Life On The Flip Side [Harry Styles AU]

t h i r t e e n

Many people don't know it, but I have a few hidden talents; one of which includes drawing. It soothes me, and is the main reason why school work has yet to consume me into the dark abyss that is stress. As I step into the art room, my mouth waters at the thought of pastels and watercolors. I vaguely remember what things were like before I changed universes, so I'm not surprised once I catch sight of the setup of the room.

All of my stress and panic from earlier seems to vanish, and I'm glad that I can finally catch a break by doing something that I love.

Today's assignment is to sketch from reference.  A bowl full of fresh bananas, apples, oranges and grapes is positioned on a pedestal in the center of the room. The fruit fills the room with a sickly sweet smell. Easels form a semicircle around it, and I pick the seat closest to the door.

I sigh and flip open the cover of my sketchpad and try to filter out the background noise as everyone else enters the classroom and takes their seats.

Movement in my peripheral vision catches my eye, and I look over to realize that I'm making eye contact with Harry.

He shyly runs his hands through his curly long hair, flashing a nervous smile. "Hey," he says softly. "I didn't know you were in this class."

I shrug. "I guess you could say that art is my passion." A silence settles between us, and I nervously look away and pretend to sketch something instead.

The art teacher rushes into the room a few minutes later with a stunned expression on her face. "Sorry I'm late everyone," she announces with a huff. She sets her bags down onto her desk before clasping her hands together and rushing over to stand next to the bowl of fruit. "Welcome to Studio Art class! My name is Ms. Former and I'm going to be your art teacher for the school year."

The class remains silent, and she chuckles nervously. "Anyway, today we are going to be painting from reference, which is why I have this beautiful bowl of fresh fruit here. Your sketches don't have to be perfect, but I have to at least be able to tell what exactly your sketch is."

A few chuckles erupt from us, but other than that we stay silent. She reaches into her back pocket before displaying her cellphone. "I'm going to set a timer for fifteen minutes. Draw as much as you can, and please no talking. When I say go, pick up your pencils and draw."

Harry nudges my knee with his, and I look over at him. "I know now isn't a good time, but I just felt as if I need to say this." He whispers. His eyes flicker over to Ms. Former, who is currently situating herself at her desk. "Whatever happened last night, you can tell me. Is everything okay with you emotionally? Normally drunk people don't erratically run into a pool unless they're trying to escape something. At least from my experience."

I raise an eyebrow. I honestly never expected the parallel Harry to share similarities to his former self, yet he seems to still have a knack for parties. Something tells me that he doesn't actually drink, but instead just sits down and observes.

I open my mouth to try to explain myself, but am interrupted by Ms. Former. "And the time starts -" She taps at her phone screen. "Now."

I take one last look at Harry, who has now directed his attention to his sketch pad. The sound of graphite pencil tips lightly scratching against paper fill the room. I sigh and pick up my pencil, trying to mimic the actions of everyone else.

My mind flashes back to Zayn's words from earlier, and I push them away. Now isn't the time to think about it.

----

The sound of an alarm blaring jolts me awake from my trance. My prior fixation to my sketch is now diminished, and I'm blankly looking at my sketchpad. I quickly glance over at Harry's sketchpad, and my eyes widen at how beautiful is artwork is. He makes my work look like one of a kindergartner.

"Alright, everyone. Pencils down. Hold up your artwork so I can get a good look at it." I sigh and set down my pencil, hesitantly looking around the room before picking up my sketchpad and raising it in the air.

Ms. Former walks around the room with a stoic expression on her face, and her arms crossed against her chest. She doesn't say much until she reaches Harry and I's sketchpads. Her eyes seemingly widen, but she quickly recovers.

"Excuse me son, what's your name?" Ms. Former asks Harry. He gulps and looks over at me before looking back at her.

"Harry," He says quietly. He clears his throat before speaking again. "Harry Styles." She nods and smiles at him. "Nice to meet you, Harry. I presume you'll excel greatly in my class." I could feel Harry staring at me, and my cheeks redden.

Ms. Former doesn't say anything else after that, and barely looks at my drawing before circling back to the front of the room.

"You all did an amazing job." She turns towards the blackboard and picks up a piece of chalk, drawing a perfect circle on the board. "I want you all to carefully study this circle, and tell me what you think about it. How does it make you feel? Do you see a picture in this circle? I want you all to flip to a new page in your sketchpads, and draw out your answers."

She returns to her seat at her desk, and takes to what I assume is assignment grading. Everyone simultaneously rips their paper from the sketchpads, before picking up their pencils and intensely staring at the blackboard, skimming it for answers.

I turn towards Harry, seeking this out as an opportunity to finally speak to him and redeem myself. "About last night -" The sound of the door creaking open interrupts me, and I turn my head to see a blonde head emerging from outside.

It's a girl.

She smiles nervously. "Sorry I'm late. This school is quite confusing." She scratches at the back of her neck and looks around the room, her gaze finally settling behind me. I look back and realize that she's intently staring at Harry.

Ms. Former jumps up from her seat and places her hand in the small of the mystery girl's back. That's alright sweetheart. Why don't you take a seat next to - What did you say your name was again?" I widen my eyes when I realize she's speaking to me.

"Well uh - I never really did say my name to begin with, but my name is Christina. Christina Hewitt." She nods. "Right. Krysta, of course."

"That's besides the point." She pauses to study Harry and I, her train of thought obviously escaping her for a minute. "Actually, I have a better idea. Christie, do you mind moving over a seat so -  I'm sorry, I never caught your name." She apologetically looks over at the blonde girl.

"Ivy," She smiles. "Ivy Glaros." Ms. Former claps her hands together. "Ivy, right. What a beautiful name! Like I was saying, I think it'd be a great idea if Kourtney moves over a seat so you could sit next to Harry. You can learn a lot from him." When she looks back at me, I can tell she is expecting me to get up to make way for the new girl.

"Of course, Ms. Former. " I say through gritted teeth. My blood is boiling, and I find it damn near impossible to keep my cool. I huff out a breath of air as I pick up my things. Once I'm a seat away from Harry, a pang of jealousy surges through me as I watch Ivy happily rush over to be next to him. They immediately engage in conversation, and once Harry explains to her what needs to be done, she turns away to study the circle.

All would be fine, of course, if she wasn't continuously asking for his help every five minutes.

Once the bell rings, Ivy leans over to kiss Harry on the cheek, and a light bulb  seems to switch on in my mind.

The girl from my dream. Sex tape Ivy.

She's back.

----

A/N: ;)

Question of the Chapter: If you could use one vegetable to describe yourself, what would it be?

I'm a potato.

-Olivia.