Unity | Harry Styles AU

V: sober thoughts

Going to school was possibly the worst decision i've ever made. I dreaded waking up, I dreaded getting ready, I dreaded going to class, but worst of all, I dreaded seeing Mr. Styles.

Saying I regret kissing him back was an understatement. He was like dessert. You're dying to have some, you have it, and then you're literally dying, so you run on the treadmill for hours to burn it all off.

Everything that happened last night was so wrong. My teacher drove me home, in his car, then we proceeded to make out in the parking lot of my apartment. And I let him do it. I let him kiss me. I'm not sure of the rules that are in place at my university, but I know if anyone knew about what happened, he would lose his job for sure. He knows that better than I do.

I tried to convince myself that the only reason that he decided to kiss me was because he had a few to drink. I could smell it in his breath, and I could sense it through the words he was saying. But something deep inside told me there was another reason. After all, the things you do drunk are most likely things you're too scared to do sober.

I sat upright on my bed and took a deep breath. I really needed to shower and just start fresh today.

--

Upon exiting my shower, I heard my phone buzz from my bedroom. I had received a text.

Mr. Styles: If you can, please stay after school today. We are going to start moving onto canvas.

I sighed. Knowing that I would probably get dirty, I chose to wear sweatpants and an old camisole. Just a few items I wouldn't mind dirtying up.

--

The whole day I was distracted. I had a hundred things going through my mind. A hundred worst-case scenarios to be more specific.

When it was time for visual art, I had to mentally prepare myself before walking into class.

Mr. Styles was already sat in his desk, focusing hard on whatever was on his laptop and not making eye contact to anyone who walked in the class. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was a bit messier than usual.

I took my seat and proceeded to remove everything I needed from my bag.

When the bell rang, Mr. Styles stood up out of his desk to give his usual speech.

"Good afternoon, class." He began to say. I kept my head down because I could feel him glaring at me.

"As this unit comes to an end, we must begin to
prepare for the final unit test..." He said. The rest was unintelligible for me. I purposely tuned him out because it was torture to listen to him speak.

I waited until he was finished speaking to look up again, and then began doing whatever he had asked of us.

Today we were introduced to our first unit test, and were given worksheets to finish beforehand. Everyone had received their sheets except me, unfortunately. I took a deep breath.  I had to go and ask him directly. I stood up, and walked over to his desk.

"Mr. Styles?" I called his name. He looked over to me instantly at the sound of my voice.

"Could I have a worksheet please? I didn't get one when they were handed out." I asked. He nodded.

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a bundle of worksheets that were for me to finish. I couldn't help to notice a ring on his left hand.