Guilty Pleasure (A Harry Styles Fan Fiction)

Chapter 21

I woke up to a sun-filled room; I must have forgotten to close the curtains before falling asleep. Memories then began flooding back to me, filled with Harry and bare skin and tangled sheets. I quickly pulled the comforter up to cover my bare chest and looked over my shoulder to see my own guilty pleasure sleeping soundly behind me. Last night was a bit of a blur. The party, my new friend Avery, my discovery of Harry, and Daisy and Chris’ dilemma were cloudy in my mind. I wasn’t sure if that was due to the alcohol or the new relationship that Harry and I had agreed to test out.

I did my best to move as little as possible so I wouldn’t wake Harry and I reached for my phone, sending Daisy a quick text to make sure she was okay. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and slowly crept out of bed. I collected my discarded clothing from the floor and threw them in the hamper, grabbing a fresh pair of cropped yoga pants and a white v-neck t-shirt before hopping in the shower.

Once I was all clean and dressed, with my hair pulled back and my teeth brushed, I crept back to my bed to wake Harry. My first class started in an hour and, although it was only a ten-minute walk, I wanted to get my work in order and grab a coffee before I left. When my bed came into eye-sight, Harry was already sitting up and a smile spread across his face when he saw me.

“Good morning, beautiful. I was afraid that you left me alone and naked.” He greeted me playfully, standing from my bed and tugging his jeans up his legs.

“I would never.” I said with a smile, beginning to make my bed. “I’m not kicking you out or anything, but my first class starts in an hour and I planned to get a cup of coffee before I go. I’d love for you to join me.”

“After or during my walk of shame?” He joked, earning a small giggle out of me.

“If you’d like to change, that’s fine, but you’re more than welcomed to take a shower here. And, if not, the morning look does you wonders.” I complimented. Harry chuckled and placed a lingering kiss on my lips when I was done adjusting my bedding.

“When’s your last class?” He asked, slipping his shirt over his head.

“It ends at three o’clock.” I said.

“Then meet me in the quad at three-thirty. You’ve got some time to change and for travel.” He stepped into his shoes before giving me a quick peck on the lips and heading for the door. “And please don’t think that I don’t want to get coffee with you; this is just my first walk of shame and I might need the next few hours to recover.”

I giggled and nodded in understanding. Harry waved goodbye once more before shutting the door behind him. I got myself a glass of water and nearly chugged it. I was still in disbelief that last night had happened and that Harry went to UPitt along with me. I’d have to spend more time to get to know him over our week of possibilities that we agreed to.

Daisy sent me a text and said she’d meet me in the coffee shop in ten minutes. I quickly sorted all of my work and put everything I needed into my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder and stepping into my black running sneakers. The Starbucks that we always met at was right around the block from the dorm building. Soon enough, I had my large coffee with a double shot of espresso - the only thing that was able to wake me up and keep me attentive in class - and I sat patiently at a table waiting for Daisy.

I was deep into To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and nearly done with my coffee when my best friend finally sat across from me. Her hair was thrown up into a wild bun and her make up was smeared under her eyes. She wore an oversized Pitt Football hoodie, denim shorts, and white Vans.

“Hi, Ray.” She greeted, setting her backpack on the ground and her iced latte on the table. “I’m sorry I look like this. I stole Chris’ hoodie and I ran back to the room to get my stuff and I threw on the first things that I saw.”

“I’m guessing everything went well last night.” I said.

“Better than I expected.” She smiled. “Nothing is completely solved, but he kicked the girl out of his room after you showed up and we talked about everything.”

“That’s wonderful.” I told her. “I’m so happy it worked out.”

“But me and Chris are old news. Tell me about you and Harry.” She pried, biting on her straw.

“It’s a long story.” I said with a slight shake of my head.

“We have fifteen minutes until we have to leave for class, so make it quick.” She demanded.

I marked my page in my book and placed it in my backpack. “Okay. After you left me at the party last night, this girl came up to me and started talking to me. She was really nice and she introduced me to her friend Louis, who is in the frat with Chris.”

“Oh! The girl was Avery, right? Her and Louis were telling me and Chris that you guys met last night when I went back.” She shared.

“Yeah, it was Avery.” I said. “Well, she started telling me about the group of people that Louis hangs out with at parties and she was practically swooning over some guy named Styles, and I was like ‘Hmm, that name and his description sound familiar.’ Then I figured it out and, in my intoxication, I wanted to go see him and one thing led to another, now here we are.”

“Did you two do anything that I should know about?” She asked with a wink, her desire for dirty gossip evident.

“No, don’t be disgusting.” I swatted at her. “But we did come to an agreement. For the next week, we’re going to test out our relationship. If it leads us back to hatred, then we’ll give up and stop finding each other. If it goes well, then we’ll see where life takes us.”

“Interesting, interesting.” She pondered the terms of the deal. “Do you think it’ll work out?”

I finished off my coffee before saying, “I sure hope so. But I should get going; Baron will start giving me tardies if I keep getting there late. Meet me in the dining hall for lunch after class?”

“I’ll be there.” Daisy smiled at me as I stood, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. I exited Starbucks and headed to the Arts and Sciences building.

Dr. Baron was my Eastern Civilizations teacher. Eastern Civ was an easy, but unfavorable requirement as a history major. For the following forty-five minutes, I’d be bored and doodling instead of listening to Baron’s lecture about yet another Chinese dynasty who one-upped some preceding dynasty, created some world-altering technological advancement, and was wiped out by some succeeding dynasty.

When I entered the lecture hall, the slide that was up read: JAPAN: TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE. I slouched into my seat and pulled out a pencil and some scrap paper. Instead of taking notes on the last shogunate in Japanese history, I sketched curly hair, tattoos, and rock band logos.

~~~

It was finally three o’clock and I hustled back to my dorm to change before I met Harry. I brushed out my hair and left it down in soft waves, just how he told me he liked it in Mexico. I quickly applied a little bit of eye make up and lip gloss. I changed out of my casual clothes into a royal blue, printed, loose-fitting, Bohemian-style long sleeve dress and nude flats. The April weather in Pittsburgh was perfect for an outfit like this. I stuffed some money, my phone, and my key into a small purse and left my room, headed for the quad.

I wondered what Harry had planned for us. Or if he had anything planned at all. Maybe we’d just walk around campus, or grab a bite to eat, or go to some rock club. I never knew when it came to Harry. Possibilities flooded my mind and a smile took over my face as I saw him approaching the quad with cigarette between his lips and a black Guns-n-Roses t-shirt hugging his muscular frame.