Clandestine {Harry Styles Fanfiction}

Part 1

Madeline

“Welcome to London, where the local time is about 12:36 PM. Please remain in your seats until the captain has turned off the seatbelt sign. Thank You,” the flight attendant intoned.

                London.

                I had never been here before, but by the looks of the drenched pavement, London was going to be a lot colder than my hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. It was late November, and outside my window, I could see a dreary rain falling. I wrapped my sweater tighter around me and clutched my tote bag to my chest as the plane taxied to the gate.

 Pulling out my phone, I sent a quick text to my cousin Isabelle, making sure to hold the screen away from the nosy young man sitting next to me. He’d asked me five times what song I was listening to on the duration of the flight. I’d officially named him a creep after he'd told me his name was Ted and asked what color my "knickers" were in his croaky British accent.

                “On behalf of our crew, we thank you for flying with us today. Enjoy your stay.”

                I hurried down the aisle and off of the plane, so I wouldn't get hit in the head with someone's carry on luggage. Avoiding eye contact with Ted, I made my way into the busy Heathrow Airport.  People were everywhere; men in suits running around with phones glued to their ears, middle aged women in velour tracksuits dragging multicolored Coach Luggage and the occasional lost child. It reminded me so much of RDU and I felt a pang of homesickness, my excitement about living in London briefly overshadowed.

I gently pushed past the crowds of people waiting for their luggage and looked for the familiar long, blonde hair that would belong to my cousin, Isabelle. Isabelle wasn't a hard person to find in a crowd. She stood out, whether it was because she was almost six feet tall, or because of the cloud of expensive perfume that always followed her. Or maybe it was because she was exquisitely beautiful. You couldn't miss her if you tried.

                “Madeline!” Several admirers turned to gawk as she appeared among the crowd and launched herself at me. Someone snapped a picture with their iPhone. “How was your flight? God, look at those bags under your eyes. Did you get any sleep? Let me have a look at you.” I stepped back as she surveyed me, eying my outfit. “Oh, sweetie,” she said, taking a fold of my sweater and then letting it slip through her fingers, “We’re going to have to work on this.”

                “Why? What’s wrong with it?” I asked, casually looking over my clothes. A navy sweater and black jeans with comfortable moccasins. When I’d picked it out at 2:00 this morning, I’d thought it was okay. Apparently, I was wrong.

                “Is that polyester blend?” Isabelle wrinkled her perfect ski slope nose and shuddered, “Yuck.” She began to walk away and she signaled for me to follow. I rolled my eyes at her comment but followed her anyway. I hadn’t even been here five minutes and she was already insulting my clothes. I remembered a time not so long ago when Isabelle loved stores like H&M and Urban Outfitters. But lately, it seemed as if Isabelle had a new motto; if the price tag wasn't at least three digits, then it wasn’t good enough for her wardrobe.

                “Dave already has your bags,” She said airily. I had no idea who Dave was, but I figured he was one of Isabelle’s body guards or something. I couldn't figure out why she needed body guards. Maybe so some weirdo wouldn't try to steal those huge rocks she wore on her ears.

Isabelle breezed out the double doors and people stepped aside, making a path for her. I trailed after her, trying to keep up with her fast pace.

“Isabelle!” “Isabelle Blair!” “Isabelle, who are you wearing?”“Can we have a picture?” “Isabelle!” “Who is that with you?” “Is that your sister?” About twenty people in dark clothes stood on the sidewalk. The press. I gaped and pulled my sweater snugly around my small frame. There were so many of them, all holding cameras and jostling each other to get better positions. Isabelle, however, was unfazed.