i.
Y/N had a slight problem.
Or well, maybe she had a few problems now that she's thinking about. College is draining, and after a long, peachy winter break she's being forced back into the world where how many Christmas cookies she can eat without being too full for dinner was the least of her worries. Now her troubles were that of finishing papers, managing her time, keeping Niall sober, and making sure Liam doesn't drown in a sea of girls and boys that are all simultaneously trying to fuck him and get calculus help. Staying up past two to finish a paper she'd tried desperately to do as soon as she'd gotten it, but soon shoved off until last minute. Crying tired tears when her printer jams and she has to beg someone (it's usually her neighbor Eve) to come help her fix it, and she sees that it's not jammed at all she just didn't have the cable plugged in all the way.
(College stresses her out a great degree, mostly because she wants great grades and sometimes she just won't settle for any less. She's there for a reason and she's going into a shit ton of debt for it, so she'd be damned if she didn't work herself to tears to get the life she knew she deserved. Though for such a strong mindset, she could be such an overstressed wimp sometimes, but that's why she has Niall and Liam – to keep her grounded.)
Another thing giving her grief is the fact that the Criminology course (that was rumored to be ridiculously hard) she switched into last minute was at eight in the morning because it was the only thing that fit her schedule. Her professor was old, with wispy grey hairs atop his head, a quiet voice, a permanent scowled face and a peculiar contempt towards technology. Which she would be a whole lot more panicked about, if not for the fact he had a graduate assistant who'd be helping out. One who was double majoring in Criminology and Education, and who she had a feeling would be doing a lot of the teaching (considering the old professor declared he'd be missing a lot of lectures for some reason or another she'd zoned out).
One who was incredibly...incredibly fucking cute – like way too cute, it was almost suspicious. He had a boyish smile but a very chiseled, handsome face, and a voice slow and deep like trudging through syrupy waters. Pretty much too cute to even look at, if she's going to be honest, because she has to break eye contact immediately as he makes it. Only briefly catches that they have to meet up with him to discuss where they are and where they would like to go with this course (which would probably be better than the grump who was supposed to be the professor, but she almost would prefer him...at least she could look at him properly without throwing herself into a small, melodramatic, teenaged panic on whether or not she looked or sounded dumb in front of a cute guy).
Though she wishes she would've been paying more attention at the time, because while she was out to dinner with her friends she'd just received an email from Mr. Styles himself, requesting that they meet promptly.
You're the only student who I haven't met with and I would advise this meeting take place this upcoming Monday, before we actually begin with the course, so that you are up to speed with the rest of the class. I look forward to meeting with you!
And well, it's nerve-wracking. Y/N barely even likes talking to her regular professors, let alone speaking with a very attractive and smart graduate assistant, who will most likely unintentionally make her feel like an idiot. The thought of sitting before him in an office and even attempting to look him in the eye sounds like something short of hell on earth.
It's this that she expresses to Niall and Liam while they were waiting for the food, but they just weren't seeing it in her light at all.
Liam tuts his tongue at her, unrolling his silverware from the burgundy cloth before them, "I'm sure it will be just fine, Pet. I've heard nothing but lovely things about Harry. That he's really gentle with the people he can tell are scared, and really likable too – just a student with a tie really – and considering you resort to nothing beyond a squeak when talking to your higher-ups he should be really sweet with you."
