The Player

Chapter 1

I watched him from a distance as he walked in and climbed the stairs to his usual seat in the back corner of the classroom next to his girlfriend of the week. He threw his bag on the ground and slumped down into the chair. I kept staring at him, watching his every move in disgust. He smoothed his blonde hair back, making sure not to mess up his quiff.

Niall Horan was the player of the school. He had a new girlfriend practically every week it seemed, and all he wanted to do with them was mess around. He only cared about himself, and he had no respect for anybody else. I hated him. Ever since I first laid eyes on him I hated him.

The professor for our first class, Mr. Lynch, walked in and took attendence. Then he began lecturing about some boring topic that I would never need to know in the future. I drew my attention back over to Niall, who was now flirting with the girl sitting in front of him. Her name was Maya. I've known her since eigth grade. She was never really one of my closest friends, but I still liked her, and we were friends for awhile at one point. She went out with Niall for a short time, and then one day she went crying down the hallway and spent the rest of the day in the girls' bathroom. I remember trying to comfort her, but she wouldn't let anybody talk to her. I haven't said much to her since then and that was last year.

Niall kept stroking Maya's hair and she kept trying to smack his hand away, but he wouldn't stop. This was him daily. He tormented almost every girl on the Boston College campus, at least in our class. Luckily he hasn't done much to me yet, but I keep waiting for the day that he does try and pull something over on me.

I have to admit he is very attractive. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. He has a soft looking face that you never want to look away from and he has an adorable Irish accent. Everything about him when you just look at him invites you in. It's just his personality and reputation that turns you off.

Mr. Lynch let us out early from class because he had given us a large assignment and wanted us to start working on it. I got up from my seat, placed my things in my bag, and walked out of the classroom. I stopped by a bench in the hallway to make sure I didn't leave anything because I felt like I was forgetting something.

"Did you forget something, Ella?" his Irish accent said from next to me. I didn't even know he knew my name. I looked over at him and he was holding one of my notebooks. I grabbed it out of his hands and placed it in my backpack. I threw it over my shoulder and started to walk away. He came in front of me and placed his hand against the wall, blocking me from passing by him.

"Where do you think you're going? Aren't you going to say thank you?" he asked me.

"Thanks. Now excuse me, I need to get to my next class." I said.

"You're next class doesn't start for awhile." he said, still blocking my path.

"Well, I like to be early."

"We should hang out sometime."

'If you think I'm going anywhere with you then you're head isn't screwed on right." I snapped.

"Ouch."

"Please move."

"Come on Ella, just one time. I know you want to."

"What?"

"I see the way you look at me in class." he said.

"Yeah, it's called a look of disgust and hatred. You should be used to it."

"Wow, shots fired."

"Look if you haven't realized, I don't really like you so you're just wasting your time and mine."

"I just want to get to know you better. "

"I have to go." I pushed my way past him and left him standing there alone in the hallway. I made it to my next class without him chasing after me or catching up which was good.

"Ella!" I heard my best friend Sara call.

"Hey Sara." I said sitting down in the seat next to her. I was just about to tell her what happened in the hallway when the bell rang.

"I'll tell you after." I said as the professor started class.

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At the end of class Sara and I walked to our next class together and I told her about my encounter with Niall. I tell her literally everything. She's been my best friend for the longest time.

"He did not! Ella, you can't let him take advantage of you. You've seen what he's done to those other girls. He's practically ruined them."

"I know Sara, and that's what I'm afraid of. What if he keeps trying to flirt with me and stuff?"

"Just avoid him. He's trouble."

"I know, I will." I said with a sigh.

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Once I got back to my dorm after all my classes, I dropped my backpack on the ground and laid on my bed staring at the ceiling. The whole day I kept thinking about my encounter with Niall. Why did he say we should hang out sometime? Why did he want to get to know me better? Why was he even talking to me? I knew I had to stay away from him. I didn't want to end up being his next puppet girlfriend.