Grease Monkey- h.s

4

"Hmm." Harry growled as he stuck his head up under the hood of my car. I stood behind him, waiting on his diagnosis. A million thoughts were running through my head, but all the while I couldn't help but notice how his biceps bulged. The boy wasn't even doing any strenuous work - his muscles just protruded. It was hot. I quickly realized what I was doing and regained my composure.

"What does 'hmm' mean?" I prodded.

"It means that this doesn't look too good. It's your engine. You're probably going to need a new one. Hop in and steer." He motioned to the driver's seat, while letting down the hood.

"What? You can't push me and the car. I'll help you." I objected and tried to go around to the back of the car to help him.

"Then how will we keep the car going in the right direction? Get in the driver seat and put the car in neutral. I can push it." He was being stern with me and I'd seen him almost kill a guy with his bare hands, so I quietly obliged.

I shifted the car into neutral and gave Harry the signal. He started to push and the car rolled along the road. I stared forward, careful not to let myself think about Harry's muscles and how hot it was that he was pushing me and a car down the road.

After about five minutes, I was bored. "Hey are you tired?"

"No. The harder I push, the sooner we get back." He huffed. I knew he was tired. Liar.

"I can push and you can steer." I spoke up.

"No." He kept pushing. We went on for about another ten minutes and he'd begun to push a lot less hard. I knew he was worn out. The car was moving so slowly that I opened the door and stepped out.

"What are you doing?" He stopped pushing and looked at me.

"Let me push. You steer. There's no way you're going to make it back. You'll kill yourself." He glared at me for a moment, and then went around to jump into the driver's seat. I won. Ha.

I positioned myself behind the car, just like I'd seen Harry do it. I gave the car one huge push. It rolled about five feet before stopping. I wanted to cry. And holy shit was Harry strong.

"Either I'm fat or you're weak." Harry turned and grinned at me from the driver's seat.

I flicked him off and had to stop for a quick break. "Can't we just call someone?" I pleaded breathlessly.

Harry's gaze hardened. "You had a phone on you this whole time?!"

"Uh, yeah." I shrugged.

"I thought you didn't. We could have called someone a long time ago!" He yelled, but the look on his face was one of amusement.

"Oops." I pulled out my phone and handed it to him.

"Who's the guy?" Harry mumbled as he saw the picture on the lock screen.

"My boyfriend." I lied. It was Kyle, we just weren't exactly dating at the moment. "The reason I have to get back to New York."

"Oh." The warm green color that had filled Harry's orbs moments ago was replaced by a dark, icy green. It was almost as if I could see him pulling back inside of his shell.

He spoke with someone on the phone, and shortly after a truck pulled up and Louis was inside. The truck screeched to a halt and Louis jumped out with a rope. I watched as he and Harry tied one end of the rope to something under my hood and the other end to the back of the truck.

"Get in the truck with Louis. I'm steering your car back." Harry growled and I could tell that the bit of the playful side I'd seen had completely disappeared. I climbed into the passenger side of the truck.

"So I'm trying to figure it out, but I can't." Louis looked to me as he drove the truck.

"Trying to figure what out?" I asked, clueless.

"Harry doesn't open up to anyone, and now all of the sudden the girl that no one likes - he's helping her out. What dirt do you have on him? Or what is it that makes you different than anyone else? I've never seen him try to help someone. I don't get it." Louis kept an eye on the rearview, making sure Harry and my car were okay.

"Um, I don't know. But thanks for the compliment." I retorted. "And how do you know that no one likes me?"

"Talk of the town, sweetie." He sighed. "Nothing goes on around here without everyone else knowing about it."

"Apparently it does, because I don't know what you're talking about." We'd finally pulled into the shop. I jerked the door to the truck open and got out as fast as I could. Whoever that Louis guy was - I didn't like him.

I went around to Harry who was climbing out of my car. "Will this be fixed by tonight or not?" I checked my phone clock. It was already two in the afternoon.

"I don't think so. This will probably take a couple of days." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll get Lou to take you home."

"No. It's okay. I'll call someone." I did not want to ride twenty minutes with that guy so I called my dad to come pick me up.

++

"I did not know that there was a shortcut through town to get to the school! You'll have to show it to us next time." My mom rambled. We were having dinner and that was the lie I'd made up to keep my New York plans under wraps. It was still happening - just not this weekend.

"Yeah, so much quicker!" I went along, hoping they'd forget.

"At least that nice boy helped you out." My mom continued on. "He was cute, too!"

"No, no. She needs to focus on her coursework, Renee. Don't encourage the boy thing."

At least my dad had a little bit of sense left. There was no way I'd be dating Harry - no matter how cute my mom thought he was.

My phone buzzed inside my pocket. My mom didn't like cell phones at the table so I excused myself and went to my room.

"Hello?"

"Kenna, hey! It's Kyle!"

"Kyle! Oh my God, how are you?" I squealed.

"Good. I'm good. Just enjoying senior year. How's Arkansas?" He asked.

"Great! I'm making tons of new friends! It's fun out here." I lied. I'd always been honest with Kyle but for some reason I didn't think I could tell him that life out here sucked. I wanted him to think I was doing great.

"I'm glad to hear that! Well, the reason I called is -" He began.

"Yes?!" I encouraged, positive that we were about to get back together.

"Do you remember that ring I gave you for Christmas? Well, it's my grandmother's and she wants you to ship it back." He said sweetly.

"Oh." I was in shock. I admired the ruby ring that adorned my left hand. He'd given it to me as a promise ring. "Sure. I'll get it into the mail on Monday." My voice was small, but I hoped Kyle didn't notice.

"Well, have a great weekend!" With that, he hung up. I rolled over on my bed and shoved my head into my pillow. I cried harder than I had yet. It was really over. The promise and all.

++

I walked into the shop early on Saturday morning, looking for Harry. I had a mug of coffee in one hand and a box of fresh donuts in the other. I found him leaning over my car. "Hey." I murmured just loud enough for him to hear me. He jumped and turned to look at me, but when he did he hit his head on the hood. He screamed out a few profanities and grabbed the back of his head. "Oh no." I set the donuts and the coffee on the roof of the car and made Harry sit on a workbench. "Let me see." I demanded.

"No it hurts." He whined.

"Yes I need to see how bad it is."

"No."

"Yes."

"Okay." He finally removed his hands. He had a pretty good cut, but nothing that needed stitches. I used a rag to stop the bleeding and he'd begun to feel better. "Is that for me?" He pointed to the breakfast that was still sitting on top of my car.

"Yeah. Just a small way of thanking you for yesterday." I let out a small, nervous laugh.

"Well, guess I owe you breakfast tomorrow then." He smirked.

"Why?"

"For this." He pointed to his head.

"Oh that was nothing. Don't worry about it." I waved it off as he indulged in the coffee and donuts. "So what are you thinking about my car?"

"I should have it done by the end of the week, but that all depends on when I can get a new engine." He took a sip of coffee.

"Don't those cost a lot?" I winced.

"Nah. I've got one I've been rebuilding. I won't charge you." He glanced down and I noticed Louis staring at us from the office.

"No, I'll pay you. And you're getting an A on the math test Friday." I smiled.

"We have a math test on Friday?!" He looked panicked. I laughed and he got up to begin working on my car.