𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙊𝙀𝙎 𝙂𝙀𝙏 𝙍𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙈𝘽𝙀𝙍𝙀𝘿, 𝘽𝙐𝙏 𝙇𝙀𝙂𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙎 𝙉𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙍 𝘿𝙄𝙀.
What do you get when you throw five musically inclined teenagers in detention and leave them alone for ten minutes?
You get a brand new band, new friendships, and a...
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FALLING — HARRY STYLES Forget what I said It's not what I meant And I can't take it back I can't unpack the baggage you left
DECEMBER, 1994. SEVEN MONTHS BEFORE.
LUKE WASN'T A bad student. He was actually pretty decent, he just cared more about his music than his grades. He didn't try as hard as he could and everyone from his teachers to his parents knew it. He was so confident that his music would take off that he didn't think he'd need to succeed in school. If it weren't for Olivia and Alex repeatedly reminding him to do his homework, he would've flunked out a year ago.
Olivia, on the other hand, was comfortable with her position of being fourth in her class, just behind Alex. Her mother never let her forget how important her education was. Knowledge was the one thing that couldn't be stolen from you and this belief had been instilled in her since childhood. Unlike Luke, who would gladly sacrifice his high school education for his music, Olivia made it one of her priorities. She wanted to finish school before dedicating all of her time and energy into the band.
It was this appreciation for learning that made Olivia help Luke with his homework in the first place. It was beneficial for both parties—Luke did better in school and Olivia got to solidify her understanding. Along with driving lessons and Sunday lunches, study sessions became a part of their routine (whether they stayed study sessions depended on their moods that day). It was also a way for Luke to avoid his parents as lately they've been getting into more and more fights.
It was a Wednesday evening in early December. The air had gotten cool, but Olivia's bedroom window was wide open. The draft was a reminder of how Luke came to be in her room, laying on his stomach at the foot of her bed.
They had been studying for their upcoming midterms, and for a while, they actually managed to stay on task. It wasn't until Luke started groaning about being bored that they decided to take a break.
Olivia stood in front of her mirror, collecting her hair to put into a bun. She was going on about the events of the day before when Alex picked his sister up from her house. Mikey took it as the perfect opportunity to ask him if he could date Kat and Alex's reaction wasn't one he expected.
"And while Alex is interrogating Mikey like he's a criminal, Kat's looking at me like I'm her guardian angel, asking me to stop him." She laughed, remembering the pleading look from the younger girl. Her smile was wiped off her face when the hair tie she was stretching snapped and hit the back of her hand. "Oh, shoot. My hair tie broke." She turned to Luke. "Can you get me another one? There's some in the top drawer of my desk."
Luke smiled at her for a moment, taking in the scene before him. His girlfriend's hair was in a messy clump on the top of her head, flattened by her hand. Stray wisps fell in her face and every few moments, she'd scrunch her nose because of it. He wished he had his video camera so he could keep this sight forever.
