Hypnotic || H.S

seventeen

"Jesus Christ, you look like a mess, and definitely not the hot kind," Joseph said to me when I walked through the door.

I stopped in my tracks more embarrassed. The whole day was just roast Lexi Day, and the universe was making sure I would suffer dearly. "Not today." I breathed out dropping my bag on the floor and kicked my shoes off.

Joseph wore a green band shirt, holding a soda can. "Rough day at school." My brother never knew when to stop with a joke or any games for that fact. When we were younger, he and the neighborhood kids played the same game of Monopoly for nearly a year.

I walked into the kitchen ignoring him, I grabbed a water bottle from the freeze. Lady laid by the counter chewing her toy minding her business. "Where is mom?" I asked.

"Double shift. She left money for us to order in." Joseph shouted from the living room, as he continued to flick through the channels.

I sighed joining him on the opposite couch. He laid with his legs hanging off the armrest. "So," He started to say as he clicked on a movie. It was an action movie, the citizens ran from a collision screaming in pure terror. Joseph waited in no time to switch to another channel. "What happened at school?" He chose another movie, a woman crying asking for help.

My eyes were glued to my water bottle as I flipped it up and down trying to stay busy. "Nothing exciting. Just the "Make this semester count". I mocked the teachers' voices.

Joseph chuckled changing the channel again to cartoons. The pink panther played. "What about the guy?" His tone changed.

I looked at him blankly. "What guy?" I asked trying to be clueless but I knew exactly who he was talking about.

"The dinner date guy. You have been shitting rainbows since then. Except for today." He looked back at me with a wide smile.

I rolled my eyes, then stood up. "You're an ass. I'll be in the room." I walked to my room, changed into more comfortable clothes then opened my laptop.

My fingers were drawn to the keyboard quickly. I hit the search bar, with instant results that brought a smile to my face,

"He kicked you out of his car!" Connor shouted at me as he drove to school. His eyes had a grave look reminding me of my mom.

I sat in the passenger seat feeling a cloud of gloom hover over me. "It's not that big of a deal." I was in denial. It was definitely a big deal considering all the baggage that came with him.

Connor looked at me with uneasy eyes, he scoffed. "You're joking right?" He couldn't believe the fact that I wasn't freaking out. But I did freak out, I was freaking out the entire night before.

"Anyways, I researched all night. The legal age of consent in New York is seventeen years old," I pulled out my phone, to find the bookmarked link.

"Lexi, think about this hard. If he said to just forget it, don't you think it would be best to forget it?" Connor suggested making a hand gesture appointed at me.

I faced Connor. "I am trying too, but something about him is just-"

Connor interrupted me. "You really like him, and that kills me. You never like anyone." He now frowned at me with apologetic blue eyes.

I did like him. I liked Harry a lot, his look at life was much different from mine. His presence ignited me, the way he talked with passion and gratitude to everyone. He held back a lot about himself and that pulled me in more to know him better. He wasn't like most people in New York, he was humble.

"When I am with him, it feels like we jumped off Earth, and we just watch the world move without us. It's hypnotic." I explained.

Everything felt easy with Harry, I didn't have to live up to everyone's exceptions, I could be myself without apologizing.