Snow Girl | Harry Styles

12: Apologies & a wave of jealousy

dedicated to @travestea. Thanks for being a great friend and for checking out this story! It means a lot <3

12: Apologies & a wave of jealousy

Clara sprinted back to her room; she shut the door, making sure that it was locked. She searched her drawers, opening and closing till she found the right one. She opened the drawer that held all her undergarments, and pushed her hand to the bottom of the case until she found what she needed. She finally pulled out a can of pepper spray. She had been prepared for stuff like this - or similar to it, anyway - and thought that pepper spray was a good remedy since it's small and easy to use. One squirt would be just enough, and one bottle would last long enough for her to defend herself from any attackers. There was also another can stored in her purse, for whenever she went somewhere.

"Karla?" The man said. Why the heck is he looking for Karla? She thought. Then suddenly, she was worried for her aunt. The man was really intimidating and an out-of-shape teenage girl would surely be no match for him.

Clara turned on her phone - she muted the volume - and opened up the text icon.

There's someone in the hall, Karla!

She hurriedly typed away on her phone, and sent the message to her Aunt. Clara was debating whether or not to call the police; but if she called the cops, then the man would surely overhear her because he was right outside the door of her dorm room.

What to do? What to do?! How hadn't Aunt Karla heard the slam of the door? She couldn't be asleep, because she probably must have been doing her work. But her niece had sent her a text! Karla must have misinterpreted the text message. Then, Clara heard a door creak open.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Aunt Karla had opened her door, and she was vulnerable as ever. She probably had no idea that this crook was in her house. Clara - with her pepper spray can in hand - opened the door and ran out. She pressed on the top of the can with her finger and triggered a fog of chili extract to immediately emerge.

The anonymous man hissed and screamed out profanities, his hand instinctively covered his eyes as Clara sprayed for her and her aunt's dear life.

"Clara! Stop!" Her aunt commanded, holding onto Clara's hand to stop her from releasing the pepper spray from the bottle.

"Archie, are you alright?" Karla questioned the man. "Nevermind, you most likely aren't. Let's get you to the couch." She gave her niece a glare, to which she returned with a questioning glance and a look that meant, "Hey, I didn't know!".

They assisted the man in descending down the stairs, and escorted him into the living room and onto the couch - Clara flicked on the lights since she reached downstairs first. Archie's eye was now swollen, and he kept blinking his eyes.

"Clara, this is Archer, my boyfriend; Archer, this is my niece, Clara."

"Nice to meet you," Archer greeted with a small smile, holding his hand out.

"You too," Clara swiftly replied, not really in the mood for chit-chatting with someone who she, just a few moments ago, thought was a thug. Karla gave her a stern look, and shook her head slightly in the man's direction. Clara understood what she meant with the signal; her aunt wanted her to apologize. "And I'm sorry for spraying you with that pepper spray."

"It's fine, nothing much to apologize for. It's not that bad."

* * * * * *

A yellow sticky note was stuck to the fridge in the kitchen when Clara woke up in the morning to hunt down some breakfast; obviously, it was from Aunt Karla. It said that she was out with Archer, and she'd be back in time for dinner. Clara sighed, and pulled out some milk and Lucky Charms cereal from the refrigerator. It was 7:30, and homeroom started at 8 sharp. She took her time eating, and even hand-washed the dish before heading outside with her school bag hanging loosely on her shoulder.

The bus ride to school was, as usual, extremely rowdy since Clara was seated at the back of the bus, along with the rest of the seniors at the school. The seating chart was, of course, unofficial, but it might as well have been since every year, it was the same thing. She didn't really sit with anyone, opting to be left alone instead of being pestered, but if someone came to sit beside her because there was no available seat, then she wouldn't complain about it.

So when the blond haired guy entered into the bus looking for a place to sit and chose to sit next to her, she wasn't bothered. But it sure looked like everyone else was. Dahlia and the rest of her popular crew sent her looks of disgust, obviously jealous that the cute guy didn't go to sit with them. She had shooed someone off their turf just so that there would be an available seat for her new eye-catching sweetheart, but he had walked straight past them to the last seat on the bus.

"Hey."

Clara looked up at him, "Hi."

"I'm Finnick, and you are?" His smooth and outgoing aura rubbed off on her immediately. She didn't feel that awkward, like she normally did. Instead, she felt surprisingly relaxed and calm.

"Finnick? Like Finnick Odair?" She mused, instead of answering his question.

He laughed, and shook his head, "No ma'am. Finnick Wesley, but people do consider me as handsome as that fellow! Perhaps, even more good looking."

She gaped at him, and he stopped laughing, "I was just kidding."

Clara nodded, and stared out the window. The various trees and the different houses blurred by, basically just specks of colors and organic figures mixed with the ever-so-calming shade of blue that was the sky. The bus slowed down, and the pristine white buildings of Horton Academy came into perspective.

"Alright, delinquents! Get out of here!" Our bus driver, Hilda, whistled. "Y'all have a nice day and don't get in too much trouble!"

Students got out of the bus orderly -well, as orderly as a bunch of rebellious teenagers could be.

"Aren't you getting out?"

Clara looked up, "It usually takes a while."

Finnick understood what she meant. He lingered around too, and the pair was the last persons to get out of the bus.

"Enjoy your day, Clara. See you later, eh?" Hilda was a nice woman. Even around her mid forties, she looked beautiful. She was the high school sweetheart, back in the day. Now, she was happily married to an entrepreneur, but she still chose to become a bus driver.

"You too, Hilda!" Clara smiled back.

"So...Clara then?"

Her head snapped back up. She nodded faintly, as she continued making her way to the entrance.

"That's a nice name. Haven't really met a Clara before."

"Well, now you have."

They both halted to a stop right in front of the secretary's office, so that Finnick could retrieve his schedule.

He sent Clara a dazzling smile, "So, I guess I'll be seeing you around Clara."

* * * * * *

I'm back! Muahaha. Anywho, I came back with a fresh new chapter for you all to devour. (What? lol) It's 2 pages, pretty long if you ask me, haha. Haven't updated since June 4... I'm sorry D: I admit that I don't update frequently, I'm sorry.

QOTC: Do you like Archer? Do you like Finnick?

*next dedication goes to a random commenter