Harry POV
"Keep your balance steady, darling"
I kept my hands behind my baby as she was standing on her two feet, keeping her balance on the table.
Today is her five month check up at the doctors office, and I've never been more nervous in my life. This is my first time bring her by myself. Usually, Flo would bring her for all her appointments while I was job hunting but now that I am her only guardian, I have to take on that role.
I would catch a glimpse at the TV in the waiting room here and there, but I was too paranoid at the thought of Elle tumbling over. She was occupied with some toys provided for the kids and she was playing with a toy xylophone. She gurgles, hitting each note louder and louder.
The front door opens, revealing a woman around her early forties, coming in with a little blonde girl.
"Okay honey, lets take a seat"
They both take a seat, two chairs down from mine. Elle gave them a quick glimpse before going back to playing with the xylophone. The little girl gets up and walks over to the table and picks up one of the children's books. She notices Elle making lots of noise, her eyes sparks as she smiles at her.
"Mommy, look at the baby!"
I look up and notice the little blonde girl, realizing it was the same girl I saw at the kids arcade a while ago. Elle smiles at her, slamming her small palm on the table, making the girl laugh.
"Oh, how cute" her mother smiled, looking over to me.
"Is she your sister?"
I bit my bottom lip before shaking my head, avoiding eye contact. Great, that same old question. Adults these days can be very judgmental about teens parents and I don't want to cause a scene, but I don't want to feel shameful for being Elle's father.
"N-No actually, she's my daughter. I'm her father"
Her eyes widen for a second, before nodding and frowning a bit at me.
"I see. Too soon, isn't it?"
"Y-Yeah, it is" I frowned, looking down at the ground.
"Don't worry, I know exactly how you feel. I had my first daughter at the age of sixteen, I was sitting at one of these doctors offices just like you. So I understand, I won't judge you"
"Thank you, I haven't had the best time the last few weeks so I appreciate your kindness" I sighed of relief, smiling at her.
"It's alright. My name is Mandy, and this is my daughter Gracie" she smiles, looking at her daughter as she's passing more toys over to Elle.
"I'm Harry, and this is Elle"
"She's a doll, she has beautiful eyes"
"Thank you" I smiled, looking down at Elle as she giggles along with Gracie.
"Are you here alone?"
"Yes it's just me"
"Well you must be a great father. Your girlfriend, well her mother, must be so lucky to have you to help out while she's busy"
I nervously smiled, wanting to punch the wall with her comment. If people could read minds, they wouldn't have to bring up things like this and I wouldn't have to pretend that everything is as it seems. We all know it's not, but I can't just tell a stranger anything about my life.
"Elle Styles"
"Well that's us" I smiled, picking up Elle and holding her over my hip with the diaper bag over my shoulder.
The nurse greets us before we make our way to a room.
"Bye bye baby!" waved Gracie as we walked off.
Elle smiles before turning around, watching to see where we were going. I could some stares from the other nurses as I passed by, just whispering amongst each other. Once the nurse guides us to our room, she closes the door as I sit on one of the chairs with Elle on my lap. She began to fuss a bit, trying to pull away from my arms or reach over to things she wasn't suppose to touch.
"Elle stop. No, don't touch that"
Two weeks have passed and Elle has started to act out a bit. If she isn't crying, she's screaming her little head off. If she isn't whining, she's screams even more. She's been testing my patience, but I'm still pushing through it all. I rather her act out with me than with any random stranger.
Hopefully no one questions me about Elle's mother anymore.
I hear a light knock on the door before it opens, revealing the doctor.
"Hello Mr. Styles, it's nice to see you again. Hello Elle, how are you darling?"
"We've both been good, she's been a handful but great" I smiled, holding her up as she blows bubbles on her lips.
"I see, where's her mother? Florina?"
I spoke too soon. I'm just gonna have to live with that question for the rest of my life.
"She's out of town"
===================
"I'm so sorry princess"
I said, rocking Elle in my arms back and forth, as she lightly whimpers over my shoulder. She rubs her eyes with her tiny fist, holding onto me closely. Someone wasn't too happy about her getting her vaccinations.
I decided to stop by my mother's house since she hasn't seen Elle in a while. Well, mostly because she asked me today. She said that it was important that I should come, especially since Gemma is home for the weekend. I really don't know why but I came anyways because at least Elle will get to see her grandmother and aunt.
"Harry, come to the kitchen. I want to show you something" Gemma smirks, her head popping from the corner.
I furrowed my eyebrows, squinting my eyes at her before taking one small step towards her. What does is she acting so perky all of a sudden?
"This better not be a prank again Gemma. I didn't look good in red lipstick before, I won't look good in it ever"
"Just come to the kitchen" she rolled her eyes, heading back inside the kitchen.
I make my way toward the kitchen, opening the swinging door just to have confetti thrown at me and kazoos playing in my face.
"SURPRISE!"
I looked around to see my mom and Gemma, smiling to themselves. Louis, Zayn, Niall, and Justin were standing behind them while still playing their kazoos. Elle looks around, trying to grab one of the confetti strips falling down over us. I smiled, furrowing my eyebrows.
"What's all this?"
"Harry, we know you've been nothing but a great father to Ellie, even now that you're going through hard times. You didn't deserve what happened to you, especially now that no person has yet to hire you. But we all came together and we wanted to surprise you with this"
Gemma picks up a wrapped box from the table and walks over to me. I look down at the box, staring at it for a bit before I look up at her. Her smile gets wider as she motions me to take it from her hands. My mother walks over to me, takes Elle from arms as she smiles happily and nudges me.
"Go on sweetie, open it"
I sighed, unwrapping my gift and see a white box before lifting the top off of it. I look inside and I see nothing but merchandise from the University of Manchester. There was a shirt, a water bottle, and a folder. I look down and see a white paper, picking it up and notice that it's an acceptance letter.
"What's this?"
"Harry, we've been talking and we decided to collect as much money from our pockets so we can help you get your education. So mom and I enrolled you to a university closest to your home, and well...."
"We will be paying for all the classes you need this semester" Louis shrieks of excitement, as they all chuckle at his antic.
"What?"
"We are paying for your classes this semester Harold! We all pitched in!" shouted Niall.
"Harry, we love you and we want you to be happy. You don't have to worry about Elle, Justin has offered to babysit for you while you're in class and we will all take turns to watch her while you do projects and such" Zayn said, taking Elle from my mother's arms.
"And I'm only taking online classes so watching her won't be a problem for me" said Justin, shrugging his shoulders.
"N-No guys, you don't have to. Please I don't want you guys to spend your money on me"
"Well we want to Harold, so no take backs!" Louis shouted, Niall nodding his head in agreement.
They really did this for me. They paid for my first semester in university. Sadly, I won't be able to play for any soccer team like I dreamed about, but at least I will be on time to get my education.
I sighed, smiling at my mom and Gemma. I put the opened gift on the table before wrapping my arms around both women and hug them tightly.
"Thank you mom, Gemma. I love you guys"
"Oh Harry, we love you too. We just want you to be happy and to live a normal life as much as you can" my mom sighed, kissing my cheek.
I pull away and pull the guys into a group hug, Louis jumping up and down which we all started doing. My mother and Gemma were telling Elle to clap which she did while smiling.
I'm actually going to Uni.
===================
"Okay I'm going innnn.......now"
This is my fifth time saying I'm going into my first class for my first day of university, and I still having gone in.
You could tell I'm quite nervous. I really want to just turn around and say 'forget it, just go home'. But I know that's the stupidest thing I could do to not only myself, but to Elle. I have to set a better example for her, show her that I'm doing this for the both of us. Plus, I'm not the one paying for these classes and I don't have money to pay back my loved ones so I'm kinda forced to.
I sighed, closing my eyes before I stood up straight to make my way into the classroom.
"Okay, stop being a pussy Harry. You can do this, now go in-"
"OUCH!"
I bumped into someone at the door.
The person drops her books, all scattered on the floor. I mentally slap my forehead with my hand before I crouch down to help her pick up her books. Nice one Harry, you're already trying to injure people.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't watch where I was going"
"It's alright"
I look up as I hand her some books and froze to notice her in front of me.
Big brown eyes.
"Hello?"
I snapped out of my thoughts, the sound of her angelic voice bringing me back to reality. She smirks looking down at my hand, still holding onto her books with a tight grip, while she tries taking them away. I didn't even know I was still holding onto her books.
"You can let go now"
"O-Oh yeah. S-Sorry"
She giggles, taking her books as she stands up before nodding her head with a big smile on her face.
"It's alright, thank you"
She heads inside into the same classroom that I was going to walk into. Great, now I feel like a bigger idiot.
I walk in, taking a seat at the back where it was pretty empty. It was pretty packed in here too, more girls than boys. I didn't know anyone and I don't feel like interacting honestly. I pull out my phone from my pocket to check the time, only to get distract with a picture of Elle as it was my wallpaper. I wonder if she's okay. Does she miss me? Is she crying for me right now?
"Good morning class"
Everyone responds back, I look up to see a young man probably around his early thirties walk inside. He stood in front of the class with a small smirk on his face, turning around to write something on the chalkboard. I quickly put my phone back in my pocket before he turns around once more, his bright blue eyes scanning the room. He looks so young, he doesn't even look like he could be a professor.
"My name is Mr. Dehaan, I'm your English professor for the semester. Quite frankly, I don't really give a damn about the rules here, so you can just call me by my first name, Dane"
I noticed a few girls giggle as they watch him go on and on about his life, laying my head over my fist as I begin to drift off a bit. English has always been my best subject but it takes longer for me to do assignments and all, I'm quite nervous. Dane had a few students introduce themselves, a few girls winking at him as he just chuckled and kept pointing at the next student.
"Nice, next student"
I noticed the girl with the big brown eyes standing up, smiling brightly at the class before she began with her introduction.
"Hello everyone. My name is-"
"I think I already know your name. You were ranked number one in your high school, correct?"
"Yes sir"
"Interesting. I expect great things from you in my class, so don't slack off"
"Oh I won't sir"
She smiles, taking a seat as Dane smirks before looking around the room once more.
"So, who would like to go next?....How about you? You, with the curly hair"
Oh damn it.
I mentally scream in my mind, slowly standing up. I felt all eyes on me, some girls looking up and down at me while some guys couldn't really care less. I noticed Dane's cold blue eyes staring right me, very intense.
If I were gay, I'd probably feel weak at my knees. Although I have to admit, I kinda am.
"My name is Harry Styles, I just graduated a year ago. I'm eighteen, about to be nineteen soon....that's about it"
"Are you sure? Wouldn't you like to share something else with the class?"
I look around to see all eyes on me. It was as if Dane could see right through me because he knew that there was more to me than just being a random teenager in class. The only thing I could think about was my daughter Elle.
I don't want anyone to judge me, I don't want anyone to think I'm not going to get anywhere because I'm a young single father. I will not expose myself to any stranger in this class.
"Nope. That's it"
"I see. You can take your seat now Harry"
I sit back down, picking up my pen while twirling it around between my fingers. I lift my head up, realizing from the corner of my eye, my professor staring at me. I just ignored him and continued on to listening to the next student's introduction.
My life is private, even if you pay to tell you, I won't say a word.
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UPDATED! ❤️
Merry Christmas Everyone 🎄🎁
I hope you all had a safe and fun Christmas. Sorry that my update to this story has been slow but it's the holiday season, I'm trying to catch with my family as much as I can.
Please excuse any unedited mistakes!
Dane Dehaan is the professor, I'm a huge fan of him so yeah. Why not add him 😝
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Have a beautiful day! Enjoy 😊💕
- DAMARI 😜