My Colors are you

Chapter 20

Rory looked up and noticed the trees had all lost most of their leaves. It felt like it wasn't too long that long ago that the leaves had barely changed. The air was also much chillier which meant winter was creeping around the corner. Rory bundled up with a scarf to keep warm that morning.

When Rory's bus finally arrived, she sat down next to the window so she could lookout. Pulling out her headphones, she felt someone sit down beside her. She didn't pay attention, but then the person peeked over her shoulder to look outside with her.

She jumped a little, suppressing a yelp to not alarm anyone else around them.

"You know," Harley said, "You should probably work on that habit of yours. You always get distracted."

Rory looked at Harley. He seemed a little tired. Rory's anger subsided when she worried he could become ill again. Especially with the changing of the weather, it was easier to be exposed. She heard of a cold spreading around campus. Because of that, she placed her hand on his forehead, checking for any signs of a hot temperature. Harley had frozen, peering down at her with the most amusement that unfortunately went unnoticed.

"How much sleep have you gotten?" She felt her own furrowed expression on her face. He acted like he always knew everything, but then, when she saw him like this, it reminded her of a kid.

"Not enough."

Rory shut her eyes and sighed before opening them. "You should take care of yourself more. I wouldn't want you to get sick."

"You wouldn't?"

Rory retraced her words, "I wouldn't want anybody to get sick."

Harley scoffed. "There's that kindness again. The same one that keeps getting you into trouble. Speaking of which. Charlotte seems nice. Is she your new friend or something?"

"Yeah." Rory placed her hands on her lap. The way Harley spoke to her was warmer than usual. She figured he was trying to reconcile with her again.

"You seem pretty popular lately, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't call it popular," Rory answered truthfully. "I lost a few friends not too long ago."

Now it was she who had the warm hand against her forehead. He leaned close enough to her face to gaze at her eyes. She never tired of staring at his beautiful eyes. A blush crept on Rory's cheeks when she quickly realized how close they were to each other.

She was frozen, watching how his eyes gazed down in sorrow. "It bothers me when I see you enjoy yourself with other people." His words were soft, but Rory caught the tone of annoyance.

As much as Rory wanted to give into Harley's words. She just couldn't. Not when the bitterness she felt hadn't subsided.

"I'm sure you can find yourself company with Abigail." Maybe she should have bitten her tongue. She should have crumpled into Harley's advances and accepted her fate. But what would be the use? It would fix nothing. Rory had no intention of just sweeping it under the rug. A hurting feeling settled within her. Whether it was Harley's intention, he never gave her any explanation about Abigail. She felt like she owed to him. It might have been selfish, but she wanted it.

His hand dropped just as the bus had come to its stop. Rory didn't wait for Harley to move out of the way. She made the move first and scooted past his legs and out the door of the bus. She knew Harley trailed behind her until they were on campus. What she hadn't expected, though, was to run into Abigail.

She appeared to have been waiting for Harley. Or so it appeared as she walked past Rory and directly to Harley. Rory listened to her voice speaking to Harley in a hushed tone. She paid no mind to it and walked away, swallowing any pride she had left.