Four Letter Word.

It was Wednesday, exactly two days since the phonecall. Aly checked the clock and saw that it was now 7AM, which meant that it was the morning of Halloween. Usually, she’d freak out if it were 7AM on a school day, but today was Professional Development Day, meaning that she wouldn’t have class until 9:30.

Aly sat up, sore and tired from yesterday’s activities. She had P.E. yesterday, along with archery. A yawn escaped her lips before she ran her fingers through her hair and stood up from her bed. She made her way over to her bathroom to wash her face, brush her teeth, and to wash her hands so she could put on some makeup.

Hearing her text-tone from the other room, Aly groaned. It was much too early to be talking, or texting, her. Everyone who actually knew Aly, or even knew of Aly, knew that she definitely wasn’t a morning person. She won’t hesitate to be rude in the mornings.



Aly double-checked the message. She hadn’t talked to him since Sunday. She thought it was a one and done deal, as in she won’t ever talk to him ever again.



Instead of the instant replies she received earlier, it took about three minutes before Aly received another reply.



Aly sighed and shut her eyes, trying to relax. Of course he’d only text her about the girl. It’s not like they were friends. They didn’t even know each other in real life. Aly threw her phone back on the bed before finishing her hair and makeup. She figured she’d just reply to him later or something.



Once her hair and makeup was done, she quickly put on a sweater and some pants. She didn’t bother making the clothes look like it was meant for a cat (she was going as Hello Kitty this year), since she just wanted the extra credit in her classes for dressing up. Aly stuffed her phone in her pocket, grabbed her backpack, and walked downstairs to grab a bite to eat before being dropped off at school.

Arriving at school, she was greeted by her usual circle of friends. Her day went on like normal. She had four classes today, all 90 minutes long. None of her classes decided that Halloween was special enough to skip a lesson over. Needless to say, it was as boring as any other day.

School ended and she got on the bus as fast as she could. She and a friend made plans to go out for Halloween together, since she heard that another friend of hers was flying in for the rest of the week and staying at a hotel nearby.

Hearing her phone ring, Aly groaned. People on the bus — most she knew, other she didn’t — gave her a questioning look. She shrugged and answered her phone, figuring it would be her mom asking her what she was going to be doing for Halloween.

“Yeah?” She spoke into the phone, not bothering to check the caller ID.

A sigh was heard on the other line before they actually spoke. “Aly?” Aly was taken aback on the deep, English voice. “I’m sorry, I figured since it was 3, you’d be out of school. I just... Did you get my text this morning?”

A friend of Aly’s, Alex, saw her shocked expression and mouthed ‘are you okay?’ to her. Aly nodded and flashed him a smile before replying to Harry.

“Y-Yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t text back. I honestly forgot to. Erm... Don’t you think this is weird though?” Aly dropped her voice down to a quiet whisper. “You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. Why am I talking to you? I understand that I was there when you felt like complete crap on Sunday for practically being rejected by a girl, but we’re strangers. For all I know, you could be a criminal or something.” Harry laughed loudly, causing Aly to furrow her eyebrows. “This isn’t funny.”

“It is though. Oh god, I’m definitely not a criminal. I’m Harry Styles.”