Amelia Chapter Six
Day: 12 Week: 01
I hadn't been home from school for more than a half hour, when my cell phone rings. I look at the screen, and see it's Liam, and my heart drops a little because I was half expecting Harry. I hadn't forgotten Harry and I were to hang out this evening, and it was constantly on my mind. I click the answer button anyway, and quickly masked the slight disappointment I felt, and replaced it with a cheerful tone.
"Hey Liam, what's up?" I speak into my cell phone.
"Hey Lia, how was your day?" Liam asked nonchalantly.
"School." I reply as my answer.
"Oh. Yeah." Liam said in an understanding voice. "Want to hang out? I'm in town today. I also have a new buddy I want to introduce you to. How about it?"
I looked at my backpack that was lying open on my bed, and thought of the plethora of homework I had to do before I had my evening with Harry, hesitating to answer Liam back.
"Come on, Lia… Please?" Liam pleaded, sensing my hesitance.
"Fine." I resigned, turning away from the pile of homework before I changed my mind. I was going to fail my final year if this kept up, but I had already accepted, and I didn't feel like doing it in the first place.
"Great, be there in five." Liam said, and hung up.
Ten minutes later, a Liam Payne showed up at my door step, with Zayn and their new buddy Liam had mentioned. I noticed Zayn looked a little awkward, and I realized that was perhaps of how I practically flipped out last night after the phone call he took. But as soon as an apology was about to rush out of my mouth, Liam introduced me to his friend.
"Amelia, this is Rory Lancaster, Rory, Amelia Schaller."
I smiled at Rory, a tall, thin and lanky boy who wore black rectangular glasses. His hair was red, but it was obviously dyed, because the color was vibrant and unnatural. However, it suited his entire hipster/punk look. Rory extended his hand to me and I took it and shook the hand, making sure my grip was tight and secure, because there was nothing more disappointing than a weak handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Amelia." Rory spoke. His voice had a sort of velvety texture to it which I immediately took a liking to.
"Nice to meet you as well." I replied cheerfully, smiling at him once more.
"Rory graduated from Cambridge last fall. He's now training to be a psychologist." Liam informed me, his vocal inflections dictating that Liam was very proud of his friend.
"Wow, that's awesome! Congratulations!" I said. Rory nodded in thanks and I turned to Liam and Zayn. "So what are we doing?"
"Want to catch a bite to eat?" Liam suggested.
I was hungry, so I agreed, and went in my room to fetch my purse, leaving the three men by the door until I returned. Once I had everything I needed I locked my door and followed Liam, Rory, and Zayn down the stairs.
"Oh, Zayn," I said to the black haired man in front of me. Zayn turned around while climbing down the stairs. "I'm really sorry about last night… I overreacted. I know now it wasn't Harry… I'm really sorry."
Zayn seemed mildly surprised but he accepted my apology anyways, and I felt instantly relieved that everything was better again. We got in Liam's car, and drove for about fifteen minutes, making small talk about what I did, my friends, Rory's friends, his job, and things of that nature. We finally stopped at a casual French Café and decided to eat there.
We made more small talk there, occasionally laughing at stories of Liam and Zayn and some stupidities they've done during their college days, although they've only been out for a year. It was mostly entertaining, and helped keep my mind off school and homework, but never Harry. Harry was always on my mind. I kept repeatedly checking my cell phone for the time and any possible messages or calls for him. Nothing could keep my mind of that coming evening. After the thirtieth time of checking my phone in the middle of conversation, the time was 5:47 which was what I considered an evening time.
"It's almost six O'clock, I should get going guys." I announced during a break in conversation in which Zayn was telling a story about his girlfriend, Perrie.
"Really?" Liam replied, a bit surprised. "Come on, it's Thursday, you don't have morning classes tomorrow."
"I know, but I'm meeting up with Harry sometime tonight and I've got to be home." I said casually, gathering my things.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the three guys and I paused, confused. Liam was fiddling with his fingers on his lap, Zayn appeared to be focused on something in the distance, and Rory was giving me the most concentrated, calculating look.
"What?" I asked, uneasy.
"Nothing, Amelia." Rory replied easily, smoothly. The calculating look still wasn't wiped from his features however, and even his voice had a sort of an almost manipulating lilt to it. "Come on Liam, Zayn, let's bring Amelia home."
The four of us simultaneously rose from our chairs at the same time, throwing away the food and wrappers we had not finished, and getting into Liam's car. I hadn't felt so awkward in my life, but I hadn't done anything wrong.
"So Amelia," Rory began, and I quickly corrected my name to Amy. "Amy." Rory repeated, correcting himself. "So how long have you known Harry?"
"Since my sophomore year of college, when I attended Manhattan School of Music, in America." I replied. "He was in the study abroad program, then in his junior year."
"Wow so you lived in America." Rory said, genuinely surprised. "When did you move here?"
"Well my junior year, and Harry's senior year, I did the study abroad program and studied here. And then this year I applied again so I am doing the same thing. Harry's obviously out of the university now." I told him, turning my head to look out the window at the roads and trees and buildings passing by me.
"So you guys are dating, I understand?" Rory questioned. I began to feel slightly on edge, because Rory sounded a lot like a psychologist. But I figured that perhaps that's what all psychology majors sounded like, and so I brushed it off.
"Yeah. We have been since I first came here last year. It's been two years and five months now." I replied, watching a woman pass by the car window.
"Sounds like you guys must really like each other." Rory commented.
I simply nodded, but internally thinking correcting the word 'like' to 'love'.
When we arrived to my place, I quickly got out, said my goodbyes to each person, and ran up the steps with the hopes of seeing a curly haired, green eyed boy in my apartment.
"Harry!" I exclaimed upon opening my door and seeing the one person I craved to be with more than anything. I ran to him and jumped right on his lap, straddling him and impeding a reply from him by molding my lips onto his in a passionate kiss. His lips were softer than I anticipated, and he tasted so sweet and intoxicating, I had to peel myself away with the most strength I could muster.
"I missed you." Were the first words he said to me, giving me a small kiss upon my lips once more.
"Me too. I'm so glad to see you. I'm so glad you made time for me." I said hastily, climbing off his lap and sitting down beside him.
"Me too, babe." He said, turning his body toward me so that it forced me to lie down on the sofa. He followed, lying on top of me and pressing his body against mine, trapping me once more in his sweet, addictive kisses.
We spent the entire evening that way, meshed together into one on the sofa, kissing, hugging, running our fingers through each other's hair, and watching cartoons on the television, until Harry had to leave me once more.
Day: 13 Week: 01
I woke up to the sound of rain outside my window. I was on the sofa, lying in the same spot I had been when Harry left last night. It was 10:30AM, approximately two hours before my first class started. Although I felt weary and tired, I decided to get up anyways and perhaps try and get my homework done.
In the middle of my music theory homework, my phone began to alert me to the fact I had a text message, and I rushed to open it, thinking it might have been Harry. To my slight disappointment, it was Ellen, asking if she could borrow some clothes for today. I replied in the affirmative, and in about two minutes I heard a knock at my door. Sometimes I became annoyed at the fact that Ellen lived across the street.
I walked to the door and opened it, and beheld Ellen, her face brightly shining up at me with her charismatic smile, holding a rose.
"It was so pretty I had to pick it." She said. "Found them right outside my building." She allowed herself in and began hunting for a container and pouring water into it, but I no longer was paying attention.
It was April 9th, 2011. I had just finished doing a final sweep of my apartment to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything for school. I had my bag, my books, homework done, pens, pencils, car keys, apartment keys, lunch, jacket, hat… I was all set to go. I opened the door and lifted my left foot to walk out but I stopped short, because there was a bundle of red and green on the floor right outside my door.
Upon inspection I saw they were roses. And not just any roses, but the most freshly picked beautiful and vibrant red roses I had ever laid eyes on.
"Oh!" I said, half sighing the word. They were so beautiful I could not help but admire them. I picked them up, and saw there were two lists attached: Fifty Reasons to Date Me, and One Hundred Reasons Why I Want to Date You.
I still had a few minutes before I had to leave, so I decided to reenter my apartment and read the lists, having a vague and sneaking suspicion that Harry Styles was behind this. I read some from Fifty Reasons to Date Me, which read:
1. I am a gentleman, and I will always treat you with respect.
2. I can cook and take you out for wonderful evenings.
3. I will listen to you whenever you're having a bad day, or any kind of day.
4. I will be your shoulder to cry on.
5. I can make you happy…
The list included very sweet things, and some were funny, like reason number 23:
23. I am the handsomest man to grace planet Earth (don't deny it)
And reason 44:
44. I bought you a necklace. You kind of owe me.
I personally loved the last one, reason 50:
50. I love you. With all my heart and soul, and I have never or will never feel the same about anyone.
I put down the list, pausing in awe for a few moments at what I had just read. At the bottom, the note was signed by Harry himself, and I couldn't help thinking that he was quite possibly the sweetest, handsomest man to ever grace planet Earth. I moved on to the next, One Hundred Reasons Why I Want to Date You:
1. You are hands down the most interesting girl I have ever met.
2. You're passionate.
3. I love the look in your eyes when you're animated
4. I could watch you for hours, just mesmerized by your facial expressions and how they change.
5. You understand me more than anyone else.
6. You blush. It's beautiful.
Harry also got comical with it, reminding me of our first hang out together in that New York City club:
49. That red dress was… delightfully intoxicating.
67. I don't want any other scummy guys trying to pick you up. You're too precious.
I laughed after reading reason 67, remembering that night, and the creepy guy at the club, but most of all how jealous Harry was. I read every single one, giggling at some, laughing at others, and blushing at most of them. Again my favorite was the last, reason number 100:
100. You. I love you.
I then got a vase for my roses, which smelled as good as they looked, possibly even more. Then I put both lists up on my refrigerator door, so that they were always visible, and I could read them on a bad day. Then I once again took one last sweeping look at my apartment, and climbed down the stairs.
"So what will it be?" A deep voice spoke from in front of me. I had been looking at the ground, already nostalgic about the list upstairs, that I almost didn't notice Harry leaning casually against his car, appraising me with his calm, loving green eyes.
"Yes!" I said, running up to him and almost knocking him over with the force of my body. I embraced him in a tight embrace, and he hugged me back, putting his head in the crook of my neck. It was all I could tell him despite everything I wanted to say.
"Would you like a ride to school, newest girlfriend of Harry Styles?" Harry said, speaking of himself in the third person.
I felt myself blush like crazy, and that reminded me of the list. I nodded, and he opened the car door for me (Which was reason 33 on his Fifty Reasons to Date Me) and we drove off, happier than ever.
"Can I leave this rose here with you?" Ellen asked when she was done.
"Yeah, sure." I said casually, my eyes surveying my fridge. I wondered where the lists went. They were no longer on my fridge.