Two Truths & A Lie

Chapter 10

"Can you pass me that paintbrush?"  I asked no one in particular, pointing to the middle of the table. One of the classes I had to take this semester was Art.  Painting and shading and blending and whatever else - it was not one of the things I happened to be good at.  However, the art room was where we were able to talk freely while working on whatever we were painting and shading and blending and whatever else, and since the table I sat at was mainly girls, I took my opportunity to do some research.  It was Monday right before lunch and "Harry Styles" sounded like a good conversation starter and something to keep my mind off of my growling stomach.  Plus, at this point, I only had five and three-quarter days to find Harry a date for Homecoming.

"I'm so glad that Harry kid changed his clothes. He looks so good when he's not wearing some baggy jeans and a giant hoodie that covers those gorgeous biceps," I swooned sarcastically.  Instantly, the girls around me were moaning in agreement... but they were serious.

"My god, his arms... so tan and tattooed..."  A blonde named Cashmere uttered with her eyes closed, taking a break from her colored pencil drawing.  She ran her hands up her own arms like she was imaging Harry doing it instead.

"Cash, your mom would murder you if you even looked at someone like Harry Styles. He's too much of a bad boy for you and your perfect little rich family," her friend Anissa added, flicking red paint onto  Cashmere's paper.  Cashmere gasped, obviously offended, and tried to scoop the paint off with a colored pencil.

"What makes you think he's a bad boy?" I asked, laughing at the assumption.  Surely, she didn't think that just because of the tattoos.

Anissa grinned and leaned forward on the table, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping and making it look like whatever she was about to say was top-secret.  "I have a cousin who said her best friend knows a girl in Europe who knows the high school Harry was last at in France.  He banged all of the girls in the school, including one of the teachers.  She said he was ahhh-mazing in bed, but especially good with his tongue."

The girls around the table squeezed their thighs together and breathed a heavy chorus of desire-filled sighs.  I could feel a crease forming between my eyebrows as I chewed on the end of my paintbrush and struggled not to burst out laughing.  Jesus, these girls would believe anything.  "And that makes him a bad boy... or just a talented manwhore?  You know he came from England, right?  Not France."

Anissa snapped out of her daydreaming, sat back in her seat, and scowled at me.  "I'm just telling you what I heard."

"It doesn't matter if that's true or not, have you seen his hands?  I bet he works magic with those fingers..."  Cora added from beside me, running her finger up and down her pencil while she hummed.

"Miss Cora," our teacher, Mrs. Gordon suddenly interrupted.  She stared down at Cora's blank paper tiredly and sighed.  "Do you not have a boyfriend already?"

Cora pouted.  "I do, but-"

The girls around the table laughed while Cora turned bright red beneath her short, black bob of hair.  "Stop dreaming about Mr. Styles' fingers and start drawing something.  Anything.  Draw his hands if they please you so much," Mrs. Gordon instructed.  "Or maybe draw... oh I don't know... your boyfriend? I know you're so loyal to him..."

Cora pouted and bounced the end of her pencil on her paper.  "A girl can dream, can't she?"

"This is going to sound weird, but have you seen his teeth??"  Elisa whispered, leaning into the table toward the rest of us.  "They're so white and perfect."

"YES!"  Anissa nearly leapt our of her seat.  "God, he has the best smile in the entire world-"

"Guys, I'm definitely doing a charcoal drawing of Harry for the midterm.  I kid you not.  Have you seen that jawline?"  Marlene said, diving into the conversation too.  I really had no idea how bad this sudden Harry-craze was.  As the conversation about Harry's hands and hair and face and legs progressed, I knew for sure that narrowed down my list of potential dates by four.  These girls were crazy.