Chasing the Clouds || H.S. [ONGOING]

Sixty-One

"The stars that fell for you left holes in my roof.
The stars that fell for you, they fell for you and I'm falling too.
A world without color is a world without you."

Song: Stars — Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

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𝓢𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟏

Andie's heart was pounding so hard as the last bell of the day rang through her classroom. She slowly packed up her things and was the last student to leave the classroom, meandering her way to her locker.

She saw Zayn down the way with Louis and it caused her stomach to turn. When would she stop feeling like her entire insides were twisting into a massive gordian knot?

Andie reached her locker as the traffic in the hallway quickly dwindled down due to kids leaving school for the day. She packed the books she needed for homework into her backpack and pulled out the ones she didn't need. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Harry walking toward her just as Zayn approached her from the other side.

"Hey," she heard Zayn greet her and she quickly turned toward him.

"Hi," she squeaked.

When she looked back at Harry, he had spun around and started walking the other way. Damn it. This was going to be a complete mess.

"Ready?" Zayn asked with a smile.

"Uh, yeah," she said as she slowly shut her locker, hoisting her backpack onto her shoulders.

"Do you want to take a walk?" He asked as they wandered down the school hallway.

"Okay," she said as she followed his lead and went out the doors that took them toward the football field out back instead of out the front doors to go to the parking lot.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Zayn asked, looking over at her with a curious expression.

"Um..." She said hesitantly.

She didn't really want to drop the bomb about Harry out in the open like that. There were actually quite a few of their peers hanging out in the vicinity. She wanted a bit more privacy for their conversation.

"What's up, Malik?" A guy shouted at him. Andie recognized him from her first period AP Calculus class.

"What's up, man?" Zayn greeted him before the guy nodded toward Andie and bounced his eyebrows at Zayn in approval.

"Jesus Christ," Zayn snickered, shaking his head at his friend. Andie couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Well, that was awkward," Andie snickered, feeling some of the tension between them dissipate.

"Yeah. You're cute, so I get it," Zayn said with a shrug of his shoulders, smiling over at her.

Andie bit back her smile, feeling the awkwardness hit her once again. Zayn complimenting her was only going to make it harder for her to tell him about Harry. Not that she had expectations of Zayn even wanting to like, date her or anything. But she sort of recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same flirty, googly-eyed look Harry gave her when they began their whirlwind summer together.

Andie and Zayn continued on toward the football field and walked up the bleachers to sit down with each other, dropping their bags at their feet. The football team was just coming out for practice, but Andie's brain was so convoluted that she barely even registered their presence.

"So..." Zayn said awkwardly. Andie took a deep breath, knowing she just needed to spit it out.

"I don't really know how to say this..."

"Just say it," Zayn said, letting out a laugh.

"Um. Harry..." She began and watched as his eyebrows furrowed. She knew he was completely questioning why she was bringing up his friend.

"We're kind of seeing each other," she confessed.

"Oh..." Zayn said, his expression falling noticeably.

"I mean, we're not really. He doesn't want to date anyone right now. But like, we spent the whole summer together," she explained.

"Together?" He questioned.

"Uh... sleeping together," she confessed quietly.

Although they didn't spend the entire summer sleeping together, it was the most important part of the confession, to convey how serious they'd been with each other.

"Oh..." he said again and the disheartened look in his eyes nearly decimated her.

Her stomach turned painfully. Was he going to think she was just some girl who slept around with everyone? She wasn't. She really wasn't. And she wanted him to know that, but couldn't find a way to throw it into conversation. So, hey... like, I want you to know I'm not a complete slut.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Why are you apologizing?" Zayn asked immediately.

Harry's words instantly fluttered through her head: 'You shouldn't apologize for something that's not your fault.'

"I don't know," she said quietly.

"I never thought I'd see you again," he explained.

"I never thought I'd see you again either," she told him honestly.

"I mean, so you don't really have anything to be sorry for," he told her.

"Yeah," she said quietly, picking at the skin near her thumbnail.

"I mean, it's just so weird that we ended up at the same school two years later. Especially when you're from Nevada," he said and her mouth fell agape as she looked up at him.

How did he remember where she was from after so long? They really only spent one night together.

But then she thought back to how she remembered everything about him from their time together too — how he had three sisters and he was the only boy; how he couldn't wait to be able to get his motorcycle license because he always pictured himself owning a Harley; how on one particular excursion during the summer, they went fishing and he refused to because he didn't like the thought of hurting the worms or the fish with the hook.

He was always a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but what she did know about him made her always want to know more.

"I just want you to know that... that night meant a lot to me," she told him.

"Me too," he said quietly.

"And I really... I'd really like to get to know you better. I mean, if you're cool with that," she went on to say.

"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing," he agreed with a smile.

"Okay."

"Okay."

Andie went home feeling so much better about the quasi-love triangle she was in. The way Harry walked away from her when Zayn showed up at her locker still haunted her, but she felt better about her situation with Zayn now that he knew about her fling with Harry. And she hoped it would settle Harry's apprehension about it too.

The only thing she wanted to change between her and Harry was for him to finally come around to the idea that they could be more than just fuck-buddies.