Riley's POV
I wake to the sound of someone else breathing next to me.
My eyes flutter open to find Joe's face just centimetres from my own. I jump, causing the whole bed to shake and Joe wakes with a start.
"Fuck, I'm sorry Riley.." he begins.
I was over the initial shock of finding him next to me in my bed.
"You fell asleep on me and I didn't want to wake you.."
"It's fine Joe," I say, glancing at the clock.
It reads 7:34am.
"I have to get ready for school." I say, hoping that he gets the message.
Sure enough seconds later he is on his feet at the door.
"Sorry again Riley," he mumbles.
"Stop apologizing, it's my fault for falling asleep. You were just being polite." I state, hoping to help him not feel so bad.
He smiles sheepishly, not seeming fully convinced. "I'll leave you to get ready."
"Thanks," I say, giving him what I hope is a reassuring smile.
"Thanks," he mocks my accent again with a chuckle as he leaves the room. Closing the door behind him.
I flop back down onto the bed.
He is so freaking adorable. I mean, he spent the night in my bed because he didn't want to wake me. Very chivalrous if you ask me.
I sigh and get up. Trudging over to my closet where I had hung my clothing.
What does one wear to school in the UK?
I'm not even sure if my new school has a uniform.. If they do I don't have it anyway so I pick out a plain white skater skirt, black lacy top and a pair of black ballet flats.
I really do need a shower so I drop the clothing onto my bed and search the apartment for Alfie.
I find him and Zoe in the kitchen.
He grins at me when I enter, "Morning!" he beams, "Sleep well?"
I smile, "Yeah, can I have a shower?"
"Sure, we have to leave in half an hour though so you might want to make it quick."
"Thanks," I reply.
"Towels are in the hall cupboard," he says and I quickly head toward my room. I grab my clothes and, as I head to the bathroom, a towel.
I am in and out of the shower in a record breaking 5 minutes.
I towel off and pull on my clothes. I wrap my towel around my head and quickly rush out of the bathroom.
Almost too quickly it seems as I almost bowl over poor Joe.
He catches my arm as I stumble to a halt.
"Careful," he scolds playfully as I balance myself.
"Sorry," I mumble, squeezing past him to get to my room.
I pull out my hairdryer and dry my hair as best I can before pulling the long strands into a half-hearted ponytail.
I apply a little makeup to cover my blemishes and smile at the girl in the mirror.
It will have to do.
I saunter out to the kitchen where Alfie and Zoe have been joined by Joe.
"Help yourself to some breakfast," Alfie says through a mouthful of toast.
I grab an apple and sit down at the table with them.
"Do you guys know anything about my new school?" I ask, taking a bite of my apple.
Alfie shrugs, "Not really. Your mum just told me that they apparently have the best international student program in the whole of London so that's good, eh?"
I nod as he glances at his watch.
"We better get going." He says, getting up and putting his plate in the sink.
I hop up, "I just have to get my bag," I announce as I leave the room.
I grab my schoolbag from my bedroom along with a few empy exercise books and some pens before returning to the others.
When I walk back in they immediately stop their conversation and Joe is bright red in the face.
What the hell?
I choose to ignore it. "Are we going?" I ask.
Alfie nods and grabs the keys from the table.
I follow him and Zoe out of the apartment with Joe trailing further behind.
Tension hangs in the air as we take the elevator down to the lobby.
The car ride is actual, literal hell. Joe is forced to sit beside me in the back again which I dont mind but the entire ride is spent in silence. No one muttering a single word. I have no idea what the hell is going on.
Eventually the school comes into view.
'John C. Grove High School' Reads the sign out front.
Alfie pulls into a park right outside the gate and gets out of the car.
"I'll be back in a minute." He says to Zoe as I get out.
We are greeted at the front gate by a boy who looks about my age.
His light brown hair flops over his forehead, hanging down slightly over his deep brown eyes.
A shiny gold badge on his school blazer reads 'Head Boy'.
He smiles at Alfie, "You must be Riley! I'm Liam Payne, Head Boy."
Alfie cracks up before I interrupt.
"I'm Riley," I say awkwardly. Damn my mum and her love of stupid unisex names.
The boys cheeks flush a deep shade of pink.
"I am so sorry, I-I uh, just presumed.."
"It's okay," I interject, "Not the first time that's happened." I assure him.
The embarrassment is clear on his face as Alfie moves from foot to foot.
"Is it alright if I leave?" he asks, "It's just we're supposed to go down to Google to film a video.."
"It's fine Alfie," I say.
He grins, "Have a good day. I'll see you at three." he says, patting me on the shoulder before heading to the car.
I turn back to Liam who still looked embarrassed from his mixup.
"So.." I prompt him.
"Oh, uh, I'm supposed to show you around school. Get you settled in and stuff."
"Great," I say.
He holds out a folder I hadn't even noticed he was holding.
"It's got your year plan, class schedule and a map of the school inside," he says.
"Thanks," I reply, taking the folder from him.
The folder itself was navy blue and the school crest was embellished in gold on the top, right-hand corner.
"If you want to follow me, I'll give you a tour of the school," he says, his confidence building a little.
I do as he says and he leads me through the large building. Occasionally stopping to point something out or introduce me to someone. He was actually pretty good company.
We eventually reach the top floor and he stops outside one of the doors.
"This is probably where you will spend most of your time," he explains. "As you may be aware, our school has the best international student exchange program in the whole of London and we accept students from all over the world and this is our International Room." He says, opening the door and gesturing for me to enter before him.
The room was quite large. Against one wall was rows of lockers and tables were scattered throughout where some students sat studying.
"We host students from all over the world. The US, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, France. Just to name a few. And in exchange some of our students get the opportunity to go to some of their countries."
"Awesome," I mumble. I swear this was the most amount of people from different nationalities in one room that I have ever seen.
"I, uh, I have to head of to class if that's okay.." Liam says, unsure.
I nod, "Okay."
He smiles, "Our international prefect will come by soon to introduce himself. If you want I can come and get you at lunchtime to eat in the cafeteria." He suggest.
"Sounds good." I reply.
Liam bids farewell before departing through the door we came in.
I sit down at one of the empty tables and begin looking through the folder Liam had given me. Map of the school, class timetable, year plan. Everything he had said would be there.
A small key drops out of the folder. The small tag attached to it says 'Locker 26'.
I turn it over in my hands a couple of times before shoving it into my cardigan pocket.
"Riley?" someone asks and I look up, meeting the eyes of a boy. His hair was arranged in a messy halo atop his head. He smiles warmly at me before extending his hand out. "I'm Harry, I'm the international prefect." he explains. pointing to a badge on his blazer which, sure enough read 'International Prefect'.
I shake his hand. "Riley Templeton, international student." I say, immediately regretting adding 'international student' on the end.
He chuckles, it was a sweet sound. "I know," he says, running his hand through his messy curls. "Mind if I sit?" he asks, gesturing to the chair across from me.
"Go ahead," I reply, neatly stacking my papers and returning them to the folder.
He sits on the plastic chair. His lanky, athletic frame dwarfing it. He smiles at me, "So, how are you enjoying the school so far?" he asks.
I smile back politely, "Good. It seems nice enough.. The head boy is lovely." I comment and I swear his face drops slightly.
"Liam's nice. One of my best friends actually.." he continues.
"Awesome!" I exclaim. I have always gotten on better with guys.. A lot less drama. So maybe I can befriend their group.
"Yeah.." he trails off, "I suppose this is where I am supposed to impart some wisdom." Harry's says with a hint of sarcasm. A giggle escapes my lips before I can stop it.
He chuckles slightly at the surprised look on my face before continuing.
"So, I will tell you. Do not take your life abroad for granted. I can tell you. The six months I spent in New Zealand actually. Were some of the best of my life. Make the most of it. There are so many things I wish I would've done while I had the chance and didn't so, live in the moment. If you ever have any issues feel free to come see me." He finishes.
"Thanks," I say and give him a smile. I have a feeling I am going to be very good friends with this guy. He reminds so much of how one of my best guy friends back home was.
Was.
A/N
What were Zoe, Alfie and Joe talking about? Hmm.. I wonder :P
Harry seems like a nice guy, right?
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