Carolina | H.S

3

"Listen to me, Alaila. Have fun tonight, okay? I don't want to hear from Adam that your date thought you weren't interested because you can't stay hung up on Nate forever. He doesn't deserve any space in your mind, you need to evict him and let this new guy live rent free. Got it?" Jayde is known for her famous pep-talks. Our whole group of friends goes to her for confidence and she delivers every time without fail.

"Yes mom," I reply, fixing the buckle of my black heel and undoing my seatbelt. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Okay hun, I love you. I'll stay here for five minutes so I know you're okay and then I'll go. And if he says anything disrespectful, you-,"

"I call you immediately, yes, I've got it," I interrupt with a laugh, reciting what she tells me whenever I meet a guy. I open the door and step out, grabbing my purse and putting it over my shoulder. "Love you, J."

"See ya Lai, I won't expect you home tonight!" She says, pointing at me. "But if you do come home that's totally okay too!"

I shut the car door and blow her a kiss through the window, before turning around to inspect the front of the bar that Adam chose for us. There is a bright blue LED sign that reads 'TWIST' and music blaring through the walls. I quickly check the address to make sure the bar name matches, and walk towards the door until I stop again. Adam never told me who I was looking for. "For fucks sake, Adam."

I pull out my phone again and dial his name. He answers almost immediately. "Hi Lai, is everything okay?"

"Um yeah, it's good but I don't know who I'm looking for."

"Oh my god, of course! I'm so sorry, I forgot to tell you," he says guiltily. "He has short, brown curly hair and is about six foot. Usually wears floral shirts and skinny jeans and his name is Harry Styles."

I freeze. That's... no, surely not. "Oh, um. Okay, Adam, thank you so much. That's, um, perfect, thank you. Bye!"

"Are you ok-" I hang up before he can say anymore.

So, I guess I'm going on a date with the famous boyband guy from the cafe. I mean, I'm not complaining; he was very hot. I just didn't expect I'd see him again. I walk into the bar and scan my eyes around the room, looking for Harry. He's sat on a table in the far right corner, playing with his lip nervously. I walk over.

As I get closer, he notices me and his eyes bright up. He gets up from the table and greets me. "Alaila Townes, you look absolutely beautiful." His eyes briefly trail down my dress and I'm sure I see his pupils widen slightly.

"Thank you so much, Harry. You look good too," I say with a smile as he kisses me on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I am great thank you, especially now you're here," I cringe slightly, but it is cute coming from those lips. "Please, come and sit with me." He pulls my seat out for me before going to the other side of the table and sitting down himself.

"Wow, such a gentleman," I joke. "I had no idea you knew Adam."

"He's in my band, actually. Helps with songwriting and then, as you probably know, he's a pretty sick bass guitarist so he plays that for me too."

"He told me he was a musician in a band but never said who for. I mean, not that it's relevant," I say with a smirk.

"Oi, I thought you were meant to be nice!" He pouts jokingly. "How do you know him?"

"He's with my best friend. They were my first friends when I moved to California."

"Ah, I've met Jayden once or twice. She's very funny," he says, a thoughtful look on his face. His eyes are still just as beautiful as they were earlier, if not prettier. It's like every second you look at them, the sparkle gets more prominent and the green gets more pretty. "Where did you move from?"