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Safe Haven

Starting Over


“Hun… I am Niall.”

Ugh. F**k me. I’ve managed to make a complete fool of myself once again. And this time in front of even more people. I want my bed, but for now Harry will have to do.

He found me as I was attempting to put as much space as possible in-between me and the boy. “Autumn? Are you okay?” he reached out and lifted me from the ground with one hand. Too embarrassed to speak, I picked up the cups and went to go find something to clean up my spill. Niall had disappeared almost immediately after I got up from the floor, and the crowd was already dissipating. “Here, let me help you. We’ll wash this up and then I’ll drive you home okay?” I nodded.

Cleaning up didn’t take long, but finding Kelsey was another story. It took us almost an hour to figure out where she was only to find out that she had left with some guy named Greg. Seriously, who goes anywhere with guys named Greg? Anyway, we decided to leave and the car ride was fairly quiet except for the Ed Sheeran album playing in the background.

“Well…here we are.” We were arriving at my door after a very awkward elevator ride. “Thanks, Harry. Sorry I’m so lame and clumsy and that you didn’t get any pictures for your friends in Holmes Chapel.” He flashed his perfect teeth and responded with a deep, gravelly chuckle. “S’ no problem. That’s what friends are for, right? Let’s do something fun tomorrow, ok?”

“I don’t know if I’m emotionally ready for that yet, Harry. I think I’ve socialized enough for the next ten years.” I joked. Well, sort of joked.

“Ok fine. But we’re still on for Sunday, right? Comparing class schedules?"

“Of course. See you Sunday!” I raised my hand to wave goodbye, but instead he embraced me with a tight, warm hug. I normally wouldn’t say I’m a small person, but in Harry’s arms? I sure felt tiny. His long tattooed arms and his tall frame enveloped me in the type of warmth you can only get from another person. “Goodbye, Autumn.” I swear I felt his lips brush the top of my head. Only for a millisecond, but it was there.

After a nice long, hot shower I put on my favorite PJs (an old grey tshirt and baggy sweatpants with nothing underneath) and climbed into the fluffy cloud that is my bed. It was only about 11:30 and I was determined not to be the girl that goes to bed early on a Friday night; so I picked up my laptop, plugged in my headphones, and opened Netflix. 11:30 turned into 1:30 which somehow turned into 3 which I figured was a reasonable time to go to bed.

I stayed in my room all day Saturday, only leaving once to go shopping with Kelsey. Somehow she convinced to buy a short skirt that “made my butt look good” and a crop top that made my D’s look like F’s. I’ll probably be returning them in the very near future. On Sunday, Harry, Kelsey, and I all compared our schedules so that we could make time to hang out and we also all agreed to do dinner together every Sunday night in his dorm since he had a kitchen. It was a pretty cute idea…it almost felt like a family away from home.

But now that we had gone over schedules I began to worry about what my classes would be like. What if my professor sucks? What if I’m actually an idiot and I fail all of my classes? What if I don’t make friends? I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.
________________________________________________________________
I only had two classes today: British Lit with Harry at 10 and Intro to Film at 1. Luckily the first class was in the building only a short 7 minute walk from my dorm. I put on an old sundress I had found at a thrift store, and stepped into my white converse. Unsure of what to bring, I grabbed my shoulder bag and tossed in a notebook and some pens then headed out to building 34A. When I finally found my classroom in the lecture hall, I walked in to see Harry had already saved me a seat.

“Hey, you!” I smiled. As he turned to look at me, the curls not secured by his bandana fell across his face and he gave me a big grin, dimples and all. “Autumn! I saved you a seat. A little birdie told me that Professor Wollstone is a hottie, so we’re sitting closer to the front,” he winked. Just then, the woman walked in as if on cue. She was probably only about 5’4 and had long, frizzy brown hair. I guess she looked good for a middle-aged woman but he was definitely over-exaggerating when he said she was hot. “Harry! She’s got to be at least forty something. Come on. Looks like your ‘little birdie’ was lying to you.”

“Yeah, but you have to admit she is attractive. I like the older women anyway.”

Disgusting. The entire class consisted of Harry paying *very* close attention to the instructor and taking lots of… notes while I spent the entirety of the class period making jokes about Harry’s preference for “mature ladies”. We were going to grab lunch together after class, but he got called in to work. So instead, I ate ramen noodles in my dorm room with Kelsey and was forced to listen to country music for an hour. I left at 12:30 to go find the arts building which was on the complete opposite side of campus. I figured it would take about twenty minutes to get there so I grabbed my bag and headed out the door.

Somewhere along the way I took a left where I should have taken a right and got lost. Just my luck. By the time I finally found the room labeled “Intro to Film” I was out of breath and only had a minute to spare before class started. The only seat left was the one right next to an all too familiar blonde haired boy. Scanning the dimly lit room for any other open seat one last time, I quietly pulled out the chair and sat down. The class of 30 people was fairly small compared to the lecture hall. But the room itself was a decent size. It featured a wide stage at the front of the room with a podium on the left side and a large projection screen in the middle. Other than the fifteen tables seating two people each, there wasn’t much else.
Niall either hadn’t noticed I sat down next to him or just didn’t care. “Hello, class. I am Professor Birdman and I am here to help you uncover the magic of film and theatre. If you signed up for this class thinking you would just sit and watch movies all day or if you are not prepared to break out of your comfort zone, you may leave now no questions asked and have your schedule changed.” 5 people got up and left. I considered leaving as well. Professor Birdman looked like he literally just rolled out of a tree and decided to come teach a class, but considering I’m a film major that would probably look bad on my part. After the five people left he continued, “Very well, then. Let’s get to it.”

“This semester your only assignment will be to put together play, create a short-film, or documentary about an event that affected you or someone else. You will present at the end of the term. Yes some parts may be fictional, but you have to make it believable. And no, you may not work alone. Each week I will explain and demonstrate to you the crucial elements of film, which should be applied to your final projects.”

Oh no. I don’t even know anyone in here what am I going to-

“Turn to the person sitting next to you. Introduce yourselves. This person will be your project partner for the semester, so I suggest you find a way to get along. Your grade depends on it. Class dismissed, pick up your syllabus on the way out. See you next week!” And he left…just like that. Leaving me to face Niall.

I cleared my throat as he slowly turned to face me. “Hi….” I’m pretty sure I heard him chuckle and my blood rushed to my cheeks. “Hey, what d’ya say we just start over? Would ya like that?” Not what I was expecting. “Yes, I would like that. Hi, I’m Autumn.” “Autumn, I’m Niall. Nice to meet you,” he replied extending his hand. Something about the way he said my name made my heart flutter, and I smiled. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. We shook hands and then exchanged numbers and emails before grabbing our syllabi and heading out. “So…I guess I’ll text you? And we can meet up some time this week to go over what we want to do for the project.” Silence. I got nothing but silence from him. And he was giving me a weird look. “…or not.”

“Oh, sorry. Yeah just uh text me when ya get the chance and we can meet up.” He gave me a reassuring smile as he turned to leave, and I watched his tiny hips sway as he walked away. I just couldn’t help myself…. This is going to be an interesting semester.

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