Arcade | s.m (✔️)

Nineteen

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What happened after Shawn came in?" Harper urges, and I shrug before grabbing a pillow from my bed and sitting down with it in my hands.

"Um, he told Nick off and offered to take me home since I wasn't feeling too good and then I went to bed." I fibbed, and I could tell she didn't believe me for a second. But before she opens her mouth to speak again, I question her.

"Where were you even last night? Half the time you were gone. Making out with someone without informing us?" I accuse, although I was one to talk.

"Psh, please. First off, a girl can never kiss and tell. You would know." Harper mocks, and I roll my eyes at her and hope that my cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

"Second off?"

"Oh, yeah. Second off even if I was secretly getting it on with someone at the party, you'd never get the name."

"Who was it?" I urge, and she shrugs, so I continue. "Was it a guy from our town? Is it a college guy?"

"I don't do college guys."

"You didn't decline that they were from this town though. So, the choices are very limited. Is it from our group?"

"Okay, don't tell anyone, alright?" Harper says, finally about to reveal who it was that she was with half the night.

"Not a soul."

"Well, his name's Quinn."

"Quinn? From this town? I don't know a Quinn though." I tell her. Even though I haven't lived here forever, I knew the names of everyone our age, since there were so few.

"Well, that's cause he's a middle schooler. Eighth grade, and he's really sweet."

"Oh! Um, well, uh, okay then. Whatever floats your boat I guess." I try my best to sound as enthusiastic as I was before, but it wasn't working out. Harper being seventeen and the way she is, I didn't expect her to go off with a thirteen year old boy.

"Um, Rose? I'm kidding."

Relief floods through me, and I swat her in the arm for laughing at me. Even though I really wanted to know who exactly she was with, if it was anyone at all, I dropped the subject, and we began to speak about random topics that steered away from the party completely until my mom called us from downstairs.

"Harper? Your sister's at the door!"

"You have a sister?" I ask, and Harper groans, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Step. She's in college and a total bitch, if I may just say so myself. She probably just came to pick me up so she could play the role of daddy's responsible princess once again."

Harper clearly did not like this girl, which was a shock to me since she practically loved everyone. Without even meeting this step-sister I already found myself not very fond of her.

When we walked over to where they were, I raised an eyebrow at the appearance of this girl. She wore bright red lipstick and had her blonde hair in a bun, with studded earrings and a necklace to match. She wore an outfit I thought only lawyers on tv wore, and her smile towards me was almost too nice for a person she's never met.

"Hi, I'm Diana, Harper's sister." She introduces herself, extending a hand towards me as I take it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rose. Harper's told me so much about you."

Diana casts a look so threatening and quick to Harper that I almost thought I had imagined it before she returns her smile and laughs.

"Has she? All good things, I presume?"

"Of course." Harper interjects, her voice sugar coated.

"Bye Harper, nice having you again." My mom says, and Harper waves goodbye before her and Diana walk out the door.

"Well, I did not like that sister of hers. Too much negative energy." Mom tells me when they're both gone, and I laugh.

"Step sister, and Harper can't stand her." I supply, and my mom sighs.

"No wonder."

Before our conversation can go any further, the doorbell rings and I immediately begin to walk to the door, knowing Harper had probably forgotten something again and came to get it.

When I open the door, I'm surprised to see that the person standing in front of me wasn't Harper at all.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today? I would have called but my phone is dead, plus I kind of wanted to see you again."

"Yeah, come in." I say, opening the door wide enough for him to enter.

"Hey, the cake's finally iced, you hungry?" My mom calls out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, mind if someone else joins though?" I ask as we enter, and my mom smiles when she sees us.

"Shawn! I was wondering when you'd swing by. Did Mary ever thank you for driving her home that night?" My mom asks, and my cheeks burn. I hadn't, obviously.

"She actually did thank me, right after we got out of the car." Shawn responds, and although I thought it wasn't possible, I felt my cheeks burn even more as I turned my gaze to the floor. We had kissed once we got out, which seemed like enough of a thank you for him.

"Well, as a reward, why don't you take a slice of cake? You two can go ahead and eat it in Mary's room, since she has to vacuum today anyways." My mom says, cutting two pieces for Shawn and I and putting them on separate plates. As she does, I notice Harper's phone on the table, and smile. She's be back for that soon.

Just as the thought entered my mind, I hear a knock on the door, and go over with my cake to greet Harper. Shawn follows, oblivious as to who was at the door.

I turn the knob and pull it open, my heart stopping when I see who was there. I can't help but feel extremely nervous when I remember that Shawn was by my side, and the last thing I wanted to do was explain who he was looking at.

"Hi, I'm not sure if you remember me, since it's been so long. I'm Agent Co-" the man begins, but I cut him off and point behind me where the kitchen was.

"My mom's in the kitchen, just keep walking forward and you'll see her." I say, shutting the door once he's inside and beginning to walk towards my room with Shawn by my side.

"Want to talk about it?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"No."

"Then we won't. I'm sure we can find better things to do than talk anyways."