Reason to be - Harry Styles ✓

16. It's a new day

"Is that boy, Daniel, coming to the pool too?"

I froze, unable to move from my position. How.... ? After a few seconds, I slowly turned around, trying to hide my surprised expression, but it wasn't very convincing. I didn't know how my voice would sound, so I simply nodded.

"Alright then. Be careful." she smiled slightly.

"B-bye grandma." I stuttered, turning around and walking as fast as I could towards the main road, leaving the house behind.

Everything was so peaceful; the cars rarely passed by. Trees guarded the road, silently bending their branches. It was quiet; only some playful birds would interrupt the silence.

As much I wanted to avoid thinking too much about the past days, the silence was overwhelming me. I passed absently by the small houses and green trees, while drifting into the thoughts I refused to bring out to the light; and they won.

I couldn't believe how perceptive my grandma was. After returning home back from the hospital, and my walk with Daniel, I had no excuse to tell Liz and my grandma other that I had met him at the shopping centre. We chatted, and I lost the sense of time. Of course, Daniel wasn't a new face in my life, as I had seen him in previous years at the pool, but we never really talked. I could swear my grandma assumed I was into him.

Liz was worried and, to say that she was extremely pissed off was an understatement. Not entirely because I left her alone in a shopping centre, but because she was all alone with Melanie.

I hated lying to them. Firstly, Liz found out that I was on those bloody covers, and now that...he brought me to a hospital?

That was why I needed to talk to her. I couldn't lie anymore to the closest person I had to a sister. She left to sleep at her home yesterday, so we were meeting after I had left the pool. And I was damn nervous because who in the world knew what she could say?

The funny thing was, that I did spend quite some time with Daniel those days. We met again on Sunday, simply going for a walk. But I had learnt many things about him, as we talked such as him joining the pool just a year after I did, which meant he had been there for a while without us crossing paths more than "good morning"s and "where is my whistle?". Also, his favourite colour was red.

That was why I couldn't believe my grandmother guessed this right. I was quite sure I hadn't mentioned him before, but why would it be such a big deal that we had been working in the same place without us acknowlwdging each other until now? My grandma was very perceptive and could read people very easily, so what did she know that she wasn't telling me? What did she feel about him?

It was awkward enough how I felt when we met at the concert and my mind blacked out, so talking about how we would have each other to laugh at other people at the pool didn't make it better. It sounded as if this could have been done earlier and we were balming ourselves. Other than that, I found he was an amazing friend who made me feel great around him. But the only thing he couldn't do was stop me from thinking about him.

Every single moment I wasn't busy, or doing anything, my mind would be invaded by thoughts of him. Random facts kept spinning in my mind. I didn't know why, although I guessed looking up "Harry Styles facts" on the internet didn't quite help.

If only I could stop thinking about him, because God, was it exhausting replaying his smile and picturing him hugging a cat in my mind. I had been feeling way too affected by this, as if there was something in me that longed to know more, to analyse better, to get closer. I was intrigued. But it didn't matter, because I was sure I wouldn't see him in a place othet than Liz' home screen. And that was a good thing.

Right?

I crossed the last street, and there it was; "Paradise Pool". I sighed mentally at the cheesy name and made my way towards the big entrance. People who had always worked here greeted me warmly, so the paranoid feeling who told me they would have forgotten about me finally quieted down. I grinned slightly for myself.

I headed to the main part of the backyard, and there it was, the place where I had spent my last three summers. The sunshine was gently touching the calm, blue water. The same, old trees across me provided shadow for the few benches where you could relax. The long, white chairs were waiting for the first clients of this summer. A small waterfall was falling into the big pool, completing its graceful looks. Everything was ready.

"April!"

I heard my name called and I naturally turned my head in the direction of the voice. A small smile formed on my lips, as I saw Daniel waving his hand from the other side of the pool.

I proceeded walking towards him, as some people were already showing up from the main entrance. This was going to be a long, interesting week.

***
Heey. I just wanted to say that we're only a few steps away from one of the main chapters in this story! After it, I there will be quite interesting things happenning and events you'll never expect ^^ yay!