The Academy // Harry Styles AU

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Harry’s POV

Today was the day that the project Nicole and I had been working on all week was due. I was having mixed feelings about having to turn it in already. I was glad that I didn’t have to work on that stupid project anymore, but that project was the only excuse I had to talk to Nicole.

She pretty much hated me, but because of that project she still had to talk to me. I still wasn’t really positive about what I thought about her. She’s really just fun to tease and make fun of because she always gets so defensive and her comebacks are usually quite entertaining. I also find the why that she thinks I am pretty interesting, she thinks she has me all figured out.

I walked with Liam to the coffee shop early this morning since we both wanted to have time for breakfast before going to our first class which we had together.

We went through the line and Liam picked some kind of fancy breakfast pastry that I’d never heard of, and I just picked a muffin. The students at this school really could get on my nerves though with all their fancy clothes and food and how perfect they think they all are.

The coffee shop wasn’t very big and all the seats were already taken so Liam and I were resulted to standing up near one of the windows as we ate. Liam was struggling to eat his pastry and hold his notebooks at the same time, and that just goes to show another reason why I didn’t bother to carry anything with me.

It’s just more relaxing not having to carry a backpack or any books. The teachers always have paper and pens you can use, although a few were already pissed with me for asking everyday, they never denied letting me using a pen.

As I was tearing off pieces of my muffin and eating them, Liam starting rambling on to me about how he was going to miss working on the project that was due since he enjoyed talking to his partner, Liz. He’d been talking about her a lot lately and it was getting pretty annoying. Yesterday at dinner I sat with the two of them as they finished up their project. I had wanted to sit with Nicole but since we had finished our project I wasn’t sure if she’d want me to bother her, but that’s beside the point.

As I had watched them work it was obvious that Liz was desperate and was pretty much throwing herself at him, but Liam didn’t seem to notice one bit. I probably only noticed because at my old school I had a lot of the desperate girls trying to throw themselves at me and it was pathetic. Here it wasn’t nearly as bad, mostly I just noticed a few girls staring at me every now and then.

Nicole was the only one who wouldn’t even give me a second glance, and I wasn’t sure if it was that or just her in general that intrigued me. I soon tuned out Liam’s rambling, not caring to hear anymore of it. I looked around at all the people at the coffee shop, everyone looked the same here.

All the girls were dressed up with their hair done, and all the guys were wearing khakis or jeans that compared to mine were pretty lose.

I soon noticed the familiar look of simple jeans and a t-shirt, and long brown hair that was left down, no ponytail or some intricate braid, just regular. I watched, as she had to push pieces of hair back behind her ear as they fell in front of her face. I saw as she smiled at something that her friend told her.

I don’t think she’s ever smiled at anything I’ve said to her.

I thought about going over there and talking to her, but I figured I better not. I didn’t want her to think that I really cared enough to go over and talk to her just because I happened to see her right now. I kept second thinking myself, wondering if I should just go over there even though I knew I was going to get a glare of some sort from her friend.

A few moments later though her and her friends got up from their table and began to leave the coffee shop, so I guessed that settled things for me, I was staying where I was.

•••

I was feeling pretty giddy by the time lunch came around. I was so tempted to rush out of my last class to get to the coffee shop once we were dismissed, but I stopped myself. I could take my time getting to where I needed to be; I didn’t want to seem to eager. I wasn’t even sure why I had been looking forward to lunch so much ever since my first class ended.

I knew that I was going to be meeting up with Nicole, but I couldn’t understand why that seemed to put me in somewhat of a better mood. I soon arrived at the coffee shop after taking my time. I walked in and I saw Nicole already sitting at our usual table with her textbook out and a notebook. I headed over to her and seat down in the seat across from hers.

“You’re a bit late,” she told me.

“Maybe you’re just a bit early, yeah?” I said to her.

“Did you bring your test review questions?” she asked me, deciding to ignore what I had previously said and just getting straight to the point of why we were here.

I nodded at her and took the folded papers out of my back pocket.

“I do have some extra folders if you want to use one,” she told me.

She was probably the forth person this week who has asked if I wanted a folder from them. If I wanted a damn folder I would’ve made an effort to get one, but I don’t have one so I obviously didn’t want one. The people here just can’t deal with someone not being as organized as the rest of them.

“Folders are inconvenient,” I decide to say back.

“Folder the paper up and stuffing it in pocket of your too tight jeans is unorganized and ridiculous,” she told me and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Read over the first chapter, let me know when you’re done and I’ll help you with anything you don’t understand,” Nicole said as she turned the opened textbook in my direction.

“Aren’t we working on this together?” I asked her.

“All I agreed to was to tutor you. I’m doing the packet on my own, and so are you,” she said.

“So why aren’t you reading over the chapter?” I asked.

“Because I pay attention in class and I know this material, I’m pretty sure I have more knowledge of this subject than you do,” she said matter of factly.

All I did was roll my eyes at her because I knew that she was most likely right. It’s not like I didn’t know all of this information though, I could get good grades if I really wanted to, I just think that it’s too much work. I honestly was just hoping that she would give me the answers and then we could go over them and crap and then we’d have the rest of the time to just talk or whatever.

So today we basically spent lunchtime in silence as I read over the first chapter.

By the time lunch was over, she told me that tonight I needed to read over the second chapter and answer the questions that went along with those and she’d go over them with me tomorrow. I had just nodded as she spoke and then we both headed our separate ways to our next classes.