Wednesday, 23rd of March.
Harper had woken up with a smile on her face, despite her phones alarm, which blared out the annoying marimba tune that made her want to rip her ears off. Today she was going on a date with Luke, she had been catching up with him everyday for coffee, and she couldn't help but to romanticise about the alluring conversations they had. She felt as if they had a connection, one she felt ran deeper than just friendship. She did not know if Luke felt the same.
"Harper? Do you want breakfast?" Harper shook her head at her father before she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She heard his footsteps retreating as she stepped under the hot flow of water, it instantly soaked her body.
She spent more of the time in the shower daydreaming, than actually washing, but that was expected from someone like Harper. After she had towel dried her hair, she found herself an outfit- a black high-waisted skater skirt, and a lilac crop top- which she hurriedly changed into.
She had no clue where they were going, and at this point she didn't care. She chucked on some foundation, powder and mascara- she was never one to put on excessive amounts of makeup, frankly because she could never be bothered. Making her way downstairs she greeted her parents with a quick, comforting hug. She couldn't get rid of the smile on her face, she always knew that her and Luke had this connection, but it still felt surreal.
Luke stood in front of his closet mirror, adjusting the flat cap that he had placed on his head. He had gone for a casual look; black skinny jeans that he never seemed to take off (although these were a clean pair), a black t-shirt and black vans.
"You shouldn't be playing her around like this Luke." Calum appeared at his doorway, casually leaning against the door frame. His biceps on clear display as he folded his arms across his chest.
Luke nodded his head, he knew it was wrong. He could see that she had some sort of feelings for him, but he couldn't help his selfish urge to take down the Potestas in the area. Luke was even sure that he could feel himself getting feelings for the forest girl, she just had such a likeable personality. He found that the more he spent time with her, the more he liked her.
They were polar opposites, but Luke still felt a connection between them.
"Luke?" Calum spoke again.
"Yes, I know. It's more than that Cal." He sighed, he turned his attention away from the mirror and focussed on his best mate. Calum looked at him with a neutral look, he eventually nodded at Luke and stepped out of the way, allowing Luke to pass by.
"I hope you know what you're doing." He clapped Luke on the back as he walked past. Luke turned around to see Calum grinning at him, Luke grinned back as he made his way out of the house, patting his pockets to make sure he had the essentials; keys, wallet, and phone.
Luke was nervous as he pulled into Harper's driveway. He hadn't put much effort into the date, he had other more important things to attend to, he couldn't have this getting in the way. Although, what Luke found strange was that he couldn't get Harper out of his head: he knew he was developing feelings for her.
Luke raised his hand and knocked on the door, adjusting his hat one more time. The door was answered by a tan man who looked to be in his mid-thirties. Luke focussed on his eyes, the same forest green as Harper, immediately he recognised the blonde haired man as Harper's father.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" The man said, he braced a hand on the frame of the door, a welcoming smile on his face.
"Um, is Harper home?" Luke glanced into the house, he looked at the modern furniture.
"Of course, you must be Luke? I'm Logan, her father." Logan moved aside and allowed Luke to enter the spacious house. Luke entered just as Harped had descended the stairs, she looked distressed. Lukes eyes roamed her attire, noticing the way the lilac top made her light brown hair look darker than it actually was, and the way the black skirt made her eyes look brighter than the sun on a shiny day. He took his lip ring between his teeth and lightly chewed on it, he couldn't deny that Harper looked cute, especially when she was flustered.
"Dad have you seen my purse? I can't find it." She had sworn under her breath as she messily shoved the papers on the bench to the floor, in hope to find her purse. Logan let out a small chuckle, clearly amused by his daughters forgetfulness.
"Don't worry, you won't need it." Luke spoke up, teeth lightly nibbling on his lip ring. Harper turned around, her hands gripped the counter as she looked to Luke in surprise. She hadn't realised he had shown up to her house yet.
"You're going to rip your lip if you keep doing that," Logan spoke to the younger male, "here take this." He opened his wallet and shoved a $100 note into Harper's pocket, kissed her cheek before he nodded to Luke and walked towards his room. Harper's face flushed as she walked towards Luke, her eyes wandered down to his van clad feet.
Luke's hand found its way under her chin, tilting it up slightly so that Harper's eyes stared into his own. He looked down at the smaller girl, and didn't think twice before he had attached his lips to hers, both melding together in perfect sync.
Harper's eyes closed in both; surprise, and bliss. She snaked her arms around Luke's neck, deepened the kiss further, her mind had forgotten about her parents who sat a room over, chatting silently. Luke moaned before he pulled back, their lips made a 'popping' sound.
"We should probably get going." Luke panted.
"Probably." Harper agreed, her hand subconsciously attached itself to Luke's. Her eyes widened once she had realised what she'd done, but relaxed when Luke made no comment, instead led her towards his car- a large, bulky, black SUV.
"So, where are we going?" Harper asked, as she released Luke's hand from her own and made her way to the passenger side. Her little legs didn't help when getting into a large car like Luke's, but Harper sucked it up as she hauled herself up and into the comfy, leather seat.
"I was thinking we could get some coffee, then go for a trek through the forest?" Luke glanced to his passenger for a brief moment, before averting his eyes back to the road. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Harper nod in agreement to his plans, or there lack of.
She deserved so much better.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, occasionally they sipped on their steaming hot coffees. Luke's fingers tapped against the steering wheel in an upbeat rhythm, while Harper's leg bounced up and down in anticipation. Harper was just about ready to jump out of the car, when Luke pulled it to a stop in a deserted parking lot, shifted it into park before he shut the engine off.
"We are here." Luke announced as him and Harper hopped out of the car. Luke took notice of the car that had stopped a hundred metres down the road, he knew that it was most likely the Potestas. Luke wouldn't hesitate to bet a hefty price of money that the occupants of the car were the Potestas; Abby, and Andrew. He stayed calm and collected, he knew they would be observing everyone in town, so if he acted natural then no harm would be done.
"Come on." Harper groaned, her hand reached out and gripped Luke's as she pulled him into the forest. Harper slowed as she let Luke lead her the rest of the way, due to her lack of coordination skills.
"Is this the same lake we went to the other day?" Harper asked after they had trekked through the forest for a few minutes. A smile found its way onto Luke's face, happy that she had remembered the lake. Hopefully this time would be as good as the last.
"I didn't bring bathers. God, Luke why didn't you tell me?" Harper let out a huff as she lightly punched Luke in the bicep, she caused nothing but a grin to appear on his face.
"You can just wear your bra and underwear." He hinted. The green-eyed girl shook her head in mock disgust as she shoved the blue-eyed boy back, before she stripped down to her undergarments. Harper shivered as the cold water ran around her ankles, sucked in a deep breath, and ran into the water until her entire body was drenched in the icy water.
She turned and stared at Luke who was only knee-deep, no signs of the icy water affecting him. Harper's green eyes glanced over Luke's body, he was shirtless which showed off his abs and the underwear he had on revealed a semi-prominent v-line. Her mouth started to go dry, the longer she stared.
Luke smirked as he waded towards Harper. He knew that she was checking him out, and that only boosted his ego as he continued to swim over to Harper who shivered slightly. As soon as Luke reached her, he wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace, hoping to protect her from the nightly chill that lingered in the air.
The duo stayed in the water for well over an hour before Luke suggested that they should get out, he noticed that Harper was shivering more and more even though he had secretly increased the water temperature, although not on a noticeable level. Harper let out a whine as Luke's arms retreated from around her body.
"I'll go get the towels and some blankets, wait in the water, it'll be warmer than getting out." Luke gave her a quick kiss, one that lingered on Harper's lips well after he had gone. She sighed and started to swim around, trying to entertain herself until Luke returned with the promised blankets and towels.
Harper had only swam for a few minutes before she started to feel the temperature increasing, her body no longer shivered, instead it began to sweat. She frowned, confused at the sudden change but thought nothing off it as she pushed herself underwater, she hoped to cool herself down slightly. She screamed as something clamped itself around her ankle and gave a vicious tug, she felt a burning sensation before the pressure was gone, although something still held her firmly underwater.
She tried to scream for Luke. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold her breath after she had screamed, so she may as well be as loud as possible. A few tears slipped out of her eyes and joined the now icy water of the lake around her. Her heart accelerated before starting to slow down, just as her vision started to get hazy. Her mind drifted away as her arms and legs became limp.
Luke grabbed the abundance of towels and blankets from the car, before quickly making his way back to Harper, not wanting to keep her in the cold water for too long. He was only a few minutes away from Harper when a strange sensation overcame his senses, the water around him was screaming for help, warning him of a nearby danger. He swore quietly before and took off into a sprint, dropped the fluffy items on the ground by the lake before he dove straight into the lake.
Luke let the water lead him to Harper, and within seconds he was hovering in front of her semi-conscious body. He begged the water to free her from the numerous vines and leaves that had wrapped around her ankle, they gave with no resistance. He sighed in relief before hauling Harper out of the lake, where he laid her against the forest floor, his hands shakily checking for a pulse.
"Fuck." Luke cursed as he tried to feel a pulse, he eventually found one, although it was extremely weak. Luke prayed in his mind before placing his fingers flat against her chest and willing his element to help him heal her. Luke hardly ever used his powers on other people, and when he did he felt a large amount of pressure. His element would naturally heal him whenever he was injured, but healing someone else? Especially Harper, that almost made Luke want to vomit. Although he knew it was better than the alternative, which was her dying.
Harper felt a warm sensation run through her chest. She could hear someone muttering, which was soon drowned out by the sound of her vomiting large amounts of water that she had previously inhaled. "Fuck." Luke's voice repeated, followed by some murmuring.
"Harper? Can you hear me? I've called your dad and he's on his way." Luke was stressed, he had no clue what to do. He couldn't heal her completely, the onlooking Potestas would know what he was straight away, and then they would kill them both. He hoped that Abby and Andrew believed that he was performing cpr, not healing her with powers that most humans in the world didn't believe existed.
Luke had carried Harper's body to the carpark where he placed her sprawled out on the back seat, numerous blankets were wrapped around her body. Logan rocked up in lightening speed, which had made Luke sigh in relief, thankful that he would be getting proper help.
"What happened?" Logan asked Luke, his voice full of worry.
"I went to get blankets and towels and when I came back she was drowning. There was some vines and leaves wrapped around her ankle though." Luke's worried gaze shifted to Logan before retreating back to Harper's unconscious body.
"We need to take her to the hospital, follow me in your car." Luke nodded and hopped into the drivers seat, glancing at Harper through the rear vision mirror, before following Logan to the hospital.
Once they had arrived Harper was immediately taken back. Luke made a move to follow, but a hand to his chest stopped him, "sorry sir, you can't go through." Luke made a sound of protest but quickly shut up when he heard Logan yell to the nurse to let him through. Luke wasted no time in rushing to Logan who led him to a small room that smelled strongly of disinfectant.
"Is she going to be okay?" Luke rocked back and forth on his heels. Logan looked up at him for a brief moment and nodded his head.
"She'll be okay. There's hardly any damage; no water in the lungs, body temperature is close to normal, heart rate is normal. It's truly a miracle," Logan taped the IV down before he wrapped his arms around Luke's smaller frame, he continued, "Thankyou for saving my daughter. I know you may feel as if it's your fault, and it's not, remember that. You saved her." A tear fell from Logan's eye. Luke hugged back, not knowing what else to do.
Harper could hear an annoying beeping sound that made her groan. Her eyes opened, taking in the familiar hospital room, she had been in multiple times while growing up.
"Luke?" She called out, the blonde turned around at the sound of his name.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered and took her hand in his own.
"It's not your fault." Luke wanted to say, 'but it was', although he refrained from doing so as Logan entered the room.
"You're awake. You scared the shit out of me," Logan embraced his daughter in a hug, "I've signed the discharge papers, there's nothing wrong with you so we can head home whenever you feel like it."
Harper smiled warmly at the two men, "I feel fine, can we go home now?" Her father nodded and took off the heart monitor. Once determining that his daughter was perfectly fine he had removed most of the hospital equipment from her body, he knew how much she hated it.
"If at any time you feel sick or dizzy you let me know, okay?" Harper rolled her eyes before replying with a simple, "okay."
Luke was surprised once he stepped foot into Harper's home that her mother had embraced him in the biggest hug. "Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou." She repeated over and over again. Luke awkwardly wrapped his arms around Leia, waiting until Logan came over and removed a now crying Leia from Luke, and embraced her.
"She's just getting changed, her room is upstairs, you can't miss it." Logan told Luke as he held his crying wife. Luke nodded and hurried up the staircase, and into the room that had 'Harper' neatly written on it. Luke leant himself on the doorframe, watching Harper lie on her bed, silently staring at the ceiling.
"I'm sorry." Luke didn't know what else to say, so he repeated the same two words he had been telling her since she nearly drowned.
"Stop. It's not your fault, it was that stupid boy that grabbed me." Luke's head jerked up at the accusation.
"Boy?" He repeated, his eyebrow raised as he pressed his lips into a thin line. If it was the Potestas, particularly Larkin he would kill them. Although, Luke didn't understand why they would try to kill Harper when Larkin has been making such an effort with her.
"Yes. Well I think it was a boy, something grabbed me and pulled me under, it felt like a human hand and I know that there was another car that was there," Harper observed Luke, as she waited for him to tell her she was insane, but he never said anything as he continued to stare at her, "I know I sound crazy, but I swear that's what happened Luke."
"I never said you were crazy," he curved his lips into a small smile, "I'm just glad you're okay."
"I'd feel better if you came over and cuddled with me though." Harper was horrible at flirting. She cringed at her own statement, which Luke had immediately noticed, and let out a loud laugh as he sat himself down on the bed. He lied down and scooted himself up to Harper, his arms wrapping around her body as he pulled the covers up.
As they silently lay there, Luke couldn't get the two Potestas out of his mind. Had they deliberately tried to kill Harper to see if he was a Tractatori? Luke mind was racing, he knew that there was a fifty, fifty chance that he had been compromised. He sighed, telling himself that he would tell the boys tomorrow, but for now, he would try get a decent night sleep.
Birthday update. 💁🏻 just did a 3 and a half hour English exam... Then worked for four hours.
P.s- won't be an update for a little while, as I started exams today and need to focus on studying.