Sooner or Later (Feat. 1D and 5SOS)

18. Beach Babes

At three thirty, the transit bus rolled into Brownsburg, a quiet town with a population of less than two thousand. It had two banks, four bars, and the only all-girls Catholic school that Emma knew. Whenever Emma acted up, her father would always threaten to send her to Saint Margaret's, where she would "never see another boy again!"

But today there was a boy at Saint Margaret's, and all the girls noticed right away. As they walked out of the building in their matching uniforms, they all giggled and gawked at the handsome teenage boy who was parked outside.

Harry Styles, dressed in a simple white V-neck and black, baggy shorts, was sitting on the hood of his car and patiently waiting for Emma. To shield his eyes from the glaring sun, he wore a pair of black sunglasses, which he lowered every time he went to check the digital clock on his phone. Six times he checked the time, and by three thirty-three, he was beginning to think Emma had stood him up. The disappointment was written all over his face, but he masked it with a smile when he noticed the schoolgirls shyly waving at him.

As the bus neared the school, Emma sat up and peered out the window, just to see if Harry was actually waiting for her like he said he would be. When she saw him sitting there all by himself, her heart sank a little.

I hope he hasn't been waiting long, she worried.

Once the bus finally came to a stop, she got up and stepped off the bus just as a group of schoolgirls were getting on. They provided the perfect camouflage from Harry's wandering eyes.

Ducking her head, Emma hurried off the bus, hopped over the bushes, and made her way toward the western entrance.

Thankfully, the door was unlocked.

Quickly, she raced down the hallway and rounded the tight corner and came out the main exit, where Harry was waiting. As soon as he spotted her, his face broke into a huge smile that made Emma blush.

"Sorry I'm late," she said upon reaching him. "I - I had to change."

"It's okay," he replied as he slid off the hood in one smooth motion and then joined her on the passenger side of the car. "But now you got me wondering ..." If she hadn't been watching him so closely, she might not have noticed him leaning toward her ever so slightly.

"Wondering what?" she asked.

His lips curled into a smirk. "What you look like in your uniform."

"I ..." All of a sudden, she could barely hear her voice over the loud thudding of her heart. "I look just like the other girls."

"No." He shook his head. "No, I bet you look just like you."

"Harry ..."

"Hey, that's okay with me," he went on with a cheeky grin. "I kinda like the way you look."

By now, Emma's face was so hot she thought her skin would melt right off her face. And he just continued to stand there and smile, completely unabashed by his comment. Deep down, Emma wondered if Harry just enjoyed watching girls get flustered. 

"So are we gonna go?" Emma asked when the torture became too much to bear. "Or are we just gonna stand here all day?"

He shrugged. "Well, I'd be happy either way, but we can go if you want." As he went to open her door, he shot her a quick over-the-shoulder glance just to see her reaction; then he laughed when when he saw her flushed cheeks. "Okay, I'll stop, I promise. Let's go, Emma."

And so the two got into his car and headed for the lake. The ride was a little awkward, to say the least, because Emma was too nervous to start a conversation with the man of her dreams. While Harry watched the road and hummed along with the radio, Emma just sat there sneaking cowardly glances. Whenever he caught her, she would quickly turn away and pretend like she hadn't been staring like a total creep.