(Lilac)
I inhaled the unfamiliar, welcoming warm air, taking in my surroundings for the very first time since I had arrived. Just yesterday I was laying in my creaking bed, surrounded by my slightly chip-walled bedroom. Yet here I was now, in a whole new environment. I made it, I had finally made it.
The butterflies in my stomach and the painful smile plastered on my face were unavoidable. I felt a mixture of emotions in my chest, apart from feeling the major part anxious, and scared, I forced myself to push back those unwanted feelings, and allowed the excitement and rush of adrenaline over power all of my emotions.
I had dreamt of this day since as long as I can remember. And here I was, at the beginning of chasing my dreams.
The buildings and houses were average sized to the ones back home. Except everything seemed to be more neat and clean cut down here, compared to how messy and untidy the streets were back home. Even the sight of the autumn leaves travelling down in a messy but delicate pile, captured me in complete awe.
The sun reflecting off of a crystal clear water fountain caused my eyes to travel to where the beautiful object lay. A massive double storied house sat behind the fountain, surrounded by a huge, beautiful garden. The many colours complementing the perfectly built house.
I inhaled a large breathe in order of calming myself, but it did not have much effect. I dragged my two heavy suitcases to the elevator, shutting my eyes tightly as I waited to be lifted to the fourth floor.
The doors slide open and I take it as a queue to ready myself for a big step of a new life.
One Hundred and Fourty Two, my eyes scan over the cursive letters painted swiftly on the corridor wall. I inhale a deep breath and lightly tap on the wood.
"The door is unlocked, you can come in" A deep voice was heard from behind the door, and it took me a few moments to idiotically realise that the man was most likely talking to me. Unless of course I had knocked on the wrong home. There were only four apartments in each floor, so I was hoping that was unlikely. "I have to do everything around here" The same raspy voice mumbled, along with a few curse words.
I stood there suddenly frozen in my spot when the shuffling came to a halt and a young man with breathtaking eyes opened the door. His green eyes were slightly squinted and he raised his eyebrows in question.
"Um- Hi. Are you Mr Styles?" I stutter, biting my lip nervously as I awaited his reply. He blankly stared at me for a few moments and I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks as I thought of how I may have possibly gotten my landlords name incorrect.
"No, not the one you're referring to at least" He replied impatiently, holding the door wide open. He eyed the many suitcases standing behind me before locking his forest-green eyes on my own. "Well are you coming in or not?" he didn't wait for my reply as he strolled into the apartment, not bothering to hold open the door any longer. He made himself comfortable on the black leather couches I had Mr Styles arrange to bring in for me beforehand.
I trudged my suitcases behind me, having trouble to get through the door that refused to stay fully open. I felt the heat rush to my cheeks when I almost tripped over my suitcase and the man sat staring at me almost in anger and annoyance. And to think he was going to be a gentleman and help me. I finally took a seat across from him. His eyes travelled down to my trousers and I could tell he was amused, by the way he bit the inside of his cheek and the barely noticeable smile crawling onto his lips.
I knew it wasn't a good idea to wear sweatpants and my brother's sweater that was far too oversized on me. But of course that was not what I was thinking when I read that my flight would be eighteen hours long and the air-conditioning would be on throughout the whole flight. But I was instantly regretting the idea. Being stared down by a somewhat attractive guy whilst dressed like a homeless person was not something I had planned for on my very first day here. At least that was what the last words my lovely, kind brother had said to me before I had left. You look like a hobo Lila, okay bye.
"Here" he cleared his throat, sliding a thick booklet across the coffee table to me, and it landed on the ground. "Sign wherever it says sign and we could both be on our way"
I nod my head in approval, gripping the papers in my hands.
"Um, do you possibly have a pen that I could burrow?" I ask. He loudly sighs, patting all of his pockets to feel for a pen, and when he finally found one he rudely throws it at me, probably not knowing it was rude, or he just did not have two fucks to give. "Could you hurry up with it"
I cleared my throat at his disrespect and picked up the pen off of the floor, staring to fill in the endless details of myself. He quietly sat and from the corner of my eye I could see that his gaze was set on me, making me feel slightly uncomfortable.
"And.. Done!" With one last swift of the pen, I couldn't hold back my excitement that I had finally finished the booklet and the apartment would officially be mine. The curly headed boy was not sharing my excitement on the other hand, he had a hand pressed to his temple, and his expression was set into a mean scowl.
"Hangover" he replied to my questioning look. I hid my disapproval at his reply, nodding my head slowly. It was very unprofessional of him to drink so much that he would have a hangover the next day.
"Oh sorry"
He nodded his head faintly, retrieving the thick booklet and starting to fill the Landlord Details. I watched as his eyebrows furrowed when he scanned over the page, and read the questions individually, his face set into a scowl for the most of the time. He held the pen in between his long slender fingers, using more force than needed when he wrote, causing the ink to come out in a darker shade than usual.
"Staring is rude" heat rushed to my cheeks when his gaze met my own, his expression did not shift at all, which honestly scared me a little. His jaw was still locked and he held an annoyed expression.
"I wasn't staring" I focus my eyes on my grey sweats, tangling my fingers over my lap in embarrassment.
"Sure you weren't" he says doubtfully, bitterly laughing. I roll my eyes at his attitude, knowing he couldn't see me. Even if he did, I wouldn't give a crap.
He finally turned to the last page of the contract, and with a swift of his pen, the booklet was officially complete.
"Here's your contract" I almost gasp when he ripped about half of the booklet out of its staple, the paper obviously torn and unprofessional. "Pay rent on every first to fourth of every month" he stated bored, his short speech obviously rehearsed. He must have rented out many apartments before, I heard this whole building belonged to Mr Styles, though I was still not sure if this impatient boy was related to him in any way. I didn't even know his name. "Here is your house key, bathroom key.." he handed me two loose keys, searching through his pockets for something, and finally pulling out another key, "and your spare key" he handed me the last key. "The address for you to pay to is somewhere in your contract, and that's about it" He finished, his tone still unfriendly. I almost couldn't hold back my bitter laugh when he plastered a fake smile.
"Well settle in, and do whatever you need to do. I honestly don't care" he slowly stood up and brushed the non-existing dust off of his almost skin-tight jeans. My scowl was surely evident when he made his way to the front door, turning around and smirking at me.
"It was great talking to you" he started, his grin spreading bigger, "Nice jumper by the way. Also, your sweats are to die for" He cockily smirked before shutting the door behind him, leaving me in complete shock. I clenched my jaw in anger, glaring at the closed door as if he would walk back in just so I could bitch-slap him. The fucking asshole.
I took hold of the torn contract, scanning through the messy black handwriting. Harry Styles, was scribbled beside Landlords Name. Maybe he could possibly Mr Styles' son.
I placed the excuse of a contract back on the coffee table, dropping myself onto the couch. I let out an audible yawn and lay my head on the hand rest.
Although I had slept throughout most of the flight, I still found myself exhausted. I shut my eyes, not even bothering to look around the apartment just yet, and let myself have a short nap, in hopes of getting rid of the jetlag. It was almost as bad as a hangover.
