Desolate - h.s. ✓

° twenty-three °

     The following morning, I found myself wearing a striped off the shoulder shirt, along with a pair of light jeans. There were a couple small rips, but I brushed it off, pairing the outfit with black Vans. Ethan was taking longer than normal, a groan leaving my mouth as I quickly fixed myself up in my bedroom. My mother was downstairs, Harry sitting on the sofa. He glanced me over, my face flushing as I hurried into the kitchen.

"Morning, Dad," I smiled, my father pouring a cup of coffee for himself. "How's work?"

"Busy. Kind of annoying. Criminals are a handful. Don't be a criminal."

I smiled, promising I would never be such a thing. He appeared pleased, pressing a kiss to the top of my head before leaving the kitchen with his coffee and paper. I found myself getting a glass, pouring some lemonade. As I was putting the lemonade back, I jumped, arms wrapping around my waist.

"Get off," I murmured.

"Good morning to you too," Harry scoffed.

"Get off. Multiple people could walk in."

He grumbled softly, pressing a kiss to my jaw before pulling away. I shut the fridge, watching as he made himself a bag of cereal. Sipping my lemonade, I headed for my room, grabbing my backpack from upstairs. Ethan was leaving his room at the same time as me, my brother sending me a small smile.

"Sorry, Harry," Ethan stated quickly once we were downstairs. "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad."

I waved a goodbye to my parents as I followed the two boys out the front door, locking it behind me. Harry unlocked the car, my cheeks flushing when I sat in the back and recalled what had happened in the very space the previous evening. Ethan narrowed his eyes once Harry started the car, my brother glancing at his friend.

"Did you smoke weed in here?"

"Yeah," Harry stated bluntly. "Why?"

"You probably shouldn't do that," Ethan told him. "My sister will probably snitch."

"If you fucking snitch, I'll end your life," Harry threatened, my face flushed at the fact that I was part of the reason his car smelled the way it did. "There. That should settle it."

Ethan laughed, the two boys talking about baseball. Not that I wasn't interested in the game, but there was only so much I could take of the conversation topic. Though, once we were at school, Ethan started asking questions that made me overly nervous.

"Who gave you those?" my brother questioned, pointing to the red marks on Harry's throat. "I didn't think you really let girls mark you."

"She's different," Harry commented, avoiding my eyes in the rear view mirror as I climbed out of the car. "You bitch, shut the door," he harshly grumbled, turning around to look at me.

"I'm working on it!" I scoffed, glaring at him as I grabbed my backpack. "I want to leave before you talk about sleeping with girls."

"Damn, she wishes we slept together."

Rolling my eyes at the hidden meaning, Ethan told me to hurry up so Harry would spill. I was somewhat worried that Harry would tell Ethan, though a larger part of me doubted he would do such a thing. After all, Ethan and Harry had just become friends again, and Harry didn't want anyone to know about the two of us which was how I also felt. So, even if I did leave, I doubted Harry would actually give my brother that many details on the previous evening.

- - -

Ella was running with me around the track again after school. There were a few other people on track, but I stayed at a neutral pace while they actually ran as if their life depended on it. The two of us chatted, doing the bleachers every other lap. On about the third one, I noticed a man sitting with a clear sight of the baseball field, my brow pulling in as Ella and I climbed up. He looked familiar, and suddenly I realized it was the person who I had literally run into while running a couple of weeks ago. He glanced over when he noticed us, his eyes meeting mine. I could tell he was confused, but then smiled, waving. I waved back, not speaking to him, but staying friendly. Ella appeared confused, though continued talking to me about her health class, and how the boy she sat next to was extremely irritating and hilarious all at the same time. It wasn't until we were on about the fifth lap that I talked to her about Harry and I going on a date tomorrow, but told her that she could not tell anyone about it. She was surprised, and even asked why I would agree to dating him. Explaining what had happened the night before, she seemed less annoyed, and even somewhat excited.