Chapter Text
She wore her solitude like a winter coat; all buttoned up and comforting.
However, the slightest bit of cold would slip in at the most unexpected of times.
Love. It’s involuntary. It’s madness. There isn’t any music playing, there aren’t any birds singing. If love is in the air, you might as well hold your breath because the air is ridden with toxins. Life isn’t rosy. There is no such thing as love.
Adriana walked down the hallway leading to her school’s library. Her walk was paceful; not quite a skip but she was always on beat. Her beating heart filled all four compartments; she didn’t have any more room. She didn’t need love.
This is what she had always thought.
The library wasn’t usually full during lunch time; or any other time for that matter. It was cold, but sunny. She usually spent noon at some desk; doing the homework she didn’t finish the night before.
Adriana had a biology test later that week. She didn’t have much time to study between work and actually attending school- let alone anything else. She didn’t need any distractions. The library was absolutely perfect for that; a grey mismatch of overworked students cramming last second information. There was an aura of strong coffee and old textbooks that never quite went away.
She already had a study playlist exuding through her earphones when she sat down at an empty table; a melodic mix of that ranged from Fleetwood Mac to indie film soundtracks. She didn’t even pay attention to the couple making out two rows away from her, or the girl drowning herself in some philosophy textbook, or the boy nearest to her. She hardly noticed anyone around. Page by page, she enveloped herself studying; occasionally jotting down side notes with a red pencil. She was focusing on reviewing her genetics unit; that was all that mattered.
Tapping her fingers on the desk to the beat of Go Outside by Cults, she flipped the last page of her review before she had heard the bell ring. Looking up, Adriana batted her lashes at the tidal wave of students, both rushing in and out of the library. She let out a sigh of relief before standing up in a semi-crowded room of students rushing to print last minute essays. She closed her books, took out her earphones and went on her way. Another noon washed away.
The sun could set and rise again and make no new noise; the world was a quiet place.
--
Harry was an anomaly; someone that deviated from what is standard and expected.
When you looked at him, you only saw what he wanted you to see. Harry Styles; with a defined jawline and plump rosy lips, and maybe even the unkempt curls that he reaches to fix every so often.
He loved small details; the way someone might curl their lips when they laugh, the cherry rose of someone’s blushing cheeks, certain bashful or forgetful habits. He always payed attention to the white noise. He lived in the background.
She had an ardent posture; even in a dusty room, she remained glowing. Harry was supposed to be studying as well but, partially out of pure procrastination and partially out of his habit of momentarily falling in love with strangers, he couldn’t help but lose focus to the girl all dressed up in blue a desk away from her. The way she became so lost in some textbook and the way her hair would fall in front of her face, almost mirror to his, captivated him.
When the bell rang, indicating the end of lunch and the beginning of afternoon classes, the girl hesitated to stand up, watching the flood of students run in. Though, when she did, she left behind a rose red pencil on the desk. Harry picked it up only to realize she was already lost in the flood of students and made her way into the halls. He couldn’t call for a name he didn’t know.
He wasn’t in love; Harry was just momentarily drawn to yet another stranger. He doubted he would ever see this girl again anyways. Harry loves like a flickering light that never quite stops.