Tracks (A One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter Six

We sat in a small coffee house right outside of campus for almost 2 hours, talking and laughing about nothing. He called me snowflake, and I called him curly. He didn’t judge my piercings and I didn’t judge his tattoos.

“So you never answered my question, where are you from?” He looked curious, not accusing or judgmental at all.

“I’m actually from the states originally. My family was military and I was born in Alaska or some shit like that.”

This made him laugh. It was true. We moved around so much, I never got settled or had true memories of a place. Just bits and pieces. One of my most prominent memories was of this beautiful wooden bridge. My mother was in this bright yellow sundress. It was the day my father came back from overseas and he took us there for a picnic.

“But you lived in England right?” Harry’s questions snapped me out of my thoughts. He looked at me patiently. Like he knew I was day dreaming, but it was okay.

“Um, yeah I did since middle school. It was the last place my father was stationed and my mother fell in love with the place. We lived there ever since.” Until you left, my subconscious bitterly added.

“Well that’s something we have in common. The England part of course. I grew up there. What part?”

“South east Bradford.” Harry nearly spit out his coffee. “What?? What did I say?”

“Do you know Zayn?? Zayn Malik? He’s one of my best mates.” Now it was my turn to nearly spit out my coffee.

“Yeah I know Zayn! He’s here?” I never thought the world could be so small. How did Heart Throb Malik end up here?

“Yeah he’s here! We’ll have to all meet up.” Me and Zayn were actually pretty tight in high school. Last I had heard, he left to go to the states cause of some girl.

Suddenly, the door chimed and me and Harry both looked up. And just my fucking luck, the bitch clone with the tacky fake blonde hair that I think was named Jessica, strutted in waving at the first guy she laid eyes on.

“Shit!” Harry yelled/whispered. I couldn’t really process what to do before Harry grabbed my hand and ran out the back door. We got out quickly but not before Jessica looked up and gasped, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Harry and I ran down the street dodging through people before we stopped at least a block away in an alley, laughing to the point of my stomach hurting while trying to catch our breath.

“You should have seen her face!” The memory made me and Harry laugh harder.

“I know, I know. God and I just know she’s gonna tell Taylor.” Harry spoke between laughs and deep breaths, but I looked up at him to gage his reaction. He didn’t seem the least bit alarmed or urgent.

“Might as well keep walking around.” I suggested.

“Yeah we should. I know this awesome store a few blocks away.”

We kept walking and laughing. At one point we had to stop because we were nearly crying. We also talked about our majors and what we wanted to do in life. I told him I wanted to go into Physical Therapy, but was thinking about changing my major. He wanted to go into Sports Medicine but his father wanted him to major in Business. He was one year ahead of me.

We didn’t bother going to the store. But by the time we made it back to campus, it was already dark.

“Shit! What time is it?” Harry pulled out his phone and his eyebrows knitted together. “I didn’t realize it was so late. I have to get going.”

I was slightly disappointed but I didn’t let it show. I gave him a small smile and without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him a hug. He returned it with no hesitation, and that’s when I realized it. I was close to Candice. But there was something about Harry. He didn’t judge me. I know Candice liked me, but there was still doubt in her eyes. When she would offer to bring me out with her, I could tell she wanted me say no. She didn’t want to have to explain that, yes in fact she was friends with the freak with white hair. There was none of that with Harry. Even when Jessica saw us together, he didn’t flinch.

“Bye snowflake.” He unwrapped himself from me and gave me a last smile before turning and walking away. When I looked at Harry, there was nothing romantic. But there was something I’ve always wanted. Friendship.

I took my time walking back to the dorms. I thought about the whole day, not knowing when the next time I would have such a great time would happen. When I finally reach the door to me and Taylors room, I took one last deep breath, knowing Taylor would have found out about me and Harry hanging out. I opened the door and heard whispers that stopped abruptly. When I stepped inside, I saw Taylor sitting on her bed, and her clones sitting across from her on mine. And boy did Taylor look pissed.

“Get the fuck off of my bed.” I looked straight at them and they got up quickly, shuffling towards the door. I guess trying to get away from the drama that was sure to unfold. I sat down and looked Taylor in the eye, almost daring her to pounce.

“What the hell is your problem?” She looked like she was about to explode.

“You know what the hell my problem is, freak? You think you’re hot shit just because you’re this punk, no named bitch who everyone wants to sleep with.” Taylor nearly spit the words at me.

“Your boyfriend sure seemed to think I was hot shit while we spent the day together.” I shot back. I saw something inside of Taylor snap.

“He is only humoring you because he feels bad that you’re a loser. You will never fit in anywhere. No one will ever look at you like a normal person. Everyone will hate you, just like I’m sure they did back where ever the hell you’re from.” Every word she said, every syllable, was laced with hate I hadn’t heard since my father told me to get out. Suddenly everything turned red.

I forgot about school, and Harry. I forgot about my shitty past. I even forgot my fucking hair was white. All I could think was that this bitch was going to get her ass beat. I ran all three meters between us and connected my fist with her nose. I got on top of her as my fist met flesh. I don’t remember how long I punched her. Everything went mute. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes. But just as I connected another punch, someone ripped me off of her, making every sound come back all at once, making my head instantly pound.

“Ali calm down!! Ali stop!!” It was Candice that stopped me. I silently thanked her. I couldn’t control myself but her yelling made me want to continue beating the bleeding mess that was Taylor.

“You stupid fucking bitch!!! You dumb whore!!” Taylor was screaming at me while her clones tried to push her out of the dorm.

“Hey are you okay?” Candice asked me as she forced me to sit down on the bed.

“Yeah. Yeah I’m okay now.” I looked at my hand. The skin on my hand was either bright red or busted, making the skin look shredded. “That was really bad.” Tears sprung from my eyes before I could stop them. I wasn’t crying because of Taylor. That bitch deserved everything she got. I cried because of what she said. Everything that was probably true.

“Yeah it’s bad.” Candice noticed my tears and engulfed me in a hug, not even questioning why.

“Can I please move into your room. I have to get out of here.” I couldn’t stand another night with Taylor.

“I’m sorry babe. My roommate actually came today. She was delayed because of a family emergency. But I’m sure we can go to housing and work something out.” I don’t know why, but somehow I felt betrayed. Like Candice should have been able to help me. Someone should be able to help me.

“It’s fine. I just need to be alone.” I shrugged Candice’s arms off me, a little too roughly, and she just frowned before getting up and walking out. What the hell is wrong with me? I laid on my bed and thought about my options before tears were inevitable, and instead of hiding and being strong, I let everything out.