HIATUS - Ghosting Through Time (Niall Horan AU)

-fourteen-

When she woke, she had a strange feeling stirring in her gut. Something felt off, felt like something horrible was waiting for her today, but she pushed the feeling away and figured it was just her imagination. But that didn't stop her from breathing erratically as she showered and got ready for school, it didn't stop her from tugging at the sleeves of her shirt every so often after braiding her hair, it didn't stop her from hyperventilating as she pulled on her shoes and walked out the front door, shutting it behind her and twisting the knob to make sure it was locked.

The last time she felt like this, like something was off, was when she first met Edward and Harry which was close to two years ago. She was sixteen now, fresh faced and should be interested in boys and clothes, and going out but really, she was still the same introverted bookworm who only talked to a handful of people like her dad, sisters, Niall, Liam, and sometimes the twins even. Well, mostly Harry because a majority of the time, Edward pretended not to know her or that she even existed.

On her tread to the bus stop, Ashlee checked her watch and saw that she had left the house an hour too early. She sighed as she slumped her shoulders forward before adjusting the straps of her knapsack and decided to walk to school instead. She figured she could use the fresh air to help her ease her breathing. But it didn't.

About half an hour later, she reached her school and her chest was heaving. Her breathing was rapid and she felt almost sick; the gut feeling coming back stronger and making her uncomfortable. When she walked through the large, oak, double doors of her school, she felt like all eyes were on her despite the fact there were only a handful of students that littered the halls. She kept her eyes low, focusing on how the shine on her shoes stayed in one place although they were in motion.

She was almost to her first class of the day when she heard the buzzing sound of whispers as she passed by her school mates. She always had a hard time hearing things properly, even when they were practically shouting at her, which made it worse more often than not; she considered herself to be deaf sometimes. Ashlee wondered why she had heard her name when she was just a nobody; all of her friends were gone and the only ones who knew her--and claimed to know her--were Liam and his twin cousins, Harry and Edward.

She glanced to her left and saw a small group of students huddled together with their hands shielding their mouths, but Ashlee knew all too well with their double takes in her direction, that they were possibly talking about her. She had witnessed Marie go through that type of situation at one point right before Marie graduated (someone had spread a not-so-nice rumor about her that pushed Marie to go with her decision and attend Manchester Uni rather than staying in Cheshire). She moved the fallen piece of hair beside her ear to behind it, which un-muffled her hearing, and slowed her pace as she tried to eavesdrop.

"They said she's a bit mad in the head, y'know?"

"S'like she believes in that kind of bullshit."

"Time traveling, yeah? What a crock that is!"

"A bit mad? More like a bloody dimwit!"

"Sn't she know she's too old for imaginary friends?"

Ashlee moved the tuft of her thick, black hair back to the front of her ear; she'd heard enough. When she got to her class, she jiggled the doorknob only to find that it was locked. Of course. Just my luck. she thought as she slumped down onto the bench beside the door.

She was in the middle of dozing off when she heard a familiar low voice slur out her name. She kept her eyes closed and her head down as she focused in on that voice.

"That Carrow girl has always been a bit of a nut, y'know." The familiar voice said.

"E, that's enough." Interrupted a second voice that was just as familiar but a bit slow, dragging out the words as he said that simple sentence. Ashlee lifted her head, trying to find the two boys who claimed to be her friends, yet she had no recollection of it.