new kid / h.s

56

K A T

When we arrived, the scene almost mimicked the one of the first prom-- eerily. But this time the circumstances were substantially different, and that put me at ease. There was no one here that would elicit any harm on us. We were free to act like normal teenagers would.

"So... what do you want to do first?" Harry asked and I had a sense of de ja vu within me.

In all honestly, I didn't want to do anything. I just liked the fact that after tonight I would get to say that I went to prom with Harry. Because that's the only reason I got out of bed and came.

But instead I answered with, "I don't know-- what do you want to do first?" Like we were at an amusement park of sorts. Like the punch tables and photo booths were rides that we couldn't wait any longer to get on.

He shrugged. "Let's talk to some people. Catch up."

Just as he said that, the front doors opened and in came the perfect couple: Zayn and Kimberly.

She was more dressed up than I had expected her to be, and the two looked truly great together. All eyes were on them, but their eyes were on each other like they were in their own world. It reminded me of Harry and I.

"Prom is so boring." he finally said, and I could not agree more. Bodies dancing to the same repeated mainstream songs and people sneaking vodka into their punch was not my type of scene-- or Harry's either, evidently.

So we hung out in a vacant corner and waited for prom king and queen to be announced. After that, it was decided that we'd leave and spend the night at my house.

"You know, I'm having a terrible time." he said, smiling at me. I managed to fake a forced smile back. "But at least it's with you."

"Likewise." I chuckled and was about to smile until I saw a sadly familiar face approaching us, one that I had forgotten all about.

Hanna.

"So I heard you killed Noah." she smirked, and I could just feel the anger laced in her words. There was nothing more obvious than the fact she wanted to kill me; to splatter my brains on these gym walls.

Harry gave a sideways frown and stepped in front of me. Of course, he was protecting me like he always felt the need to. "Yeah," he said tersely. "She did."

"Well." she hissed, looking around warily. "I can see it's giving you a big head. Don't think you're so safe just because the leaders are gone. Because we can always find new ones."

My heart was beating out of my chest. Not because she was scaring me, but I knew without a doubt that she was right. It was impossible to take down a whole gang. And this issue would be never-ending for us so long as we were breathing.

"Thanks for the advice." Harry said, just as shaken up as I was.

When Hanna walked off without a word, it was like Harry and I couldn't find any to say either. We just stood there, glancing at all the worry free people who were having the times of their lives.

Why couldn't we be like them? Normal?

Harry shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "This ain't fair." he whined in his best American accent. It wasn't too good, but it wasn't bad enough to lighten my mood. I didn't think that anything could, knowing we had dug ourselves a hole that would be almost impossible to get out of.

The DJ stopped the music before I could even think of the right words to say, and before I knew it he was about to announce prom king and queen.

We already knew the winners, so Harry and I got ready to walk on stage.

I just wasn't feeling it tonight. The second prom just felt so artificial, and it had lost its spark that the first one had. Maybe it was because the previous one was action packed, and this was just the average prom that every high school student looks forward to.

"Prom queen is Katrina Weber." he said, lacking all enthusiasm, and I gave a plastic smile as I walked on stage. He placed a plastic crown on my head, and it didn't take much to realize that almost everything about me was plastic. Fake. A fabrication.

I didn't even know who I was anymore.

"Prom king is Harry Styles." The DJ said, as if he weren't being paid to do the gig-- which he probably wasn't. Harry strutted on stage right next to me and received his plastic crown. We held hands and the crowd cheered, their volume a few decibels lower than the first time.

No one was feeling it tonight.

The front of the crowd cleared once again, and I swallowed a mound of bile that surfaced in my mouth. This was when everything had went wrong; where the gunshots rang out. I prayed nothing would happen again.

We walked down together and started to dance to the slow music. All I could focus on was Harry's beautiful features. His long hair, his glimmering jade eyes, his warm smile, his--

"This part is my favorite." he whispered to me so that no one else could hear. "Getting to dance with you like this so the whole school knows that you're mine."

A shiver ran down my spine. "I never would've seen this coming, new kid."

"Me neither." he grinned. "When you questioned me on my first day I hated you for putting me on the spot. And now I can't thank you enough for coming into my life like that."

I laughed, still keeping my hands stationary at the base of the back of his neck. "I thought you were weird for sitting next to me." I reminisced. "I still think you're weird."

"And I still hate you." he teased, and I was about to give him a witty remark before he pressed his lips to mine in front of everyone. When he pulled away he rested his forehead on mine. Clapping followed.

"Thanks for saving me, Kat." he mumbled, and I wanted to thank him for saving me but I didn't want to ruin this priceless moment that I would never forget in all of my years.

*