Sweetener || HS AU (COMPLETED)

🍭 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕪-𝕤𝕚𝕩 🍭

Jailen

I was exhausted.

Not only did we walk to the theater, but we also snuck into another once the first movie was finished. Jason and I didn't get home until 5 in the morning. My dad had to practically drag us out of bed considering we both slept through our alarms.

I did manage to get a small nap in on the way to the ceremony so I was holding up a little better than I was at first.

I yawned and stretched in the chair before looking over at my mother. She was too intrigued by my sisters to remember I was here. Even if they weren't here, I doubt she'd be paying me much attention anyway.

I looked around the room, my eyes widening at just how crowded it was. Every seat was filled yet people were still walking through the doors. It was loud in here, many people catching up and talking about how proud they were of their graduates. I was also proud of my brother, so I understood the excitement.

But the thing that caught me off guard were the cameras sitting directly in front of the stage. There were a few people walking around with cameras and taking pictures of the crowd. Maybe they wanted to film it for the graduates... I hummed and folded my arms across my torso. Weird.

There was some feedback from the mic and the crowd quieted down almost immediately. My dad sat up in his seat, his face beaming with excitement and adoration. He was the first one to cheer when the graduates walked across the stage to sit in their seats, which resulted in the rest of the crowd cheering along.

I chuckled when Jason pointed at my dad with a broad smile, "Y'all are so embarrassing." I mumbled to him once he sat back down.

"Today, we celebrate these hardworking students. Today, we send them on their way, out into the world with as much knowledge as we could've possibly given them." The principal spoke into the mic.

I looked down at my lap and zoned him out. I was tired. My eyes felt heavy and I couldn't seem to keep my leg from bouncing no matter how hard I tried. The crowd cheered but I couldn't bring myself to look up as I closed my eyes for just a second. Just a few seconds... The ceremony went on for a while, I could hear the cheering and clapping every now and then as a few of the students spoke into the mic. Then the principal was back, I recognized his voice from the two years I went to Gregton. He always sounded so bored, so uninterested. Until right now.

"So, it is with great honor that I introduce today's speaker, Gregton's very own graduate, Mr. Harry Styles!" The principal spoke with so much enthusiasm, so much excitement.

I was frozen in my seat. There's no fucking way he just said what I think he did. I'm hallucinating, I have to be. I'm extremely tired so I'm just imagining things. Yeah, that's it. That's what it has to be. So, why was I so afraid to look up and find out? Maybe because I was still pissed about what happened last week. Maybe because I couldn't look at him without seeing her wrapped around him.

"Goodmorning, everyone," His voice, as slow and as deep as always, echoed around the auditorium and I gasped. A chill slid up my spine and I blinked slowly. It felt like I hadn't heard his voice in so long. I took a deep breath and raised my head slowly. Sure enough, there he was. In the middle of the stage, ringed fingers gripping the sides of the podium, eyes staring directly at me as he spoke, "It feels so good to be back here at Gregton and seeing so many familiar faces."

He smirked and all I could do was stare. I knew my mouth was hanging open, I could feel my tongue start to dry, His mouth moved but I couldn't hear him. He didn't take his eyes off of me as he continued with his speech. It seemed to go on for hours but I knew it was only a few minutes.