Rain | Harry Styles

0.1

Twenty minutes later, I was finally excused from dinner, and a dreary conversation with the Peterson's.

"Curfew's in an hour, Miss Levin," Celia called, knocking before entering my bedroom. She walked over to the window, slamming it shut and bringing out the key to lock it.

"Oh - Celia, would you mind leaving it unlocked? It gets pretty stuffy in here overnight," I lied, closing my laptop and sitting up on my bed.

Celia shot me a knowing look, "I'm not silly, Ana, I know it's the last night out before senior year starts," she smiled, causing me to bite back one of my own.

"At least you got my name this time."

"I have a son of my own, you know," she raised an eyebrow at me, folding the wet towel I'd discarded on the floor earlier and forgotten to fold, "I know how your teenage minds work."

I moved a piece of hair from my shoulder, "I didn't know you had a son."

"Yes, darling, a son and a daughter, but my Haz is your age," she told me, sending me a smile, "He doesn't go out much, so I'll say I've been quite lucky not to have a teen as rebellious as you, but - then again - I'm sure if my boy came from a family like yours then he'd act no different."

I chuckled, "So was he born here?" I asked, now suddenly curious.

"No, no - back in Manchester, pet. We moved here a few years after his dad and I split; poor lad was only eleven or twelve," she sat down on the edge of my bed, and I nodded, keen to hear her open up for the first time since she'd got here.

"What's he like? Your son?" I asked quietly.

Celia sighed, shaking her head, "He's angry at the world."

I frowned, "Angry? Why?"

"I wish I knew. He just hates everyone, everything - I'm lucky if I get a word out of him nowadays."

"I'm sorry, Celia. That really sucks."

"Yeah," she smiled sadly, standing up from my bed, "It really does suck."

I watched her as she walked over to the window, shifting it open a little and slipping the key into her pocket.

"Don't stay out too late, Miss Levin," she sent me a wink, gently shutting the door behind her.

I smiled to myself, grabbing my phone to read the time - 9:30. I groaned - I wouldn't have time to change. I slipped my vans on, grabbing my oversized denim jacket from my chair that my mother hated so much. "You look common," she'd told me when she'd first seen it on me, causing me to save it for when I went out with my friends after dark - another thing she hated so much; my friends from school.

A white lace dress - luckily it only skimmed my thighs - an oversized jacket, and some vans? An odd combo, but it would have to do. I slid the window open, slipping my phone into my pocket and climbing out of the frame, weaving my way to the floor. I pulled my jacket tightly around me, the cool night air nipping at my skin as the wind blew, and I caught sight of Sadie's car.

Sadie had been my best friend since middle school, and since high school, my mother certainly hadn't been her biggest fan. She drank, did every drug you could name, but - she was my friend, and she stuck by me.

"Hey, sexy," she grinned as I slipped into the passenger's seat.

"Hey," I returned, "Where are we going?"

"There's this old bar a couple blocks away - doesn't check for IDs or anything - literally will serve a fuckin' drink to anyone on legs," she beamed, pulling off down the street.