1985 (h.s.)

Chapter Fourteen

"Bye Aunt Erin! I'll see you after work. My shift is done at six!" I shouted while climbing onto the bus. Niall sat in our normal spot, half asleep. He was always like this on Mondays. His excuse is that he spends most of his Sunday nights doing homework. Total BS is what I say. I know for a fact that he stays up watching television. His parents are very busy with work. They don't have much of a say as to what he does with his time. As long as he isn't out getting high, which I can't say if he's done or not. It's none of my business anyway.

Niall perks up when I sit down, "What's up El? Nice new outfit. I heard you went shopping with the girls. Louis said Eleanor was so excited all weekend."

"Thanks, it was nice to be with them. Y'know estrogen isn't all the bad," I chuckled. He was right, I really liked my outfit today. Eleanor found this really cute blue-striped polo which I tucked into high-waisted khakis. My normal black belt cinched my waist and black high-top converse adorned my feet. It was comfy, which was the most important part of any outfit.

Before I knew it Niall was asleep on my shoulder. His snores filled the rest of the bus ride to school. It wasn't surprising because this was our routine on Monday mornings. He slept while I read. It wouldn't be a Monday without his obnoxious sleep-talking. Today's conversation was something about eating dinner. His mumbles weren't easy to understand. The bus pulled up to the school and the students piled out and went off on their own ways. Once I finally got Niall to wake up, we walked to our lockers together.

Books weighed my arms down. I just started a new book called Catcher and The Rye. I was only six chapters in, but it was amazing. Holden was such a relatable character. He was smart and witty. A perfect character portrayed by a sixteen-year-old boy. The way J.D. Salinger develops his characters is admirable. If I had the time to sit down and read it straight through, it would be finished very quickly.

Niall tapped my shoulder to get my attention. Together, we walked to our group and sat down. Amanda had started sitting with us since she and Zayn started dating. They were super cute. It was nice having a female friend at school. Apparently people started thinking I was sleeping with all of my friends just because they were guys. I couldn't care less about what they thought, but people had started bothering them about it which didn't settle with me well. Rumors faded down when some kid was found smoking crack with a teacher.

"Hey Elaine," Amanda scooted closer to me. I greeted her and we started up a conversation about some annoying kid in her P.E. class. She was quite the talker.

The morning bell was about to ring, so we all parted ways. I entered Dr.Ashley's class, as I always had and was met by Harry smiling in his chair. He looked extremely attractive today. He wore his hair pushed up by a bandana and a forest green long-sleeve that clung to his body in all of the right places. His legs were clad with their usual black jeans. My face flushed at the sight. He was a goddamn masterpiece.

"Nice haircut Lanie. You look good," he complimented. I smiled and ran a hand through my hair.

"Yeah you too," damn, okay I just said that, "I mean, thanks. How was your evening?" I asked to change the subject. Way to be obvious, I mentally facepalmed. I had my flirty moments with him, but they were placed strategically. Not when my mouth vomits words. Especially ones that make zero sense. That happened often. He should be used to it by now.

"Meh, it was okay. I didn't have my favorite American with me," Harry sighed.

"Yeah, who is this favorite American? Do I know them?" I asked with a chortle.

"Well, she's the only person who will put up with my shitty jokes. You might know her. Really annoying cheese lover," He described. I laughed with him. His laugh was so harmonic and melodious. I could listen to it on repeat. Okay, that's a bit creepy, but knowing he was happy made me happy.