𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐗 - ᴏʙx.

01.

KILDARE ISLAND WAS KIND OF BORING. especially if you were poor. it was such a small island, an everyone knows everyone kind of place. your business was for everyone else to know, sometimes they knew it even before you did.

shiloh and harper had been friends for as long as they'd been alive.

well, not actually. but it felt that way. they met in elementary school, in the summer before fourth grade. harper never really spoke to anybody at all, and when she did it was never really nice. shiloh had heard her dad talking about harpers dad, luke maybank, and how he was not a very nice person.

-

the summer before fourth grade.

harper was sitting on the wall next to heyward's store. she liked to sit there because it gave her a lovely view of the ocean. harper liked the ocean, it always seemed to calm her down.

"hey. what're you doing all the way up there?" harper peered down onto the path below her, so she could see who was speaking. she knew her, it was shiloh, from school. it made sense she'd be hanging around here her dad just worked around the corner. her parents always seemed nice when she'd have to run errands there. they loved their family.

"i'm relaxing. i was drawing but my paper blew off in the wind. what do you want?" harper knew she came across aggressive. she didn't really mind.

"nothin'. i just see you sitting up there a lot and i was wondering if you were okay." shiloh was a caregiver at heart. even at nine, her empathy for others seemed to be miles higher than any other person she knew.

"why wouldn't i be okay? i don't need checking up on, i'm perfectly fine."

shiloh nodded, although she was inclined to believe the girl sitting above her was in fact upset.

"you know, if you're hungry my mommys cooking some lunch just there" she pointed towards heywards. "you can come have lunch with me."

harper jumped down from the wall "what? you don't think i can get my own lunch?"

"i mean you could, i was just offering" she shrugged.

"i'm not going in there, i'm perfectly happy out here."

harper got annoyed whenever she thought people were pitying her. she didn't need friends, and she didn't want them. people just seemed to make her angry. she liked her little brother jj, but he was only seven so he didn't really have anything important to say yet. but apart from that, no one interested her.

"that's fine, i can bring you out a plate if you want? if you're planning on staying out here a while it might be a good idea to eat. my mommy and daddy wouldn't mind." shiloh suggested, but harper was only getting more annoyed by the second.

her face turned mean "i don't need your fucking charity! now go have lunch with ur mommy and daddy incase they start missing you too much."

shiloh had turned around without word, and stormed back into her home. a few minutes later, she had appeared at the wall again which harper was once again sitting atop, and left a plate of food there for her, and turned around and left.

harper felt guilt twang at her chest. usually after she was mean to people they left her alone, so she didn't care about it. but shiloh had still left her food.

she was probably going to have to find someway to thank her.

harper had went home that night, gathered up some coins, and bought shiloh a set of pencils. that was how she'd thanked her. harper didn't even know if she liked drawing but i mean, most nine year olds do.