began to fix my hair and head out of the bathroom. I was almost out when that pink hair of a certain cheater stepped into the room and saw me.

“Ashleigh?” Perrie looked shocked to see me. “Oh, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, you know, just overly emotional. Don’t mind me.” I waved my hand in the air, ignoring my state of mind. She didn’t seem to get the notion that I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it as she placed her small hand on my shoulder. “Really, I’m fine.”

“Was it Harry?”

“What?”

“Harry. Let me guess…” She put a slim finger against her chin. “You thought you had something special with him?” A smirk played on her lips and I knew she was trying to dig deep into my skin. I shrugged off her “comforting” hand. “Harry uses people.” She scoffed, flicking her perfectly pink hair over her shoulder.

“Oh like he used you?” I shot back. I internally gasped. I didn’t know exactly where my harsh words came from, but they were bubbling up inside me and all those little perfect things about Perrie were starting to get on my nerves. Maybe Harry was right when he said she wasn’t who I thought she was. There was definitely something bitchy and snake-like slithering under her skin. “Aren’t you with Zayn? High School sweethearts or something?” I asked, forced innocence in my voice as I batted my eyelashes. Perrie gave me a death glare and I couldn’t help, but feel accomplished by pissing her off.

“That’s none of your business, now is it?” Perrie raised a thin eyebrow as me.

“Yeah, I guess that’s right. It’s none of my business. Maybe you should learn from my actions and stay out of my business.” I was utterly fed up with that day. First Will’s weird girlfriend, then Harry, and then the two faced, pink haired... ARGH! I needed out. The air in the bathroom was getting too stuffy. I pushed passed her, bumping her with my shoulder. She gasped and stood there, staring with wide blue eyes as I left the bathroom without saying another word to her.