Oh, Dakota

I wasn’t really all that concerned to be honest. I had a very trusted faith in my wicked charm. I have never come across a person that didn’t want anything to do with me, worth trying to change their mind.

I’ve never had someone I wanted to befriend resist in any way, I mean, when it’s put like that it makes it sound like I get everything I want. And even though it sounds really bad, I pretty much do get everything I want.

So the way I saw it, if this girl really didn’t want to be friends it was her loss. If out of everyone I’ve met I hadn’t stumbled across someone worthy of any effort toward a mere friendship, really the odds of this girl being any different were slim to none.

Everyone always says that your first impression is usually wrong, but I tend to think they’re usually spot on. Just when I start to think that maybe it was wrong, it always proves to be right. I guess I’m a very good judge of character.

Some people would call me impulsive, and I suppose at times I can be, but if there’s anything anyone should know about me, it would have to be when I decide on something, I stick with it until the end.

I was sitting on the couch, pondering over this Dakota girl and her downright odd behavior, like I had been doing all night, when I first saw her.

The first thing I noticed was her clothes. I had met so many girls in the past two years and something all of them had in common was that they always made sure to somewhat dress up.

So it was definitely different to see this girl dressed in a simple tank top and low riding sweatpants, with a small amount of beautifully bronzed stomach skin showing. That was just one of many things I already discovered that screamed she was something I’ve never encountered before.

The second my eyes made contact with her aqua orbs, I saw a countless amount of mysteries held within them. Within seconds I knew this girl was an enigma, just waiting to be discovered.

“Boys, this is Dakota.” Eleanor introduced with a smile, when she made eye contact with me her eyes were gleaming with a silent challenge. “Dakota, this is Liam,” she pointed at each of us, “Zayn, Niall, Louis and Harry.”

“Hello,” she responded simply.

“Nice to finally meet you, Dakota. We’ve heard plenty about you.” Liam greeted politely.

Dakota’s answering smirk was almost contagious. “Let me guess, you’ve heard how I’m such a cool person, but I only let a certain few people be my friend. Am I right?”

Eleanor blushed instantly, her head dropped and I couldn’t help but laugh. The boys laughed along slightly, “I take it you hear that a lot?” Zayn asked.

She rolled her eyes slightly, but still held her smirk. “Quite a few times.” she nodded.

“Well, why don’t you like having friends?” Niall asked.

“I’m a very picky person. And I have a very low tolerance when it comes to dealing with people. It’s hard to come across someone worth the effort.”

I barely just caught my jaw from dropping. I wasn’t expecting something so close to my own thoughts to come out of her mouth. If I had any doubts that I was interested in this girl’s behavior before, they all flew out the window.

Eleanor scoffed, “Oh please, you don’t think anyone’s worth your effort.”

“That’s not true. I don’t think most people are worth my effort. There are tons of people out there actually worthy of my effort, I just haven’t come across them yet.”

“What are you majoring in at uni?” I asked.

“Sociology. I want to become a psychiatrist.” Her eyebrows furrowed slightly when everyone glanced at me. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing, that’s just something Harry was going to study if he went to college.” Zayn answered with a small wave of his hand.

I shot him a thankful glance. I didn’t want to show my surprise.

“I think human behavior is fascinating.” she admitted looking at me, with a smile.

I couldn’t help but grin back, “I do too. I love trying to figure everyone out.”

I was sort of confused. She didn’t seem awkward in the slightest. Maybe Eleanor was only exaggerating, because she chatted with us without any hesitation. Or maybe us five were just easy to get along with.

“Well, let’s get on with the movies, yeah?” Liam suggested, popping in the first one.

When the movie ended, Niall and Liam were the first to leave. “It was absolutely lovely meeting you Dakota. Hopefully we’ll see more of you.” Liam grinned.

“Yeah, you really are cool.” Niall laughed.

“It was nice meeting you both too, I’m sure I’ll end up seeing you again sometime.” she replied.

Eleanor chuckled quietly and if I hadn’t been sitting next to her I wouldn’t have heard it. And I knew she was laughing because despite how warm and welcome everyone had been, it was clear Dakota didn’t really have big intentions on sticking around in the group.


Halfway through the second movie Zayn had retreated to his room so he could sleep, and Louis was in the process of carrying Eleanor to the car since she had passed out.

“It was lovely meeting you Dakota, I do hope you decide to stick around. I hope to see you soon.”

She smiled at him, “I promise I’ll sincerely think about it.” was all she gave him.

And he accepted that, figuring it was better than a flat out no. “See you later, Haz.”

“Bye, Lou.” I laughed, as he carried his girlfriend out to the car.

“So you were going to study sociology before you became an international superstar?” she asked.

For the umpteenth time this evening Dakota Mitchell surprised me. I was expecting her to immediately give an excuse and hightail it out of here.

“Among a few other things, yes ma’am. And I don’t mean this in any offensive way but I have to say, you don’t come off as the type of person interested in human behavior.”

“No offense taken.” she shook her head, “I guess I get that a lot. Especially due to the fact that I’m always trying to avoid humans all together. But you don’t really look like the type of guy who would be interested in human behavior either.”

I nodded, “I suppose the ones that are interested, are typically the people you’d least expect to be. And that makes it all the more fascinating.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” she noted, surprise evident in her tone.

“If I may ask, what exactly does it take for someone to become your friend?”

“With my experience it’s next to impossible to find a friend that’s worth keeping. I have a hard time trusting people, so naturally it’s difficult to earn my trust. I’m not your average girl, Harry Styles. Persistence is key, my dear. Not many people stick around long enough to break down my walls.”

“So basically for you to be friends with someone they have to stick it out until you’re ready to let them in?”

“Exactly. You have to earn my friendship. I mean, yeah it is hard work, so everyone usually gives up after awhile. I’m only friends with people I know will still be there for me years into the future. You have to be patient and persistent long enough to prove you plan on staying in my life.”

“I guess I get that. You’re after true friends, yeah? The people that will always be there for you when you’re at your best and worst?”

“Precisely. Because as I’m sure you’ve noticed, I’m very weird. I won’t be friends with someone I know will judge me for any reason. If I ever call someone one of my friends, I don’t plan on ever letting them walk out of my life.”

“I like the way you think, Dakota Mitchell. I’ve met more people than you can imagine, and I have to say, I have never met anyone like you at all.”

“I really like the way you think too, Harry Styles. You’re surprisingly different than I ever would have guessed.”

“I hope you’re ready for me, Dakota Mitchell. Because I am one stubborn man, and I don’t plan on letting you leave my life anytime soon.”

She smirked, “I’m very excited to see how far you can make it. I haven’t encountered anyone whose eyes held as much determination as yours do now.” she paused, staring right in my eyes, “Good luck, Harry Styles. If you’re anything like the guy I think you are, I’m rooting for you to make it.” and with that, she walked out of the flat without another word.

My first impression of Dakota Mitchell: this beautiful, surprising, mysterious girl is one of a kind, and I know never again in my life will I ever meet anybody like her.

If out of everyone I’ve met I hadn’t stumbled across someone worthy of any effort toward a mere friendship, really the odds of this girl being any different were slim to none.

I guess the odds were kind of always against me because this girl turned out to be the most intriguing person I’d ever met and I wasn’t planning on letting her slip away.