Serendipity - Haylor A.U.

Chapter 3

"You meet thousands of people, and none of them really touch you. And then you meet one person, and your life is changed forever." -unknown

"Get ready. We're going out for dinner tonight!" my mom yelled from downstairs.

"Okay!" I replied, hopping up from my desk.

During the car ride, I scrolled through Tumblr posts about Saggitarians and Aquariuans. To my surprise, I found that they were indeed very compatible and possibly the best match, according to a few posts.

"What are you smiling about?" my dad grunted.

"What? Nothing, I wasn't smiling," I muttered and a smile crept on my face.

When we got to the restaurant, everything went fine. We ordered our food, talked to each other, and everything was nice and peaceful. I cherished these moments with my family because we usually don't spend time together much, without a fight breaking out. However, I think I said that too soon. These moments don't last forever. The bill came out and my dad asked my mom, "Can I use your credit card?"

"Why? Did you forget to bring your's?" she questioned.

"No, there's no more money in mine."

"What?!" my mom exploded. "You're saying that you spent a thousand dollars over the past month?" she tried to keep her volume down but it wasn't working. We already received a few glances from customers in the room. I looked down awkwardly, playing with my hands.

"No, I-I," my dad was obviously trapped. He had no excuse or escape now.

My mother paid the bill and slammed it on the table. The worst part of it all was that you never know what to expect. When people are fighting over something, especially something that has to do with love, you see sides to them you thought you'd never see. You see them doing things you'd never thought you'd see them do. They use words you never thought you'd hear, slipping out of their mouths. My mom stomped out of the restaurants with crossed arms, and went to our slick, white car which my dad had always tried to maintain clean. She madly kicked the side of the car, leaving us stunned. "What do you think you're doing?" my dad yelled, growing angrier by the second. "Your mom is crazy," he said in disbelief, looking at me and my brother. Austin was trying his best to hold back his tears; poor guy.

On the silent car ride home, I concealed my face behind my curtain of blond curls. I secretly hid the tears which were beginning to brim my eyes. I tried blinking them away but that only made them slip out and stream down my cheeks. Shops, restaurants, stores passed by us. A young happy couple walked together, hand in hand. How I wished my parents were like that, how they used to be.

Once the car slowed to a stop inside the garage, I was the first to hop out. I brushed my left cheek with the back of my right hand, wiping the still tears.

Heading upstairs, I could hear them picking up their fight from where they left off. I slam the door of my room shut, not wanting to hear the rest of it.

+

"Hey, Taylor! Don't forget, 4 o'clock!" Selena reminded me before departing.

"All right!" I yelled.

The school day came to an end and I found myself alone with Harry, once again. We were sitting on a swing set at a park near the school. Why was I even there with him to begin with? He's Selena's crush and it just doesn't feel right hanging out with him behind her back. Yet something so wrong, felt so right. A moment of silence besides the rocking and squeaking of the swings passed before Harry spoke up. "Hey, do you want to see something?"

"Yea, sure. What is it?" I asked in wonder.

"Follow me," he said and hopped off the swing. I tagged along with him on a hiking trail that eventually led into the woods.

"Where are we going?" I yelled. He was too far ahead. The tree branches kept getting caught and tangled in my hair. I had to stop almost every step to untangle the leaves and branches that were stuck.

"You'll see," he simply said. Suddenly, we came into a clearing. The sun was shining directly at this particular spot, making it brighter than the rest of the woods. The sound of a creek gurgling was heard and came into view as we drew closer. A neat patch of grass laid out along with a giant oak tree, providing shade. Underneath the shade sat a giant stone. I was astonished. In Pennsylvania, there's not much interesting things you can find. Harry walked over to the tree and sat right underneath it.

"What is this place?" I questioned, sitting down right beside him.

"It's just somewhere I like to go whenever I need to think. It's so peaceful," he answered and looked at me, his green eyes appearing to be brighter. "I've actually never shown anyone else this place before," he added.

"Ah, I see..." That remark made me feel special. It was like he trusted me with something that was important to him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he shrugged.

"If you live in the U.S. then why are you British?"

"Oh my god, Taylor, you can't just ask people why they're British," he said sarcastically with a smirk. I laughed. "But I was born in Redditch, England and grew up there. Then when I was around seven, I moved here with my mom."

"So how did you find this place?"

"One night when I was eight. I tried running away from home," he said.

"For what reason?" I raised an eyebrow.

He looked down and fidgeted with his fingers. "Personal reasons. I'd rather not say it," he said quietly.

The last thing he said still stuck in my mind and bothered me. "Harry, if you ever need anything, I'm always here," I comforted him.

"Thanks. That's nice to know," he said and smiled. To be honest, I've never had an actual guy friend before. I've never leaned towards any male companion and it felt new to me. I didn't know the least thing when it comes down to what guys like to talk about.

Then, the next ten seconds was something worth remembering for my whole life. We both mindlessly leaned in at the same time, my eyes flickering to his pink lips. His tender lips pressed softly against mine. I swore I felt an instant spark and connection between us, the moment our lips touched. His long eyelashes tickled the bridge of my nose. My lips moved in perfect sync with his. He brushed my lips briefly before we both drew back, breathless. We stared into each other's eyes, not breaking the contact. Did that really happen?

I touched my lips, still feeling the lingering taste of his.

"That was...amazing," I breathed. "That was actually my first kiss."

"No way, really?" he asked, shocked. "Cause it was also mine's."

"No way! Really?" I joked. He nodded. "I think I really like you," I confessed, smiling.

"You think?" a smirk played across his lips. "I know."

A/N: Too soon? Oh whale I don't want to make this whole story as long as the Bible so you can expect many things to happen in a single chapter. Please vote and comment. You guys don't comment much so it's making me scared 😂