HARRY'S POV

TODAY IS THE DAY I have been waiting for all month: the championship game. I'm not nearly as pumped as I thought I would be, and I owe that simple fact to the events that occurred earlier in the week. Ever since Alice's performance at the championship game pre-ceremony, Florence and I have been the talk of the school.

At first, I was angry at Florence because I thought she was the one who supplied Alice with our text messages. However, I later overheard Matthew explaining to some of our teammates in the locker room that Alice's friend, Catie, got the text messages from Florence's phone when she was at her house working on their AP U.S. History paper. Florence was completely oblivious to what had happened until the ceremony.

I felt bad once I learned the truth and checked to see if Florence was still around the school so that I could apologize, but I wasn't able to find her. When I got home from the ceremony with my stepfather, I tried texting her but none of my messages went through. I figured it was because she blocked me and decided to give her space.

For the next two weeks, I watched her walk through the hallway with her head facing the ground as people called her awful names. She refused to make eye-contact with anyone, and if Ethan weren't there to guide her through the halls, I'm sure she would've crashed into someone by now. Maybe, if I weren't such a coward, I could've been the one with my arm around Florence's shoulder, protecting her from everyone else. Then again, if it weren't for my reputation, she wouldn't even need protection.

Half an hour before practice for the game began, I decided to take a hot shower to relax all of my muscles. My body had been tense all day, and the last thing I wanted to happen was get a cramp and ruin the Dolphins' chances of winning. I owed it to Coach Ford and my teammates to perform my best, which is why I've chosen to set aside my differences with Matthew for the time being. I couldn't have any distractions.

I stepped out of the shower with a white towel wrapped around my waist and strands of hair sticking to my face. When I entered the locker room, I returned to my locker and retrieved my gym bag, setting it on the bench. I unzipped the bag in one swift motion and took out my uniform along with a pair of briefs. Just as I finished slipping on my white t-shirt, I saw Andy enter the locker room, followed by a herd of other players.

I nodded my head to him in acknowledgment as he approached me with his gym bag.

"Ready for the big game today, Styles?" Andy asked me with an excited smile on his face.

"You betcha," I replied, forcing a smile. I averted my gaze from Andy down to my untied shoes and brought my foot up to the bench.

"You don't sound too believable," Andy observed. He set his bag down beside mine while I released a heavy sigh. "What's wrong?"

I shrugged my shoulders and stood upright again after tying both of my shoes. I ran a hand through my tousled curls before crossing my arms over my chest. "I just feel like I have a lot on my plate right now," I confessed. "My father invited scouts from UPenn to come and see me play, the whole school is basically going to be there, and I don't want to succumb to all of the pressure, you know?"

Andy reached forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. With certainty, he said, "You won't. I believe in you. The whole team believes in you. Coach Ford believes in you. Silver Spring High believes in you, man."

I smiled at his words of reassurance and was prepared to thank him when I became distracted by the door to the locker room hitting the wall after being swung open. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion when I saw the head of a brunette weaving in between the wet bodies of the boys who were fresh out of the shower.

"There's a girl in the locker room!" One of the boys exclaimed.

Andy and I tried to see who it was, but we didn't have to look for much longer because she came to a stop right in front of us. I hadn't seen Florence this up close and personal in weeks. Her dark hair was styled down in loose waves flowing past her shoulders. Her face had a radiant glow to it, and there was no trace of makeup on her skin. Needless to say, she looked better than she probably felt in awhile. The longer I stared into her brown eyes, the faster my heart beat.

"Florence, I" Before— I could form a coherent thought, she put her hand up and cut me off.

"—No, I didn't come here to hear you speak. I came because I have something I need to say to you," She began with a frown. I remained silent and exchanged a nervous look with Andy, prompting her to continue. "You're a coward Harry. You're a coward for not admitting your feelings for me, for never standing up for me, for wanting to hide our relationship behind closed doors. I fell madly in love with you, and that was foolish of me because I should've known better. Your reputation will always be more important than me, and I'm done competing."

My eyes widened even more when I heard the l-word leave her mouth. I shuffled backwards on my feet a bit and tried to calm down my racing heart. I wanted to say something to her, but no words came from my mouth. I watched her eyes tear up slightly at my silence before she furiously wiped them with her hand and cleared her throat.

"I wish you weren't so afraid to speak up. Maybe, if you weren't, we could be together. But I'm done waiting for you Harry because waiting for you is as pointless and as useless as waiting for pigs to fly. It's never going to happen, and I'll only end up disappointed after it all," Florence stated before turning to walk away.

The entire locker room had fallen silent, and heads turned to watch Florence leave. She didn't look back, not once, and I was left in a perpetual state of shock from her words.

She loves me. Florence loves me.

I felt like the biggest idiot in the world for letting her walk out of here without a single protest. I clenched my fist in anger at my own passiveness and punched my locker. The force of the swing wasn't hard enough to do any damage, but it left a stinging sensation in my hand. I could tell my actions surprised Andy judging by the widened look in his eyes. I had to figure out how I was going to make things right.

It was about time Florence learned how I felt about her too.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone. I hope you all had a great week. This past week I was super busy writing papers and studying for tests, so I barely had time to write. I hope to get back to my once a week updating schedule soon. I'm still trying to find my groove in college, so please bare with me.

Feel free to vote, comment, share this story with a friend, or follow me on wattpad. I'd greatly appreciate it!

Shoutout to @alexisbieber112 for being super nice and amazing in person. We met each other at Harry Styles' concert in L.A. which was amazing by the way. He left me deceased.

Question for my readers: What do you love most about Harry Styles?

For me, it's his personality and his strong support of equality and kindness.

—
Kaylandia