~~~~
Excuse the mistakes
Dedicated to XxRialler_HoranxX for making the lovely cover on the side! It is currently my phone background because I love it SOOOOO much!
~~~~
In the war between doing homework and procrastinating, the latter always seemed to win.
I glanced over at my abandoned economics textbook, which was still open to the page of homework questions I had yet to answer. I thought about reaching over and finishing them, seeing as it was almost dinner time and I also had to draft an English essay tonight in addition to the questions. However, it took a second for me to dismiss the thought because let's be honest; I'm a stereotypical teenager who would rather do something enjoyable than work on homework for the world's most boring class.
Maybe it was because of Ruby telling me about the portfolio competition a couple days ago, but lately, I'd been feeling particularly attached to my art supplies. I'd gone to the studio more often than usual to paint, and when I was home, I was working on sketches.
At the moment, I was using charcoal, which probably wasn't too smart because I was sitting on my bed without a towel or something down to protect my blanket and sheets. If my mom walked in on at me right now, she'd probably throw a fit and bitch me out. I mean, it would be totally deserved since I had been warned time and time again, but I honestly just didn't care.
I was using a picture of Olive and Lillian's hands while they were intertwined, which I'd used a lot to work on proportions, and as I finished the shading on one of the fingers, there was a knocking on my door. I frowned as I looked at the door, and I hesitated before calling, "Who is it?"
"Duke," the familiar voice called back, and I groaned. I debated not replying, but he already knew I was in here, and for some reason, I didn't think he would leave since he'd heard me.
"Come in," I replied reluctantly, and as my bedroom door opened, I adjusted my arm so that Duke wouldn't be able to see what I was working on, but I also wouldn't smudge the progress I'd made.
"Hey," Duke said quietly as he slipped into my room and shut the door. He leaned against my wall, and for a moment, there was an awkward silence. Ever since I slapped Duke in the school parking lot, he'd been trying to apologize and keep out of my way. I hadn't wanted a repeat of Duke showing up at the studio unannounced, so I had enlisted Olive to give me rides to and from the studio instead.
"Hi," I deadpanned, keeping my expression disinterested, and I asked, "Is there something I can do for you, Duke?"
"Uh, yeah," Duke said, scratching the back of his neck, "Your mom asked me to come and get you. Apparently, she has a surprise for us, and she seems really excited about it."
"Okay," I replied with a sigh, and I shut my notebook and placed it on my bedside table, along with the piece of charcoal I was using. Then, I kicked off my blanket, while being careful not to touch it with my hands, and I stood up.
That's when I felt the breeze and realized I wasn't wearing any pants.
"Let's party?" Duke asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement as he read the script on the front of my underwear.
"Fuck!" I squeaked, and I reached out towards Duke and grabbed his shoulders to spin him around. The charcoal on my fingers stained his light blue shirt, but I didn't care. I yanked open my door and roughly shoved him out into the hallway before slamming the door shut. I could hear Duke cracking up on the other side of the door, and my cheeks were burning with embarrassment.
I'd spilled Coke on my pants when I had started my homework, and since I hadn't expected a visitor, I just decided to go pant less. Apparently, that was not a smart move, and Duke had once again seen me in a compromising position. I wouldn't be surprised if it was all over school tomorrow.
Quickly, I slipped into the bathroom and washed the charcoal off of my hands. Then, I grabbed a pair of sweatpants off of the floor and yanked them on before shoving my feet into a pair of flip flops. I closed my eyes for a moment and exhaled, and then I opened my bedroom door to find Duke standing across from my door, his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth twisted up into a smirk.
If I didn't think he was such a huge asshole, I might've thought Duke looked hot.
"Purple is really your color," Duke commented, regarding my underwear, and he had the balls to nod towards my crotch. I smacked him the chest without a word, and I shot him a death glare. Then, I turned and started down the hallway to the stairs. The sooner I saw this surprise, the sooner I could go back to my room and hide from my embarrassment.
"Mom?" I called as I reached the bottom of the stairs, and I ran a hand through my hair. "Where are you?"
"Right here!" her voice sounded out from behind me, and I turned to see her hurrying out of the living room. My mom's eyes were bright with excitement, and she clapped her hands together. "Your father and I have gotten you a surprise," my mom stated, putting her hand on my shoulder, and then she nodded at Duke, "you too, Duke."
"Wow, thanks Mrs. Lynch," Duke said, and I almost burst out laughing at his whole 'golly gee' voice. I could see write through it in a second, but my mom? She just thought that Duke was a fine, polite gentleman. If she was seventeen, she'd known exactly what kind of guy he was.
"Where is this surprise?" I asked, and I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice. I hadn't forgotten the fact that Duke had just seen me in a t-shirt and panties, but I'd pushed it to the side so that I could enjoy whatever this surprise was. Hopefully, it was something good because the last time my mom got me a surprise, it was a new vacuum cleaner for my bedroom.
I apologize for not sounding absolutely thrilled.
"It's outside," my mom answered, grinning, and she gestured towards the door, "Your dad is outside with it. But first, you both need to close your eyes until I tell you that you can open them. I'll lead you outside."
"Is that really necessary?" I replied, my smile weakening. The last time my mom guided me anywhere with my eyes closed, I ended up running into a wall. I would like to not have to go to the hospital to have my nose set again.
"You won't break your nose this time, Harper," my mom said, reading my mind. I gave her a doubtful look, but when I glanced over to see Duke had already closed his eyes, I realized I had no choice. I sighed and shut my eyes, and then I heard the front door open. I felt my mom's hand on my arm, and a second later, I was being pulled blindly.
"We're going through the front door now," my mom warned, and I was instantly hit with the light breeze and cool, comfortable temperature. "One step down," my mom said, and I carefully, and somewhat fearfully, stepped down until I felt my foot land firmly on the ground. I did the same with my other foot, and then my mom continued to pull Duke and I forward. I knew we were standing on my front lawn because I could feel the softness of the grass beneath my feet.
"Ready?" my mom asked.
"Ready," I echoed firmly, and I heard Duke grunt in agreement.
"Alright," my mom replied, and she counted down, "Open your eyes on three. One... Two... Three!" My eyes snapped open, and the first thing I saw was my dad. Then, I saw what he was standing next to, and my jaw dropped.
"Is that what I think it is?" I asked, glancing over at my mom, and she nodded happily.
"We figured it was time for you to get your own," my dad said, and he put his hand down on the hood of the cherry red Jeep wrangler.
"Yeah," my mom added with a teasing grin, "your father and I are tired of lending you our cars, so this way, you don't have to bother us." Then, she suddenly became serious and stared straight at me, "I expect you to share this car with Duke while he's living with us, Harper."
"Okay," I said without hesitation. I wasn't too keen on spending time with Duke, especially alone in a car with him, but I didn't want my parents to take away said car. I'd been begging them for one since I got my license a year and a half ago, and now, I had my dream car.
There was, however, one stipulation for me sharing a car with Duke.
I turned, looked him dead in the eyes, and stated, "I'm driving."
*
If I had to come up with one thing that I liked about Duke, it was his taste in music.
I'll admit; I had been worried that during the morning rides to school, Duke would want to listen to the kind of hip hop music about getting down on his bitches and making it rain on some whores. However, to my surprise and delight, he went more for the White Stripes and the Wombats. The ride to school was still awkward, but at least the music was enjoyable.
I remembered back to last night, after I'd taken my Jeep out for a ride by myself, when I called Olive and ranted about having to share a car with Duke. I mean, I didn't want to come off as ungrateful, especially since I knew the car must've cost a lot, but I didn't want to spend more than a minute with Duke in an enclosed space. Olive, being the wonderful friend that she was, just let me vent, and she didn't judge because that's what best friends do.
"Hey Harper."
Duke's voice broke through Ryan Tedder's, and I watched with mild longing as he turned down "Counting Stars". There was a pause before Duke cleared his voice and continued talking. "I was wondering if you knew about the party Lauren is throwing tomorrow. Her parents are out of town, and it's supposed to be huge."
"I don't go to parties," I said flatly, and I kept my eyes facing forward as I pulled into the school parking lot.
"Oh," Duke replied, "And here I was, remembering the first time I met you, alcohol and all."
I pulled into the first senior parking lot I saw, and after putting the car in park, I turned to glare at Duke. Immediately, he realized his comment was a stupid one to make if he was trying to apologize for telling people about our little encounter. "I don't go to parties," I repeated, and without another word, I shut off the car.
I climbed out of the driver's seat and grabbed my backpack from the floor in front of the backseat. Then, without a second glance at Duke, I shut the door and started walking towards the school. Just when I was starting to feel less like I wanted to slap Duke again, he had to go and make that stupid comment about the wedding reception.
Was it really too much to ask for that special moment in my life to be buried forever?
As I walked down the row of cars, I spotted Olive pulling into her usual spot, and I grinned as I hurried over to her car. "Hey, O," I called as I reached her car.
Olive, who was just stepping out of the driver's side waved at me without looking up, since she was checking her phone with the other hand. "Hey Harper," she replied, and I noticed that she sounded a bit troubled.
"You okay?" I asked, and Olive shook her hair out of her face and looked up at me.
"Yeah, I guess," she said with a frown, "Lil's got a nasty cold, and she's at home throwing up. She's had it since Monday, and I'm really starting to worry that it's something more severe than just a little twenty-four hour cold."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said genuinely, and Olive shrugged before slipping her phone in her pocket and then standing up. She grabbed her backpack and closed her door, and then Olive and I started towards the school together.
Suddenly, I felt like somebody was watching me, and I slowed down and looked over my shoulder. Sure enough, Duke was looking past the two cheerleaders trying to get his attention, and when he saw that I had caught him staring, Duke pursed his lips and averted his eyes. I frowned in thought, but before that could go anywhere, I slammed into something solid and then a split second later, I was landing painfully on my ass in the parking lot.
"Ow," I breathed, taken completely by surprise. My tail bone was throbbing, and I literally had no idea what had hit me. Well, actually, what I had hit.
"Shit, sorry Harper," said a familiar voice from just in front of me, and I looked up to see Justin standing there, his hand outstretched to help me up. "My bad."
"Oh, no," I replied, shaking my head somewhat erratically, "That was my fault; I wasn't looking where I was going." Then, I slipped my hand in Justin's and he helped pull me up off of the ground. "Thanks," I said with a nervous grin, and I crossed my arms over my chest self-consciously.
There was an awkward moment of silence before Justin ran a hand through his hair and said, "Hey, so, I was actually just looking for you."
"Yeah?" I asked, trying to keep my surprise from showing. I glanced over at Olive, who was fully aware of my crush on Justin, and she looked like she was texting and not paying attention, but she really was. Olive could be stealthy like that.
"Yeah," Justin said with a crooked grin, "I was wondering if you'd heard about Lauren's party tomorrow?"
"Oh," I replied, nodding once, "I'd heard that she was having one, yeah." I decided not to mention that I'd heard it less than five minutes ago from Duke, since that didn't seem pertinent and I was focused on Justin.
"Well," Justin drawled, and he shoved his hands in his jeans, "I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? You know, if someone hasn't asked you yet."
"Yes," I blurted, and then I mentally kicked myself for sounding so desperate. "Yes," I repeated, calmer this time, "I'd like to go to the party with you, Justin."
"Great," Justin said brightly, "Awesome! I'll pick you up around eight tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," I confirmed, and Justin's grin widened.
Suddenly, someone called his name and Justin glanced over my shoulder before saying, "Well, I have to get going, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay," I repeated, and Justin nodded at me before walking around me and yelling something at the person who'd called his name.
Immediately, I turned to look at Olive, who had put her phone away and was now grinning at me. "Well," she commented, folding her arms over her chest, "That went pretty well, didn't it?"
I could even respond with words. I just grinned broadly and put my hands on my stomach, which was full of butterflies. My crush had just asked me out to a party, and he'd gotten my name right this time. I was beyond excited, and it took all my will power not to squeal like a tween meeting the cast of High School Musical.
~~~~
Here is the new chapter!
so the party... what's gonna happen there?
Man, I have school tomorrow, and I just don't wanna go. I'm about to have my third day of my senior year, and I already have senioritis. Whoops, haha, wut... >_
Song on the side is "Counting Stars", a song I love. I love OneRepublic so much, and I just think Ryan Tedder is fantastic!
FAN
VOTE
SHARE
COMMENT
~~~~