'Well maybe I have two hearts and one part wont give you up. I'm the one that pulls the strings. I've never been too good at these things, because I just need a kick start. I'm tired of dreaming alone.'
Two hearts - Gavin James
"Quiet, quiet down please."
Professor Bates spoke with her tart voice above all whispers and noises, trying to silence the class in a desperate attempt. She hated those days where nothing seemed to go the way it was planned. Some students were making it very difficult to keep her collected exterior on point.
She looked around and smiled when she saw everyone was present. At least one thing was going well today, no need for another load of absentees and their annoying administration. It was an absolute nightmare filling out those forms. She's was an artist, not a bloody accountant.
"Today is a very special day. As of next week you will be paired up for a team project which will count as forty percent of your examination." Another set of whispers quieted the greying professor and she rolled her eyes. Why couldn't these youngsters shut up once in a while? "Of course," She tried to gain back control over her class with success.
"Of course, there's a catch since I will be putting the teams together." She looked around the room with satisfaction written all over her stance. At least ten pairs of widened and scared eyes stared back at her, finding this project absolutely ludicrous.
"Miss, with all due respect. This is our future we're talking about. We can't just trust someone else with that." A girl spoke up, making Bates roll her eyes once more. She looked over at Nina and found her too looking with an annoyed frown on her lovely features.
"You can and you will. I'm well aware of the gravity of this project, but as you should know, some of the best and most progressive work of arts where made by unlikely people brought together." She gave the girl a poignant eye to make her shut up and continued her class introduction.
"So, for today, you will be starting a project which you think would be suitable for your examination project. You can paint, draw, work with collages, use photographs, etc. You can chose anything you like. By Friday, I need you to have a sketch with an essay in which you will elaborate on where you're headed. With that information I will chose the teams. Make sure to have a clear theme around which you would want to work. The themes who I think fit best together will be paired up." Bates heard several signs and groans, making her chuckle.
"The essence of this project is to not only learn how to work together, but also learn to think outside of your comfort zone. You're artists, you shouldn't play safe. The best way to learn that is by learning from each other. Now off you go!"
Once the professor was done with her introduction, Harry stood up and walked over to her office in his usual confident step. He was slipping back into his old self, minus the endless sleeping around, which he was ecstatic about. He knew very well that getting rid of that part of his life was thanks to Nina.
He had finally realised that there was something more to the opposite sex than only the physicality of it. Things such as romance, integrity and even intimacy for the sole purpose of getting to know someone better were new to him, but he embraced it nevertheless. He had found a new excitement in it. He had no idea if things were going to work out with Claire, where things might lead, if it would ever become anything serious. He doubted that.
He knew almost everything that needed to be known about sex, yet now, he was finally ready to learn about what romance and love was all about. He had had a bad experience with it once, but unlike Nina, he wasn't going to let it stand in his way. He had had a taste of what it could be like and he wanted more. Whether with Nina or not, that part he hadn't figured out.
Only time could tell.
"Professor?" Harry asked for her attention. When she looked up from her papers through her small round glasses with her usual piercing eyes, he smiled at her.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Styles?"
Even the professor noticed the improvement he had made since a few weeks ago. She didn't let on she cared about people in her class, but it had broken her heart when she had seen him come back after a week of absence looking absolutely dreadful. She too had noticed how the liveliness in his eyes had extinguished. She was elated he somehow managed to pull himself together.
"I just wanted to inform you that I passed my French exam." The young man smiled down at the professor when she clapped her hands together in delight.
"How wonderful, congratulations. So you're all set to go then." She stated, referring to one of his options which could determine his future.
"I'm not sure yet if that is what I want to do." Harry decided to let her in on the truth. "I had a very interesting job offer in New York."
"New York?" The professor asked for confirmation. When he nodded, she asked in curiousness. "What about your education?"
"I don't know to be honest. I was still going to audition, but I've got no idea what to choose. I'm still weighing out my options." He shrugged.
"Do you have an idea what you will be doing on your audition?" Bates crossed her arms after standing up from her desk and walking around it to stand in front of him.
"I enrolled for the photography program so I will be participating in the exposition, but so far I don't really have any idea what I could do. It will come to me, though, don't worry." He assured her.
"Good, because I don't want to be embarrassed. I spend so much time praising all of my students, you don't even want to know." Harry laughed his usual charming laugh, but wondered about the other competition. He knew about one specifically though challenger.
"Who else will be auditioning, professor?"
"Well, I'm not really allowed to tell anyone." She eyed him with mischief, "But you're in a different situation than your contemporaries."
"That I am." He chuckled along.
"Well, there are twelve people auditioning in total of which four are from our academy, you included." Bates started, she looked around at said contenders and subtly pointed them out. "You have William Maxwell over there, Sarah Davis who's sitting in the third row on the right and then of course there's Nina who you know." Harry nodded and looked over to the last row where Nina always sat on her own.
"She must've been a good help, no?" Bates wondered while noticing how Harry was not so subtly eyeing Nina from afar.
"Pardon?" He asked when he turned his head to face Bates again.
"Did her tutoring help?" She repeated with a smirk.
"Oh, yes. Very much. Thank you." Harry rambled, feeling embarrassed as well as caught in the moment.
"Don't thank me, thank her." The professor laughed again.
"I already did." Harry assured her. "Anyway, I'm going back t to work."
The professor nodded her head once more and dismissed him with her hand. The young student walked back to his place in the same row as Michelle but on the opposite side where he had a clear visual on the ever focused, ever lonely Nina. He was still wondering why she had left so abruptly yesterday. Knowing it was too late for it now, he wished he had let her finish whatever she wanted to say, his curiosity becoming the best of him. Yet he didn't have the guts to go up to her and ask her right away, especially since she had been avoiding him all day like the plague.
He stared at his blank canvas and decided to put it back in the cupboard. He probably wasn't even going to use it anyway. Photography was his passion and he would be mad to let this opportunity to do something with it sail by.
Unlike other students in this room, he was actually quite excited for the project. He had always been a good team player, even at school, he had always tried to make the most of his group projects. Plus, working as a duo wasn't so bad, as Bates said, if he was lucky, he might end up learning a new skill or two.
Harry bent down to fetch his bag pack and took out his sketchbook, a few pencils, his phone and a pair of earplugs. He placed everything on the table next to him apart from his iPhone and earplugs. He went to his playlist and chose a romantic ballad to set the mood. He stared down at his blank page and let the music take him anywhere but this classroom, thinking of what he could do for his project.
He noticed someone passing by and looked up. His gaze fell automatically on Nina who in turn was staring at her canvas as well, trying to come up with something, anything. He signed at how beautiful she was. Natural, collected, talented, intelligent, passionate, intriguing.
A specific lyric caught his attention, describing exactly what he had been feeling ever since he started hanging out with Claire. Maybe he had indeed two hearts of which one couldn't give Nina up. Because as hard as he tried, he couldn't seem to forget about her. It was as if she was anywhere he was, she somehow seemed to show up at any place and at any time.
He looked back towards his sketchbook and picked up his pencil, drawing out some ideas. But his eyes kept slipping towards Nina's silhouette. He didn't want to openly stare, not wanting to look like a creep. So he simply settled with watching her every move from the corner of his eyes, slowly drawing inspiration not only from the fitting song, but from her as well.
Maybe he could make strong burning emotions his theme. He slowly started to understand what it was like to have them, those darn emotions you never knew what to do with, so why not put them into a project? However, shouldn't he work with something he's familiar with? A feeling he knows off, but still can explore? He lost complete track of time, making him jump from his chair when the bell signalled the end of class.
"So that was it for today, remember to hand it your essays and sketches by Friday, people." Bates repeated the task one last time, before packing up her shit and getting the hell out of that classroom.
Although the bell had rung a minute ago, Nina hadn't moved one hair. She kept staring at the blankness of her canvas and sketchbook, not feeling this project at all. She knew she was going to be working with abstract oil paintings, or maybe even work with water paint. But whatever her theme would be, was still a mystery.
She looked around and noticed the classroom was almost vacant, apart from the curly haired, bandana wearing boy she had purposely been avoiding as much as possible. She wondered whatever he had to say to Bates, hating being left out of things. Then again, it was none of her business in the first place.
She cleaned up her station, put her blank canvas back in the cupboard and prepared herself to head home. She looked at her iPhone and raised her brows when she saw which restaurant Niall had chosen to have dinner tonight. She replied to it, ending her own text with a little kiss and continued packing her belongings. She put on her leather jacket, but quickly stiffened when she felt a presence behind her and smelled that all too familiar and consuming perfume.
"Hi." She heard Harry say. She turned around and looked up at his vibrant green orbs.
"Hello." She said while tucking her hair from underneath her jacket. She took her scarf and wrapped it around her neck. One second of eye contact with him and she was already done for.
So it was in her best interest to avoid it at all costs.
"You left pretty quickly yesterday, are you okay?" Harry asked cautiously. He didn't want to have to experience a repeat of yesterday. He wanted to make sure they could still act civilly towards one another.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't feel so well."
She answered vaguely while pulling the strap of her shoulder bag over her shoulder.
She gazed at his colourful and ever superlunary shirt, loving the silk and patterns. Nina had never seen him wear this particular one before, so she figured it must've been newly bought. Maybe the new woman in his life had bought it with him, or even worst for him. She gulped away the knot in her throat and decided to walk away from her human representation of torture.
"Okay, well good. I was worried." Nina cursed when she heard Harry follow her around. She didn't dare to look him in the eye, which was so unlike her. Her boots truly were the most interesting thingies on the planet at the moment
"No need to worry. As I said, I'm fine." Nina repeated her well rehearsed lie.
"There's this theory which makes us men believe that if a woman says she's doing fine, that means they're feeling like shit." Harry tried to brighten the mood, to ease the obvious tension between them.
"Interesting theory." Nina mumbled while rolling her eyes at his sad attempt to make conversation. Why wouldn't he just let her be?
"The question is, is it a correct theory when it comes to you?" Harry continued. But stopped when he saw Nina wasn't walking beside him anymore.
"Was there something you wanted to tell me, Harry?" Nina tried to cut to the chase, hating the awkward small talk he was trying to pull off. She simply wanted to go home and be done with him. Harry was taken aback by her sudden outburst and took a while to remember what he meant to tell her.
"Right," He started, "Niall invited me to have dinner with you, but I can't make it this evening. I've got a fitting for a suite for my cousin's wedding. Would you mind thanking him again and telling him I'm sorry I couldn't make it?"
"He invited you?" Nina asked with a guarded tone.
She couldn't believe Niall invited him without letting her know. The plan was that only the two of them would hang out. They were supposed to catch up. Harry simply nodded, sensing the turmoil of angry emotions Nina was feeling towards Niall and also felt slightly offended she was angry because he was invited. After taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she mumbled out her answer while quickly walking passed him.
"I'll tell him."
___________
Hello everyone,
I know this wasn't a very eventful one, but it was a necessary chapter for the further storyline. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed it anyway and keep up with your wattled notifications. You never know who might post a new chapter. By the way, I was able to make some more time to wright another set of chapters, but again, next week won't be so eventful in matters of updating.
Thanks a lot!
Lots of love,
Laetitia