His Only Angel (Harry Styles Fanfiction)

Chapter One

Chapter One

I was good at being alone before I met him. I was content with it. I had a few friends, none of them incredibly close. It was easier to keep them at arm's length. Letting people get close, allowing them to feel like they truly knew you was an invitation for trouble. I was a firm believer that you can't let people have that much power over you. It makes you weak to depend on others. Part of my isolation was out of necessity. I had lost my closest family, I was an only child, I didn't have friendships from childhood that still lingered around me. As a young adult, I had been faced with a choice. Attempt to replace the family that I had lost, or be enough on my own. It was an easy decision. The best way to avoid losing people was to not have any in the first place.

That's not to say I was absolutely isolated. I lived in New York City. I was never alone. Even in my apartment, in the middle of the night, with all of the lights turned out, I could hear the rush of the city outside of my walls. I could feel the steps of my neighbors above me. I could see the flashes of headlights as cars darted past my window.

Though, sometimes, when I was in bed in the middle of the night, the rest of the city moving around me, I felt absolutely alone. Such an odd thing, to feel so lonely when I'm never truly alone.

I woke up to the ping of my laptop, left open on the corner of my bed, pushed lightly against the wall. I rolled over, checking my phone to see that I still had half an hour before my alarm would go off. I thought about going back to bed, but I knew what was waiting for me on my laptop. I grabbed my glasses off of my nightstand and pulled my laptop toward me, the monitor changing from my screensaver to my login page as I typed in my password.

Sure enough, there was a new message from StevieFan1994, or as I knew him, H. It read,

H: Good morning. Did you dream of me?

I smiled at his message, trying to quickly think of a witty snark.

E: I did. Absolutely horrible. I hate having nightmares.

I could see the message bubble blinking at the bottom of the screen, and I knew he was formulating a response. He texted me almost every morning at this time, helping me to start my day with a smile.

H: Oh, come on. I'm not that scary. Be nice to me, El. I'm sensitive.

I laughed out loud at his message, knowing that he was fishing for sympathy.

I messaged with him for twenty minutes before I had to get out of bed and get my day started. I had class and work today, class from 9am to 3pm and then work from 4pm to 9pm. It was a long day for me, but overall not the worst. I closed my laptop after wishing him a good day and jumped into the shower.

I barely made it to class on time, pulling out my laptop and settling into my seat as the professor walked into the room. My computer was still on his messages, showing a new message that had just come in.

H: Let me know when you have time to talk. I have to ask you something.

I exited out of the message, not wanting to think about that right now. I needed to focus on my lecture entirely; otherwise, I would miss something. This class, my Business Law 2 class, was one of the worst I had ever had.

The professor was dry, the class was fast-paced, and the nightly reading and case studies were absolutely killing me.

It took everything I had not to fall asleep as the professor droned on about product liability and the ethical issues associated with the topic.

I looked down at my notes when the class was done, knowing I would need to go over this chapter tonight after work and add to my notes.

I made my way to my next class. His message still on my mind. What could he possibly have to ask me? We had been talking for almost two years now, on a basically daily basis.