h a r r y

She sat under the beautiful oak tree at our school every lunch time, reading the same novel she had been invested in for two weeks now. Her hair was in a knot on her head, stray strands blowing in the breeze. I believed she was a universe all on her own, all those stories she read would stick in her mind and create this galaxy in her head full of vibrancy and colour.

She was so intriguing, most of the guys around school would voice their like of her long pale legs and her short skirts, but never seemed to bother knowing what kind of girl she actually was. But I wanted to know her, I wanted to see how her eyes gleamed when she spoke about the characters in her books. I wanted to feel her skin with my own fingertips, and taste her lips.

But she was committed to a boy with the same dark blue eyes as hers.

My sketch book sat on my lap, the image of a girl baring her naked body across a floor was drawn out on the pages. She has the same long legs she did, the same curve her waist has. But she was ultimately faceless, sometimes I would try and draw her plump lips and bright eyes but it never looked good enough – it didn't capture her soul.

I needed to get closer to her.

I wasn't the type of guy to have a girlfriend like my friends did, I have never been very interested in the girls around me. They were beautiful, but they never had the soul in them like this girl radiated. I obviously wasn't any good for her from my lack of interest in relationships, my curiosity was merely just lust. But I ached for her, for the adventure I felt when I looked at her.

"Styles?"

"Mmm?"

"Stop staring at her and answer the question."

My eyes reluctantly pull from the girl I admired, turning to my friends who looked at me with amusement and annoyance. They knew, no matter what I denied – they knew.

"Maybe you should just ask her out?" My friend Sean comments with a laugh.

I roll my eyes at him. "She has a boyfriend, Sean."

I close my sketch book, sighing as the pages flip through every image I drew of her. The wondrous body and faceless beauty. It was probably strange the way I admired her, but I couldn't help but be intrigued by her and her universe.

My friends carry out their conversations with each other, ignoring me as I find myself staring at her again. She had moved from her position, now facing me as she eyed the pages in her hands. I found my mind going into over drive as I watched her lick those ruby lips, wetting them as she concentrates on the book. I ached to feel her lips, I always dreamt how it would feel to kiss her and what my body would feel like if I felt her warmth.

I find myself so invested in her that I don't notice her blue eyes staring directly back at me, shock electrocutes me as I finally have been caught watching her. Most days she'd be too devoted to her own world to notice, but today she spotted the weak boy admiring her. She didn't pull her gaze from me, an unreadable expression on her face as she looked into my eyes.

Finally I pull away as I hear my friends laugh, the weight of reality coming over me. The bell had sounded and students were now readying themselves for the next class, I quickly place my belongings into my bag before shooting my eyes her way again. But she was gone.

I sigh, following my friends to our next class.

***

"Who is she?"

I leaned in my stool staring at the image in front of me, the canvas stained with the colours of her eyes. Deep blue tones played out on the picture, a haunting image of a girl laying there in a passionate pose with her glowing eyes peering into the souls of the unsuspecting. I take a breath, diving into the painting with my mind as I feel her with me.

"A girl."

"It's wonderful, Harry."

My teacher walks away, leaving me with my creation.

"She is wonderful."

I had stayed in class a little longer, finishing my painting to present to my teacher tomorrow for my project. I was in this universe with the blue eyed girl, framing her hair along her shoulders and creating the dimples in her thighs. I wanted to paint every single aspect of her that I admired, create her galaxy of imperfections on the canvas.

It was then as I stroked my brush over the girl in the painting I felt her come back to my reality, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I begged my brain to stop playing games with me but it wasn't, it was her vanilla scent filling the area.

"That's really good." Her voice was like honey, dripping sweetly on me.

I stiffened in my seat considerably, keeping my eyes on the painting. "Thanks."

"Can I ask you a question?" She asks.

"S-Sure."

"Why were you staring at me at lunch?"

She didn't sound angry, or weirded out at all. She just sounded like a curious girl, simply asking a question that was on her mind.

I gulp. "I was in my own world, didn't realise I was staring. Sorry."

She laughs and I swear I feel my heart stop beating for a second in my chest.

She walks to the canvas so she is facing me now, her blue eyes bore into mine and I feel like I'm possessed by her. I could actually see her now, the freckles on her nose and the red in her cheeks. I could notice the marks in her lips from her biting habit and I could now notice the crooked tooth on the side of her mouth. She was amazing.

"I'm Lola, you're Harry right?"

"Right."

I knew her name, I knew a lot about her actually. I was surprised she knew who I was though.

"So who's the girl in the painting?"

I feel my stomach drop, luckily she didn't notice any similarities. "Just a girl, no one in particular." I reply.

This felt like a dream.

"You're really good."

Her comment repeats in my mind like a broken record, that sweet voice echoing in my head like it did in my slumber. "Thanks."

I notice her fiddling with her hands, the pink chipped nail polish on her fingers becoming a new interest for her as she watches herself. Her fingers were so long, kinda bony and pale just like her legs. She bites her bottom lip and I feel my whole body fill with tingles, the act was always so attractive to me, making me want do the same and taste her mouth.

"Harry?"

My mind jumps back to the now as my name leaves her lips, blue eyes look into mine with curiosity. "Yeah?"

"You daydream a lot don't you?" She laughs.

I nervously cough. "W-What makes you say that?"

She tilts her head, an act that makes my stomach flip. She looks at me with inquisitiveness, as if to look straight into my mind and find out what on earth I'm thinking so long and hard about. I gulp, it was almost like she could actually see what I was thinking about as a small smile forms on her plump lips.

"You zone out a lot."

I don't know what to say to that, I just laugh uneasily. Why was she noticing me zone out a lot? Did she watch me like I watched her? I shake my head, catching my thoughts before they race any further.

"Could you do me a favour?" She asks. I tense up at her question.

"Sure."

"I have to do an art project before the end of the year, but I'm hopeless at anything creative. Could you maybe help me out?"

Help her? Meaning I could see her, talk to her, smell her, be with her. My mind starts to race, the thoughts of being with her and helping her made me excited. My stomach was knotted and my palms were even more clammy now, I steady myself and wipe my hands on my jeans.

"I'd love to help out." I smile.

***

first chapter!!! thanks to anyone who checks out this story, votes and comments are so so appreciated.

-A