*Niall's P.O.V*
I was walking out with my backpack while drying my hair when I heard Melissa talking with somebody. "So, what did she do?" A voice asked. It was probably Moxie Dulaine. She was Melissa's best friend, and they gossiped constantly, texted all day long, and treated people that weren't popular like dirt. I hated their attitudes.
"Exactly what I wanted. Now everyone thinks she's a drama queen." I knew "everyone" meant The Crew AKA the cheerleaders, jocks, and popular people.
"How did you even figure out what she was allergic to?" Melissa asked.
"When all the teachers were out to lunch, I looked through her file. Did you know she's been a volleyball player for five years, she plays the guitar, piano, and flute, she's really smart, and she's already had some colleges offer her scholarships for–"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I gotta go to class, I'll see you later," she interrupted. Who were they talking about? I thought. Even though it was a hunch, I suspect I know who. I darted out of sight and spotted Holly coming out of the locker room. She was wearing her normal clothes, her wavy brown hair was dry, and her brown eyes sparkled.
"Hey Niall," she called, slowing down as I jogged over to her.
"Hey, um, do you play any instruments?" I asked. She looked surprised at my random question, but she answered anyway.
"Yeah, the flute was my first instrument, then I started to play the piano a little, and I'm learning how to play the guitar. Why?" She asked as we crossed through the courtyard.
"No reason. Maybe I can help you with your guitar skills later?" I asked. She smiled, showing her pearl-white teeth, and nodded.
"Yeah definitely. How's Saturday?" We both went to our lockers.
"Sure, we can do it at my place if you want," I offered.
"Ok, can't wait! I finally have a real teacher!" She said, grabbing her math book.
"Haha, yeah, I'm way better than all those old people!" I joked. She laughed. She looked so cute when she threw her head back and her eyes glimmered.
"By the way, good job at PE! I was scared! How long have you been playing?" I asked, trying to see if Melissa and Moxie really were talking about her.
"Thanks, and I've been playing for about. . . five years maybe? Since sixth grade at least," she said, walking by my side to the classroom.

We were about ten minutes early, and the classroom was basically deserted. I sat down next to her and turned to her.
"Um, Melissa and Moxie– her best friend, the one with red hair and green eyes– were talking about you. They, uh, said that they purposely tried to make you have an allergic reaction during English with the perfume, remember?" I blurted out. She looked taken aback and she frowned. I continued.
"Well, Melissa had Moxie look through your personal records, and she did it so you could look like a drama queen to The Crew AKA the popular people," I told her. Before she could react, Melissa strode in.
"Don't you have to be in class or something," I asked, annoyed.
"Hey babe, and yes, but I wanted to see you," she cooed. Holly raised an eyebrow as she looked at me.
"Don't call me that and I'm kinda in the middle of something," I said, motioning to Holly.
"Come on, don't play hard to get, you know you'd rather be seen with me than with this thing," she said, casting a disgusted look at her. Holly looked down, obviously hurt. My blood boiled.
"Don't you dare call her that," I said through gritted teeth, looking at Holly the entire time. She slightly raised her head, giving me a small smile, but it wasn't a real one. A real one shows off her dimples and her eyes sparkle. Right now, her eyes were clouded and her adorable dimples were nowhere to be found.
"We all know you would rather be seen with a pretty girl like me. Not an ugly, stupid girl like her," Melissa spat. This time, Holly jumped out of her seat and ran out of the room. I was about to run after her when Melissa grabbed my arm.
"Where're you going? Now that she's gone, we can hang out," she said, triumphant. I glared at her and wrenched my arm out of her grasp.

Despite her shrieks, I ran out of the classroom and frantically searched the hallways for my new best friend. I finally spotted her standing on the rooftop garden. She was facing the fresh air, and her hair was slightly lifted behind her as a breeze fluttered through."Holly, it's me." I silently went closer. She turned around to me. Her face was emotionless, unless you knew her and searched her eyes for any signs.
"I know Melissa not. . . the friendliest of people, but she wants you to leave us. I'm so sorry that she said that."
"Is she doing this because I'm your friend?" She whispered, looking down at the floor. I slid a finger under her chin and raised her head so she could look at me.
"Please don't listen to her. You're sweet, caring, smart, and beautiful, inside and out," I said as I stared into her deep brown eyes.
"Thanks Niall," she said, hugging me.
"Just please, stay our friend," I begged. She smiled.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," she said, ruffling my hair.
"Hey!" I whined. She giggled and started heading down the stairs. I followed her.

"Apparently today has a large overdose of first-day drama for the new girl," she joked. I rolled my eyes, holding open the classroom open for her, earning another real smile.
"But of course. Normally, Melissa just looks at the new people to see if they're pretty enough to be in The Crew, but this time, she made a huge mistake. You're gorgeous and better than them," I took her hand and gazed into her eyes. She looked down, blushing.
"Hey, Niall do you know where the– oi! My bad, I didn't know this was happening," Harry, who'd barged in, smirked and left. Holly quickly broke away, her face flaming up. Great, Niall! You probably scared her! I scolded myself. I took a seat, and Holly sat in the desk next to my left.
"Sorry about that," I apologized.
"It's ok, you got caught up in the moment. It happens," she shrugged.
"You wanna come over later tonight? The boys are coming and they won't mind."
"Sure, what's your address?" I scribbled it on a scrap of paper and handed it to her. Mrs. Roberts strode in, telling us to sit. Zayn, Holly, Louis, and I were in this class; Liam and Harry were in Science. After calling roll, the teacher started reviewing on things like finding the circumference of a circle and volume. I noticed Holly wasn't focusing properly, but it was probably because she already knew this– after all, she was super smart.

Notes

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