Falling back onto her bed, Alice couldn't help but smile at the lovely day she had had. Fred was cosied up to her, his belly full and ready for his usual evening of cuddles. All comfy in her PJ's, Alice picked up the laptop and opened Netflix, her hot chocolate sitting ready on the bedside table sending soft waves of the rich smell of chocolate into the room. Even though she had seen every episode of Grey's Anatomy a million times over, she still loved it. It was her comfort programme, suitable for every occasion; need a good laugh? Watch Grey's Anatomy. Need a good sob? Watch Grey's Anatomy. Need to get angry? Watch Grey's Anatomy.
Her bedroom was one of her favorite places.Alice had laced it with warm fairy lights and a few plants to make it feel cosy. Her window looked out over the street below so she had closed over the sheer curtain to slightly block out the outside world. She had her warmest duvet cover on which had cats printed over it in black and white, once in bed she never wanted to leave.
As the episode began and Fred was dropping into a deep sleep on her lap, Alice's phone buzzed on the bedside table. Picking it up she looked at the message on the screen; Thanks again for today, hope your chilling out like I am :) Class novel - Matilda? H
The butterflies ignited in her belly, she hadn't expected him to text her. Alice suddenly realized she was beaming from ear to ear and quickly dismissed how whipped she was for this guy already. She skimmed over his message a few times, deciding on what to reply to him before sending back; Most welcome, you did great. Greys Anatomy & hot chocolate here :) Very chill. Perfect choice - Matilda is a favourite of mine. Alice
His reply came almost instantly; Never seen Greys, I've got on Friends :) Is it really? Another favourite we have in common. H
Alice smiled; Greys is a rollercoaster, well worth getting into. Friends is brilliant too. Aww, you can't beat Matilda, I just love a happy ending. Alice. And that was true, Alice was a sucker for a happy ending. Every movie she watched she was anxious throughout the entire thing in case the ending wasn't good. Every book she read she sometimes didn't finish - worried that the ending wouldn't be what she wanted it to be - creating a version in her head instead. She dreamed that her own story would have a happy ending, she hoped life was just taking it's time with her.
Her phone vibrated again; You can introduce me to it sometime then. Indeed, nothing beats a happy ending. Sleep well, H x
Her heart was racing with excitement at the messages, she felt all warm and fuzzy inside.
Fred looked up at her as she placed her phone back down on the bedside table. 'What?,' she said to him, and began to rub behind his ears - causing him to start rattling his deep purr into the quiet of the room, 'You'll like him too,'
*
Soon, it was Friday. Their first week having passed by in the blink of an eye. They spent the morning doing reading and Harry had assigned a little reading group to Alice so she could work with them. She enjoyed helping them and loved listening to their wonderful reading attempts. Before they all knew it the bell was ringing for lunch and the children packed themselves up, heading to the dinner hall.
'A more chilled afternoon I think, a quick bit of topic work and then I thought we could get stuck into Matilda,' Harry said as they both gathered in the sheets the children had been working on.
'Awesome, I'll need a chilled afternoon after doing playground duty for the next hour,' Alice laughed as she picked up the last sheet she could see. Overnight the frost had settled in and the air was cold enough now that you could see your breath. She had wrapped up warm this morning but it was still bitterly cold as she had walked to school.
'Ooh that's unfortunate, it's cold out there,' replied Harry as he walked towards her.
'I'll maybe join in with tag or something to keep me warm,' she laughed and passed him the sheets she had in her hand. They locked eyes, Alice unable to pull away from his gaze. There was something so intoxicating about his eyes, so green, so full of sparkle. His hand brushed over hers as he took the sheets from her and a breezed up her spine.
*
Alice was freezing. Although she enjoyed the colder weather, she preferred it from beside a fireplace or in a cosy cafe where she could warm her bones with one of her favourite coffees. Today she was being kept on her toes though. She had fixed up a scraped knee, taken a splinter out of little Liam's finger and was now telling little Bruce why it was not nice to pull on Ashley's pigtails with enough force that she had face planted into the frosted ground.
Wandering around checking everyone else was alright she caught a glimpse of movement in an upstairs window. It was the art room, and standing with a mug in hand was Harry, looking down over the playground. He waved down to her and gave a little thumbs up with his usual grin that made his dimples pop. Alice laughed and waved back up to him.
'Is that Mr Styles,' said little Ashley, appearing from nowhere and waving up at him too before taking Alices hand.
'It is, look at him all cosy when we are out here freezing,' Alice replied, looking down at her.
'He's nice, not as nice as you Miss Hathaway but suuuuper nice,' Ashley said as she leaned into Alice, hugging her leg. Alice guessed the poor wee girl was feeling the cold too.
'He is nice isn't he, I'm glad you like him too,'
'He looks like a prince, the one from my storybook,' the little girl said, swinging her and Alice's arms together.
'Do you think? I suppose he does a little,' Alice looked back up at Harry who was still watching from the window, taking the occasional sip from his coffee. Alice wondered what he was pondering over.
'If you don't become his princess, maybe I can,' Ashley giggled. Alice looked back down at her and smiled.
'What makes you say that,' Alice said through a laugh.
'He looks at you like a Prince looks at a Princess, you don't notice when he does it,' and with that she skipped off, distracted by her two little friends running past her with hula hoops.
Alice didn't move, just thought about what little Ashley had said. She looked back up at the window and saw Harry was gone, did he really look at her that way?
She continued to walk further into the playground when she heard the door closing behind her and her name being called. Turning around she saw Harry walking towards her with a mug in his hand and that usual smile spread across his face.
'Thought you could use this to warm up a bit,' he said, handing her the freshly made coffee.
'Thank you so much,' Alice replied, touched by his nice gesture and taking the coffee from him.
'Need some company?' he asked, it was only then she noticed he was wrapped up in his coat, gloves on his hands and a cosy scarf around his neck.
'Sure,' she replied as they began to wander into the playground.
'I can't believe this set up, this is the most incredible playground I've ever seen,' Harry said, looking out at the kids running around on the football pitch, just next to the others who were playing in the small forest they had at the edge of the playground. It had tyre swings and tree houses for the children to enjoy. It really was a special little place.
'I'm so used to concrete playgrounds - the most exciting thing I've seen in one is hopscotch painted on the ground,' he continued, waving to one of the kids who had shouted hello to him.
'Were are so lucky to have this space, plus side of living in the countryside I guess,' Alice replied.
'I'm so glad I moved to the countryside,' Harry said, turning to look at Alice and smiling brightly, he never seemed to not be smiling.
*
The week ended on a high. The kids absolutely adored Harry and he had settled in so well.
'Bye Miss Hathaway, Bye Mr Styles', shouted a paint splattered April as she skipped away from Alice after she had helped her to zip up her coat, racing to catch up with her friends. They had spent their Friday morning painting landscapes, most just ending up on the kids rather than the paper.
'Have a good weekend April,' called Alice and she turned to head back into the classroom. As she turned around she hadn't realized Harry was standing just behind her, crashing right into him - almost knocking herself off her feet. Harry's tattooed arms reached out and pulled her back in towards him before she toppled over.
'Oh my gosh, I'm so so sorry, I didn't know you were standing there,' Alice spluttered.
'No it's my fault,' his hands slid from keeping her balanced at her elbows to a little higher, towards her shoulders, and locked eyes with her, 'Are you alright?,'
Alice wasn't sure whether it was the almost falling over and embarrassing herself or if it was Harry's eyes that suddenly rendered her speechless. She looked straight back at him, taking in what she was now sure were the most gorgeous green eyes she had ever had the pleasure of seeing. She also noticed his lips, gorgeously plump and pink, she wondered if they were as soft as they looked.
A concerned look spread across Harry's face, a frown that made him look so intriguing. He was holding her, gently, and Alice prayed he wouldn't let go too soon. She could tell from his grip he was strong, his hands big and protective on her smaller frame.
'Erm....yeah, gosh, I'm so sorry,' she stuttered as she came out of her trance.
He didn't let go, they just stood for a moment - a long moment, looking at one another. Alice began to blush and eventually looked down towards her feet,
'I'm all good, thank you for saving me from embarrassment,' she giggled. Harry smiled and slowly let go of her and Alice steadied herself again.
'No, totally my fault, I was just quietly admiring how good you are with the kids,' he smiled at her again, a bright lopsided smile that made his dimples pop. Harry then turned away and walked back into the classroom, it was already tidy, ready to be left for the weekend. Alice composed herself before she followed behind Harry.
'It's been such a good week, you've settled in great,' Alice said, trying to think of anything else other than the butterflies parading around in her belly. She watched as Harry reached his desk, suddenly turning around and looking towards her.
'Fancy hanging out later?' Harry said, his usual smile looked a little more shy than she had become used to.
'Erm, sure - what do you have in mind?' Alice replied, trying to keep her cool. She was expecting a quick drink at the local, maybe a walk with coffees since they finished early on Friday's and it had only just gone one o'clock.
'How about a drink at mine, we could have a look through the files we need to sort - maybe have some food,' he suggested.
Alice pondered over the offer for a moment, realizing suddenly that she actually liked the sound of that very much.
'That actually sounds great,' Alice said, smiling over at Harry who beamed back at the sound of her reply.
'Great, how does half seven sound?'