Sam waves to me from across the school's sports field. Emma makes a girly sound when I grin and wave enthusiastically back. Both our classes are outside as we are playing sport- even in this blistering heat.
The sun burns down on the back of my neck as I admire Sam from a distance. The shorts we are required to wear when we have sport, are a dark blue and fit very nicely around Sam's bottom.
"Oh, he has such a nice bum," I say to no one in particular.
Emma giggles next to me, "Stop drooling, Mia." I snort but I keep my eyes planted firmly on Sam's figure as he runs towards the football. His arms pumping as he shoots across the field. I notice that a couple of the other girls are gazing after him just like me.
But that's only because Sam is the main crush of almost all girls that attend Deltern.
"Jesus, stop looking at him!" Emma says, squatting the back of my head, "You know ever since he talked to you on Monday, your level of attraction to him has like, risen."
I sigh, it's probably true. Which is totally pathetic.
Yesterday, Sam came and sat with us for lunch. I was so happy that I could barely speak, Emma and Jack had to do the conversing for me. But Sam was so lovely that he asked me direct questions and always listened to my answer, even if I was stammering.
I rub the back of my head and stick my tongue out at Emma. She and I walk up to Jack who is already waiting with a bunch of friends for our teacher to arrive.
"Hey," He greets us, but before we're able to exchange greetings Mr Black shouts orders at us.
"Alright, one lap jog around the course." I groan along with the rest. It's too hot for anyone to be doing anything. There is hardly any breeze and I feel like I'm just going to melt into a puddle of sweat.
Mr Black claps his hands and waves at us to move. I settle into a comfortable pace jog. Running belong side no one, just the way I like it. My thoughts are alone and you don't have to feel forced to talk to someone.
Concentrating on keeping my feet from rolling on the pavement, I run slowly around the field where Sam and his class are playing football.
I won't look at him, I tell myself. You do that and you'll fall over. So I keep my head and my eyes fixed forward. I feel the bright sun overhead burn down and my whole body feels like its heating up.
God, I so need to take my clothes off right now.
Since I'm behind everyone else, I slow to a walk. The course Mr Black wants us to run is a windy up and down path circling the fields. Shrubs scratch at my bare legs as I walk past. I block the sun with my hand and squint ahead of me.
I can hear voices. Boyish laughter and voices. I cock my head like a dog, straining my ears to find the source. I walk off the path and into the backwoods of the school. I carefully pick my way over fallen tress and branches, my curiosity getting the better of me.
And there, to my right, just down that hill where the river runs past the school grounds, I find the cause of the noise.
Harry sits back in the grass with Niall and a bunch of other boys that I recognise from last year's graduating class. They hang around, laughing and chatting, smoking stuff that doesn't smell like tobacco.
One of the boys looks up, Nick, he's called. I only know that because he dated Emma for a short while. One by one the boys realise that I'm standing here watching them.
"Mia," Harry groans when he sees me.
"What are you doing?" I ask even though it's clear what he's doing. I'm flushing furiously, embarrassed that I found them smoking.
"What's it look like little girl?" One of the boys sneer and Nick kicks him. I blink when he smiles up at me.
"How you going Mia?" Nick also knows my name through Emma. For that short while they were very serious and were going on steady before Emma's dad caught on that she was dating a graduate student, two years older then her and who was not enrolled in any universities. For Emma's prestigious family it was counted as a crime.
"F-fine," I stammer. Shuffling my feet and wishing the ground could just swallow me up whole.
"Oi, 'Arry. Isn't this the girl who you were talking 'bout?" Some guy asks, snickering at me as he looks me up an down. Harry glares at him and looks like he's going to say something but then Niall beams up at me. His pupils are all dilated and his smile is loopy and wide.
"Yep, sure is," Niall says lazily, "it's funny cause Harry told me how much of a bitch she is and that she's such a frigid."
The other boys laugh and they all look up to see me flush and glare daggers into Harry. And it's not funny that I believe what Niall told me. Harry doesn't look at me but he seems pissed off which means that Niall is right.
Fucking dickhead, I curse him.
"I'm surprised that Harry would even try and touch her ugly face," someone shouts and I flinch. Everyone howls with laughter except Harry and Nick. He just looks at me with sympathy on his face, whereas Harry glowers at the ground in front of him.
This was a mistake. I've had enough.
I turn to leave, my face red with fury. My eyes nearly spilling with tears. I don't know why I'm so upset. They're just boys, and not only that but they're high for christ's sake! But I think it's the fact that Harry didn't say anything to deny it, nor did he stand up for me.
I hate him. I walk away and out onto the path. I hear crashing and stomping behind me as someone runs after me. I turn to see Harry stand behind me.
"What do you want, Harry?" I shout at him, "do you wanna try touching me again so you can tell the others about how much of a frigid I am?"
Harry stares at me, his green eyes locking down in mine, "No."
"Then what!?"
Harry sighs frustratedly and runs a hand across his face, "look, Mia. I'm, uh. I'm sorry."
Now it's my turn to stare. "Bullshit."
"I know that I may have not been the best person to you this past couple of days-" I give him an incredulous look but he carries on, "and I know you think I'm a prick. But we used to be friends and I want to be friends. Those things I said to Niall, that was before, at my house. I don't think that way anymore-"
"God, stop apologising, Harry!" I snap angrily. I'm so sick of this and I don't want to hear anything else from him, "If you're want to tell that you're gonna try and change and become a better person and bullshit-"
"Is that what you want? For me to change?"
I look at him, unsure what to say. In the moment of silence that follows I hear something. The sound of a foot hitting a ball. I look to the playing fields where the football shoots across the grass towards Harry and I.
"Mia!" Sam shouts in the distance when the ball rolls to a stop just a few feet away from me. Sam uses an arm to gesture that he wants me to kick it back. I smile unconsciously as I boot the ball back across the field. Sam waves a thank you and continues playing.
"You like Sam?" Harry snaps out abruptly.
"What?" I frown.
"Is that what you like? Guys like that? Pretty boys?"
"He's not a pretty boy," I bite back, "Sam's nice. He's also smart and respectful."
"Respectful?" Harry laughs humourlessly, "Have you not heard about how may girls he's hard and how he treats them?"
I actually have but that doesn't mean I believe it. Sam has a reputation of dating a lot of girls and once he's had his fun with them he lets them go, often in the coldest ways.
I lift my chin, "I don't believe it."
"Mia, he's a manwhore," Harry tells me, a small stupid smile on his face.
"Oh! That is rich coming from you!" I retort angrily. Harry looks at me impassively and doesn't say anything. In his silence I wonder what he's thinking about.
"If you want me to change, I can," he tells me, "I want to become a person who you'll like."
I splutter, not really knowing what to say. "What?"
You confuse me so much, Harry.
He nods, as if agreeing to his own words. Then he turns around and starts to head back but before he disappears into the backwood he looks at me over his shoulder, his green eyes twinkling.
Then he says something in a confident tone. "I'll start now, by beating the shit out of everyone that laughed at you. Then I'll drive you to school tomorrow morning and drop you back. I'll treat you withrespect and I'll be nice. I'll try to be good but not as good as pretty boy Sam," Harry grins at me, dimples popping out in his cheeks, "and then hopefully, you'll come to like me." He shrugs a shoulder before turning back and walking away, leaving me completely speechless.

~~~

When I get back to my sport class, my face is red and I'm biting my lip so hard it feels like it's going to bleed.
"Mia?" Emma and Jack ask me wearily. I wave at them with my hand in a dismissive way, I don't think I should tell them.
They both shrug and return to their warm ups. After a long, gruelling session in the heat I collapse into the grass under the shade when Mr Blackl tells us to take a break.
My mind is still in shambles over what Harry said to me earlier about changing and whatever. I still find it hard to believe but I'm also so confused. I'm thinking so hard that I completely miss Sam strolling up to me.
"Mia." Emma slaps my thigh, trying to get my attention.
"Mm?" I look up into the blue eyes of Sam.
"Hey, I'm having a party Friday night, you guys are welcome to come," Sam says, beaming down at Jack, Emma and I who are all sprawled out awkwardly out on the grass.
I must not of heard him right because I find myself frowning suspiciously at him.
"What?" He asks, frowning back at me in confusion. When I don't say anything Emma sighs and sits up. Giving Sam her best, beaming smile she nods.
"We'd all love to come." She lightly squats my head, not in a mean way, and then turns to discuss details with Sam and Jack.
But for once I can't be bothered listening to a thing Sam has to say. I don't even look at him when he speaks. All there is on my mind is the image of a tall, green eyed, curly haired boy.

Notes

^^all credit goes to doily


Any one know if we beat the record with SOML?