My Church Girl

Chapter 19

The next day, Harper arrived at school, her heart racing at the thought of seeing her favourite church girl. As she stepped into the bustling school hall, her eyes darted around, eagerly searching for a familiar face. When she finally spotted her girlfriend in a distant corner, talking animatedly to someone, her pulse quickened. She hurried over, her footsteps light and quick. As she drew closer, she noticed another girl and a guy who looked remarkably alike. She recognized that girl, as she was from their church group, but the boy standing next to her was a stranger.

The blue-eyed girl, engrossed in conversation, hadn't noticed Harper approaching. She was facing the other way, her laughter ringing out.

The girl, Ava was speaking to, said, "You're the best at this," and placed her hand on the blonde's forearm. Harper frowned, her mind racing with thoughts. Without hesitation, she slipped behind Ava, resting her arms on her waist and pulling her close. "Boo," she pronounced playfully, as if she was trying to scared her.

The girl in her hands jumped slightly, then turned her head with a delighted smile, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her girlfriend. "You scared me!" she uttered in amusement.

"Hi Harper," the girl in front of Ava greeted warmly, her eyes lighting up with recognition.

"Hi..." The green eyes narrowed in a thoughtful grimace, trying to remember the girl's name.

"Susie," the girl quickly supplied, noticing her hesitation. She gave a reassuring grin, hoping to ease the awkwardness.

"Hi Susie," Harper replied, her smile polite but a bit forced.

"And this is my brother Jimmy," Susie introduced, pointing to the boy beside her. "He's not part of our church group, so you probably haven't met him." She glanced at Jimmy, who gave a small wave.

"Nice to meet you, Jimmy," The girl behind Ava said, having absolutely no interest in these people.

"Nice to meet you too, Harper," Jimmy responded with a genuine smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Turning to her girlfriend, Harper asked, "So, what exactly are you the best at?" She asked, sleeping her hands to Ava's belly and pulling her closer.

Susie decided to explain her words. "We were chatting about this upcoming singing competition with other churches. The first round is just two weeks away! It's a charity event, so it would be fantastic for our church if we can put on a great performance and draw some attention to our projects. Ava is perfect for this—she has such an angelic voice!" she blurted out clearly delighted that Harper herself was chatting with her. But the green-eyed girl did not noticed her intonation at all, because all her attention was focused on the compliment about the 'angelic voice' of her girlfriend.

"That's true," Harper confirmed, her expression softened as she looked at her girl. "You do have an angelic voice," she said, her tone filled with admiration and a hint of possessiveness. "I like to hear your voice on all different occasions."

Ava blushed, her cheeks turning a delicate shade of pink. "Thanks, Harper," she said, sensing what her girlfriend really meant by this phrase.

Susie, oblivious to Harper's subtle claim, was just happy to be chatting with the popular girl. "You know, I could play the piano for you during the competition," she offered enthusiastically to the leader of their church group.

The green eyes tightened, feeling an unnecessary sense of threat, so she said quickly, "I'll be accompanying Ava with my guitar."

"Oh really? Cool!" Ava exclaimed. "Didn't know you wanna participate."

"Of course I do, I would never leave my favorite vocalist without her faithful guitarist." Harper said in a solemn joking tone.

Susie suggested enthusiastically, "How about we all get ready for the performance together? The guitar, piano and Ava's voice will sound amazing together!"