To Fall So Deep

It's been several weeks since the start of the new school year, and things were beginning to look up for Nina. It began with her health. Her appetite was back, and though she was still thin, was no longer sick-looking. Her hair was ten-times better, and brushing her hair out was not an issue anymore. Nina also began to try when it came to getting ready for school-- even if it just meant a simple winged liner, mascara, and lip balm. There was no heart-wrenching slander from the Styles campaign, her friendship with Leina and Elissia was growing stronger, her schoolwork wasn't too overwhelming, and Robbie was beginning to look like a potential boy-something. Her peers at school were beginning to forget abut the election, and Nina as the new girl-- especially Jezabelle. As long as she had Harry attached to her hand, Jezabelle had nothing to worry about.

In the library, Nina, Robbie, Leina, and Elissia were sitting together at one of the many tables. The library itself was Nina's favorite part about the school, and often spent her free time in it. The two story grand library was home to thousands and thousands of books-- many very old, dating back to before the school opened. Chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, illuminating the area with a warm glow.

"What's this supposed to be?" Robbie chuckled, slapping down a piece of paper in between him and Nina.

"A tiger," Nina replied, pointing to the sloppy drawing before her.

"A tiger?" Robbie snickered. "It looks like a, a, pregnant sloth."

Nina and Robbie giggled uncontrollably, ignoring the schoolwork they were supposed to be doing. Leina kicked Elissia's foot. She looked up, and Leina gestured towards the duo and winked. Elissia smiled. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Nina and Robbie looked cute together. Their beauty matched each other, and had held the same sense of humor-- always laughing or arguing about odd things. The latest buzz expected them to be the next official couple, which the school happily welcomed. All, except for one person.

Harry cooly looked over to Nina's table and rolled his eyes, scoffing at their happiness. Jezabelle grabbed Harry's hand and gave it a squeeze. He looked across to his girlfriend. She smiled,

"They make a cute couple don't they babe?"

"Ugh, she could do better," Harry groaned.

"Don't be so negative sweetheart," Jezabelle sweetly said. "Robbie's good for Nina. He's a distraction."

"A distraction? From what?" Harry asked.

"From you," Jezabelle answered. She smiled sweetly before looking back down at her books.

Nina stood up from her chair, and walked into the many aisles of books. Harry put his pencil down and pulled his hand from Jezabelle's. He pushed his chair back and stood up, "I'll be back. I'm gonna go find a book for my research project."

"Okay," Jezabelle said.

Harry walked away, and into the same aisle as the one he saw Nina disappear into. However, she was not there. He quickly walked up and down the shelves, searching for her. Just as he was about to go back to his schoolwork, he spotted a familiar head of long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Standing with her head in a book, flipping through the pages was none other than Nina. Harry stared at her, noticing her in a different way than he ever did before.

"What do you got there California?" Harry started towards Nina. She turned her head, and lifted the book to show the cover to Harry.

"Romeo and Juliet," Nina answered. Harry stood closer to Nina than expected, the warmth from his body radiating towards her. She shuddered.

"My least favorite play from Shakespeare," Harry stated. "I just don't see anything appealing about losing yourself over someone you barely even know; committing suicide for love."

"That's the beauty of it… to fall so deep for someone that you'd do absolutely anything to be with that person, even in death," Nina defended.

"Have you ever fallen in love?" Harry asked. The question surprised Nina.

"Have you?"

"This isn't really about me, it's about you,"

"What do you want, Harry?" Nina grumbled.

"Are you really with Robbie?" Harry questioned.

"Why is it any of your business?" Nina closed the book, and looked up into the green eyes staring down at her.

"It's not," Harry began, "but Robbie, seriously? You could do so much better than that player."

"Takes one to know one," Nina sneered, rolling her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry said, taken aback.

"Don't play stupid with me Styles. You're Ashford's prevailing womanizer. You batt your eyelashes, give a cheeky smirk, wink your God damn gorgeous green eyes and--"

"You think my eyes are gorgeous?" Harry stepped even closer to Nina, filling in the space between them. He gave his signature smirk, his dimples forming on the side of his cheeks. Nina swallowed, suddenly feeling the nerves in her body.

Nina placed her hands on Harry's chest and pushed him away. Her hands lingered for an extra moment on his body, feeling the abs beneath his clothes. Harry raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "enjoying yourself?"

"Uhm, no," Nina's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. She dropped her head to hide her embarrassed face from Harry.

He stepped into her bubble again. Nina tried to back away, but was already pinned in between the bookshelf and Harry. She stopped breathing. With his pointer and middle finger, Harry placed them underneath Nina's chin, and lifted her head up so she was looking straight at him. He glared intently into her eyes with both wonder, and hurt in his face as he studied Nina's.

"I know what your friends have said about me. Gossiping, and filling your head with ideas about me as some sort of player," Harry seemed hurt. "Honestly, I don't care about what your friends or what the rest of the school thinks about me. I'm just disappointed that you believe them. You seemed different Nina."

"I-uh- I'm, I'm sorry Harry," she whispered. She felt her stomach drop, bruised from Harry's comment.

"Since you're so keen in believing gossip, I'm just nervous that you won't believe the truth when it's told to you," Harry boldly stated.

"Harry?" it was Jezabelle, standing at the end of the aisle. She had her books in hand, along with Harry's backpack. He and Nina looked towards her direction, and quickly Harry stepped away from her. Jezabelle approached them, keeping a cutting eye on Nina.

"Love, ready to go?" Harry asked, and Jezabelle nodded, holding her hand out towards him. Harry turned back to Nina and sternly added at a whisper, "don't go out with Robbie."

With that, Harry laced his fingers with Jezabelle and walked away, leaving Nina alone to her thoughts. What. The. Fuck. was all that Nina could think in her head. Was Harry really concerned for her? Was it Robbie she should be worried about like Harry had warned her? She didn't want to believe it. Robbie was really sweet, and Harry was just making up lies. But why? What makes it his prerogative to warn Nina. Maybe he was just being a good friend, but the way he said it? She didn't know what to think.

Nina walked back to the table in the library to find Leina and Elissia hard at work on their assignments. Robbie was nowhere to be found. Nina sat down, and Leina looked up from her books, and then to her.

"Where'd Robbie go?" Nina asked.

"He had to get home, but he wanted me to give you this," Leina handed Nina a folded up piece of paper. She opened it up. It was the horribly drawn tiger with a note that said: You're cuter than this tiger. P.S. be my date for a party tonight?

Nina smiled.

"You're blushing," Elissia pointed out, "you like him don't you?"

"Yea, I think I do," Nina nodded. Her thoughts drifted back to Harry. "Guys, can you tell me more about Robbie's past? With girls, I mean."

"Why?" Leina questioned.

"I just had the weirdest conversation with Harry," Nina leaned in, trying to keep the conversation between the table. "He told me that Robbie's a player."

"Robbie does have a history of hitting and quitting it," Elissia told Nina, whose jaw dropped. Elissia quickly waved her hands in Nina's face and shook her head. "Let me try that again. It was an old rumor that started out of the blue. Robbie came to this school midway through year nine. Jezabelle had a crush on him but he wasn't really interested. At a party, they both got drunk and had sex. She got attached, and he tried to tell her that it was a mistake-- he blamed himself for it. Then I guess Jezabelle started the rumor that he was a player."

"That was a long time ago Nina," Leina mentioned, "and Robbie blamed himself for the whole thing. He seems decent."

"If that's the case, then why would Harry tell me to stay away from him? It's not really any of business to tell me what to do," Nina said.

Elissia shrugged, "I don't know. It almost sounds like he's jealous."

Jealous? Nina found that really hard to believe.

Notes

Yay! Extra brownie points for a double update today! For those wondering, I like to write several chapter in advance, especially on the weekends, so I have chapters ready to update the story each day. I don't always get to write, or finish chapters during the weekdays, so it's nice to have completed chapters ready. I decided that since I have up to chapter 19 completed, I'd go ahead and update again today. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the ones coming up-- things are going to get more crazy! Don't forget to give me feedback if you have any, vote up the story, subscribe, and tell your friends about it if you think they'd enjoy this story too. Have a great rest of the evening, and I'll see you tomorrow with chapter 15!

Thanks,

-Erica Jaine <3