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I N F L U E N C E S
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Harley's bedroom door creaked open revealing John with a large mug in his hands. He came in and sat on the edge of her bed again offering a steaming mug.
She thanked him and took it with a grateful smile.
"We're out of tea and coffee, so I made you a hot chocolate." He fixed the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Do you think your nightmares are because you're not comfortable here?"
Harley felt awful. John and John B were already up this morning getting ready for their day; it was a Monday so John B had school. She had woken up ten minutes ago screaming and John had rushed in here to calm and comfort her.
"No. I like it here." He wouldn't send her away right? Harley wouldn't be able to take it if he did, even if he thought he was doing what was best for her. She wiped away her tears hastily and straightened up. "I really like it here. I do. You won't send me away right? I'll be better. Happier. I'll make the nightmares go away and then you don't have to cast me away. I promise."
Harley looked at him with wide pleading eyes anticipating his response. She watched him frown, had she said something wrong?
John eased the cup out of Harley's hands and pulled her into a warm hug. She took a moment to ease into it, but quickly found herself wrapping her arms tightly around him, like he did her. She shut her eyes and clung to John scared he'd let her go.
"I'm not going to send you away, Jellyfish. I enjoy you being here. It's nice to have a female presence in the house and somebody for John B." John held onto her tighter and hesitantly ran a large hand over her hair and soothingly down her back. "Never promise to force yourself to do something. You don't have to do that here. If you have nightmares then you have nightmares. If you feel sad, you don't have to pretend to be the opposite."
Harley sniffled. "I'm sorry. It's just difficult to deal with what's happening with me, because I don't have a clue what happened."
"Don't apologise. It will take time." He gave me a reassuring squeeze. "Why don't you rest up a little longer. I'm going to take John B, Pope and JJ to school. I'll be back after."
"Okay."
"When I get back... would you like to, maybe, go out for the afternoon. Take your mind off things."
Harley cracked a genuine smile. "That would be nice."
⚓
Harley had spent a couple hours out on the water with John. Once he established how far Harley was willing to go without fear and high anxiety, he had taught her how to fish and a little about boats when she began asking questions.
The two had bonded with high spirits, laughter and cheesy dad jokes. Unsurprisingly, Harley loved spending time with John. He made her feel safe and cared for like a parent would. He was patient when she forgot something or couldn't express something. Most importantly, he taught her things.
"Harley, I need to go to the Cameron estate. Is it alright if I make a detour home or would you like me to drop you off first? John B should be home soon."
The Cameron estate, home of her secret friend Rafe. She felt funny at the prospect of possibly seeing him again. A good kind of funny. Like a part of her buzzed at the thought. She wanted to see him and be around him because he was such a lovely person to her. There was something about him that formulated a sense of familiarity within Harley and she wanted to explore that. She wanted to know why she felt close to him when she hardly knew him at all. There had to be something there and it could unlock a memory.
"We can detour," she beamed before taking a sip of her water.
"Perfect. Thanks, Harls." John ruffled her hair laughing at her pout as she tried to tame it again.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, shoot."
Harley pursed her lips wondering how to phrase her question without possibly upsetting John. She didn't know if the subject was sensitive and she didn't want to be the reason the man was upset.
"You know how you said earlier how it was nice to have a female in the house. I saw a picture of you, John B and a woman in John B's room and wondered why she wasn't around." She watched John's reaction closely before offering, "You don't have to tell me if she's dead or something."
Immediately, Harley realised what she had blurted out and slapped a hand over her mouth with apologetic, panicked eyes. "I'm so sorry. Sometimes I let things slip without thinking. I didn't mean to be so-"
"Abrupt?" John asked with a little chuckle as he nudged his glasses up.
Harley nodded in response.
"It's okay, Harls. John B's mom isn't dead. She's alive or so I assume. I haven't heard much from her recently, but she left John B and I around when he was three."
Harley nodded again in understanding opting to not ask further questions. It was nice that John wanted to share that much with her in the first place.
"We're here. Do you want to come up with me or would you like to stay here?"
Harley eyed the expensive looking boats they had docked by, then up and over to the large house of the Cameron's.
"I'll stay here."
"Okay. I shouldn't be long. Call me if you need me for anything."
"Will do."
Harley pulled out her phone and pulled up Rafe's contact. He had called her yesterday evening and they had spoken for a few hours before Harley went to bed. Then they had also been texting on and off since then.
Hot castaway: Hey :)
R😍🤍💦: Hey beautiful. What's up?
Hot castaway: Nothing. Are you at home?
R😍🤍💦: Why? Do you wanna come over?
Hot castaway: What if I'm already here?
R😍🤍💦: Then I'd smile and ask where you are.
Hot castaway: By the boats.
Rafe didn't respond. Instead she heard his voice from behind her. She turned around as she heard him call her name and she watched as he emerged from the large, fancy boat. A smile spread over her face as she blocked the sunlight with her hand and gazed at Rafe. He hopped onto the walkway and strode over to her boat.
He was shirtless boasting deep abs and his broad shoulders. White shorts hung low on his waist. He reciprocated Harley's bright smile.
"I'm always happy to see you, but why are you here?"
"I spent the day with John and he just had to see your dad quickly."
Rafe glanced over his shoulder before turning back to Harley with a happy smirk. "Guess that gives me time to be with you." He hopped onto the Routledge boat and sat beside Harley, shoulder to shoulder.
"Have you always had your ears pierced?" Rafe asked casually staring at Harley's appearance.
She ran her fingers over the multiple piercings and nodded. "Yeah. I just usually have my hair down."
"Your hair looks good up like that," Rafe complimented, his eyes drifting from her hair to her neck to her eyes.
"It's just a ponytail," she laughed.
"And it looks hot." He sat back a little broadening his shoulders. Harley's eyes indiscreetly checked out his body and arms. He probably gave nice hugs she thought. She found her eyes almost trailing down but she diverted her gaze back to his glistening eyes. "When are we next hanging out then? I miss your company."
Harley shrugged. "Whenever you like. It's not like I go to school."
"Tomorrow."
"Okay. What do you wanna do?"
"How about a date?" Rafe didn't look fazed by what he had asked. Harley however couldn't contain her surprise. Her eyes had doubled in size and her lips parted slightly. He had just asked her on a date and she had no clue what to say. Her heart started beating faster and a warm heat spread from her chest, to her cheeks, to the tips of her ears.
"I uh-" she stumbled and just snapped her mouth shut.
Rafe straightened out getting close to her again. "Do you not want to? We've already been on one."
"We have?" She asked quietly now hyperaware of how close he was. Does this mean he liked her? He did just admit to enjoying the time they spent together, but was it a bit soon? How soon was too soon?
He hummed. "And now I want to go on another one with you." His hand traced up her back delicately before his touch became a little more dominant. His hand splayed across the back of her neck keeping the sizzling eye contact between them. This was new. Harley supposed they had flirted before, but this look was new and she kind of liked it. "I like you Harley and I would really like if you went on a date with me."
Had Rafe's eyes always been so blue? She trembled slightly at the way he held her. Her body had twisted and her hand had crossed over to rest on Rafe's leg to keep her steady. Her heartbeat began to race at a freakishly rapid pace, she was afraid he could hear it as she fought to stop glancing at his lips.
"I'll go on a date with you."
"Perfect." The teasing blonde pulled away, not before caressing Harley's cheek.
She realised how needy she must have looked and straightened up. She had hoped Rafe would kiss her, but as per her previous thoughts maybe it was too soon.
"What should I wear?" She asked.
"I'll text you everything you need to know. But for now, your guardian is coming."
Harley glanced over and spotted John not too far away. He didn't seem to have noticed Rafe too engrossed in whatever papers he was reading. How had Rafe even spotted him? It didn't matter.
Rafe pulled Harley to him and kissed her forehead before getting up with a grin. "Laters, Beautiful."
"Bye," she smiled softly watching him go.
⚓
"Hey, Lee!" John B called knocking on her bedroom door. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah." She stopped texting Rafe and quickly swiped to a random game on her phone as she sat up to look at John B.
He poked his head through the door. "Wanted to know if you wanted to join me and the others."
"Oh where are you going?"
"JJ wants to go to a shop for parts for his bike, then we were gonna hang out somewhere."
Harley nodded. She hadn't been up to much other than texting Rafe. She had been attempting to read through a book, occasionally texting Pope and asking questions that he happily answered with just the right amount of detail. She was excited to get out of her room and hang out with the Pogues.
"Okay be ready in five. We probably won't be back till dark."
"Are you not going to school tomorrow?" She asked.
"It's the last week, so I don't intend to," John B said lowly checking his dad wasn't lingering in the hall. "Dad's going out tomorrow so I'll probably stay in. If I go out though, you're joining."
Feeling happy with how things were currently going, Harley threw on her red jacket over her grey t-shirt, and denim shorts. She let her hair down and put on her red hat before skipping down the hallway. John B had been sat on the sofa waiting for her whilst fiddling with his phone. He looked up.
"Ready?"
"Yep. I've got my phone, money and keys, just in case."
"Perfect. Let's go."
John B held the door open for Harley and locked up behind her.
"Where are we meeting the others?"
"We're going to take the minivan to JJ's to get him and Pope, then we're gonna meet Kie afterward."
Harley watched suspiciously as John B headed for the beige vehicle with a little too much confidence. "Are you allowed to drive? You're dad said you weren't the best."
"He was just joking," John B brushed it off. Harley shrugged and slid into the passenger seat buckling in the same time as John B. "Alrighty. My life is in your hands, Bird."
John B grimaced and glanced over at the giggling girl. "Your life is safe with me, Jellyfish."
"I hope so." She got comfortable while John B started up the bus. In seconds, Harley's body jerked forward with the van, her hands flying out to the dashboard as her seat belt kept her from falling unceremoniously. The shock wore off almost immediately and was replaced with humour.
John B looked at her with a pink tinge to his cheeks. The two watched each other before bursting out into laughter. John B at Harley's expression and Harley at John B's.
Once they sobered up and John B got the van started again and rolling, Harley eased back into her seat.
⚓
"Okay. You almost hit that black car, but we made it in one piece," Harley cheered.
JJ reached forward and threw his arms around Harley from behind her seat. "That we did." He reached out and patted John B's chest. "Appreciate you not killing us, bud. Your driving is better though."
"Better, but still questionable," Pope added poking his head through the gap between John B and Harley.
"Thanks for the support guys," John B rolled his eyes with a fleeting smirk. "That car overtook us so suddenly. It wasn't my fault."
Harley nudged him slightly and grinned. "You did great."
John B nodded gratefully. "Right, let's go."
The group flooded out of the van and headed for the chipped, blue door to the shop. The car park was empty and so was the inside, albeit the sales man behind the counter who gave a curt, yet amicable nod to the group. He was extremely tall and lanky. His white beard and whiskers contrasted his deep skin and highlighted his chocolate eyes, it was like he had the sun melting in eyes. Harley smiled before following John B through the aisles. He was just browsing and speaking with Pope, so Harley redirected herself to JJ.
"What are we looking for?" She asked him whilst he scoured the shelves.
"Axle block adjusters and valve stem caps." He crouched down scanning the bottom shelf briefly glancing up to Harley. "You probably don't know what they are."
JJ hadn't said it in a malicious way, however Harley still got a determined spark to prove a point that nobody really knew her, including herself, and so wanted to show that she was full of surprises. She knew she liked the look of cars and the idea of driving and maybe even racing them, so there was a tiny possibility she knew about car and bike parts.
She faced the filled shelves and inspected the tools and parts. There were a range of metal and plastic pieces all in a range of colours. She walked further down the isle and crouched down.
"Hey Frank!" JJ called looking down the isle to the man behind the counter. "Do you have any axle block adjusters or valve cap stems. I can't see any here right now."
"If there aren't any out right now, then that's it at the moment. I'm waiting for a delivery later this week."
"Alright thanks."
"JJ, what colour is your bike?"
"Red and blue. Why?"
Harley reached for two red parts that looked like what he needed. She surprised herself when it came to her that those were the right parts. Something had clicked in her mind showing her exactly what she needed.
She jumped to her feet and and held up the parts for JJ to see. "I've got the parts that you want."
JJ glimpsed over expecting to go back to trying to find the parts. Instead, Harley watched in amusement as he looked up taking his time to trail his eyes up her legs and hips before seeing the exact parts he wanted. His eyes lit up, then darkened in approval as he met Harley's eyes.
"Is this colour okay?"
"Yeah. It's perfect." He strode over to her pulling out his wallet as he went. "Turns me on that you know about bikes."
He made sure to lightly hold her wrists before slipping the items out of her hands.
"I get the feeling that everything turns you on," she tilted her head to the side with a coy smile. Something about JJ brought out a giddy confidence out in her. When he flirted, sometimes she found herself instinctively playing into it or feeling her body melt when her normal responses somehow made him act up more.
He shook his head. "Only everything about you."
"Smooth, but isn't there a rule about not flirting with other pogues or something?"
JJ looked like he was scouring his mind for whatever Harley was talking about, even though he already knew. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do," she nodded laughing. "It's like one of the biggest rules or something. I've heard Kiara say it."
JJ shook his head in denial.
"No pogue on pogue macking."
JJ frowned, "That's definitely not a rule."
"So if I ask JB right now..."
"There's no macking going on..." JJ groaned, his shoulders slumping and his eyes pulling her in. "You're breaking my heart here."
"I'm sure someone will fix it for you, JJ."
"You."
She hummed disagreeing and hooked her arm with his pulling him down the isle. "Let's pay for your bike parts, so we can go chill."
"You got it boss."
Harley and JJ headed for the counter arm in arm. She let him do the talking to the friendly man he seemed to know very well. Frank asked JJ a couple questions about his bike, before his focus turned to the girl on his arm. Frank gave a curious smile and asked, "Who's the lovely girl hanging off ya arm huh JJ? Never thought I'd see the say."
"Hi," Harley waved. "My name is Harley."
"She's new around here."
Frank nodded his smile still not slipping. "Nice to meet ya. Hopefully, I'll see more of ya with this lad here."
"Sure," Harley beamed not catching on to what the man had been implying.
"Great. Well, thanks for the parts Frank." JJ started to guided Harley away to the entrance where John B and Pope were talking to Kiara outside.
"Anytime, son."
The two stepped outside hearing the bell chime after them.
"He's nice."
"Yeah, Franklin is a cool guy."
"Can I see your bike sometime?"
JJ looked at Harley with raised eyebrows. He gazed at her for a second or two with a serious expression. He had an intense stare that made Harley feel nervous every now and then. She would want to avert her eyes, whilst her ears heated and she chewed on her bottom lip or cheek, but she couldn't.
"How about Friday or the weekend? My dad will be out, so he won't bother us."
"Is your dad nice? Can I meet him?" There was something about not knowing her own parents that made Harley want to meet everybody else's. Maybe she would be able to see glimpses of her parents in other people and it would bring a flood of memories back that would unlock who she was.
"Maybe some other time. But, I'd rather you come over when he's not there to bug us."
Harley shrugged. She didn't mind. Whatever JJ was most comfortable with made her comfortable. The last thing she wanted was an awkward visit, although she felt confident enough that she would be able to get on with his dad. Being nice to people made her feel warm and happy, so that's how she would be unless somebody caused her to behave otherwise.
"Okay. It's up to you. It's your house."
"Hey you two!" Kiara called over. "We're going to the grove. Hurry up!"
Harley looked up to JJ. "What's the grove."
"It's this little area. The trees there are insanely tall and the nature looks awesome. There's a few walkways built between the trees. You liked the garden at the hospital, so you'll definitely like this."
"Sounds interesting. Let's go." Harley started to bounce around in excitement dragging JJ along.