Luck

In the scheme of things, I wasn't doing too badly. At least, that's what I told myself after I got my paper back with a failing mark on it.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. The comment on it were scribbled in blue ink and blurry, and I wasn't sure what I had done wrong. I made a note to myself to try to come to one of his office hours, but I knew that was easier said than done. I found myself watching Lux during some of the least convenient times.

In high school, I had always been a good student. Not straight As, but definitely mostly As and a B or two here and there. And save for one quiz in my freshman year geometry class, I had never failed anything, or even come close to failing anything. Everyone had always said college would be harder, but I never thought that it would be this hard. I realized I would have to work harder and study more.

I left class somewhat depressed, and without Brody. He hadn’t bothered to show up to class today, which somehow hadn’t surprised me too much. It was hardly the first time he pulled such a stunt. I had walked the entire way to the campus that day, and although I had my Oyster Card, I wasn’t dreading the walk back. London was nice in the fall.

My phone hadn’t buzzed with any new messages or phone calls. Lou hadn’t needed me for a day or two, which was weird. I had gotten a little antsy with Lux to watch over, and found myself a bit bored. This amount of free time wasn’t good for me. She had promised that I would be busy this weekend and even later this week, but for now, I had some time to myself.

My feet hit the pavement one after another, with a rhythm that I kept for most of the walk. It was hardly a new walk for me, and I had grown used to it, but I still loved it. London was a character within itself, and I loved it.

A neon sign for a coffee caught my eye, and I decided that was exactly what I needed. A little pick me up treat to help with I crossed the road quickly, and hurried into the cafe.

I was not exactly the coffee connoisseur, but I hadn’t been drinking much of it since I had arrived. I ordered a simple cup of coffee, with a shot of hazelnut. Several of the tables were taken, but there were a few in the back that were empty. I passed several patrons as I headed to the one furthest from the door.

“Hello, Savannah,” Harry’s cool voiced caused me to turn around immediately, nearly spilling my coffee.

“Oh… hey,” I said somewhat awkwardly.

"I've seen you in better spirits before," he commented.

"I could say a similar thing about you," I retorted.

"Fair enough," Harry allowed. He looked straight at me, "Are you going to sit down?"

"Uh, sure." I pulled the chair out before sitting down and scooting in.

"What's got you so down?"

"I completely bombed an essay," I admitted with a sigh, "It was my first one. I just didn't know anything about the subject, I guess."

"Oh, I didn't know if it was -" Harry cut himself off suddenly.

"Didn't know if it was what?" I asked

"Uh, nothing," Harry said a little too quickly, "But I'm sorry you failed your essay."

"It's okay," I shrugged, "I have an exam coming up soon, and I think that should help. I'll just have to make sure to study for it."

“That’s good,” Harry sounded distracted. His mood hadn’t improved since I had sat down, although mine had.

"But why are you so down?" I asked, “We’ve been talking about me, but what about you? Are you okay?”

"It's... Complicated. I'm not sure if I can talk about it.” The way Harry said it told me that he wasn’t thrilled about whatever was going on, and I probably shouldn’t push the subject too much.

"Girl problems?" I teased.

"In a weird way," Harry said. He took a sip of his tea and avoided my eye contact.

“Well, boy problems then?”

“Savannah, we’ve discussed this,” Harry groaned, but he gave me a smile.

“You were awfully ambiguous back then,” I told him, teasing him boldly, “But if it makes you feel any better, I can’t imagine that you could be having problems with romance.”

“No, no, it’s not exactly that,” Harry laughed lightly, “I’m not having problems with romance, per se.”

I gave him a quizzical look, "Want to explain?"

"I'm not sure if I can." He bit his lip, "You know not to trust everything you read, right?"

“What, do you mean on the internet? Yeah, I know that. Why? Are you worried about some crazy rumour?”

"No, I was just making sure," Harry shrugged, “I didn’t know, you know, after you Googled us that one time, and believed everything you read…”

“That was one time,” I cried, “And I have never done it since! Nor will I ever do it again. We have that deal, remember?”

“Right, the deal,” Harry mumbled.

“And, believe it or not, I don’t really spend my spare time reading about you guys. I don’t have that much spare time to begin with, but I definitely don’t spend it reading about some stupid boy band!”

“Heeeey,” Harry frowned, “We’re not some stupid boy band.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I felt genuinely bad that I called One Direction some stupid boyband right in front of Harry Styles, and I felt my cheeks burn read, “I didn’t mean it.”

“It’s fine, Savannah,” Harry shot me a grin and I knew he wasn’t hurt by my comment, “I know we’re not exactly your thing.”

“You’re not,” I admitted sheepishly, “But I’m sure there’s a lot of girls who love you! And it’s not like I actively dislike you, either.”

“Ah, yes, the crazy fangirls,” Harry laughed, “Surprised there aren’t any around, seeing as I’ve already been spotted once today. Normally if I’m spotted once, I’m spotted for the rest of the day. And because this place isn’t too far away from my neighborhood.”

“So you live around here?” I asked.

“Not too far away. I found this place when I first moved into my house. It’s a bit of a drive, but I like it,” Harry shrugged, “Kinda low-key. Good place to meet friends and better than Starbucks or Costa.”

“Well, I’ve never been here before.” I looked around, taking in my surroundings. There was some local art on the walls, and it was cosy, but not tight. “I like it though. It’s nice.”

“It is,” Harry agreed.

The pitter-patter that I had grown so used to here sounded against the roof and once glance outside of told me all I needed to know: it was raining. I groaned and made a face. Once again, I had left my umbrella at the flat.

“That’s not a very pleasant face,” Harry commented with a teasing grin.

“Thanks,” I muttered sarcastically, although I did make an effort to change my expression.

“Not impressed by the rain?” He asked kindly.

“I don’t care much about the rain, but it does ruin my plan to walk home.” Just thinking about the walk back made me cold, and I picked up my cup and cuddled it close, letting the still hot contents warm me.

“You were walking? From campus?” Harry seemed incredulous, “That’s quite a distance.”

“It’s not too bad. I like it. I haven’t worked out since I moved here,” I placed my cup down, “Walking’s a good way to get in the exercise.”

“Well, I can drive you,” Harry offered.

“That’s okay, I don’t want to impose. There’s a bus stop just down the road a ways, I can just take the bus back,” I told him.

“It’s no trouble,” Harry insisted, “And the bus doesn’t run that often. Better to just ride with me.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” I shrugged.

“I don’t mind.”

“Alright then,” I relented. If nothing else, it saved a me a fare on my Oyster Card.

“Are you ready to go now?” Harry had finished his drink a while ago, and had been playing with the empty takeaway cup. I still had a bit of coffee left in mine, but I hadn’t gotten decaf and I didn’t really want to be up all night. I valued my sleep.

“Yeah, I guess so.” I grabbed my cup, slid out from my chair and picked up my bag that I had placed on the floor.

“You can take your drink with you,” Harry told me as he mimicked my actions, sans the bag, “I don’t care.”

“That’s okay.” I said it mainly because I had already tossed the cub in the rubbish bin.

“Can you drive?” Harry asked as we approached his car. His Range Rover was in a car park not too far away from the coffee shop, but we rushed through the rain. Like me, he hadn’t thought or bothered to bring in his umbrella.

“Yeah, of course! Why?” I waited for him to unlock the car before jumping in.

“I just didn’t know if you had a chance to get your license before you moved. When’s your birthday?” The door slammed behind him as he situated himself in the driver’s seat.

“December 13th,” I told him, “Why? When’s yours?”

He ignored my questions, “When did you move here?”

“In August,” I shrugged, “Towards the beginning… I don’t remember the exact date.”

“You’re eighteen?”

“I am,” I confirmed, “How old are you?”

Once again, he ignored my question, “So you had only been driving for six months before you moved? If that long?”

“You can get your license at sixteen and a half in Massachusetts,” I reminded him, as gently as I could, “I’ve been driving for nearly two years.”

“Oh… right,” Harry sounded slightly surprised, “I forgot about that.”

“Yeah, I’ve been driving for a while. I had a car and everything. Well, I had to share with my brother but he was away at school most of the time so it wasn’t that big of a deal. It was a little Honda Civic, a silver one,” I told him.

The day that we had picked out was one of the more exciting ones for me. Michael had just gotten his license, and our parents had decided to buy us a car to share - despite the fact that I was only twelve and wouldn’t be driving for a while. But still, I went with them to the used car lot in Dorchester, and sat in the driver’s seat of each car like I had any idea what I was looking for. Michael was the one who wanted the Honda Civic, but he had originally wanted it in black. I was the one who had pushed for the silver. It was a compromise, and sharing it had never been much of an issue.

“What’s it doing now?” Harry asked.

“You know? I’m not sure.” It wasn’t a lie. I had no idea what the old Honda Civic was doing. Possibly sitting in the driveway, egged multiple times by the local kids, or maybe broken into.

“Your parents aren’t driving it?”

“No, they’re not driving it!” I laughed, “They have their own cars.”

“Oh, I see,” Harry paused for a second, “Is that common?”

“For each parent to have their own car?” I asked, “Yeah, it’s really the uncommon for a family to have only one car. At least where I lived. And most of my friends had their own car, too, or one that they shared with their siblings. We don’t really have the same public transportation you do here.”

“I can see that,” Harry allowed.

I didn’t have anything else to say, and he didn’t either. It wasn’t a long ride back to my flat, ten minutes with the traffic. As Harry pulled on to my street, he spoke again.

“Savannah?” He asked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you prefer Savannah or Savvy?”

I had never really considered Harry’s question. I had been both Savannah and Savvy for as long as I could remember, “I guess Savannah. It depends. Savannah’s a bit of a mouthful so Lux calls me Savvy. I don’t mind being called Savvy when people know me. It bugs me when people I’m not friends with call me Savvy, I guess. Why?”

“I was just wondering.” By this time, Harry had stopped right in front of my building, “Bye, Savannah. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Harry,” I echoed as I climbed out of his car, “See you.”

I returned to the flat and opened the door to find an extra pair of shoes on the mat, along with Eva’s and a pair of mine. It appeared to be a man’s shoes, or else those of a woman with gigantic feet.

“Eva?” I called out. The hallway light was on, and a light was shining from the kitchen down the hall a little bit. It seemed like Eva was here, but I could never be sure.

“Hiya, Savannah!” A voice that was certainly not Eva’s greeted me. It was far deeper, and the second I turned the corner to go to the kitchen, its owner stepped out.

“Oh, hi, Brody!” I jumped back slightly, startled. I hadn’t expected to come home to him in my flat, but there he was. Eva occasionally had guests, but they were never male and she almost always warned me of them in advance.

“How are you today, Miss Savannah?” he asked with a grin.

“I’m, um, good. You weren’t in class today. Is Eva here?” For a fleeting second, I wondered if I had somehow managed to return to the wrong flat and I was currently standing in Brody’s flat and he was the one in the right here. I wouldn’t put it past me.

“Hi, I’m right here!” Eva poked her head out from her bedroom door, before stepping out herself. She walked towards me with a smile and a blanket.

“Oh, good,” I breathed, “Hello, Eva!”

“I see you found that Brody’s here,” Eva grinned at me.

“Did I miss anything in class today?” Brody turned to me.

“Oh, we got our essays back,” I told him, “But you know. The lecturer is a bit of a bore. Nothing too exciting.”

“Did you do well?” Brody asked, “I felt really confident about mine. I guess I should have gone, but I just couldn’t bring myself to. Would rather sleep in and have a lazy day, you know? But anyway, how did you do?”

I wasn’t planning on lying, but it happened before I could stop myself, “I did well, thank you.”

“See?” Brody’s face broke out into a huge cheeky grin, “I’m such a good editor.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I muttered.

“C’mon, Brody,” Eva called. She hadn’t made it to the kitchen, and instead had situated herself on the couch. Brody followed Eva’s voice to the living room.

I wandered over the fridge and grabbed a water bottle that I had placed in there a while earlier. Room temperature water was still not my thing. My bed was calling my name, and I had a book I had started.

“Where are you going?” Brody asked as I passed the living room on my way to my own room.

“My room?” It came out as a question.

“Why?” Brody pressed.

“I’m tired?”

“You should hang out with us,” Brody suggested. He had already grabbed the tie-dyed blanket that Maria had sent me from home. My first instinct was to snatch it out of his hands, but I knew I had to have more manners than that. Instead, I mentally noted that I needed to wash it and return it to my room.

“We’re watching a movie,” Eva offered, “The Dark Knight Rises.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I think I’ll pass,” I smiled as I reached my door, “Thanks though!”

I shut the door behind me before throwing myself on to the bed. My book hadn’t left my nightstand, and I grabbed, happy to have a bit of time to myself.

When I emerged from my room several hours later, Brody had disappeared, although Eva remained perched on the couch.

“Do you have a thing with him?” I asked, sitting myself down on the armchair beside her.

“Do you have a thing with Harry?” Eva mocked.

“No, I don’t, actually.”

“Really? Because I don’t know anyone else who has a Range Rover that would drop you off after class.” Eva raised her eyebrow at me and I blushed.

“I didn’t know you saw that!” I said slightly indignantly, “Were you just staring at the window?”

“I don’t stalk you!” Eva cried shrilly, “My bedroom window looks out towards the street, you know that! I was in my room and I saw you get out of a Range Rover. So confirm or deny: was it Harry’s?”

I just stared at her and shook my head, before getting up.

“Savvy, wait!” Eva whined, “I know it was Harry’s, so just tell me this: did he pick you up from class or did he offer to take you back from Lou’s?”

“None of the above, actual.” I meant to head straight to my room and avoid Eva’s pestering, but instead I spun around and faced her, “I ran into him at a cafe and he offered me a ride home.”

“Oh, you ran into him? Was that it?”

“I ran into him while getting coffee at a little cafe coffee shop thing,” I deadpanned, “And then we sat together while he drank his tea and I drank my coffee. It was nothing. And there is no thing between us.”

“Well, maybe if you don’t have a thing with Harry, you could have a thing with Brody,” Eva suggested slyly, “You’re both from America, you know.”

“That’s not a very good way to start a relationship.” I made a face, “We’re both from America but he’s from Georgia and I’m from Massachusetts. Those are very different places.”

“I wouldn’t know that,” Eva shrugged, “I’ve never been to North America. But I doubt they’re that different. They’re both in America, and in the same time zone.”

“They can be pretty different. America is the size of Europe, and the cultures can be as different as the ones in Europe. Well, almost.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eva rolled her eyes, “Anyways, think about it.”

“You avoided my question!” I cried suddenly, “

“I’m not sure,” Eva said with a grin, “Maybe I shouldn’t date him. Maybe you should date him.”

“I thought you wanted me to date Harry.” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Well, you’re pretty hell-bent on not dating him, so you might as well date Brody.”

“I don’t need a guy, Eva. I just moved here and I think that it would be better if I just stayed single and focused on school and not killing Lux.”

“Oh, I know. I think it’s important that you get good marks and don’t kill Lux. But I also think that a little romance in your life wouldn’t kill you.” Eva grinned, “And believe me Savannah, I think Brody or Harry would be a great fuck.”

“Eva,” I groaned, “Don’t.”

“Savannah, I’m just saying that I don’t think that losing your virginity to Harry Styles could be such an awful thing.”

I shot her a horrified look, but she just held her hands up to show she was innocent, “I’m just saying. You don’t have to actually do it.”

“He’s probably crawling with STDs,” I giggled.

“Eh, probably,” Eva relented.

“And so is Brody,” I continued.

“Oh, definitely,” Eva agreed with another giggle.

“Speaking of which, hand me my blanket. I need to go wash it.”

Eva tossed my blanket with a chuckle and I did a double take on it. Brody’s cologne had left its mark, and I frowned as I headed towards the washer.

Eva appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, “Just because Harry’s crawling with STDs doesn’t mean you can’t sleep with him.” I shot her a look, “Remember, Savannah: safe sex is great sex!”

“And I think that’s my cue to go to be! Goodnight, Eva! I’ll buy you some condoms tomorrow.”