Dedicated to: @Reha_em
"Can we have two surfboards, man?"
The brunette guy behind the counter turned around, eyeing Harper up and down and before stopping his ever-wandering gaze on me.
Or, specifically, my body.
He wolf-whistled, ruffling his hair with his hand and leaning his elbows on the counter so that his face was level with mine. I stared at him in confusion.
"Damn, girl," he said, winking attractively at me. "You are smoking hot."
I widened my eyes and blushed.
Oh.
Boys never hit on me, so this was a first.
I could almost feel Harper fuming beside me, glaring daggers into the guy. "Um... thanks?" I mumbled in embarassment, awkwardly shifting my weight to my other foot, thus almost tripping. The boy didn't seem to notice, and continued to eye me up and down hungrliy.
"Um, excuse me," Harper growled through gritted teeth. I looked down at his hands which were clenched tightly at his sides.
Oh gods, he's furious.
"Can we please have two surfboards?" he ground out bitterly, clearly making an effort to stay calm.
Please don't beat up the guy, please don't beat him up.
"Sure," the guy smirked, before winking flirtatiously at me. "And her number."
Harper cracked.
"Listen here, asshole. This is my girlfriend, so stop fucking hitting on her!"
I gaped at him in surprise.
Girlfriend? I am not his girlfriend.
However, I was too astonished at the moment to say it out loud.
That... neanderthal! He can't just say we're dating!
You want to, though.
As if to emphasise his point, he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me to him. I squirmed uncomfortably in his grasp. The brunette guy looked shocked as well, and was about to say something, before he was interrupted.
"Sure, she's your girlfriend, idiot. You don't have girlfriends, you just go through them like used tissues, because you see, you need to have a few more brain cells to master commitment. And I hate to break it to you, you're a bit lacking in that department." A laughing, tinkering voice chimed, teasingly. At that, a beautiful indian girl in a white swimsuit entered the small surfboard shack, smiling cheerfully. She came to lean beside the brunette guy, who groaned and left promptly, looking at Harper pointedly. I giggled at her comment.
At that, she seemed to brighten up, and look over to me. Harper did as well, a look of mock hurt written on his face. It was almost as if the prescence of the girl had calmed him down. I felt a small pit of jealousy burn in my stomach, however much I liked the girl for dissing Harper.
"How could you agree with her?" Harper gasped, over dramatically placing his hand over his heart, staring at me. I sighed.
"It is pretty true. I have been meaning to tell you." I answered. The indian girl erupted with laughter, as Harper stared at me in shock. Mock or real, I wasn't sure.
The girl smiled and held her hand out to me. "I like you. I'm Rhea. Friends with this jerk- " she motioned to Harper, "- since childhood. Our parents our friends." I calmed down at that. Thank god, they're just friends. I took her hand out and shook it, grinning. "Noelle. Definitely not the girlfriend of this jerk." I elbowed Harper, who pouted at me playfully. I just smiled.
"This is completely unfair," Harper whined, throwing his head back. "Both of my friends can't gang up on me!"
We ignored him.
"Do you go to LockWood High with Harper?" Rhea questioned. I nodded. She smiled. "Cool, I go to Hearst High."
Harper tugged at the bottom of my swimtop. I looked over at him. "Yes?"
"Can we go?" he whined. I sighed. "Yeah, sure." I turned to Rhea.
"I'll see you later?"
"Definitely. Nice meeting a girl who isn't as obsessed with Harper as all those other bimbos."
That's what you think.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Harper took his shirt off.
Great starting point.
I mean, he has a body like a male model. Like girls would dream of. He has abs, a freaking six-pack.
Swoon.
I tentatively dipped my toe in th sea water, before retreating. "It's cold," I shivered. Harper rolled his eyes, before grabbing my hand and pulling me into the water. I shrieked and clung to his arm, tip toeing my way through.
"Never thought you'd be the clingy type, baby doll," Harper smirked, passing me my enormous surfboard. I took it from him, sticking my tongue out and letting go of his arm as I slowly got used to the water. We continued walking forward, until I was at shoulder height (chest height for Harper).
"Okay, so lay your surfboard down on the water... " Harper began, strapping the surfboard-leash thingy around his wrist. I did as he said, putting it on the water, letting the waves lap at it.
"Okay." Harper turned to me. "This part is quite hard, so I'm going to help you." He looked so adorable, eyebrows furrowed seriously as he helped me climb up on the surfboard. Automatically, without his help, I stood up on the surfboard, looking down at Harper, awaiting his next instruction. He was only gaping up at me.
"What?" I asked self-consciously, still balanced on the surfboard.
Oh gods.
Oh my gods, it's probably my swimtop, it's white, it must have gone see through.
I looked down at my swimtop, and sure enough, you could see the vibrant turquoise of my bikini. I flushed red, crossing my arms over my chest in an attempt to cover up.
"How did you stand up so quickly?"
I looked at Harper, confused. "What do you mean?"
"How did you manage to stand up so quickly? How do you have such great balance? It took me ages to be able to stand on a surfboard!"
Oh, so it's not my swimtop. Thank god.
I blushed slightly. "You can't tell anyone...?" I asked hopefully. Harper rolled his eyes.
"Sure, whatever."
"I do karate."
Silence.
Oh my gods, why did you tell him that? No girls do karate exept for you! You sound like a freak.
Harper looked up at me in awe. "Seriously? You do karate?"
I rubbed my arms self-consciously. "Hey, don't sound so surprised."
Harper looked truly shocked. He flailed his arms around, attempting to create hand gestures but failing. "B- but you're so clumsy... " he trailed off.
"Thanks," I mumbled, sarcasm lacing my voice. Harper looked up at me once more, eyes bright and serious.
"Baby doll," he began, his voice strained, as if speaking hurt him physically. "That's hot."
Wait, what?
I staed at him, confused. "Never mind," he sighed. "Come on, I'll show you what to do."
He raised himself up on his own surfboard, arms flexing, muscles rippling. I looked away before he could catch me staring. "Okay, baby doll, you have to start off on your stomach... "
I glanced back at Harper, who was lying flat on the surfboard. "Then- " He looked behind him, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, fuck, baby doll, get down before the wav- "
Harper's voice was cut off by the roaring sound of water rushing into my ears. The sea water from the wave that had hit me and sent me flying off my surfboard stung my eyes as I tumbled through the waves. I shut my eyes quickly, trying to find the surface before two strong hands clamped down on my waist. I felt myself being lifted up, and suddenly there was air, fluttering around me. I took a deep breath. The hands placed me atop a surfboard, and I finally opened my eyes, still faintly stinging from the water.
Harper stood before me, his raven black hair wait, and swept messily to the side, rivulets of water running down his muscles, green eyes bright.
Um, major swoon.
I swear, this boy will be the death of me.
"You okay, baby doll?" Harper asked, his hands still on my waist. My swim top had rode up slightly, so his warm fingers were gently brushing my bare skin, making me shudder with the pleasure of it. The water was up to Harper's chest, so finally, he was lower than me, and I was looking down at him.
"I'm fine," I mumbled, turning my head down slightly to look at him. At this, my hair fell around my shoulders, wet and sticking to my skin.
I must look like a drowned rat.
I lifted my arms up quickly to move my hair back from my face, thus lifting my top even more to show more of my stomach. I couldn't help but smile slightly when Harper's eyes caught on the area of exposed skin, and his breathing got shallower.
Score one to me.
I expected him to pull his hands back, but he didn't, and smirked instead. "Too bad, I was looking forward to giving you CPR, babe," he winked.
I blushed and hit the back of his head with my hand. "I was under the water for five seconds, idiot, not five minutes!"
He grinned and rubbed his thumb on my sides. I jerked at the feeling, making me lean more into his hands. "Am I really the idiot?" He mumbled, his voice low and husky.
God, that was sexy.
He ghosted his fingers over my sides.
I opened my mouth, trying to speak, but nothing came out but a jumble of sounds due to our proximity. Harper smirked again.
Right now, I had about as much dignity as a bottle of nail varnish.
Before I could lose anymore, I summoned all the energy I had in me, I grabbed his hands, attempting to pull them off, but instead he captured my hands and interlaced them with his.
I stopped cold.
He didn't notice, looking down at my hand with badly painted finger nails and brushed them lightly with his thumbs. I didn't try to pull away. Not because I wanted him to hold my hands, but simply because I couldn't.
"Noelle?" he muttered, still gazing down at my hands.
"Yeah?" I whispered.
"Are you ever going to tell me what was wrong the other day? When Ms George pulled you into the office?"
I tensed at this. Harper looked up at me, worry evident in his eyes.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, baby doll."
"No," I shook my head. "I'll tell you."
Are you crazy, Noelle? You have known him for like, a month or two? And you're telling him everything?
I don't know why, but I just trusted him.
I took a deep breath. "The principal asked me to do an assembly for school near the end of the year. Maybe in May."
"What?" Harper responded immediately.
"The principal- "
"No, I heard what you said, it's just- you have social anxiety! How are you going to go up in front of all those people? I mean, if you have a really bad panic attack- "
"Harper, it's fine- "
"-Then it could include some really bad after effects! Like- "
"Harper- "
"-Addictive disorders, eating disorders, mood disorders, greater anxiety and depression! Oh, fuck, baby doll, I can't let that happen to you. You can't go up on that stage."
I stopped him from his nervous (might I say, adorable) rambling, by fidgeting my hand in his. "Harper... " I began, happiness rising in my stomach in a little bubble. "How do you know so much about panic attacks?"
Harper blushed.
I repeat, he blushed. Bright pink.
Awww.
He looked down, bashfully. "Well, I may have done some research on it," he began. "And watched a few documentaries... "
The bubble of happiness burst inside me. I grinned and flug my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. The image of Harper sitting at a TV watching a documentary on anxiety for me, made me feel as if, I don't know, there was a fifty percent sale at a book shop. That good.
"You would do that for me?" I mumbled into his neck. Silence, before he answered, almost reluctantly.
"Yeah."
"Thank you," I whispered. I felt him smile and bury his face into my wet hair.
"No problem."
I pulled back from the hug, still grinning wildly, so I was sure I looked like the Joker. I didn't care.
He cares.
He smiled too.
"Wait, what is you assembly going to be about?"
Here comes the storm.
"Social anxiety and panic attacks...?" I said cautiously, but it came out as a question. Harper gaped at me, before shaking his head. "No. No. Noelle, you can't do this. You can't."
"I'm sorry, Harper, but I wan't to do this. I can't keep hiding forever."
He held my eyes with his, before sighing and giving up. "Fine, but if you ever feel uncomfortable, or not at ease, it's okay, just stop, okay? If you need support, don't worry, I'll be right at your side, holding your hand. I won't ever let go if you want me too."
I didn't say anything, just squeezed his hand.
But that was enough.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
After we went surfing (with my many failed attempts), we went back onto the sand to meet with Emma and Max, along with a few other random people at school that I never speak to. I had been so rudely persuaded to play a game of Never Have I Ever with them, everyone with alcohol, and I with an apple juice, because I refused to drink. We were currently sitting in a circle, around the spinning bottle. I couldn't help but be distracted for the whole game, as my knee was ever-so-slightly brushing, you guessed it, Harper's.
"Hey, guys! Can I join in?"
We all spun around to see Rhea standing there, hands on her hips, showing off her bikini. You could almost hear the sighs of all the boys. However, she wasn't looking at them, she was looking at Joshua, a spark of hope lit in her coffee brown eyes.
Hmmm.
He smiled and nodded, and she sat herself down next to me, between Harper and I. In a way, I was slightly relieved to not have sparks running through my body at every movement. Harper just looked at her, frustrated.
I leaned over, ever so slightly, to whisper in Rhea's ear. "Do you like him?" I gestured to Joshua. She smiled slightly and nodded. I grinned.
Time to put on my Cupid wings.
I leaned back to my seat as someone spun the bottle. It landed on a girl with blonde hair. She smiled. "Never have I ever, dated anyone."
Almost everybody's hands went to their drinks, including Emma who was next to me. To my surprise, Harper didn't reach for his drink. I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Dude, come one, you've had a girlfriend!" A boy named Marco called out. Harper shook his head.
"I've never had a girlfriend, never anything as comitted as that. Just hooked up, flings."
Well, that's great.
I bit my lip and looked down at the towel I was sitting on, picking and the blue strings.
"Are you looking to date anyone, though?"
This question grabbed my attention, and I snapped my head up to look at Harper. I almost didn't notice Emma gazing at me knowingly and Rhea cocking her head. I waited for Harper's answer eagerly.
Please, please, please.
"That depends," Harper continued smirking slightly and cocking his head. "If I fall in love."
"Are you falling in love with anyone now?" Marco asked.
Oh, gods.
I looked around the circle at all the girls who were staring at Harper hopefully, some leaning forward a bit, vainly trying to show off their cleavage.
Um, ew.
"You'll have to wait and find out," Harper stated, more softly now, as if someone had filed him down. I don't know why, but somewhere deep inside me it almost fell like it was just us, and he was talking just to me.
Yeah, but when is luck ever in my favour?
Everyone else had continued on with the game, but Rhea leant over to me, whispering in a similar fashion as I was earlier. Her next comment made me choke.
"How long have you had a crush on Harper for?"
I gagged and looked over to her.
"What?"
She rolled her eyes. "You heard me."
"I don't have a cr- crush on Harper," I stuttered.
"Noelle, sorry to break it to you, but it's pretty obvious. I think Harper's the only one who doesn't notice."
I blushed. "About a month."
Rhea grinned. "Awww... "
I narrowed my eyes at her, mocking anger before giggling a bit, causing her to laugh as well.
"Never have I ever had a guy say that they loved me." A voice said. I turned back to the game. A gay guy (who was so impossibly sweet), Mitchell, took a sip from his drink, as well as Emma.
Emma?
Wait, what?
I snapped my head towards her. "What?" I demanded. "Who said that they loved you?"
She blushed, before trying but failing to sneak a peek at Max, who had a hand resting on her knee. He blushed as well.
My eyes widened. "Seriously?" I asked. "He finally confessed his love to you?"
Emma shyly nodded.
"Congratulations!" I cried, flinging myself on Emma, hugging her tightly. She laughed and hugged me back. In her ear, I whispered, "Finally! Tell me when, later?"
She giggled.
I looked over at Max. "Congratulations, Max! But... if you break her heart, I will personally beat you with a shovel." I said in a deadly serious tone, pulling back from Emma.
He smiled. "I don't think I can ever be the heartbreaker in our relationship."
I grinned and hugged him as Emma flushed red.
By this time, the whole circle of people were surrounding Max and Emma, congratulating them. Through the blur of heads, I saw Harper look at me and wink. Of course, I blushed.
We had all settled down, after many hugs for Emma and Max, and were about to play another round, when I heard a group of girls gasping. It caught everyone's attention, and we all turned to look where they were looking.
And let me just say, damn.
A guy was walking across the beach, shirtless, abs on full show. He was blonde and had hair teased into a quiff, and he was insanely hot.
Not as hot as Harper, but hot.
He seemed to know the effect he had on everyone, and walked with his head held high, almost strutting.
"Who's that?" I mumbled to Emma. She shrugged. "I don't know, but damn he is hot."
I couldn't help but bluntly nod in agreement. A guy, I think it was Harper, made a disgusted grunt. I ignored it.
"That's Alfie," Rhea muttered in my ear. "Joshua's older brother. Nineteen. Hot as hell, but was arrested last year for drugging a girl and giving her too much alcohol." I nodded, snapping myself from my gaze, no longer interested.
Just to my luck, Alfie's gaze caught on something (or someone, I think it was Harper) behind me, before smirking and letting his gaze fall on me. He then began to come closer to me, striding.
Is he coming to me?
I felt girls sending jealous stares at me before he reached me. "Hey, babe," he began.
"Hey... ?" I replied, confused.
"Fuck off," Harper said, rage evident in his voice.
"What's wrong, Andrews? PMSing?" Alfie replied.
Harper growled, before I heard the faint ringing of his phone.
Alfie winked at me. "See ya later, babe," and with that, he just strode off.
Least to say, I was quite shaken up.
Why me?
I turned back to the group of staring eyes.
Silence.
I shrugged feebly.
"Dude, how did he talk to you?"
I shrugged again, looking around for Harper, trying to ignore the eyes. I finally caught sight of him, he was about twenty meters away, pacing around, talking on his phone. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he was off, darting across the beach, slippinrg behind the trees leading to the carpark.
What?
Wait, how could he leave me?
Didn't he forget he was meant to drive me home?
It's okay. It must have been important. I'll get a ride from someone else.
I turned back to the game, but this time, I couldn't help but feel as if I was enjoying myself as much. The nagging feeling continued all night.
Heyllo!!! I updated :) heehee
Okay, guys, from now on, I will be dedicating each chapter to a different reader!
Next chapter's dedication goes to the nicest comment :)
Thank you!
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