Burgundy || HS

cinq

And so with the fog and endless amount of leaves falling from the trees, Jane Bradley had a strange feeling that along with the seasons changing, a whole new chapter of her life was opening. She often found herself drifting here and there with strangers and people that she never intended on becoming friends with for the simple fact that if she could not be friendly with relatives that she’d known her whole life, how could she allow a stranger come into her life? With that in mind, she roamed the grocery store in search of hummus for this craving she had for hummus and pretzels.

“I didn’t take you for a hummus person,” a voice mumbled behind Jane. She slightly bounced on her toes in fright before turning around to see Harry dangerously close to her. “Then again, I didn’t take you as a person to hate Gatsby, either.” His breath was that of watermelon gum, and Jane could see the green, chewy substance in the back of his mouth. Jane swallowed and tripped over her right foot that sat behind her while trying to step back. And in the space she took to step back, Harry stepped forward.

“Harry. I guess I didn’t take you for a stalker.”

“Not stalking if I’ve been going to this store longer than you’ve been in this country and possibly alive.” Jane scoffed. Harry stepped back and, once again, became fascinated with the back of his neck and the hairs that guided down it. Jane was starting not to mind the hair that stuck out in his very limited amount of hairstyles. “You have to promise me you won’t interrupt or walk away from what I’m about to ask.” Jane gave a sassy smirk and tilted her head. Harry tilted his head with her and stuck out his lip in a pout, “Pinky promise?”

“Harry.”

“Pinky promise me, Jane.”

She sighed. “Fine.”

They locked pinkies and Harry sighed. “Will you, Jane Bradley, go somewhere with me?” She asked for him to elaborate. “I don’t know, like, a place. To eat and whatnot.” Jane nodded. “Okay, cool. Here, just put your number in my phone and I’ll text you all the details later, yeah?” Jane nodded once again and typed her phone number into Harry’s phone. The man walked off into the world of whisperings and left behind a light cologne that was so him. Jane wondered if it was a bad idea to go out with Harry Styles again.

He infuriated her. Pure anger yet happiness was always coursing through Jane’s veins to the point where she wasn’t sure if Harry was a positive or negative in her life, so she settled on neutral. Once she chose the hummus and pretzels she wanted, she purchased them and soon returned home. Before she could even take off her coat, the rectangular device in her coat pocket buzzed with a new text message. It was, of course, Harry. Self-proclaimed Great and Powerful Styles.

With today in mind, Jane saved Harry’s number under the contact name of “gatsby”, and they continued their conversation from there. Harry, being the cocky bastard he is, insisted that he was “pretty fucking great” while Jane stayed quiet, not really ready to start a texting argument. After deciding that his fingers were too big for texting, Harry eventually did call Jane to tell her what restaurant they would be meeting at. It all ended in an awkward silence on Jane’s part once she ran out of one word answers to say. “You are an interesting individual, Jane Bradley.”

“I didn’t think that a lack of what to say was interesting.”

“Means you think too much of the outcomes of things. Say what’s on your mind.”

“You wouldn’t like me so much if I said what was on my mind.”

Harry chuckled on the other end. “That is where you are wrong, my dear Jane. I would teach myself to look past your bitchiness, as you have looked past my cockiness, yes?” Jane nodded, although he couldn’t see her, then agreed. They agreed that they would meet in front of the library because Harry wanted them to ride in a taxi together. Jane decided that a red orange flowy dress with white heels would suffice for her not-date with Harry. They met in front of the Oakheart Public Library. Harry wore a suit and stood outside of a dark truck. “I lied about the taxi part. I’m driving, get in.”