Annihilation || Harry Styles

Chapter One: Mary's POV

I groan and lean back in my old, creaky, peeling, leather office chair and run my sore fingers through my long, slightly greasy brunette hair. I open my green eyes and swivel my chair, creaking, in a circle to make sure that everybody in the office is still at lunch. I quickly sit up and after another quick glance around, I pull my phone out of the front pocket of my bag and open my music app. I set my phone, with its plain light green case, on my desk. 

I reach under my desk and grab my purplish polka dot bag. I open it and start digging through it, trying to find my light pink earbuds. After a few minutes, I find them in a side pocket. I meticulously untangle them and plug them into my phone. I quickly scroll through the artists until I find the one I'm looking for.

 Harry Styles. I hit shuffle and put in my earbuds. Meet Me in the Hallway comes through my right earbud, but not my left earbud. I sigh, close my eyes and listen to the lyrics.

Two, three, four

Meet me in the hallway

Meet me in the hallway

I just left your bedroom

Give me some morphine

Is there any more to do?

Suddenly somebody touches me on my shoulder. I tense up and quickly turn off my music. Please don't be my manager. I turn around in my chair creakily. 

My coworker and friend, Mike, is standing in front of me, holding out a burger and soda to me. I smile. "Mike, you didn't have to do this," I say, taking the burger and soda and placing it on the desk. "That's not all," he says, unzipping his bag. He pulls out a poster, tied in the middle with a rubber band. 

I look at him with a puzzled expression on my face. He grins and holds it out to me. "Unroll it," he says. I take it from him and remove the rubber band. I hold up the poster at the top. It slowly unrolls revealing a picture of Louis singing. I hold back a laugh. Mike is always very kind to me, but he can't ever remember which member of One Direction I like. 

It reminds me of a quote. "Real love doesn't meet you at your best. It meets you in your mess." Not that we're in love. Definitely not. "Do you like it?" asks Mike, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. "Yes! Thank you!" I exclaim, rolling the poster back up. "Actually, there's something else," Mike says. 

"What is it?" I ask, putting the rubber band back over the poster. "I was wondering if you wanted to go on a cruise," Mike says. I pause while putting the poster under my desk. "Just you and me?" I ask. "Oh, no, no, it was Gio's idea, so, Gio and Njama and I pitched in some money to buy you a ticket. We are all going," Mike says.

 "Oh, I can't accept that Mike," I say shaking my head. "Come on Mary, we already bought the ticket, you have to go," Mike says with a grin. I sigh. "Listen, Mike, I really can't, I need to work to make money," I say. Mike sighs. "Okay, okay, if you really can't go, I'll find somebody else," he says, turning to walk away. 

I shove my phone, earbuds still plugged in, into my bag. My phone vibrates, displaying a DanAndPhilGAMES notification. "Wait," Mike says, turning back to me. "What?" I say with a faint smile. "That guy you like is going to perform, the one on the poster," Mike says. I hold back a laugh again.

 "Louis?" I ask. "No, no," he says, irritated, snapping his fingers. My phone buzzes again. I pick up my purple polka dot bag again and dig for my phone. I finally get to my phone and turn it on. My phone displays a notification: Daniel Howell has posted on their Instagram story. I switch off notification sounds and shove my phone back in my bag. 

Mike suddenly snaps his fingers, startling me. "Harry!" Mike suddenly exclaimed, earning him a few glares from the people working near my desk. I sigh. "Mike, why exactly did you just yell Harry?" I ask. "Harry, Harry Styles!" he exclaims. "Mike, stop yelling random stuff, I need to get back to work," I say, irritated.