"You're calling me again" the deep voice started.
I took a deep gulp and stared at the screen despite it being a phone call recording .
"You know I wouldn't be calling if I didn't need you" I instantly recognized the voice that replied as Dana and Jude's eyes widened slightly.
"Just yesterday you were telling me to never contact you again and now, what? Dana, you gotta make up your mind" the mans voice was gruff as if it killed him to even be on the line.
"Jeffrey" Dana whispered.
I heard a long sigh on the other line and the man clicked his tongue, "Meet me at our spot"
And then the line went dead.
"Wait, no that can't be all" Jude snapped staring at Andrew, "There's gotta be more...something that'll tell me~"
"Jude, it's pretty obvious what's happening here" I interjected as he stared at the computer screen searching for answers he wouldn't find, "Dana is totally shacking up with this guy"
"Of course you would say that" Jude abruptly stood up and shook his head, "You don't even know him; he's married"
"Hate to break it to you dude, but I don't think Harper is trying to be a tool...that's honestly what it sounded like" Ethan murmured gently.
"You guys don't get it, my mom isn't like that" Jude insisted pleading with his eyes for me to side with him, "Harper you have to know that"
"Jude..." I ran a hand through my hair and caught Andrew's look. He shook his head slightly, only enough for me to see but I understood, "You're right...maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions"
In this group of people, parents were a sticky topic and saying the wrong thing could offset a flurry of events.
Jude's face instantly brightened, "Please just give her the benefit of the doubt until I can find out more"
"If you want, we could help you out once you get any new information" Andrew murmured giving Jude a small smile to which he beamed at.
"Thanks dude" Jude nodded, "I think I'll head out for now, though"
I quickly got up and rummaged around for my keys, "I didn't think you had to be back home so soon"
Jude stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder firmly, "I was thinking of stopping at a friends house first"
"Sure, just tell him to give me the wifi password and I'll be perfectly content on the porch" all the guys gave me incredulous looks and Jude turned pink.
"It's a she and I'd rather not"
My jaw dropped and I gave Jude a look, "You have a female friend?"
"Shut up, Harper" he replied rolling his eyes, "It's not a big deal"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Cuz I knew you'd do that" he said slightly disgusted, "And look at me like I was a puppy that just learned a new trick"
"Well, at least let me drop you off and scope this chick out. My bitch radar is amazing" I smiled giving him a thumbs up to which he glared at.
"No, I'll take the bus or something"
"Jude" I groaned slightly upset that he didn't want me to meet this girl.
"I may not be old enough to vote but I'm old enough to take the bus and be alone with girls without my sister holding my hand" Jude rolled his eyes and I recoiled slightly.
"Ew I would never hold your hand while you were with a girl...that's not even remotely okay" I sighed finally understanding what he meant. I was acting like a proud mother who just found out her child had their first crush. Jude wasn't a child and, most notably, he wasn't my child. I needed to calm down.
"Sorry...I've never had a sibling before" I said slightly embarrassed.
Jude let out a loud laugh and pulled me in for a hug, resting his chin on the top of my head, "Neither have I"
"But I'm horrible at this" I grumbled into his chest to which he laughed at.
"I wouldn't have chosen anyone else to be my 'older sister who isn't really older', alright?" I pulled away from him and made a face.
"As if you had a choice"
"This is true" he winked picking up his backpack, kissing me on top of the head and waving goodbye to the guys.
"That makes me miss my brothers" Chandler quipped wiping a fake tear, "That is until I remember they used to give me wedgies relentlessly and flushed my gold fish, Mr. Goldsworthy, down the toilet...bunch of freaking animals"
"You named your fish Mr. Goldsworthy? Dude, what the hell?" Andrew asked cracking up.
"I didn't judge you for having a stuffed penguin named ping ping, now did I?" Chandler retorted which made Andrews face go slack.
I tried to hold my laughs in but they proved to be too strong, "Really? Ping ping?"
Andrew clenched his jaw and gave Chandler a glare, "I told you that in confidence, you ass"
"Just like I told you about the Emma Watson pillow in confidence? Screw confidence, mate" Chandler grinned deviously and raised an eyebrow as I continued sputtering in laughter.
"Am I not allowed to have had a childhood?" Andrew snapped as Ethan began laughing as well.
"I almost forgot about ping ping...you know he brought it in his backpack the first day of the ninth grade?" Tears were now coming down our faces and Andrew cracked a smile.
"Ping ping meant a lot" he laughed throwing a pillow at me and flipping the guys the bird.
We all slowly regained composure and soon we all sat in a light silence.
"Why did you bring it to the first day of school?" I prepared for an answer that would have me hooting with laughter and grinned.
"Ping Ping isn't an 'IT'. My mom gave HIM to me when I was three..." Andrews face took on a serenity that made me question whether to smile or feel troubled, "she said that whenever I was afraid, ping ping would take all my fear under his wing"
Chandler and Ethan both smiled slightly with looks that told me this wasn't the first time they were hearing this story. I took a shaky breath and Andrew looked at me, putting a hand on my lap and drawing me close.
"It's okay to talk about her, Harper" he said gently staring me in the eye, "It won't hurt me"
I wish I had realized, in that moment, that he was lying.
~
"I would do amazing things to the president if he looked like Fitz"
I rolled my eyes as Soph drooled and stuffed some popcorn into my mouth.
It was exactly a week after our Dana-scapades (Ethan really wanted a code name for the project) and I had decided I really needed girl time. Don't get me wrong, the guys were normally really good about watching sappy romcoms with me but it just felt different to have estrogen wafting around.
I invited, Trish, Kyle, Soph, and a girl from my biology class named Tyler. Tyler was, in a word, the worlds most blunt human being. Tyler was a petite brunette who reminded me of an odd yet gorgeous mix between Kendall Jenner and Ariana Grande.
"Do NOT compare me to Ariana Grande...she looks like the kid who tries to sit at the grown up table during thanksgiving" Tyler had snapped the day I told her who she reminded me of, "Kendall is bae though, so I'll take it"
Trish and Soph absolutely loved Tyler but I knew Kyle sometimes found it hard to understand whether Tyler was joking...I couldn't blame her, I sometimes had that issue too. Tyler was just one of those 'what you see is what you get' people, I guess.
"Ugh I want a love life!" Tyler grunted as Olivia and the president embraced.
"High five me sister" Soph groaned throwing popcorn at the screen, "I'm relatively attractive with a semi decent personality...I deserve someone who appreciates that"
"That was oddly self deprecating" Trish noted with a grin.
"It isn't self deprecation if you say it with a smile on your face" Tyler retorted with her slight Southern accent. It only really came out whenever she said certain vowels and I had come to love the twinge.
"As if that makes it any better" Kyle laughed taking a bite of her cheese pizza and shifting in her seat, "love isn't all that great, though"
"What do you mean? You have someone who will reach the top shelf for you, buys you shiny things, and acts as a body pillow whenever you're cold" Tyler said as if it were that simple.
"I wish" Trish scoffed, "Seth makes me use a stool because he doesn't want to exert himself too much and somehow end up hurt...and he makes me be the big spoon sometimes cuz he likes to feel sheltered"
We all burst out in laughter imagining Seth, who came in at 6'2, being the small spoon while Trish, who was a mediocre 5'6, cuddled him. It really was an oddly amazing picture.
"See, now Seth is a pansy" Soph noted with a grin.
"A sexy pansy" Tyler clicked her tongue and gave Trish a look, "a sexy pansy that I know to stay away from"
Kyle rolled her eyes at this, "At least you can cuddle Seth without getting jealous"
"Wait, what?" Tyler stared dumbfounded and Kyle looked to me because she knew I understood.
"Ethan has this thing where he dreams...quite vividly" I murmured with a grimace remembering the one time he had mistaken my angry prodding for the gentle caress of Teyana Taylor.
"Oh my gosh, so you get jealous of his dream girls" Tyler sighed looking floored, "Either his imagination is spectacular or you haven't been giving him the ride of his~"
"Let's not go there, Tyler" I said gently but forcefully. I could already tell that the conversation had taken a turn that Kyle hadn't expected and with the way she kept shifting in her seat, I got uncomfortable too.
Tyler clicked her tongue and shrugged, " Regardless, boys do suck. I mean, my ex, Reynold, was totally down for me until the day I suggested we put a label on our relationship...I don't even think I can call him my ex since we never technically dated"
"Ah, boys and buses have a lot in common; they both pick up speed when you try and stop em"
We all stared at Sophia with wide eyes and she smiled proud of herself.
"You totally just quoted that one Juliette Barnes song from Nashville, you walking copyright" I shrieked as we all began booing and throwing popcorn at her.
"Stop! I'm gonna have kernels in my roots, you jerks" Sophia shrieked trying to shield herself with a pillow.
"Next thing we know, you'll start quoting those tumblr relationship posts" Tyler laughed as we eased up on our attack.
Soph perked up, "If you love him, let him go; if he stays gone, he was never yours to begin with"
"Shut up!!" Trish yelled as we started throwing more popcorn at Sophia, who responded by giving us more quotes.
"I'm out of ammo" Kyle called out tipping her bowl over with a heavy sigh. We all checked our bowls and realized we were in the same boat.
"You got lucky, Vega" Tyler muttered squinting her big brown eyes.
"This is gonna be a bitch to clean up" Sophia grinned throwing her long hair into a top knot, "Can we please call the guys over and trick them into cleaning it up?"
"God, I love you Soph" I laughed shooting Ethan a text since Andrew was more of a phone call person, and Chandler's phone was always dead...You'de think he'd see this as a problem but nope, Chandler was perfectly fine.
I noticed the way Kyle kept fidgeting with the couch pillow and made a mental note to corner her later to see what was going on but until then, I basked in the high pitched giggles that filled the room.