The Foster Girl || Harry Styles

- 2 -

"Wait...really?" he asked, almost in disbelief. I rolled my eyes.

"Obviously someone thinks fairly highly of themself."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to be like that, but um...have you heard of the band One Direction?"

I knew the name as soon as he said it, but never once had I taken an interest as to who made up the famous pop group. Molly had been a fan forever, but whenever she rambled I just zoned out. It all made sense though. Harry Styles. It made me feel foolish for not recognizing his name earlier.

"Right! Of course. I'm sorry. I don't really listen to that...type of music," I stuttered. "But my friend's a fan."

"Really?"

"Yup. Molly. She's crazy about you and your mates."

"And you're not?"

"I mean...I'm sure you guys aren't that bad. I just never took an interest in listening to your music. This is kind of really cool though. You're like, important."

He laughed. "Well thanks. Does your friend Molly know that you're currently living here?" he asked, amused.

"Well, she knows I moved. I didn't really think to tell her whose house I was moving to because I really didn't think it was a big deal."

"I wonder what she'd say. You should invite her over sometime," he joked.

"Yeah, if only she didn't live so far."

"How far?"

"A five hour drive. Perks of being in the system," I sarcastically commented.

"Oh." I could tell he didn't know what to say. I wanted to change the topic just as much as he did.

"So why is it hidden like this?" I asked curiously, looking around at the studio.

"I told you. It's basically where I come to think. The walls are sound proof so I can make as much noise as I want without being questioned."

I nodded. "Seems logical. I'm like a music nerd so this is huge for me."

"Really? Do you play anything?"

I shook my head. "No. No. Definitely not." Not anymore, I thought to myself. "I suck at all instruments."

"I'm sure that's not true," he assured me.

"Trust me, it is."

I liked Harry already. He was nice, and I liked hanging out with him. More than I can say about any of my other foster siblings. And to think, this was only day one. Maybe we could be good friends some day. I just hoped this wasn't a facade, him masking his real personality.

Anne soon called us up for dinner. I still didn't know how to navigate the house very well, so Harry had to show me the way again. When we got to the dining room everything looked very fancy. There was loads of food set out and four place settings, one for each of us. It reminded me of thanksgiving, but the only difference was that they probably ate like this every night.

"Oh! You must be Nicole!" I heard someone say from behind me. I turned to see a man about Anne's age with short cut hair, balding a bit in the back. He had glasses and a moustache. I smiled at him.

"Yes. You're Robin, right?"

"That's me. Sorry I wasn't here earlier when you arrived. I have no doubt that Harry and Anne took good care of you though."

"They certainly did."

"Good," he said, smiling. I liked him. He seemed friendly.

We sat down and started talking as we passed around the food. About ten minutes into the dinner they started asking questions. This, of course, didn't surprise me. But I still hated it just the same.