Guarded

||one||

"Sweetie, everything will be alright." my mother kisses my forehead.

"Yeah, sure." I roll my eyes.

"Well, you're never going to get any friends with that attitude." She shakes her head and crosses her arms.

I force a fake, sarcastic smile. "Hi, I'm Cassidy and I just moved here from Ireland. My mum is a thriving actress that dragged me over to New York in search of her big break. Want to be my friend?"

My mum lets out a chuckle. "Oh, honey." She rolls her eyes and pinches my cheek. "Get into school. You don't want to be late for your first day."

I wave goodbye and turn to look at the large, brick building. It has 'Manhattan High' hung in big white letters over the double doors.

I sigh and walk up the steps, taking my time.

I recall my mother's instructions and go to the main office.

"Hello!" A blonde lady sitting behind a desk greets me. "And you are?"

"Uh, Cassidy Billoway." I force a smile.

"Ah, yes, the new student from Ireland, right?" I nod as she rummages through a few papers and finally finds the one she's looking for. The blonde lady hands me a piece of paper and smiles. "This is your schedule. I'm Ms. Waters if you need anything."

I take the small piece of paper. "Thank you, uh, Ms. Waters."

This sheet of paper is so confusing.

Where are any of these rooms?

As I look down at my paper, I bump into someone.

"Oops! Sorry," the curly, blonde haired girl says, picking up a pencil case she dropped. "Hey, you're the new girl, right? From, what was it, England?"

"Ireland," I correct her.

"Oh, I was close," she smiles. "I'm Emme." She holds out her hand for me to shake.

I shake her hand and say, "Cassidy. Cassidy Billoway."

"Cassidy. That's a very pretty name," she giggles.

"Um, do you know where Mr. Evans's room is?"

"I'm actually headed there right now," she says. "Follow me."

I follow Emme down the hall and walk into a fairly large classroom.

"Emme!" A brown haired girl runs up and embraces her in a hug.

Emme laughs. "Hi, Marie. I want you to meet Cassidy. She's the new student from Ireland." She motions towards me and Marie grins widely.

"Hi, I'm Marie. It's so nice to meet you," her smile widens.

"It's lovely to meet you, too," I say.

Marie's eyes widen. "I love your accent."

I let out a small giggle. "Thank you."

I take an empty seat in the back of the class, politely rejecting the offer to sit with Emme, Marie, and their friends.

"Hey, you must be Cassidy," and Irish accent says.

I turn to see an attractive blonde boy with a small quiff sitting in the seat next to me.

"Yes, that's me," I reply. "And who might you be?"

He smiles. "I'm Niall. Niall Horan."

"Well, Mr. Horan, it's lovely to make your acquaintance." I try to fight a smile.

He stifles a laugh. "Lovely to make yours, too."

The class starts and Mr. Evans introduces me to the rest of the students.

"Your face gets really red when you're up there in front of everybody, you know." Niall whispers.

"It's not my fault that when I'm in front of a large group of people I get scared and start to get hot." I snap back.

"Well, I think you're hot all the time." He smirks.

Is he hitting on me? We haven't even known each other for a full 45 minutes.

I blush and move a piece of chestnut hair out my face. No guy has ever really hit on me or called me hot. Let alone talk to me willingly.

I've never had many friends. I've never had a boyfriend or been kissed before, either. I know, that's somehow really surprising for a senior in high school.

-

It's noon and time for lunch. I grab a tray and walk along the lunch line quietly.

"Green beans," the lunch lady asks in monotone.

"Um, no thank you." I force a smile.

I sit down at an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria.

"Hey, Cassidy!" A voice calls.

I look up to find Niall, Emme, and Marie standing at the edge of my solitary table.

"Why don't you come sit with us?" Marie smiles.

"Oh, I don't know-"

"C'mon, Cass." Emme encourages. "Oh, is it okay if I call you Cass?"

I nod and grab my lunch tray, getting up from the table. I follow the three of them to an almost full one.

"Lads, this is Cassidy. But you can call her Cass," Niall introduces me like we've been friends for years.

I get a mixture of cheerful 'Hello, Cassidy's' and 'Hey, Cass's' from the four other boys sitting at the table. They all have distinct British accents.

Niall introduces them as Louis, Liam, Zayn, and Harry.

"Cass, this is Michaela and her boyfriend, Jeremy," Emme says.

"Hi, Cassidy," Michaela smiles. "And we're not dating."

"We're not?" Jeremy pipes up.

"Not yet," she says. "You still haven't officially asked me out."

Jeremy rolls his eyes and continues to eat his pizza with mushrooms on it.

"So, Cassidy, what part of Ireland are you from?" Liam asks.

I swallow the piece of my sandwich I'm currently eating. "Moate in Westmeath."

"Really? I come from Mullingar," Niall says.

"Oh, I have some relatives who live there. I've actually been there quite a few times," I reply, interested that I have something in common with Niall. "It's really nice."

-

"So, how was your first day as a student at Manhattan High?" My mother asks as she cuts a large piece of celery.

"Okay, I guess," I say. "I think I made some friends."

~

So, just trying this out. Idk what it's really gonna be about yet, but I might continue it, might not. I have some ideas, so I probably will continue.

Idk, what do you guys think?

Comment and vote :-) thank youu

-Anna xo