Like The Fairytales || Harry Styles

Chapter 1.

The sun shone through the open windows of my car as the warm spring air blew through our hair. On a beautiful Monday afternoon, being in a car with my best friend was much more enjoyable than being in a lecture hall - you know, if that friend would stop bouncing up and down like a rabbit. "Ellie, calm down! You're gonna go through the damn roof!" I said, laughing at my friend. She shot me a nasty look from the passenger seat, and I laughed again. I couldn't blame her for being excited, honestly. We were finally picking up Josh and his gang of idiots for his and Ellie's wedding, after two long years of being engaged

As we reached the airport and pulled into a parking space, Ellie clambered out and rushed towards the terminal. I shouted and ran after her, grabbing her just inside the doors. "ELLIE! Don't ditch me like that! We have to stay together here." Ellie looked at me like I was crazy. "Have you seen my hair? We could be at Coachella and you wouldn't lose me." I laughed and shrugged, looking at her bright ginger hair.

We wandered around the terminal for a little while, waiting impatiently for the boys to arrive. As I checked my watch for what felt like the hundredth time, I heard a loud British accent yell, "Ellie!" Both Ellie's and my heads snapped up, and she gasped happily when she saw Josh dropping his stuff on the ground and hurrying over with a huge smile on his face. Ellie ran to him and literally jumped into his arms, clinging to him. I stood up and smiled softly at them, slinging my purse on. I had always had doubts about Josh, him being in a boy band and all, but he had really proven to everyone that he loved Ellie. The way he looked at her was what sold me on him. He treated her like an absolute queen, and after a few months, I knew he was the one.

"Mate, I know she's your fiancée, but for Christ's sake, pick up your crap!" Someone yelled at Josh. I looked towards the voice and my heart almost jumped into my throat. One Direction was walking through the terminal in all their swaggering British stardom glory, and effectively making my heart lose several beats per minute. 

They walked up and I did my best to collect myself, trying to look a little more like a mature young lady instead of a flustered starstruck fangirl. "Ellie? Aren't you going to introduce us?" Niall said, looking me up and down while he gave Ellie a hug. Ellie smiled and pulled me forward, and I flushed pink at the sudden spotlight. "Guys, this is my lovely friend and bridesmaid, Anna Gagliano. Anna, these are the idiots." Liam started to speak up indignantly, but I interrupted him. "Don't worry, it's okay. I know your names." The boys stared at me, some with raised eyebrows and some with amusement and I flushed bright red, realizing how much like a fangirl I sounded. Ellie laughed and wrapped her arm around Josh's waist, smirking at me. "First, middle, AND last names." 

The boys all looked amused and interested now, and one by one, they asked me what their full names were. "Niall James Horan." "Liam James Payne." Niall and Liam fist-bumped and I rolled my eyes. "Louis William Tomlinson." I looked at Harry, who had been waiting very patiently. He was my favorite among all the boys, so I decided to mess with him a little. "Harry Styles." 

The boys laughed and Harry raised his eyebrows, staring at me. "You're almost there, love." His deep voice sent shivers down my spine, and I bit my lip, fighting the urge to totally give in. "Harold Styles?" He signed, feigning annoyance. "You got them all right except for mine? I'm insulted." I smiled, crossing my arms and looking up at him. "Harry Edward Styles, the ridiculously tall bakery boy from Cheshire." Harry stepped forward so that he was right in front of me, our bodies almost touching. "Not bad, love. I think I deserve to know your name now." He said quietly. I couldn't look away from him. I wanted to keep my face down and blush bright red, but it was like our eyes had locked onto each other. 

Girls had said before that Harry had the greenest eyes they'd ever seen, almost like emeralds, but they were totally wrong. He had these beautiful eyes, a mix of barely-there blue and foamy green, that reminded you of warm ocean waters. His gaze held you and when he looked at you, and it made you feel like it was only the two of you in the room. "Annalisa Elisabetta Gagliano. The ordinary girl from Durham." I said quietly, stuttering a little. I knew I looked like an idiot. Bright red, unable to speak, and fidgeting. Harry smiled at me, his dimple showing slightly. "Beautiful." I couldn't tell if he was talking about me or my name, but I was sure that I was flaming red at this point. I finally turned away from Harry to look at the group. "Okay, uh, who's hungry?" I said, desperate to break the conversation. "I'm starved," Ellie said, staring at Harry and me with a shit-eating grin on her face. Josh, who had a similar face, nodded in agreement. I glared at the both of them, turning and leading the way out of the airport.

We drove back into Durham and stopped at Elmo's Diner on Ninth Street, a place close to my house. Not long after we were seated, I heard a familiar voice say, "A sweet tea, then baked spaghetti with a dinner roll, right?" I looked up and gasped in delight. "Jacob! I didn't know you worked here!" I said, getting up and hugging my old friend tightly. 

"Just for the summer, then I'm headed out to Charlotte for a job. Elon already had their graduation." Jacob said, hugging me back. "Anna? You wanna introduce us?" I heard Josh say behind me. "Oh sorry! Guys, this is Jacob. We went to high school together. Jacob, this is Ellie and Josh, who are getting married this weekend. And that's Liam, Sophia, Niall, Louis, and Harry." 

Jacob looked at the boys, then at me. "That's One Direction! Oh shit, you were obsessed with them!" He said, laughing. I glared at Jacob, blushing in embarrassment and crossing my arms. "Any kind of tip you might be getting is looking smaller and smaller every second," I said in a flat voice. Jacob held his hands up in surrender and hugged me, trying not to laugh anymore. 

"Sorry, sorry. So, what would you guys like to drink?" He said, turning to the rest of the group as I sat down. "Diet Coke, thank you." "Sweet tea." "Water, thanks." "Sprite." "Same as him." "Lemonade, if you have it." "Do you serve beer? No? Okay, Coke." "Dr. Pepper for me!" Jacob nodded, writing down the last drink before smiling at us. "Alright, I'll be right back with those. It's great to see you again, Anna." He grinned at me, squeezing my shoulder before walking away.

"Jesus, I never thought I'd see his face again," Ellie said, laughing. I nodded and rolled my eyes, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "He's so full of himself." I laughed, shaking my head. "He seems really into you, Anna," Sophia said, grinning suggestively. I gagged a little and she laughed, giving me a stern look. "Come on, he looks like a nice boy." She said reproachfully. 

"She could do better." I heard Harry grumble, probably hoping that no one could hear. I looked at Harry and saw him watching Jacob as he filled up our cups. "Someone's jealous!" Josh said in a sing-song voice, and Harry shot him a dirty look and I covered my mouth to muffle my laugh. "Relax, Styles. Jacob is such a player, I could never be with a guy like that." I said, shrugging and running my hand through my hair. "So, are you two excited about getting married?" I asked Josh and Ellie, quickly changing the subject before anyone else could comment on how Jacob was quite obviously staring at me from the servers' station.

At the end of the meal, Josh grabbed the check before any of us could, and burst out laughing. "Oh shit, this is priceless!" He said, taking a photo of the receipt. "What?" I said, leaning over to look at the bill. "He wrote his number on there for you!" Ellie said, cackling. "Oh good god..." I said, covering my eyes in embarrassment. "Aww Anna, that's so cute! You should ring him!" Sophia said, looking at the receipt. I rolled my eyes, taking the last sip of my sweet tea. "Not gonna happen. He already has my number, and he knows I have his. He just hasn't seen me in 3 years and remembered how nice it was to have someone chasing him. So, he's trying to reel me back in." I said plainly, leaning back in my seat. 

"Christ, what a douche," Louis said, laughing. I nodded, laughing with him. "I decided a while ago that I'm done chasing guys. I'm gonna let them chase me." Harry looked at me, eyebrows raised. "Are you gonna let any of them catch you?" I smiled, pitching in a few dollars for the tip as we got up. "Maybe. He has to be special. Stand out from the others. Tries too hard, but it's cute. Isn't afraid to show that he loves me." I said, pushing in my chair. 

As we walked out of the diner, I saw Jacob wave from behind the counter. Before I could wave back, Harry placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me out of the restaurant, knowing full well that Jacob was watching. "Caught ya," Harry whispered in my ear, making me bite my lip to hold back my smile. "Nice try, Styles," I said, moving away from his touch and catching up with the group. I knew Harry's "reputation", and I wasn't going to let myself be roped into his vicious flirting cycle so easily. I wasn't going to let myself end up like those models he seemed to get tired of after a few weeks. I respected myself more than that. Or at least I thought I did.

(A/N: Thanks for reading, y'all! I'll be updating every Sunday as long as you want me to! Leave a review/vote, I'd love to know what you think! - H xx)