Unchanging [h.s. au]

eight

I felt weightless as I flew through the air. The feeling only lasted a moment before I landed on the grass with a thud, did a somersault with my momentum, and rolled back up onto my feet.

Right after I got up, I simultaneously heard the cart skid to stop and Harry yell, "Sweet Mother of Neptune!"

I jogged over to my backpack and inspected it. Luckily nothing looked damaged.

"Clara!" Harry had left the cart behind and was running towards me. "Are you hurt?" he asked breathlessly. He reached out and immediately started examining my arms for any cuts or scrapes.

I tried to push his hands away. "I'm just fine!"

He didn't seem convinced and bent to check my legs. "Why did you do that?"

"My backpack fell out from your poor driving skills and I had to grab it."

He stood back up and put his hands on my shoulders. It was hard to focus with his face so close to mine. Since I had only seen him sitting down up to this point, I hadn't noticed how tall he was before. He was at least a whole head taller than me.

He looked down into my face and his worried eyes flicked back and forth between mine. "And you decided the best way to get it was to jump out of the moving cart on your own free will?"

"Uh, yeah." I thought that was pretty obvious. Otherwise I wouldn't have done it.

"We were going, like, full speed." He said with disbelief.

"It's all good. I'm fine." I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. I had jumped out of a golf cart, so what? There were plenty other more dangerous things a person could do.

I shrugged his hands off my shoulders and put my backpack on before I started walking towards the cart. I sat in my seat and glanced back to see Harry still standing where my backpack had landed, looking at me in shock. "Are you going to take me somewhere or what?" I prompted.

Harry seemed to snap out of a daze. "Urm, yeah, of course," He slowly started walking back in my direction. His arms swayed at his sides and his lean legs took long strides. He walked with an air of confidence but his eyes remained trained on the ground in front of him, obviously in thought.

He looked so good. How does someone look hot when they're doing something as simple as walking?

He reached the cart with an extremely confused look on his face. 

I smiled and folded my arms. "What, have you never seen a person jump out of a golf cart before?"

"This may come as a surprise to you, but no, I have not." The humor dropped out of his voice and he looked straight at me. "You scared me so bad. I thought I was going to be returning you to your dad with two twisted ankles."

I didn't know why he cared so much, but his words affected me. "I'm sorry." I genuinely said.

He kept his eyes on me and sighed. "At least I learned one thing."

"What's that?"

Harry stepped into the cart and put his hands on the wheel. "You most definitely are not boring."

I tried to hide my smile by turning my head away.

We continued driving to our destination which was unknown to me. Everything about this place felt unfamiliar. The scenery, the neighborhood, even the fact that I was having an authentic interaction with someone other than my parents for once. I hadn't talked so naturally like this with another person for the longest time. I was amazed my prickly personality hadn't repelled Harry yet.

The trees thinned out and I recognized the clubhouse up ahead with the ocean in view. I replayed the memory of my dad walking into the clubhouse in my mind. "Harry... I don't know if the clubhouse would be the best idea. I don't want my dad to find me around here."

His face turned mischievous, like he knew a secret I didn't know. "We're not going to the clubhouse." He hastily turned the cart down a different path that led away from the clubhouse.

On the way, we passed the pool and tennis courts. Palm trees towered above us and the ocean glittered from the sun's gracious rays. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the saltwater scent. My trip hadn't started out well at all but I had to admit my dad picked a killer place to live.

I opened my eyes when I heard Harry saying hello to some people we passed.

I looked into their smiling faces and couldn't help but notice how wealthy they appeared. Their attire was simple but of very high quality. They probably bought every single piece of their clothing from expensive department stores or something. Their very presence oozed money, as if each step they took would leave behind a one hundred dollar bill for me to desperately snatch up.

We kept driving, and when more people passed along the way, Harry said hello to everyone. I figured he was a popular employee around here. I mean, why would he not be? Anyone could take one look at him and see how attractive he was. And not only that, but seeing him interact with everyone made me realize how personable he was. He was polite and genuine with his greetings and everyone couldn't help but give him a warm hello back. He was just that charming.

The path abruptly reached an end and Harry excitedly jumped up.

"We have to walk the rest of the way," his eager voice reminded me of a child on Christmas Eve. "Come on, you'll love it. It's not boring at all, I promise."

He held out his hand to me, and after a moment of hesitation, I reached out to grab it.

Harry pulled me through a wooded area, dodging trees and politely holding back branches so I could pass. His hand felt warm in mine and I couldn't help but notice a small cross tattoo printed on the hand I held.

After a short walk, we reached a clearing where two boys already were, holding golf clubs and shouting at each other.