Bet On It | H. Styles

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Seventeen Years Ago

For the first time in two weeks, the sun had finally shown past the looming the clouds. A gentle breeze flowing throughout the air; leaves dancing, hair swaying.

The kids finally felt happy about going out for recess rather than disappointed because of the rain that never seemed to stop. They were happy to be back playing tag, hide and seek, sliding down the slide that seemed about 100 feet long to them.

Wendy watched on as her friend's Patty and Derek ran around the playground. Derek was torturing poor Patty by chasing her around with a worm in his hand. Oh how she hated bugs.

Patty kept squealing, begging Derek to stop, but he just kept making silly faces at her and continued to chase her down with the worm he named Frank.

Wendy giggled at her friends, her face – quite literally– glowing as she sat on the swing, staring at them. Her dark brown hair held a light glow as she basked in the sunlight. Her slightly tan skin shining as she kicked her feet off the ground to send her soaring through the air.

The swing was always her favorite part of the playground. She felt free as she swung higher and higher, nearly touching the clouds above her. Or so she had hoped.

As her feet settled back down on the ground below, she couldn't help but wander her eyes around the other children. She could pick out each and every one of them, telling their names and probably their favorite color. Wendy was a social butterfly and kids couldn't help but want to talk to her. She didn't mind though. She loved talking to everyone.

Wendy quietly hummed to herself as she began to grow bored of sitting there on the swings by herself. Patty did occupy the one next to her, but as soon as she saw the creature within his grasp, she nearly ran for the hills.

As she continued to look at her peers, wondering which group of kids to join for the time being, her eyes landed on a certain boy she hadn't seen before. He sat under the big tree that was planted right in the center of the field of the school.

Wendy tilted her head, racking through her brain to see if she could recognize the boy ahead of her. But to no avail, she couldn't match who he was.

Curiosity got the best of her in the end. She decided to be the outgoing person she was and introduce herself to the mystery boy. He had a mop of curls planted on top of his head, the sun just barely hitting them to give off a warm glow.

Wendy's pink dress flowed in the wind as she neared the lonesome boy.

"Hi," she spoke up, giving the boy a toothy grin.

He snapped his head up, looking Wendy right in the eyes. He continued to stare at her as her dark hair gently blowed in the wind, the small freckles on her face illuminating from the sun. She was the prettiest thing he had ever laid his eyes on in his short years on this earth. He decided to look away before he would be caught staring.

His eyes diverted back to the grass below him as he mumbled a quick response.

Wendy could hardly hear him but she could tell his voice sounded funny.

"I'm Wendy."

The boy looked back up at her, hesitating to say his name. "Harry."

"Are you new?" She asked, her big doe eyes looking as innocent as ever.

He nodded his head, picking up the rocks below his feet.

Wendy was slowly getting frustrated with his lack of conversation. But talking is what she was good at, so she continued to do so.