Adopted By Harry Styles

9

I woke up to an alarm from the phone  Harry had gotten me. I told him I didn't need one, as he has already done more for me than I could ever ask for, but he insisted I needed a phone in case I ever go lost or was in trouble.

He really wasn't kidding about starting school soon. I've only been living with him for four days, and I was already starting it up again. But I couldn't complain too much about it as long as I wasn't going back to my old school.

My closet was filled with all the clothes a teenage girl could want, but I could only wear a select few pieces because I still had scars and bruises on my body. I didn't want to walk into school already looking broken; I couldn't give the other students something so obvious to make fun of me for, so I decide on wearing blue skinny jeans, a white shirt, and an olive green jacket. 

Just as I finish getting changed, I hear a knock at my door. "Maddi?" Harry says. He still sounded sleepy; he must have only woken up a few minutes ago too.

"Yeah?" I say and walk over to the door, opening it for Harry.

"Just wanted to make sure you were up. Can I get you something for breakfast?" he tells me.

I nod my head. "Whatever is easiest to get ready, thank you," I tell him, hoping  I'm not being annoying. I know he had asked me, but I still felt like a burden. Others taking time out of their day to do something for me isn't something I am used to.

Harry smiles. "No, you need something good, it's your first day. I think pancakes again," he tells me.

"You don't have to, Harry, really," I say.

"C'mon, making pancakes is nothing. I worked in a bakery, remember? I'm practically a professional when it comes to food," he says, giving me a wink, which makes me smile. Harry has mentioned a few times that he has worked in a bakery when he was a teenager, and, though he was only a cashier, he always liked to pretend he was a fantastic baker.

"I remember." A giggle that I was trying to suppress escapes my mouth and I immediately cover my mouth, feeling my cheeks heat up.

 Harry lets out a laugh when I do. "I'll see you downstairs, love. Whenever you're ready," he says and walks away, leaving me alone in my room.

I walk over to my dresser and comb through my messy hair and look over at the makeup Harry had gotten for me. Makeup wasn't something I ever used to wear, mainly because none of my old foster parents had ever bothered to buy any for me. I don't know how any of it really works, so I just put on concealer under my eyebags and figure I could practice it more later if I ever wanted to try the other items.

I pick up my phone and backpack from the corner of my room before walking downstairs, meeting Harry in the kitchen.

He notices me when my chair squeaks as I pull it out to sit down. "There you are," he says. "Just give me one minute and then your pancakes will be done." He turns back to the stove and continues finishing the breakfast.

I sit quietly, holding my hands together in my lap, and trying not to think about how nervous I was starting to feel. Once I walked into school, I knew Harry wouldn't be by my side for support. I would have to handle things on my own, and even though that's what I have done my whole life prior to meeting Harry, I liked the feeling  of having him around, having someone to lean on.

"Pancakes for the new junior at Riverwood High," Harry says, placing a plate of more pancakes than I could eat in front of me. He walks around the counter to come sit down next to me with his cup of coffee.

"Are they heart shaped?" I ask, biting back the smile that wanted to form on my face when I saw the less than perfect heart shaped pancakes on my plate.

Harry gasps. "You seem uncertain," he says, pretending to be offended.

"Can you blame me?" I ask with a giggle.

"Man, you're harsh in the mornings, aren't you?" Harry holds his hand over his heart.

I shrug my shoulders. "Maybe a little," I smile. It was weird joking around with Harry. It isn't something I would think of doing with any of my other foster parents, but I felt like I could mess around with Harry, just a little.

Harry and I continue talking as I eat my breakfast. He asked me how I felt about going to school, and I told him I felt fine, even though I didn't feel fine at all. The more I thought about it, the more I knew things wouldn't be fine at school. If people didn't like me at my old school, what would make them like me here?

Once I can't eat any more pancakes I put my fork down. "Done eating?" Harry asks.

"Yeah," I say.

"Then I guess we better get going, yeah?" 

I nod my head. "I guess," I tell him unenthusiastically.

"C'mon, it's your first day, you're going to have fun. Promise," he says, giving me a cheesy smile afterward.

"You can't really promise that," I say. I wish he could, though. I wish Harry could provide me with some reassurance about going back to school, but I don't think he could, no matter what he told me.

"Madds," he says my name, his demeaner changing to a worried one. "Tell me the truth, love. Are you feeling anxious about today?" 

I hated how easily he could tell that I felt nervous. Maybe I have always been easy to read, but no one else had bothered to ask me about how I felt in the past, so this was new for me. And I didn't know how to respond.

So I just lie again. "No, I'm not," I say, though there was no use in lying to Harry because he already knew I was nervous.

He grabs my hands and holds them tightly in his own. "It's okay to be anxious," he assures me. "I would be too, if I was going back to high school. And I know you didn't have the easiest time in your other school. But you've got to remember that most of the time other teenagers are too worried about themselves to worry about you. And if someone is being rude to you, you just ignore them and come tell me after school. There's no need for high school to be a miserable experience for you, or anyone for that matter. Got it?" He looks me in the eyes as he spoke, and it seemed like he genuinely believed what he said.

I nod my head. "Got it," I say.