A shrilling beeping noise woke me up.
I groaned. I just didn't want to get up yet.
"Turn it off," I mumbled, suppressing a yawn. Due to my fatigue, it took me a few seconds to realize that it wasn't my alarm clock waking me up. I woke up to Madonna's 'Hung Up'.
I opened my eyes and recognized Louis' room. He put his pillow over his head, not caring about the noise. Stifling a laugh, I poked his cheek.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty," I half shouted, reaching over him to turn his annoying alarm clock off. A quick peek told me it was 7:00am. I sat up straight. "Shit," I cursed under my breath. I was running late. Again.
I poked Louis again, harder this time. He surely had to go to work, too. He opened one eye to look at me. "I have a second alarm set, don't worry about me," he told me before he went back to sleep. Whatever.
I wasted no more time and picked my clothes up off the floor. I hastily dressed myself, grabbed my purse and ran out of Louis' apartment. I tripped over my feet but regained my balance just in time before I was about to have a face-to-face with the asphalt.
I ran around the corner and just came in time to see my bus leave. Great. Just fucking great. I would never make it to college in time.
What was I supposed to do now?
Different options ran through my mind but nothing was good enough. Sighing, I gave up and slowly made my way home. Obviously I had to walk. The next bus would be there in about an hour and by that time I could already be home. It would take me quite some time though.
Five minutes later, my thoughts played ping-pong. Shoes, college, Louis, mom's birthday, shopping and more mixed and I couldn't focus on one thing.
I didn't pay attention to my surroundings and ran straight into something hard.
Or rather, some building-like man. Avoiding eye contact, I quickly apologized before stepping aside.
"Zoey?" a husky voice asked.
I stopped dead in my tracks. Telling myself I imagined it, I shook my head and walked off.
A hot hand grabbed my wrist and hold me back.
I jerked my hand away and looked up into a pair of piercing green eyes.
A cheeky grin spread across his face. "Hi Harry," I casually greeted him.
"Where are you going?" he asked, jolting his head from one side to another.
"Home. I have class in about an hour," I told him carefully.
"Need a ride?" he asked. His gaze was curious and his offer seemed innocent. So I accepted.
He walked off to a black Range Rover and I tried to stifle my laugh. Of course. It wasn't necessary to say that this car suited him.
Surprisingly, he opened the door for me to get in. I smiled thankfully at him. He just nodded.
"So... where are we going?" Harry asked, eyes focused on the street.
I shifted in my seat to face him. He wore black skinny jeans, brown boots that looked slightly worn out and a white t-shirt that fitted tight around his chest. When he moved his arms, you could see his muscles ever so slightly. His brown curls were messy and pushed back. His soft pink lips moved up into a half-grin and I realized I hadn't answered his question but kept staring at him.
Quickly, I blinked my eyes and pretended that nothing has happened. "Cherry Street," I replied.
We stopped at a red light and Harry told me about the first time he met my sister. "I ran into Adrian on the street and Phoebe was with him. They came over to say hello but she tripped and would have fallen if it wasn't for Adrian catching her. I still tease her about it and she absolutely hates it," Harry chuckled.
He actually chuckled.
I smiled along to his story. "Yeah, sounds like something my sister would do."
"Oh, I love this song," Harry said before turning up the radio. I immediately recognized the song. Will.i.am and Miley Cyrus 'Fall Down'.
"You can be my DJ, I'm your record, come on, mix me up," he sang along. My eyes widened. He actually sang. I scrubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Nope, this was reality.
"You can be my lollipop, lemme, lemme lick you up," he continued in his deep and raspy voice. He shot a quick glance at me. "You know, there's something black on your cheek," he tapped his cheek to emphasize his words.
I opened the sun shield and stared at the mini-mirror. Sure enough, I had rubbed mascara on my cheek. I quickly whipped across my cheek with the back of my hand and tried to erase the mess around my eyes a bit. It was no use.
"On the bottom, on the top, baby, lemme flip you up," Harry shot another glance my way, winking this time. I just stared at him, getting uncomfortable.
The brakes squeaked and the car stopped at another red light. My eyes flickered to the clock on the dashboard. I had to be in college in 45 minutes. I wouldn't have enough time to take a quick shower but I could renew my make-up and make myself look decent.
"What were you doing outside this early in the morning anyway?" I curiously asked Harry.
He didn't take his eyes off the road. "I bought biscuits for breakfast," he answered, pointing at a bag on the backseat. I nodded in understanding.
"For work?" I kept asking. I didn't know any of the boys my sister usually hang out with and I told myself that I just played my big sister role.
"Yes," he confirmed.
"So... uhm... where do you work?" I asked, trying to find out the mystery that was Harry. "And what's your last name, by the way?"
"Nursery school. Styles, Miss Clark," he softly laughed.
Nursery school? I tried to picture this bulky boy with little kids and miserably failed. Those massive hands... they could so easily hurt others, I was well aware of that.
Harry took my silence as a clue for him to ask me something. "So... you're in college? When do you need to be there?"
"8am. I don't even have much time to get ready at home," I sighed, checking the time again. We were nearly there.
"Maybe you shouldn't be staying at someone's place over night then," he suggested. I couldn't interpret his tone so I simply ignored it and shrugged my shoulders.
"I just need to grab my bag and apply make-up and then I'll be ready to go and maybe, just maybe, will still make it in time," I said, even though I was sure I would be late. Again.
"Which house?" he suddenly asked. I looked out of the window and noticed we just arrived in Cherry Street. I pointed at the white house at the end of the street. "Over there."
"How will you get to college?" Damn, why did he have to ask so many things? His question was a good one though. Usually, I'd take the bus but I wouldn't catch it today. Sometimes I could take my mom's car but it wasn't in the driveway so I guessed she wasn't at home.
I sighed. "I don't know, I won't get the bus," I honestly told him. "Maybe this is a sign and I should just stay at home."
"I still have some time left before I have to go to work. I'll just wait in the car while you get ready and then I'll drive you to school," he suggested. My eyes widened. I didn't think he'd be Mister Nice Guy.
"No, it's okay, I-", I started to say but Harry interrupted me. The car came to a stop in front of the house and his green eyes adhered to mine. "That wasn't a question."
I gulped. He was quite forceful. "At least come inside and drink a coffee or something," I offered. He nodded.
We got out of the car and walked inside the house. I kicked off my shoes at the door. Harry followed me to the kitchen and I silently thanked God that my parents weren't home.
"Make yourself at home," I told him, nodding towards the coffee on the counter and the cornflakes on the table. "I'll be right back," I added before I took off and got ready.
Am I out of my mind? Why did I agree to let him drive me in the first place? It was better to ditch class than have him drive me around town. I didn't even know him!
He seemed nice but there was something fidgety about him.
I tried to get ready as quickly as possible and put on some jeans and a shirt without much care. I hated to not be perfectly styled but I couldn't help it this time.
I left the bathroom after 11 minutes. This had to be some kind of record.
Just as I walked into the kitchen, Harry put a bowl and a spoon into the dishwasher. He looked up at me and quickly scanned me from head to toe. In that exact moment, I couldn't help but compare his piercing green eyes to Louis' soft blue eyes.
Louis had a calm and soothing air about him. Harry, on the other hand, was unpredictable.
"Ready?" I nodded.
I stopped in front of the door and bent down to slip my shoes back on. My hair fell into my face, blocking my view. I grabbed for my left shoe but missed it and lost balance. I fell back on my ass with a loud thud. "Uff," I moaned.
Harry looked at me for a second before he burst out laughing. I glared at him. Quickly recovering myself, I slipped into my shoes and tried to get up. Harry held out one of his massive hands and I took it. He tugged at my hand a bit too forcefully and I got up in one swift motion - and landed in his arms. His strong arms caught me before I would fall again. He placed his warm hands on my waist to steady my balance. I lifted my head and looked into his emerald green eyes. I stopped breathing when our eyes locked.
We stood there like this, not moving, before Harry slowly leaned down, his lips just inches away from my own.
Just when I could nearly taste his lips, the telephone rang and disturbed our peaceful moment.
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