Harper fought the urge to sigh as her phone buzzed with an incoming text. The fifth one of the morning and it was only just after eight. Because she was morbidly curious, she glanced at the screen and was unsurprised to see that it was from Hawk. Another one to add to the collection of texts she'd ignore. She didn't have the desire nor the stomach to read the messages let alone reply. Because from what she gathered, they were all the same. Confused apologies that did nothing to undo the shit show that was last night.
Because it was over. They were over. Their friendship, whatever they had been, was null and void. Undone in the span of a few minutes.
Even when the emotional knife twisted itself into her heart, she convinced herself that it was for the best. That their relationship had been a delusional fantasy that would've failed either way. Rather than face her feelings, Harper slapped a bandaid over her heart. It was a temporary fix that she'd likely bleed through but it was the only solution she had.
Harper watched as the phone screen faded to black and only then did she let herself breathe. The sudden urge to pick her phone up and reply to all of his messages was strong but she fought against it. Her traitorous heart would have her do something stupid so she left her phone on the kitchen counter before joining her family for breakfast.
"You're not hungry? You've barely touched your breakfast," Olivia commented while sipping her coffee.
Harper looked up from the scrambled mess she'd made of her food before putting her fork down with a sigh. "I don't really have an appetite," she said and pushed her plate away. "Demetri and I kinda ate our body weight in pizza last night. I guess I'm still full from that."
"How come we never get pizza?" Cole asked with a frown.
"We had pizza three nights ago," Lucas reminded him.
"Yeah, but we never go out for pizza. Everyone knows pizza tastes a thousand times better when you don't get it delivered," Cole said.
Lucas subtly rolled his eyes. "We'll do that next time, buddy."
"Promise? Because you guys kinda always say we will and then we don't," Cole said through a mouthful of food, his words more mumbled than coherent.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Olivia told him, shaking her head at his lack of table manners.
Cole quickly chewed his food and swallowed theatrically. "You didn't answer my question."
Lucas chuckled. "We'll all go out for pizza next week, how does that sound?"
Cole nodded once with a satisfied smile. "Great," he said in between bites of food.
Olivia wrinkled her nose before she shook her head in disapproval. Sighing, she looked towards Harper, a concerned look crossing her face at her quietness. "You're really quiet this morning. What's going on?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," Harper said with a forced smile.
"No, she's not. She broke up with her boyfriend last night," Cole said.
"Cole," Harper hissed but the damage was already done.
"What?" Lucas choked out in between coughs. "Liv, did you know about this? Since when does she have a boyfriend?"
"Ex-boyfriend. I just told you that they broke up like a minute ago. You always say that I don't listen but neither do you," Cole said with a sigh. "But he keeps texting her. Like a lot. He sent like ten texts in a row saying that he was sorry for something or other."
"You went through my phone?"
"No, he texted you when you weren't in the room. It's not like I was snooping. Maybe you shouldn't leave your phone lying around everywhere if you're that worried about people seeing your texts."
"Can someone fill me in? I didn't even know Harper was dating. Liv, did you know?" Lucas asked, trying to wrap his head around this.
"Oh, my god," Harper muttered, burying her head in her hands as the conversation carried on without her. Had it been any other time, she would've found this to be hilarious. But her wounds were still raw, her heart hadn't even begun to heal. So having everyone discuss her personal life while she had yet come to terms with the breakup was incredibly painful.
It wasn't a topic she was ready to discuss. Not until she processed everything on her own. And there was no telling when that would be. She'd been careless in letting someone into her life and now her heart was shattered.
"Can you just please stop?" She asked, raising her voice to be heard above the animated chatter. "I really don't want to talk about this. Not yet."
"You're not even going to tell us what happened? Oh, come on," Cole whined.
Lucas started to speak but Olivia held up her hand, stopping all conversation around them.
"Harper's right. We need to respect her privacy," Olivia said. "But we're here if you want to talk."
"Thanks," she said, sighing with relief that all of the speculation and discussion had stopped. She appreciated their concern but it was too much, too soon. "But if it's okay, I think I'm gonna go to Sam's for a bit. I kinda need to get out of the house for a bit."
Olivia nodded. "Yeah, of course that's okay."
"I'll drive you," Lucas offered. "Go get ready."
Harper hesitated but nodded.
"Lucas," Olivia warned, shaking her head at him but he waved away her concern.
"I promise to leave her alone," Lucas said.
Harper averted her eyes as the sun streamed in through the windows. Blinking against the spots in her eyes, she turned to look out the passenger side window. The downtown area passed by in a colorful blur which soon turned residential the farther they drove. Save for the music that played through the speakers, neither of them spoke.
She preferred it this way. No answering any questions or being asked to explain the truth bomb that Cole had dropped at breakfast this morning. Harper still wondered how he knew so much about her relationship when she'd only told Olivia. And even that hadn't been the whole truth since she kept the karate training part to herself.
But Lucas kept true to his word about leaving her alone. Or, at least, he had. Because as they neared Sam's, Harper got the sinking feeling that a conversation was brewing. It has been for some time now.
There was nothing more she wanted than to avoid the topic. She naively hoped that the more interested she was in the houses that passed them by that Lucas wouldn't bring it up. Or that he'd at least save it for another time when the heartbreak wasn't so fresh.
The car slowed to a crawl in front of Sam's house. Harper reached for her seatbelt, ready to sprint out of the car and just as she grabbed the door handle, Lucas stopped her. Asked her to wait. With an inaudible sigh, sat back in her seat and angled her body to face him.
"What's up?" She asked innocently, still holding out hope that he didn't actually want to talk.
"I talked to Liv when you went to get ready. I had to know what was going on with you, and she filled me in on what you've been doing and hanging out with," Lucas said, watching her.
"I wasn't trying to keep it a secret," Harper said apologetically.
"I'm not mad at you, Harper. I'm just... worried."
"You don't have to be."
"It's kinda my job, kid," Lucas told her with a grin. "Look, I don't want to seem like the overbearing dad but I just wish that you would stay away from Cobra Kai. I probably sound like a hypocrite since Johnny's one of my best friends but getting involved with Cobra Kai is like playing with fire. It's dangerous, especially now that Kreese is involved. I just, I don't know. I don't trust that guy. So I'd rather you weren't involved with them."
"I'm not. Trust me." Harper had the same exact sentiments for Cobra Kai and Kreese. Save for her short lived relationship with Hawk, there wasn't anything tying her to them.
"But I also know a little about that kid you were seeing. Hawk. Let's just say that I'm not a fan. He's been in my classes the last couple years and he actually used to be a nice kid but he's changed over the last year. He turned into one of the biggest bullies at school. So you can see why I'm concerned."
Harper appreciated the worry more than she could express it. After months of living under their roof, it was one of the things that she couldn't get used to. To have people who genuinely cared for her wellbeing. To actually matter to someone. In the life of a foster kid, it was such a rarity.
And somehow, Harper was the one it happened to.
"I get it but I'm done with that, with him."
Lucas nodded slowly, taking a few seconds to study her. "Do you want to tell me what happened? Cole said he was apologizing for something and if he hurt you-"
"No. It wasn't like that. He didn't do anything." She thought back to the other night of how Hawk literally stood by and refused to help Demetri. "We were together and now we're not. I guess I just realized that we wouldn't work out. It's probably for the best anyway." That last part was said quietly because she was trying to convince herself of it. Because her traitorous heart still missed him.
"Okay, good. That's good." He gave her arm a fatherly squeeze. Or at least that's what it felt like because Harper had nothing to compare it to. "I think I'm gonna leave these kinds of talks for Liv but I just wanted to check in and tell you that if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you," he said with a nervous smile. Clearing his throat, he nodded out the window and toward the LaRusso's house. "Alright, well, go hangout with your friends."
As much as she appreciated the check in, Harper eagerly exited the car.
Harper waved to Lucas as he backed out of the driveway before stepping inside the house that felt like a second home to home. She followed the sound of her friends' voices to where she found them mid-conversation in the living room. After the way last night had gone, she needed them even if she couldn't talk to them about what happened. Because now that she and Hawk were no longer anything, it was a secret she had no intention of telling.
She broke things off before Kreese's deadline. Now she just hoped that he'd keep his end of the bargain by not revealing her secret.
"Hey," she said quietly as she lowered herself onto the couch beside Demetri.
"What are you doing here?" Robby asked, looking her way.
"Yeah, it's good to see you, too." Harper shot him with a curious look just a sSam hit him on the arm.
"Seriously?" Rolling her eyes, Sam turned to her. "Don't listen to him. You can come over anytime."
"Thanks, Sam," Harper said with an overly bright smile at her friend.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Robby protested after receiving a glare from both girls. "Seriously, Harper. I just didn't think you'd be here today. You've been kinda busy the last few weeks that you usually just came to practice in the afternoons. And I...," he trailed off at the smile that appeared on her face. Sighing, he said, "You weren't really mad, were you?"
Harper shook her head while laughing. "No. But it was really funny seeing you panic."
"You're terrible," Robby muttered but returned the smile.
"So," Harper said as she sat back against the cushions. She looked from Sam to Robby expectantly, a smile growing on her face. "So, talk! How was your date? Did you guys have fun?"
Robby and Sam shared a look before Sam sighed and said, "Not exactly."
Harper threw a questioning look toward them. "But it sounded like you guys were having fun from all the texts you sent. What happened?"
"Miguel and Tory were there," Robby said.
"I think they were there on a date," Sam added bitterly.
"And that ruined your night because?" Harper asked, not understanding.
"Because she wouldn't leave us alone. All night long Tory just kept bothering us, even after we tried to ignore her," Sam explained.
"Let me guess, it didn't work?" Demetri asked.
"Nope. So I finally fought back but that ended up with us getting kicked out. It was a nightmare! We really wanted our first date to be fun but Tory ruined it."
"But she got in trouble, too, right?" Demetri asked.
Sam scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course not," she muttered. "Apparently she works there so the staff sided with her."
"Maybe that was the whole point, you know? To make you look bad," Harper pointed out.
"'Maybe. Probably," Robby agreed.
"And Miguel's just oblivious to it all? Like he didn't see how she was treating us? It doesn't make sense. She's such a wrong fit for him," Sam continued, oblivious to the questioning look Harper shot her.
"Sorry your night was ruined," Harper said with a sad smile. She'd hoped that their night had gone better but unfortunately Cobra Kai ruined it, too. They were everywhere, it seemed, hiding in the shadows and ready to strike.
"How was your night? Did you manage to get Demetri out of the house?" Robby asked.
Harper laughed. "Yeah. We went out for pizza and it was fun but... we kinda ran into Cobra Kai, too."
"You're kidding," Sam said with disbelief.
"I wish. Everything was going great until we left and were like two blocks away. I realized I left my phone back at the pizza place so I had to go back. Demetri stayed behind and I was only gone for a few minutes but it didn't take long for them to find him."
Harper spent the next few minutes divulging all of the ugly details of last night, which had been a nightmare that started like a daydream. Until Cobra Kai got involved and then everything imploded on itself. Even having so many hours to process what happened didn't give Harper a peace of mind. Sitting there, she wondered if she could've handled things differently. Handled them better.
But the answer was no.
Harper had done what was right even if it had been difficult. It was the only option.
Robby's eyes narrowed as he took in the fresh bruises on Demetri's face. "Shit. They did that to you?"
"Yeah but I got a few punches in, too," Demetri said proudly before remembering how quickly the fight went downhill after that. "But I still couldn't defend myself like you guys can. Pretty pathetic, huh?"
"You're not pathetic, Demetri. You were just outnumbered," Sam said.
"She's right," Robby said but Demetri snorted in disbelief. "Any one of us would've had trouble fighting back against a group of them."
"You guys don't have to make me feel better," he said sullenly. "If Harper hadn't stepped in to help then I'd probably have a broken arm instead of just a few cuts and bruises."
Truthfully, if Hawk hadn't broken the fight up then it would've ended with both of them injured. As late as he was to step in, he had helped. But, of course, she couldn't say that aloud because it would seem as if she was grateful for his help. And that would raise more questions than she cared to answer.
Gradually, the conversation veered off in a different, happier direction that didn't involve the rival dojo. Talks of end of summer plans and the upcoming school year were brought up and, for once, Harper didn't hate talking about it. She'd be here permanently. There was no longer any question about what her future would hold.
When Sam left for the kitchen to grab them something to drink, Harper offered to help.
She followed Sam into the kitchen who animatedly chatted away. She leaned against the counters, watching but not listening because her mind allowed a worried thought to trickle in. Ever since Sam mentioned what happened on their date, she couldn't rid herself of it. Of how Sam described Miguel and Tory.
Biting her lip, she took the offered drink and took a small sip.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked. "Are you still thinking about last night?"
"Yeah, kind of. It's just... Do you still have feelings for Miguel?" She asked before she could stop herself.
Sam froze, a laugh bubbling out of her mouth as she turned towards her. Her eyes widened in shock, thrown off by the random question. "What? No, of course not! Why would - how could you think that?"
Harper took half a step forward and lowered her voice so their conversation didn't leave the room. "You just seemed... I don't know, you just seemed kinda jealous when you talked about Miguel and Tory."
"Harper, I'm not jealous. I just don't like Tory, you know that. She's trouble and she's Cobra Kai-"
"So is Miguel," Harper interrupted. "Look, I get that you two have some sort of rivalry, hatred thing going on but... it's not up to you who Miguel dates. You two broke up and you're with Robby now and... it wouldn't be fair to either of you if you still had feelings for him."
Sam's otherwise expressive face was void of emotions. There was no way to tell what she was thinking or feeling other than the shock that she expressed a few minutes ago. But Harper stood her ground, needing to know if what she took as real was imagined or not. Their friend group was already fragile thanks to all the secrets she'd kept from them (and continued to keep) that she worried anymore would break them all apart.
"You can talk to me, Sam. I won't tell Robby or anyone but I just don't want anyone getting hurt."
Sam sighed heavily and leaned against the counter. "I'm not jealous. I just.... I guess I still care for Miguel but whatever you think I meant back there is wrong. I swear. I'm happy with Robby."
Harper nodded though a part of her was still unconvinced. But rather than dissect the conversation and all the nonverbal cues, she decided to trust her friend. To believe her.
With the conversation over, they returned to the living room where they spent the next few hours talking. Laughing. Being regular teenagers whose summer was slowly coming to an end. And Harper wouldn't have had it any other way.
** This chapter's a little bit on the short side but I still hope you guys like it! I think we needed some Harper/Lucas time :) Don't forget to leave comments and vote :) **