Were-Reader

5

Harley was frowning as she led Reese outside and away from the desperate looking Chris. She flopped down in a chair, but still managed to make it look incredibly graceful. Reese took the one next to her.

"Okay, that was weird," Harley said.

Reese couldn't deny it. "The whole situation is weird. I mean, think about it. Some incredibly hot guy suddenly decides he desperately wants to date me?"

"Why would that be the weird part?" Harley asked, rolling her eyes. "You're so self-critical."

"Well, when has anyone ever paid that much attention to me?"

Harley scoffed. "You're way too hard on yourself. Of course guys don't chase you all the time, because you don't look like you want them to. They're not stupid, they tend to do what they calculate will be effective. They mistake my superficial friendliness for interest, which is why they're always hitting on me."

"Also you're drop dead gorgeous." It was a statement of fact.

"You say that like you're hideous or something, which you clearly aren't. You should deal with your complex." Harley sank back into the chair as if arguing with Reese's negative self-perception was exhausting. After a moment where they were both lost in their thoughts, she spoke again. "You know, that's what I liked about Chris. He'd definitely into me physically, but he also seemed really interested in what I had to say, and not just because he was trying to figure out his way into my pants. It's a shame he's being so sketchy now." She sighed, her frown deepening. "Well, I'm not putting up with that shit."

Reese frowned. Harley had looked so happy with him, and she'd hate to see her throw that away because of Reese. "At least give him a chance."

"I already did. People don't change."

Reese shrugged. "People change a little." Maybe not like they did in books with a beautifully sastisfying character arc, but determination could take people a long way if they decided they wanted to change. "And maybe, just maybe, Nathan really was just saying he liked me, and Chris put it together from what Keith said. He looked completely broken up that you were upset with him."

Harley nodded. "Well, maybe. It's incredibly unlikely."

"But not impossible." Reese shot Harley a challenging look.

Harley scoffed. "I love you, but I will never take your perception of probability seriously."

"That's another math insult, right?"

"The fact you even had to ask proves my point. Honestly, if you should have a complex about anything, it's your terrible math skills, not unjustified insecurity about your appearance."

"You're awful," Reese said, rolling her eyes. "It's not that I'm bad at math, it's that you're too good so your perception is off."

"Thank you." Harley blew a kiss in Reese's direction.

"That wasn't a compliment."

Harley smiled wickedly. "Are insults math related? Because I'm noticing some parallels."

Reese just smiled back. "I'm noticing how you're avoiding talking about Chris right now."

"I absolutely am not."

"It's because you've got all those 'yucky' feelings."

Harley just groaned, but she didn't deny it.

"You looked happy with him. I've never seen you like that, so maybe your first impression of him was right. You're usually a good judge of character, so maybe he was telling the truth." Chris hadn't done anything that bad, other than knowing Keith and Nathan, and that wasn't a crime.