Infatuation // Harry Styles

Chapter 15

♡ chapter 15 ♡

♕ HARRY STYLES ♕

        "I promise, this will only take a second."

        Rolling my eyes at the boy's incessant begging, I followed Jeremy down the hall. The boy had only been gone for two weeks, but he sure was making up his lost time of being annoying. He and Chase were two I liked to steer clear of. God knows I have enough drama in my life as it is.

        "You take a weight lifting class, yet you can't open your locker?" I asked as we walked down the hallways, everyone else piling inside the cafeteria on the other side of campus.

        I listened to our footsteps patter against the linoleum, my mind reeling back to Grace. I hated how pathetic I was, thinking about her practically every spare second in my day. But I couldn't stop replaying the scene from the park a few days ago, how close we were. She had seen me smiling, something I hadn't done in public - at all - for a very long time. And yet, she now held something I found very vulnerable - my partial trust. 

        Shaking my head, I heaved a hand through my hair and tried not to think about it. I wouldn't allow myself to get too close to her - to trust her. It was far too dangerous and I was far too fragile for such things. I know many people think I'm all tough from the outer shell, but no one knows how broken a person can truly be on the inside. Looks are desperately deceiving.

        Now you're talking like you're in some sappy romance movie shit. Bravo, Harry. You're now one of the most pathetic scums out there.

        "Look, I can't remember my code," Jeremy said as he stopped in front of his locker, facing me.

        I quirked an eyebrow. "And you expect me to help how?"

        Jeremy huffed. "I don't know. Break the damn thing with your super human strength."

        "Honestly?"

        "It sounded better in my head."

        Sighing, I glanced down at my feet as I shook my head. Looking up, I started to tell Jeremy he was better off telling the janitor when movement from outside the doors caught my attention. Eyebrows furrowing, lips taut, I caught onto Grace's brown hair and pretty face. My heart faltered, and I screamed for it to stop being such a sissy, but I couldn't stop myself from inching towards the door, yearning to speak to her for at least a few minutes.

        But I stopped dead in my track when I saw Chase's figure also come into view from the door's windows. Both of them were sat beside each other under the oak tree, holding eye contact in a way that sent shudders down my spine. How could she be talking to him after all he's done to her? How could she be near him?

     My jaw clenched just thinking about how awfully he's treated people. Not just Grace, but everyone. He's cynical, truly demonic and pestering. If he enjoys picking on you, he'll go over the top each time. It's just what he does - him and Jeremy both.

        And then, the little hope inside me fell to the floor when he leaned in, connecting their lips once and for all.

        That could've been you.

        But I was too dumbfounded to listen to my subconscious, my chest tightening and throat swelling as if I had swallowed something too large to swallow. As if my lungs were compressing, ridding of the needed oxygen to breathe. I felt numb - something I've grown accustomed too when most feel pain. I just stared, unable to move my gaze away.