Letting Go (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter 18: Ready to Run

Late update so I'll just let you get to it. Please read the author's note at the bottom. Happy Reading!

Harry Styles

We were running out of ideas and I'm pretty sure the kids were onto us.  

"Harry, can we go outside?" He asked for about the millionth time, tapping his foot spastically against the floor. 

As if on cue, a jagged white bolt lit the sky followed by a boisterous clap. I lifted my eyebrows at Thomas, motioning my thumb to the window pane. "I don't speak thunder, but I'm pretty sure that's a no kiddo." I chuckled.

The young boy groaned, trudging back to the rest of his cabin mates as they awaited the end of the tenth round of Simon says. We had all been trapped in the dining hall for about two hours now and the counselors were scrambling for ways to entertain all one hundred campers. Most of the tables had been folded up and put to the side so that the kids had a large area to play, but there were still a few laid out for the counselors who were waiting for their turn to play jester.

The campers were getting restless and we were definitely going to have to change things up soon. I stood a few feet from Tyler, aka Simon, and snickered as he fumbled his way through the game. He had run out of tricks back in round six and hadn't fooled a single camper in the last ten minutes. It was becoming a train wreck to be honest, but watching him crash and burn was way too hilarious to stop the game. All of the counselors were trying not to laugh hysterically.

Well, all but one.

I left as Tyler began hopping around on one foot and sauntered over to a lone table by the back window. She had taken advantage of the seats being pushed back against the wall and had completely leaned against it, her legs resting on top of the table. She had some sort of notebook in her lap, staring at it intensely with a pencil in her mouth.

"Hey Nattie, how about you get your little ass over here and help."

I expected immediate backlash, but she appeared to be fighting a grin. Without even glancing up at me, she took the pencil out of her mouth and made a few gentle strokes in her notebook. "But I suck the fun out of everything." She smirked.

"You can't be worse than Tyler." I bantered, folding my hands over my chest.

Her eyes finally met mine, bright with amusement. "Oh no, is he still trying?" She leaned forward slightly to get a better view of the stage. Suddenly her eyes widened, her hand going over her mouth as she fought the building cackle. I turned around and nearly lost it myself. Tyler had somehow managed to completely bend over backwards, his shirt falling over his face as he tried repeatedly to kick his legs over his body. All the while he was screaming... "Simon says kick over! Simon says kick over! Kick over!"

Little did he knew that none of the campers had mirrored his position; they were too busy making fun of him. Even Tori was trying to help him get back up, but she was laughing so hard she was pretty much useless.

"He's never going to live this down." She declared.

"Especially if I have anything to do with it."

Nattie hummed in agreement, going back to whatever she was drawing. "What are you doing anyways?" I asked, leaning forwards to try and peek at her notebook.

She immediately pulled it to her chest and stuck her tongue out at me. "None ya business Styles." She teased.

What the actual hell?

I sat back against the table, her feet resting a few inches from me. She was clearly focused on whatever she was drawing, but she also seemed completely at ease. It didn't make any sense. All of the campers were running around like chickens with their heads chopped off, Ben was stuck in a meeting of some sort, and the counselors were fumbling around for stuff to do. She should be in full camp director mode, going off on us for screwing around and trying to control the inevitable chaos. If anyone was going to be laying back and shirking responsibilities, it should have been me. Not Natalie Clemons.