🔞I May be Falling in Love // Hwang Hyunjin🔞

🖤Chapter 33🖤

I show Harley the texts, and we both laugh before feeling embarrassed that Cole knew EVERYTHING. We quickly change and fix ourselves up before leaving the room, ready for the night of embarrassment. Fortunately, Cole is standing at the front door, conversing with Hayden, who is holding two large pizzas.

"They've arrived!" Cole yells as both of their eyes lock on us. I can't hide the flush on my face as I nudge Harley to see if he can read my mind.

"When do you get off work?" Harley asks his friend as he walks inside and places the pizzas on our four-person dining table.

"This was actually my last delivery."

Thank god. I cannot be stuck with Cole right now.

"Stay for dinner; I'm sure we won't finish everything." Harley extends an invitation, and Cole nods in agreement. This would be a great opportunity to get to know Hayden better, and since he and Harley are so close, I could learn some embarrassing stories that I'm sure Hayden would love to tell.

Hayden walks in, removes his cap, runs his fingers through his hair, and sits at the table, not waiting for any of us as he opens a box.

The night passes quickly, and Cole goes to bed early because he needs to be awake early in the morning to go to the gym. Harley went to the restroom, leaving Hayden and me alone to finish the pizza.

"Harley is so much happier now that he has you." The chubby-cheeked boy speaks up, breaking the deafening silence.

"I'm relieved he is." I smile,  "He is fortunate to have a friend like you, as are the other boys," I answer.

"I'm glad we're all so close to each other." He finishes his pizza before saying, more solemnly, "We used to hate each other, you know?"

"Really?" I enquire, my face concerned. To be fair, Hayden appears to be the type of overconfident person who, if you didn't know him well enough, you would resent him.

"Yeah, when the rest of the group revealed our hidden talents, we both envied each other. I told him to dance better and he told me to rap better." Hayden giggled as he told me the story.

Before anything else can be said, Harley walks back in with a new smile on his lips, only to be turned upside down when he notices that all of the pizza has been eaten.

"Hey! Some people are still hungry!"

"I think I'll go home now before it gets too late; I'm sure the others are wondering where I am." Hayden stated, completely ignoring Harley.

"The others?" I enquire, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I live with Syd, Jesse, and now Luke because he's always over." He laughs and waves goodbye before walking out the door.

"I should go as well." Harley continues, attempting to walk away, but I grab his arm.

"Could you please stay?"

Harley beams, "Sure."

We enter my room, and I take some clothes from my closet. "There are some of Cole's old clothes in that box that he gave me; they should fit you." I point to a box in the corner of my room before walking into the bathroom.

Harley swaps his blouse for a white loose tank top, which works wonders for his arms and makes his abs stand out underneath the fabric, making me want to rip it right off of him. I keep my thoughts to myself as he puts on a pair of red basketball shorts that are a little too tight in the front for him, but he doesn't seem to mind and neither do I.

I emerge from the bathroom wearing only a baggy t-shirt and notice Harley tucked under the covers, scrolling on his phone. I climb into bed next to him and sigh. "Harley, we need to discuss us."

"What do you mean, baby? Didn't we already talk about this?"

"We barely know each other, but I'm curious about everything about you." I mumble, and he gives me a soft grin.

"Well, I'd be delighted to call you my girlfriend, but if you think it's too soon, we'll take it slowly. I will tell you everything about myself in exchange for you doing the same."

"Of course," I reply. I give him a small kiss on the tip of his nose and smile.

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Please tell me about your family and childhood." I make the request, and Harley rolls onto his back, facing the ceiling.

"I was raised as an only child by my parents, who live in Korea, so I rarely see them, but we always stay in touch. I had a relatively easy childhood and then wanted to move to this small town as soon as I finished school because I knew Chris worked here and was fortunate to have him." Harley finishes with a warm smile on his lips and continues to talk about the other members of the group and the silly and fun memories they've shared over the years. I grin in awe as I watch him talk about the people he cares about the most; this is what will keep him happy and put an end to those awful habits I hope never return.

"Now it's your turn, tell me all about your family, friends, childhood. I want to hear all of it."

As I begin to explain, I roll my eyes while keeping a smile on my face. "So, I have one older brother who still lives with my parents, who live about an hour or two away. I don't talk to them as much because I was never their favourite child." I take a moment to reflect on my childhood. It was always focused on my brother because my parents never wanted a girl, so when I became close to Cole, they saw him as their son rather than me as their daughter. "I talk to my dad more than my mother because he is trying to repair our relationship; he wants me to stay over for Christmas, which will be interesting."

"Any family would be lucky to have you as their daughter," Harley says with a kiss on the lips.

I smile at him and then change the subject to talk about my friends. "I don't have many friends because I was always with Cole, but one girl comes to mind: Kiki. She actually lives nearby, and I've been meaning to meet up with her." I say, my words becoming sloppy as I speak. Harley notices my tiredness and murmurs 'goodnight' as my eyes droop and I finally stop talking.