Introvert

1

'They asked me for drugs, so I told them about your smile.' ~Unknown

||Shyanna||

The first time I talk to him, I'm walking towards my lunch area and grinning. It's sort of a cloudy day and mildly depressing, but then I can't help smiling when I see something cute. Today is different though, because although normally people pay no attention to me, today they are. People pay attention to the girl who smiles rarely as she smiles wide. I feel his body next to mine more than I see it, but when I turn, I see his strides are almost perfectly in time with mine and that he's also about two inches taller than me. 

"You're smiling," he says, and I know that voice. "You never smile." 

The boy gives me a wolfish grin, tongue lolling out as he grins, and I feel my face heat up. Is smiling wrong? Have I been rude? Why is he talking to me? I've made it clear before I don't have any wish to talk to many people. Strangers are not included in my social circle (which, I admit, is depressingly small even for me).

"I-I do. I s-smile sometimes," I respond, voice cracking under his warm gaze. Why is he looking at me like this when we've never even spoken? I have only a vague impression of him, to be honest, because the only classes I share with him are English Lit, Chemistry and Philosophy. I've heard enough of him to know he curses a lot and smiles wider than my hips.

"Not often, though. Why are you smiling now?" He asks, and his voice sounds endeared. I wrinkle my nose for a second, squeaking a little. I don't want to tell him why I'm smiling, not at all.

It's one of those things you can't really explain, one of those things you just grin at instinctively. I'm told it's a natural reaction to seeing something cute/and or romantic. I don't want him to know I'm smiling because I saw the school football captain hugging his boyfriend. That might seem a bit odd. Especially since I'm eighty percent sure this boy is friends with them both. I've witnessed the couple from afar, and they're disgustingly in love. I don't know how this guy handles it.

"None of your business?" I say, but it turns into a question. I know this will be one of those moments I slap myself for later, telling myself my crippling introverticism and shyness is ridiculous. One of the things people misunderstand about me is that they insist that I am just shy when in reality, I am a shy introvert. I have had the unfortunate luck of being both, but that suits me just fine.

"That's rude," The guy says, his Irish accent lilting upwards to show he's not at all offended. "I just want to know why you're happy now when you're usually only happy reading poetry."

I blink slowly as I glance at him, finding his blue eyes on my face, waiting for my reaction. There are few people in the world who understand I find great joy in poetry, and see that is the one time when I fully smile at school, and I don't count acquaintances among that group of people. Most of my best friends don't get it, and they know me better than anyone. I find it slightly alarming he realises that I only smile when reading poetry out in class, because no one looks at me when I read. I am, for the most part, completely forgettable.

"U-um. I'm. Happy a lot a-actually." I say, feeling myself stutter. I hate stuttering; it is one hundred percent abhorrent and I'm usually fluent in speaking. This boy just seems to destroy the part of my brain that allows me to communicate correctly. Oh, goodness gracious why me? Doesn't he have like a million friends to talk to?

"Liar," He states, and I swallow gently at his accusation. I am happy a lot, just because he doesn't see me when I am doesn't mean I am not.

"Am not! I am happy, I'm happy a lot." I exclaim, hopping up and down and gesturing to show the extent of my happiness. He laughs, this great booming laugh that makes my stomach flip a little.

"That's cute," He says, and I stop instantly, blinking hard and fast and wrinkling my nose. He's kidding, right? No one calls me cute. "You're really cute, Shyanna." 

"Um. Okay. That's great. T-thanks? I don't get it, but. Thanks. I've got to. Go now?" I ask, squawking indignantly as he winks at me.

Why does he think it's alright to be all endearingly Irish around me? What have I ever done wrong? I quickly race off towards the small shelter that my friends and I eat under before he can say anything else completely embarrassing, blushing all the while.

||Niall||

The second Shyanna flounces off in her blustery, shy wander, I turn around again. There's something ridiculously cute about Shyanna, especially when she gets all heated and excited. I've seen her truly excited a handful of times; mainly when I've caught her with her best friends, as she smiles widely and squeaks tiny word of endearment. She's honestly one of the most lovely girls you could meet.

The guys and Perrie are waiting by the time I get to the lunch hall, and they're all giving me looks of annoyed amusement. Of course. They were watching through the window.

The guys have heard about my 'infatuation' with Shyanna for a good three years now, and are constantly trying to get me to date her. Perrie insists we'd be the 'most cute couple in this whole place', to which I softly object. We'd definitely be cute, but we wouldn't be the cutest. Something tells me Louis and Harry will be ridiculously rough on that.

"Hi, guys," I chirp, giving them all wide smiles. 

"Why don't you just ask the girl out, Niall?" Is what Louis responds with, tucked up against Harry's side. If I were not used to them being so ridiculously close with each other, I'd probably make a gay joke. But I'm not that mean, and besides, the two are kind of cute. Out of all of us who need to get their 'dating game' up to scratch, it's Louis, since him and Harry are obviously just meant to be, or whatever cliche crap people say these days.

"She doesn't even talk to me-" I begin, for the millionth time. It's a weak argument, but it's an argument I've used a lot, so it's almost part of me.

"She's an introvert, Niall, she just watches people a lot of the time." Zayn deadpans, shaking his head as he throws a chunk of pizza in his mouth. I slide the food Liam had gotten me before I'd come towards me, shoving a handful in my own mouth. The food here is pretty tasteless, but it's something to do besides argue.

"I know, but I'm not hard to talk to, am I?" I ask, narrowing my eyes as I talk and glaring at the guys. "Am I?"

"No, Niall, you're not. But you're also really loud and boisterous and she's really shy, too. She just doesn't want to talk, stop being so egotistical." Harry mutters, rubbing Louis' shoulder.

I suddenly wonder if the reason Shyanna had been smiling was because she'd seen Louis and Harry hugging and laughing or something. The timing was almost completely correct from when I'd seen them hugging to when I'd seen her smiling. To her, they probably seemed like a couple. It would make more sense than anything else, to be honest.

"Can we drop the subject now and talk about the project you definitely haven't done?" Zayn cuts in, interrupting me and giving a glare. I shut up. As calm as Zayn is, he can get really quite angry when he wants to.

"I did it!" Louis responds, leaping and glaring indignantly. "Haz helped me do it! Didn't you Haz?" Louis curls against Harry, completely destroying any amount of personal space normal life forms need. The more I watch them the more incredible I find it they haven't started dating yet.

Not to mention the flirting.

"Yeah, I helped him. It was really easy, but he just wanted my hugs." Harry chastises, and I choke on my spit as Louis gives him a fluttering of eyelashes in return.

"You two are disgusting." I snarl, giving a disgusted glare. They are disgusting, it's true, but in reality I know I'm only this way because the one person I want is completely oblivious to anything but haikus.

"You love me," They both respond, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Jesus Christ I'm done.

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