Reason to be - Harry Styles ✓

11. Staring

(A/N: if I don't specify the point of view, it means that it's the same as the previous chapter)

I dragged my feet on the freshly washed floor and collapsed in the first empty seat I saw in Starbucks. I rested my head on the cold table.

"I'll never go shopping again." I mumbled, as I heard Liz laughing from behind me.

"You're just dramatizing." she said, sitting down in the seat across me.

We've been wandering the shops for hours. Every time we entered a store, Liz chose about ten different things and tried them on. And to top it all off, she made me put on lots of stupid dresses, as people stared at me. Especially the boys.

"You have to admit, that yellow dress was really nice." she chuckled.

Of course, when I didn't want to buy clothes that Liz considered to be 'perfect', she would buy them for me. From time to time, she listened to me, and instead of buying for me, she would get many other clothes for herself.

''It looked like a sick apple with lipstick." I complained.

As Liz laughed and rolled her eyes, my attention was caught by a lonely thought.

I had got lots of bags full of clothes and other stupid things, but I probably paid for less than a half of those, as Liz bought most of them. Even so, she was not rich. It was true that her parents had their own company, but Liz didn't want to profit by their money. Her mum and dad were rarely staying home, so for Liz, it was like living alone. That was why she often came to stay with me, having her own bed in my room. She was like my sister.

As for me, my situation was a little different.

During her short career, my mother saved very much money, hoping to build a house and live there with her husband and her child. She even bought grandma a better house, the one we were living in at the moment. But when she found out that she'd never be able to use the money, she struggled to keep as much as possible for her daughter. Also, the boyfriend that killed my mother gave her most of his earnings, just before he disappeared.

So, right now, me and my grandma had enough money to maintain a very good life for many years. But she never wanted to use it. She said that it was very important and we shouldn't use it until the right moment. Because of this, grandma had worked in many places, as her current job was at a real estate company.

Even though I didn't understand her attitude, I usually did part-time jobs, especially during the summer. I used to work as a waitress and several other jobs, but I was currently as a lifeguard at a nearby pool.

I smiled to myself. This was the third summer when I took this job, as I would always quit at the end of the warm season. Everything was so peaceful and calm there, and everyone was really friendly. I had always loved going swimming, or just relaxing in a pool, so that was why I loved it there.

I was caught so deeply in my thoughts, that I didn't notice the waiter talking to me. Liz had to shake me, waving in my face. I murmured that I just wanted a simple coffee, and the waiter nodded and left.

"Welcome to planet Earth." Liz joked, and I scowled at her.

"Thanks." I spoke sweetly.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you? You've been so distant lately, and you didn't even tell me what happened yesterday." Liz said, looking straight at me.

I hesitated.

"I told you, it's nothing."

"Well, I guess you will tell me when you're ready." she sighed, and made herself comfortable in her seat.

We hadn't talked anymore for a couple of minutes. Our coffees were brought to us and we took sips in silence. As I kept gazing into my cup, lost in my thoughts, Liz leaned towards me and whispered,

"Don't you feel like everybody is staring at us?"

I lifted my head up, seeing some persons turning in their seats, and peeking back at me. Others were simply glaring, not bothered that I was looking at them. Some girls were talking to each other, looking constantly at me. I narrowed my eyebrows, meeting Liz's big, green eyes.

"Is there anything wrong with us?" Or with me?" I whispered back to her, and she shrugged.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." she said, standing up and leaving to pay the bill. I waited for her to finish and we left Starbucks, getting swallowed again by the crowds of people in the mall.

"It's really crowded today, isn't it?" I told Liz, making my way between all those people. I realized that most of them were staring and whispering while passing by me. For the sake of God, what was wrong with me?

"Yeah, I wonder if--" she stopped in the middle of the sentence. I waited for her to continue, but she didn't. Finally, I noticed that she wasn't moving anymore; Liz was gazing at a magazines shop window, with her eyes widened. I walked back besides her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Liz? Liz, what happened?" I questioned, but she gave me no answer. Instead of it, she turned me around and made me look at the tens of magazines exposed behind the window. And my jaw dropped.

Every single cover had pictures of Harry Styles, that Harry Styles. But that wasn't the part that shocked me, as I couldn't move my eyes from the girl with blond hair and a red dress standing right next to him. I came closer to them, and I gazed at the images of myself. There were photos with me on the stage, unable to move, or dancing around, and especially holding Harry's hand. But most of them were taken in the parking lot, as we were both soaking wet, and Harry was holding my wrist. I blushed remembering that moment; but I chased it away, and continued to stare blankly at the magazines.

"I can't believe it! April? Is that you?" a familiar voice spoke.

It took me some seconds to come back to reality and turn around, as the person came near me. I could see a tall girl with straightened brown hair, who was wearing sunglasses. Inside of a building. My face twisted in confusion.

"It's me." she grinned, taking her sunglasses off.

Oh. My. God.