HARRY'S POV

I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET HER OUT OF MY HEAD since that night I spent in her bedroom. I stayed with her until she fell asleep and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head before slipping out from underneath the covers. I got dressed as quietly as possible and looked back at her one last time before I left her room. I loved the way the moonlight casted a glow over her skin, making her the prettiest thing in the dark.

I thought I would be too tired to go to school in the morning, but I was more cheerful than ever. Even my mother was surprised by my happy mood and the fact that I had kissed her on the cheek before I left for school. I hadn't done that since my primary school years back in England.

As I made the short drive to school, I drummed my fingertips along the steering wheel and sang along to the song playing on the radio.

"We're on that ultralight beam,
Ultralight beam baby
This is everything."

Out of all of the Kanye West songs I have ever heard, that one spoke to me the most. It encompassed so much hope for the future, and hope was something the world needed more of in times like the one we were living in.

"My daughter looks like Sia. You can't see her," I echoed Chance the Rapper with a smile as I entered the school parking lot. "I'm just having fun with this. You know I've been feeling so lost. I laugh in my head–I bet that my ex looking back like a pillar of salt."

As I parked my car into its usual parking space, I couldn't help but think of Alice for a fraction of a second. I would never admit this to anyone out loud, but she was the only girl who had ever broken my heart. After I found out she cheated on me, I promised myself that I would never let someone make me feel that vulnerable again. Being vulnerable is how you get your heartbroken, and I wasn't up for anymore heartbreaks senior year.

I exited my car with a somber expression on my face. Just thinking about my ex put me in a bad mood, but I forced myself to think about something I enjoyed--like football. I had to remain high-spirited since today was the team's last practice before our game on Friday. We've had an undefeated season so far, and I intended to keep it that way.

When it was time for me to go to Calculus, I was a little disappointed that I didn't see Florence at her usual seat in the back. She must've slept in. I thought to myself while grabbing my worksheet and taking my seat in the front. I made sure to take detailed notes when Mr. Harris explained the concavity of a function to the class using the second derivative test not just for my sake. I figured I'd send Florence a picture of my notes so that she wouldn't fall behind after today's class.

The school day seemed to drag on forever, but by the time the last bell rang, I was actually looking forward to practice. I grabbed my gym bag from my locker in the boys locker room and began changing into my athletic gear right then and there. More boys from the football team started to filter into the room and undress as other students rushed out of the school to get home. I had a few minutes to spare than the rest of the boys did, so I took my phone out and sent a text to Florence. The last time we texted she told me she changed my contact name from Harry to Mick Jagger Jr in her phone because she was convinced that I looked like him, so I decided to change her name as well.

Me: Missed you today. Hope all is well x

I didn't think she would respond so quickly, but I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face when I saw her text.

Florence the Machine: Everything's gucci. I just overslept :P

Me: Well, I did keep you up pretty late last night so I don't blame you ;)

I thought the new contact name I gave her suited her because everytime we had sex she was like a machine. If I let her have it her way, she'd make me pleasure her for hours on end and not be the least bit tired. I was pulled from my thoughts when Coach Ford entered the locker rooms and demanded that we meet him out on the field in thirty seconds for practice.

I texted Florence as fast as I could saying that I'd text her again after practice before placing my gym bag back inside of my locker along with my phone. Despite the fact that it was winter, coach still made us practice outdoors. When he first did this two years ago, I remember some of the boys complaining that they'd get sick and the coach giving us his spiel about being ready for game day since we'd be playing outside anyway. He had a method to his madness because sure enough our team was better prepared to play in the cold than our opponents were.

I lead the boys in running laps around the field and the stretches as well. After warming up, each of the players broke up into groups and practiced with the obstacles coach had set up for us on the field. I mainly practiced throwing the ball to  Matthew before leaving him to train on his own and working with Andy.

Andy was only a sophomore at our high school and the youngest player on the team, but the coach thought he belonged with the rest of us, so I never said anything.

"Think fast!" I yelled at him before moving my right arm back and throwing the ball in his direction.

Andy backpedaled and tried to grab the ball by lifting his hand in the air to catch it. The football grazed over his fingertips like I knew it would and hit the ground a few meters behind him. He let out a frustrated groan and bent over to pick up the ball before walking it back over to me.

"Andy, where's your head been at lately?" I asked him, trying not to lose my temper. "You've been slacking since the homecoming game, and I want to know why."

Andy sighed and bit his lip before apologizing. "I'm sorry Harry. I've had a lot going on at home these past few months with my family, and it's been hard," He confessed with a glum expression on his face.

"Parents fighting?" I inquired.

Andy nodded his head while he ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I think they're getting a divorce."

I placed my hand on Andy's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "My parents divorced when I was younger too, so I know how you feel. If I were you, I would try and leave behind everything that's been bringing you down each time you exit the field. Take out your frustration on football and use that emotion to motivate you to play better," I suggested to him.

"Can we start by you throwing the ball to me again?" Andy asked, a small smile making an appearance on his face.

I nodded my head. "That's what I like to hear. Now, come on and show me why you belong on this team!"

§

After practice ended, everyone hit the showers--myself included. I got dressed in record time because I was excited to resume my conversation with Florence. I sat down on one of the benches in the locker room with a towel wrapped around my neck to catch the droplets of water that dropped from my curls and phone in my hand. Most of the boys were crowded around Matthew at the moment as he retold this story of him hooking up with this girl at this college frat party. I wasn't particularly interested in listening, so I kept to myself.

Me: Practive is finally over. I hope you didn't miss me too much ;)

Florence the Machine: Aw, that's good. And I didn't because my cartoons kept me company.

I playfully rolled my eyes when I read over her text. Over the past month, I've gotten to see firsthand how much Florence loves watching cartoons. Sometimes she'll watch the classics like Ed, Ed, and Eddy or Courage the Cowardly Dog, but recently she's been captivated by Rick & Morty and Archer. They were a bit more mature than the others, so I felt more comfortable watching them with her from time to time. A memory of Florence teasing me about caring too much about what people think when I felt embarrassed for enjoying a cartoon surfaced to the front of my mind as I typed my reply to her.

Me: You and your cartoons woman. I'm beginning to think you like them more than you like me.

Florence the Machine: Don't worry Harry. I like you more than I like watching Rick and Morty or Archer.

Her words caused my dimples to appear in a smile. I even laughed a little but didn't realize how loud I was because all of the boys turned their head in my direction.

"What's so funny Harry?" Matthew called from across the room.

I lifted my eyes from my phone screen and gazed at him with a smile. I shrugged my shoulders and leaned back against the bench until I was in a more comfortable position.

"Nothing, just thinking about something my friend once said," I told him before biting my lip.

I watched Matthew weave in between the guys until he was separated from the pack and walking towards me. I automatically locked my phone and placed it faced down on my thigh.

"Who's that your texting?" He asked me while gesturing to my phone. Matthew crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for me to answer, and I noticed the rest of the guys were tuned into our conversation too.

I chewed on my bottom lip once more before blurting out the first name that came to mind. "Tiffany from English class. You know, the one with the nice rack," I told him, cracking a smile to make myself sound more believable.

Matthew chuckled at my answer and patted me on the shoulder. "Yeah, I know her. I'm pretty sure we all do, right boys?"

He received a few "yeahs" in response before taking a seat next to me and resting his hands on his knees.

"What ever happened between you and Alice?" Matthew asked me curiously.

I felt my smile contort into a frown after hearing his question. I cleared my throat with a cough before answering his question.

"I found out she cheated on me, so I dumped her. I've been single ever since," I told him with a bittersweet smile.

"Good, you don't need another girl fücking with your emotions anyway," He said as he rose to his feet.

I made a mental note to be more careful when texting Florence around people and packed up the rest of my stuff before leaving the boys locker room. The more thought I gave to what Matthew said to me on my way home, the more I realized I had already let another girl fück with my emotions, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone. I hope you all had a nice weekend. I've been a little stressed because of my phone, prom is coming up, and so is graduation. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Comment if you spotted my song references to Harry's album.

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

Question for my readers: When was the last time you got caught texting someone you weren't supposed to be texting.

Since I was 13. My stealth game has been strong these past 4 years.

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Kaylandia