Young Minds, Young Love

Avery's P.O.V

"Hey are you ok?" I turn around and find Luke standing behind me, with a sympathetic look on his face. I quickly blink a couple times and feel my eyebrows knit together in confusion. I shake my head for a second trying to understand what the fuck actually just happened.

"Um ye-yeah I'm fine." I bend down to pick up all my books before some idiot comes and walks across all of them.

"Here, let me." I stand back up and watch as Luke collects my books for me. I really don't understand what just happened. I thought there may have-god Avery don't be so stupid! What did you really expect to end up of this? He's Harry, he always will be and you know what he's like, your friends warned you and you knew what he was like when you allowed him to take you into the bush and when you would let him kiss you. What did you really expect? A happy fairy tale ending? Honey those endings only happen in the movies, this is life, not a movie.

I guess my subconscious is right; this is life...not a movie, no happy fairy tale endings. Just the plain bitter taste of reality and what happens when your feelings get fucked with.

"Are you sure you’re alright? I mean you don-"

"I'm fine." I snap.

I take my books from Luke's hands and quickly rush up the front steps and into the school. I just, I don't understand, I don't understand any of it. Why would he kiss her? I shake my head again trying to somehow make sense of this situation, to actually understand what's happening and to get the images of his lips all over hers, her lips all over his and his hand on her arse out of my mind. I start to walk faster picking up my pace and passing by all of the students placing things in their lockers. I cling tighter to my books and hear the bell ring, reminding me that I have to go to class, reminding me that in my class is Harry, which also reminds me that he's ignoring me for some unknown reason at the moment.

I enter my empty classroom and take a seat at the far right corner down the front. I put my bag down and get my book out ready for English as other students come in filling up the room. Everyone weaves their way through the desk crowded room and finds their preferred seat. Mr Mathew walks in the room full of tired students and slams the pile of books down on the desk, everyone in the room jolts back in the seat even more awake than they were before.

"Morning everyone; as you know we've been studying Shakespeare and as you also know it's time for your midterm assignment. This assignment will go towards most of your grade so make sure you do a good job. Now this assignment is to be done in pairs, I am going to be partnering you all up because I know that you will all choose your friends and get none of the work done." This sounds great, I have a feeling that whoever I'm paired with won't do any of the work, just like my other paired assignments.

"Ben you will be with Olivia. Ashley you're with Allie. Alex you're with Tim. Avery you're with-"

Knock, knock I look to the left and find one curly head boy leaning against the door frame. He pushes himself off the door frame and walks into the room looking for a seat.

"And why are you late Mr Styles? Class started about twenty minutes ago." Mr. Mathew has a very stern look on his face, his eyes piercing into Harry's.

"Well as they say Jack. Better late than never right?"

"It's Mr Mathew to you, and in your case it's always late and never on time, now take a seat down the front here next to Avery, she is going to be your partner for this assignment." WHAT?! I don not want to do this assignment with him but then again I feel this giddy feeling in the pit of my stomach knowing that I could spend more time with him but then this awful feeling of confusion from earlier this morning. Then doubt quickly comes around the corner as Harry opens his mouth to say something.

"I don't think so." Could he have made it anymore straight forward?

"And why would it be that you think you will not be working with Miss Sanders?" I look at Harry for a second and catch his eyes before they drop to the floor with a guilty look.

"Because I don’t want to, I can do this on my own." He says. I shift in my seat as all the other students are listening to Harry and Mr Mathew. I feel very awkward under everyone's harsh judgmental gaze, Harry continues to protest against Mr Mathews and I just want to yell. I'M RIGHT HERE! I CAN HEAR YOU! I'M NOT A BAD PERSON TO DO AN ASSIGNMENT WITH AND IF I COULD CHOSE TO DO AN ASSIGNMENT WITH ANYONE IT CERTAINLY WOULDN'T BE WITH YOU. I DON'T GET WHY YOU’RE IGNORING ME AT THE MOMENT BUT JUST SIT DOWN AND SHUTUP LIKE THE REST OF US!

"Avery!" I look up to find Harry already sitting down in the seat next to me and Mr Mathew looking at me, I sink further into my chair trying to get away from his harsh gaze.

"Yes?"

"You're doing the assignment with Harry. I wish you luck." I hear silent giggles coming from around the room from other students. Mr Mathew goes on pairing the rest of the class, but he hasn't actually told us what our assignment is based on. I raise my hand ever so slightly trying not to draw to much attention.

"Yes, Avery what's your question?"

"You haven't actually told us what the assignment is about." I state, he huffs and goes to his desk at the front of the room and grabs the pile of books he brought in with him. He walks over to the other side of the room at the front and hands out a book to each student.

"Your assignment is on William Shakespeare's poems, Venus and Adonis." He smiles but the other students in the room say otherwise as their groaning is the only sound made.

"You will write an essay in pairs, discussing the similarities between Venus and Adonis and comparing them to modern day relationships. You are to give your own opinion of how you see their love and it is also to be four thousand words, which is about...8 pages of writing. This little booklet that I'm handing out to you all is to be used during this assignment. It has the poem in it but also some little key notes for you to help you with your essay." Mr Mathew puts one of the books down on my desk and I open it up to see that there is the poem, but also a good amount of notes and the definition of some words.

The rest of the lesson goes by quickly with Mr Mathew explaining the rest of our assignment task to us in more depth. Then the Holy Grail for all students chimes through the speakers, the bell. I quickly pack up all of my stuff and catch Harry just in time before he left the room.

"Harry." He turns around with a hard exterior but the look in his eyes say different.

"What do you want?" Well isn't he in a snappy mood today.

"Well I was just wondering about the assignment and-"

"Yeah I'll text you about it later." Just like that he walks out of the room. What is up with him today? He seems so closed off from me, like he doesn't want to be around me or talk to me. I shake the thoughts out of my head and walk out of the classroom and find Harry already making out with Bec, up against the lockers. I feel this sharp pain and all of my doubts confirmed in one second. Why was I so stupid to think that he would actually like me enough to stick around?

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*That night*

I lay awake in my bed staring and wondering about today; the whole day he ignored me. As if nothing happened, as if he had never met me, never kissed me, never spend the nights in the bush with me. When I would walk past him in the hall or he would walk past me there's wasn't even a ‘Hi’ or a smile, it's just weird with Harry not being his usual self around me. I'm so tired but I can't stop questioning myself. I hear my phone buzz and roll onto my side, taking it off my bed side table.

From: My Man
Meet me at the front doors of the school after the bell rings and we will go back to mine and get this assignment over and done with.

Great. I notice that his contact name is 'My Man', so I change it to Harry and flop back down onto my bed, going into a restless sleep.

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*The next afternoon Avery waiting for Harry*

Where is he? It’s been thirty minutes since school finished and Harry still isn't here. Maybe he's got detention...pfft no he wouldn’t go to detention. Maybe he's-

"Let’s go." I hear a voice from behind me, Harry starts walking in front of me. I follow behind him closely, trying to keep up with his long strides. He gets in the driver’s side and I get in the passenger side and open my door and get in buckling my seat belt. There are a couple minutes of silence before I decide to speak up.

"So are your parents at home?"

"I live on my own." He says, another short answer.

With a couple more awkward silences we finally pull into a driveway. It's only a little house, one story, painted a dark grey, with a little hedge next to the fence. Harry turns off the engine and gets out, I quickly unbuckle my seat belt and get out of the car and follow Harry down the pebble filled path, up the few steps and wait on the wooden porch whilst Harry unlocks the door. I hear the click and the door opens, Harry going in first and holding the door open for me.

"Did you want something to drink or anything?" He asks, closing the door behind me.

"No thank you."

"Right well we should probably get started on this assignment." He says.

"Um yeah." I respond. He leads me down the hall and into his room, I'm surprised that it's actually pretty clean, his walls are a dark walnut colour. His bed is a double and is in the middle of the room, his desk is in the right corner towards the front of the room and there are two big doors on the left wall, I'm guessing his closet.

"Well are you just going to stand in the doorway or are you going to come in?" I quickly pad my feet against the floor and take a seat at his desk. I pull out my book that our English teach gave us and put it down on the desk.

"You know you can come sit on the bed right? You don't have to be so far away." I grab the book and walk over to the bed sitting on the very edge of it. Harry grabs the book from me and starts to read over the poem, not getting very far before he drops it and rolls onto his back groaning.

"Shakespeare doesn't make sense!" I laugh at his remark, pick the book up from the bed and turn to the end of the booklet and look over the meanings of some of the words so that when I read them I will know what Shakespeare was meaning. As I read into it, it becomes more beautiful:

'Touch but my lips with those fair lips of thine,--
Though mine
be not so fair, yet are they red--
The kiss shall be thine own as well as
mine.
What seest thou in the ground? hold up thy head:
Look in mine
eye-balls, there thy beauty lies;
Then why not lips on lips, since eyes in
eyes?
'Art thou ashamed to kiss? then wink again,
And I will wink; so
shall the day seem night;
Love keeps his revels where they are but
twain;
Be bold to play, our sport is not in sight:
These blue-vein'd
violets whereon we lean
Never can blab, nor know not what we
mean.

'The tender spring upon thy tempting lip
Shows thee unripe; yet
mayst thou well be tasted:
Make use of time, let not advantage
slip;
Beauty within itself should not be wasted:
Fair flowers that are not
gather'd in their prime
Rot and consume themselves in little time.

You know once you get past the whole wording thing of Shakespeare's writing, there is true beauty that lies within his words. The truthiness’ of how he writes and how in some ways the love that he has written about in this poem is much like others.

"What time do you need to be home?" Harrys asks.

"Well mum is going out after work tonight with this new guy and she said she wouldn't be home till late." He nods and lies down again, allowing me to try and finish this incredibly long poem. I hear my phone buzz from the desk and I get up walking over to it and grabbing my phone, I walk back over to the bed and sit on the edge again, opening the text message.

From Unknown Number
Avery please reply! Don't shut me out, I don't know if your mother has brain washed you into thinking things of me that aren't true and that's why you’re not answering me but I need to see you! Fuck Avery just answer me and don't be an ignorant foolish bitch like your mother!
I just need you in my life again.
I still love you
Dad.

I squint my eyes at the message re reading it to make sure that he wrote those words.

"What's wrong?" Harry asks, I clear my throat quickly feeling a lump in the back of my throat that I generally get know days whenever I receive a text like that from him.

"It's nothing, let’s just get on with this." I say. I look him in the eyes before going back to the booklet and continuing to read. In one second the book is ripped out of my grasp and I look at Harry to see that he is holding it in his hands.

"Tell me what's wrong, I know that look, it's not nothing is it?"

"It is, now give me back that book." I try reaching for it but he stretches his arm out further over the bed.

"I'm not giving it back until you tell me what’s wrong." I stare into his eyes for a moment and reach back to grab my phone; I unlock it, open up the text message again and hand it to him so he can read it.

"What the fuck?!" Harry looks up at me with complete anger written all over his face.

Notes

Hello lovely's, I know it's been a little while since I last updated but I have been very busy talking on Skype to friends in America and I've been working and meeting up with friends. On a bad note...I go back to school tomorrow because my holidays are over:'( On a good note, due to me saving all of my money, it is now looking more likely that I will go to America at the end of the year! YAY!:)
I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please don't forget to VOTE, SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT:)