Lights (Niall Horan)

forty-two

Anna Holden

"Anna!"

I look over my shoulder at the source to find a tall, skinny brunette grinning profoundly at me, a bandana wrapped firmly around his head, and a bag of popcorn clutched in his hand.

"Harry?"

I almost drop the white volleyball onto the shiny, pristine gym floor in shock.

It is, in fact, Harry, beaming and waving over at me like a lunatic.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to come tomorrow?" I ask, making my way towards the bottom bleacher.

"Well, I was, but I don't want to miss this." Harry states cheekily, tugging at his hair.

"Aww, Harry." I tease, tucking the volleyball under my armpit. "You could have given me a warning or something."

"Well, I was going to text you on the way to the hotel, but my phone died." Harry admits, and it takes a second to process what he just said.

"I told you not to get a hotel!" I smack my own forehead as he just grins. His dimples are outlined perfectly with his clear face, bright smile, and warm eyes. "Where are the others, then?"

"Visiting their families." Harry explains casually.

"What about you?"

"What?"

"Like, what about your family?" I repeat.

He shrugs. "I just saw them for my sister's graduation. That's quite enough family togetherness for me."

I can't help but laugh.

"Oh, and by the way..." He shifts positions, revealing a new tattoo on his forearm. "I got '17 Black' done for your team."

I blush madly as I take in the sight. It looks dreadfully painful, but at least it's small. "Harry! Why did you do that?"

"Why are you looking at me like that? I told you it sounds cool." Harry is enveloped in uncontrollable laughter as he watches my expression, defending himself half-jokingly.

"No more tattoos." I groan, turning away from him so he can't see my growing smile.

It's the first real smile I've had in weeks.

"HOLDEN! Get over here!"

Harry looks on the verge of another laughter session as I grit my teeth in annoyance for my coach's ignorance.

"Volleyball coaches aren't all that nice. Watch out, you don't want to be on his bad side." I mutter to Harry, causing him to fully crack up again.

"No worries. I'll see you later, love. Good luck, and don't be afraid to dive." Harry winks, and I try not to blush harder as I make my way back to my team.

"Finally. If we got you away from your boyfriend sooner, we could have had a decent setter." A teammate, Bri, exclaims, smirking.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I explain, setting it back to her in frustration, and everyone else in the hitting line giggles.

"Either way, he's hot. Like, Harry Styles hot." Eva, a Directioner, gushes, stepping forward for her turn.

I can't help but snort.

If only she knew.

"Less talking, more working!" Yells Coach David from the bench, and my nine teammates roll our eyes.

"Ready to win?" Yells Claire, another member.

"YEAH!" We all yell, raising our fists in triumph.