Maybe This Is Love, |✔️

Chapter 13

I lean on the side of my car all James Dean in a rebel without a cause style except I did have a cause and she goes by the name of Harley-Blair Thompson. I can't wait for HB to leave her house.

Something about standing outside of it alone makes me nervous and I'm not someone who regularly gets nervous. The fact that Harley brings out a different side to me every time I'm around her confuses but intrigues me. I feel like I'm discovering myself more and more each day and I have her to thank for that. Maybe one day I'll tell her how I feel. One day when I'm sure. One day when she doesn't see me as just a 'friend'.

I'm still not certain whether it's the fact that the house is an awful colour, like the Easter bunny puked on some bricks after a hefty meal of jelly beans and skittles or whether it's the fact that the most beautiful girl in the world lives inside it. I'm lucky enough that she was coming out to see me.

This house is unique and different just like Harley and that's why I love it. Comparing my house to hers was like comparing bread to cake.

I'd already texted her and told her that I was outside so that means she would probably be exiting her house in approximately 3 minutes- she does this every day like clockwork. As I stand and wait, I rehearse the new Shakespeare quote I forced myself to learn last night using Cliffsnotes. It was surprisingly helpful and would have probably been useful when I was doing my English GCSE, maybe I would've gotten an A* rather than a measly A.

I began mumbling the words over and over again to make sure I had the most perfect delivery when I eventually say it to her. I didn't want to trip over my words and ruin the moment. I even wrote it down on the inside of my palm to ensure that it definitely didn't leave my mind. Although, it's a little smudged now from all the sweating so it mostly looked like gibberish.

Mid-mumble, I feel a light tap on my shoulder and my flesh almost leaves my body. I gasp, clutching my chest in shock and then relax seeing Harley standing in front of me. "You put the wind up me." I laugh, running my hand through the back of my hair. It's been a while since I've had a haircut, I probably look like a wild animal right now. I make a mental note to book an appointment uptown.

"Whatcha' doin' there?" She sassily raises a naturally arched eyebrow at me and peers at me with her syrup-brown eyes. She was carrying her small lilac rucksack. She had DC badges all over it- Batman, The Flash, even the symbol for Kid Flash. She's dressed in an Orange vintage Sunkist T-shirt with faded blue mom jeans. She had her navy hoodie wrapped around her waist in case the weather changed and she got cold later. I look up at the sky and it is clearer than ever, there might be no need for that hoodie after all.

She has her hair tied back in a low bun as sleek as her thick Afro hair can get. Her beautiful brown skin was radiant in the early morning sun. I had the bagels in my free hand and she had the apples in hers. We've made this into a routine, even though she never actually eats the bagels and I rarely eat the apples- I'm not much of a fruits person unless it's grapes or those cherries she's got me hooked on. I guess it's the thought that counts.

She squints at me, waiting for me to answer her. I take a deep breath before quickly running through the words in my head.

"Hear my soul speak: The very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service." I exult coolly, the words rolling off my tongue like butter.

Surprise registers on her face then a little smile plays on her lush lips. "The Tempest." She looks up at me earnestly through her eyelashes and I swear I felt my heart skip a few beats. "You remembered."