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thirteen

"I have something to tell you about Ha-", she started before stopping as Harry came out of nowhere behind me, bags in hand, "Hannah Montana. I finished season two on Netflix."

Harry and I sat down the bags in the house and he seemed confused. I knew that she was going to say something about Harry and he had to have noticed it too because now there was an awkward level of tension and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Come outside and talk with me about it, yeah?", Pearl said and I nodded. Harry sat down on our couch, watching whatever was on our TV making himself at home. It made me nervous that Pearl was ready to declare some news about Harry as soon as I walked in the house, it made me anxious. After spending the whole entire day, falling for him and really learning so much about him I didn't want any bad news. I had learned there is so much more to meet the eye with him and I didn't want that to be ruined. 

"Tell me something good, Pearl because I can't deal with bad news right now", I said and she sighed, looking down at the ground, " Please tell me its good news."

"Tell me about your day first", she said and I went into great detail about how sweet and goofy he was about how it felt so natural with him. I told her about how honest he was and that how much he wanted to be serious and I told her that he was just so genuine. She sighed again.

"I was working today and one of my old friends from freshman year of college came in. On my break her and I got lunch together and she was telling me that she was dealing with a really bad break up, not from a week or a month ago, a bad break up from over a year ago. At first I was like, girl that is kind of excessive and she was like yeah I would think the same thing to", she began to explain.

"Then she tells me that her ex is this guy, named Harry who loved her when she wanted it but never when she needed it and had insane family issues and detachment issues. She said he found someone better and would leave her no matter what. But she loved him, she loved him so much and that is why it is taking her so long to get back on her feet."

"That is just coincidence", I added, ignoring pretty much everything she just said. I went and grabbed the handle for the door and she put her hand on my forearm stopping me. 

"It reminded me of Harry and I just wanted to let you know", she said, almost defeated. 

"It could be anyone."

"I know", she said, "Just worried about ya is all."

I walked into the house, just ignoring what she said. I would keep it in the back of my mind but it wasn't something for me to get to focused on. I can easily get tangled up in my own thoughts, over thinking such a small thing. There could be a million people named Harry in the state we live in alone, and I bet there are plenty of guys named Harry who have a bad attitude or play with girls feelings. I wasn't going to take this one experience, this one bad thing someone heard, and let it ruin what we had. 

I liked him. He was showing me he was sweet and thoughtful, someone I thought I could be serious with. He was showing me that he was different from the other people that I had dated or even been interested in. All of those things counted for something. I respected that Pearl was worried about me but her worrying could only take her so far.

"Hot chocolate's ready", Harry said, three mugs full of hot chocolate with the bag of marshmallows ready to be used. I stood right next to him and Pearl stood across from us. I began to drop marshmallows into the hot chocolate, poking them with my finger to cover them in the hot drink, making them softer. Pearl grabbed one of the mugs too and began to sip at it. Harry was now on his phone and the silence turned from comfortable to anxious and awkward quickly. Pearl had moved to the couch and began to watch tv, we all ignored each other.

I grabbed Harry's wrist with one hand, hot chocolate in the other and the two of us walked into my room. 

"I left my drink out there", Harry said and I started to laugh. Like his drink being in the kitchen was the most important and obvious thing, like we didn't just sit in an awkward silence. He had to have some kind of idea that Pearl was talking about him. He wasn't dumb and the way we handled it was completely obvious. Harry left to get his drink and I popped in the first movie.

"You okay?", he asked and I shook my head.

"Good question", I said with a smile. I got the snacks ready in my bed and got underneath the covers. Luckily, it was still raining so we were able to get cozy under the covers while watching the movie.

"Penny for your thought", and I looked at him with loving eyes, "She was talking about me wasn't she."

"People do talk,Harry", and he sighed, putting his head into his hands no longer looking at me. He was under the covers next to me but not completely, one leg was out one was in.

"People talk and I don't want to believe any of it. I almost refuse to but it makes me nervous."

"I've been dumb and that gets around. I don't have the best reputation but your reputation isn't always who you are."

"Whatever it is, whoever you are who you used to be I am not worried about it. I just want to get to know you on my own, without people telling me what I should be expecting from you or who they think you are. I hear things but it is in one ear and out the other", he came closer to me in the bed taking me underneath his arm. He kissed my forehead and put his head on mine.

"You are too good to me."

I wanted to love him and I wanted to learn him for myself. The things that Pearl told me were in the back of my mind, anything anyone wanted to tell me would be in the back of my mind. I would be making a mental note of all the things people told me. You never know what you will need for future reference.