Trying to pay attention in her last few classes were nearly impossible for Abigail. No matter how much she tried she couldn't stop thinking about Harry. His deep voice, the way he played with his piercings whenever he thought about something, maybe her favorite things were the tattoos that decorated his body. She could see peaks of the ones on his arms peaking out of the bottom of his T-shirt sleeves. Then her mind drifted off to his arms, the way his muscles bulged when he accidentally flexed. Almost everything about him had her under a spell, and surprisingly she didn't mind. Sure, she was still nervous, she would be crazy not to be. There was just something about him that made her feel at ease.

When the final bell rang she was still in her daze. Even when Charlotte found her she was still distracted. “Whoa, Abby, you in there?” She laughed, waving a hand in front of her face.

“Huh? Oh sorry Char,” Abigail sighed. “What's up?”

“I was going to ask if I could come over and study. My little sister is home and I can never concentrate.”

“Yeah, yeah, that's fine. It'll be nice to have someone at home. My dad has gone back to work and won't be home until late.”

“What about your mom?”

“She's been going from work to the hospital.” She frowned.

“Well all right, we'll order pizza and have a girls night.” Charlotte smiled wrapping her arm around her friend's shoulder.

By the time Harry reached the basketball court he had gone through his pack of cigarettes. “Fucking Niall,” He grumbled knowing he had bummed half of the pack without him knowing during the day.

Sitting back in his seat he waited for Kristen. A part of him was curious but mostly he was worried about what she was going to tell him. He hoped it wasn't that bad but his mind was thinking the worst. Lighting up his last smoke he got out of the car. Walking around to the front he leaned on the hood scanning over the park. The blacktop had graffiti all over it, the hoop was barely hanging on and creaked whenever the wind blew. Now Harry remembered why he didn't really care for this place, it was creepy as hell.

Hearing a car door slam he turned around to see Kristin walking towards him. “How long have you been here?” She asked crossing her arms.

“Not long,” He answered finishing his cigarette.

Sighing she leaned against the hood. She didn't know how to start this conversation, she felt uneasy discussing with him without Abigail knowing about it. “So...”

“Just tell me one thing...” Harry mumbled. “Her ex didn't...he didn't rape her did he?”

Kristin cringed but shook her head. “No, no she wouldn't let him get that far.”

Running a hand through his hair Harry didn't know whether to be relieved or scared. “Ok...so what did happen?”

Taking a deep breath she began. “He was great at first, took her out on amazing dates, helped her when she was getting stressed with classes. He was the best boyfriend a girl could ask for. Then...something changed.” She breathed, walking over to stand in front of the curly haired boy. “We should have known something was wrong. She began distancing herself from us, she would avoid us in the hallways, wouldn't answer our calls or texts. Turns out he was telling her to stay away from us, he lied to her, made her feel guilty whenever she wanted to spend time with us instead of him.”

Harry could feel his rage slowly start to build. “Ok...what else?”

“Well when they had been dating for about four months he tried to take their relationship further...she wasn't ready and at first he was ok with it. Then he kept trying, she kept saying no, I think she told me she had to physically push him off one time. Finally he used the line 'if you really love me, you would.'” She rolled her eyes. “She still didn't give in though, that pissed him off. Finally he reached his breaking point. They were at his house when he tried once again to make her have sex with him. Abigail said no once again. He got pissed off to the point he kicked her out and made her walk home in the rain.”

Now Harry was pissed. How could a man do that to his girlfriend? Someone he's supposed to love. “Well he told his friends they had done it anyway. Told them all sorts of lies trying to make himself sound like some sort of God. They would call her a slut, whore, you name it in the hall. Harass her at home, her parents had to change their phone number because of it. It was just awful there for a while.”

Hearing her words just made Harry angrier. He needed to punch someone, he wished he had a fight. His opponent wouldn't stand a chance with the rage inside him. “Luckily when they graduated everything calmed down.” Kristin sighed. “Abby was already a sensitive person, she doesn't have a thick skin, she didn't deserve what all they did to her. No one does.”

“Is that all?” He asked, he wasn't sure if he could hear anymore. All he wanted to do was find
the guy who did this. Make him pay.

“That's what Abby has told me, but I honestly doubt it. She's always been the type of girl to hold things in, she doesn't talk about anything unless its really bothering her. I feel like what she told me and Charlotte is just scratching the surface.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Harry was trying to process everything he had just learned. Sure he fought people, slept with girls, he may have not been the best person but there are just some things he would never do. Go out of his way to mess up someone's life was one of them. Finally Kristin spoke up. “That's why I say you better not hurt her. I don't think she could go through that kind of pain again.”

“I'm not going to hurt her.” He whispered. “I promise.”

“Good, because I mean it when I say I would rip those piercings out of your face.” She chuckled. “So...you really like her?”

Nodding his head he smiled. “I just feel...different around her. She doesn't see me as 'the punk' or anything. To her I'm just Harry. She doesn't judge me, I can't tell you how good that makes me feel.”

“She's a good person...and if you want I could talk you up to her. Even though I don't think you need that much help.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I'm her best friend, I can tell when she's crushing on someone. Now on Friday night I'm dragging her to Vanessa's party, you have a golden opportunity. Plus I'm picking out her outfit so she's going to be looking hot, just sayin.'”

Harry laughed, throwing his head back. 'She looks hot anyway.' He thought as he told Kristin goodbye. On his way home he thought back to Home Ec class, the way they had talked. Sure, it was awkward at first but over time it was effortless. Hearing her laugh made him smile, when she stopped he wished he had told a corny joke to be able to hear it again. When he walked into his bedroom he remembered his homework assignment, write a paragraph about his partner. Digging through his desk he found an old notebook and a pen. Opening to a blank sheet he stared at it, not knowing how to start his paragraph. Finally the words came to him and he began writing, and he didn't stop at a paragraph.

“Are we planning on studying anytime tonight?” Charlotte asked as Abigail pulled out the tray of cookies from the oven.

“Well I don't know about you but I need brain food, hence the cookies and pizza. So dig in, the sooner we eat the sooner we study.” Abigail smiled tossing the oven mitt on the counter.

“I don't know who's worse when it comes to procrastinating, you or Kristin.”

“She might have rubbed off on me a little bit.” She chuckled grabbing a piece of pizza. “So about Vanessa's party...”

“You don't want to go? Great, I really didn't want to go either.”

Shaking her head Abigail interrupted her friend. “No, no I want to go. I think it'll be good for us, we need a night out.”

“Yeah, well if we wanted a night out we could go to the movies or something. Why do we need to go to a party with people we don't even like?” Charlotte scoffed.

“Maybe because certain people will be there...” Abigail trailed off, staring at the half eaten pizza on her plate.

“You mean Harry?”

“I said maybe, I didn't go into specifics.” She defended but could feel her cheeks turning red.

“Uh huh, so you're admitting you like him?”

Sighing Abigail nodded. “I do...and it scares me.”

Charlotte frowned, she worried about this. Scooting her chair closer she sighed. “Its understandable, after everything you've been through you would be insane not to feel scared. Plus its Harry, he's not exactly a Prince Charming.”

“No...he's more of a Flynn Rider, just with more tattoos.” She laughed.

“Yeah, and everything worked out with him and Rapunzel so maybe the same thing will happen for you two.”

“You think so?”

“I think you'll bring out the best in him, I mean, its you. You're one of the best people I know, if anyone can turn Harry Styles into a good guy its you.”

Abigail smiled, leaning forward she hugged her best friend. The words rang in her mind but she felt this nagging twinge inside. She's always heard you can't change a guy unless he wants to. What if Harry didn't want to change? There were a lot of what ifs but at the moment she didn't want to think about all of them. Right now all she wanted to think about was getting to know Harry better. She hoped the rest will into place when the time was right.