"Wanna go to a party tomorrow night?" Sammy asks me at my locker. It's now Friday night and neither Mo nor Harry has made any move to speak to me. I don't blame them.
"Nah, thanks though." I smile.
"Aw, why not?" He pouts. I glance over and notice Harry a few feet away with friends. He's looking this way, but I look away to look back at Sammy.
"I'm not a party girl." I shrug and smile.
"You sure about that?" He raises an eyebrow and laughs. "Didn't seem like it last weekend."
"Yeah, that's not me." I shake my head. "Haven't been myself recently, and........yeah, thanks for the invite. But, uh...you won't see me there." I offer a friendly smile and walk away, glancing at Harry who's looking at me, but he looks away immediately.
I make my way to the cafeteria and sit down in my usual spot, all alone. I pull out a book that I brought today, knowing I'd have nothing to do at lunch. The book is called Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I pull out the sandwich I made myself earlier, holding it in one hand and holding the book open with the other.
I sigh and set down my sandwich when I realize I forgot my reading glasses. My vision is pretty good when seeing far away, but I need glasses when reading up close. I never wear them. I always felt that they made me look weird or nerdy. Or maybe they just don't fit my face. However, I will get dizzy if I read without wearing them.
I put my glasses on and pick up my sandwich, taking a bite. Damn, that's good. I start the book and get lost in it.
I forgot how much I love reading.
••
the next week
I'm lost in a book, the same book I started last week, when someone approaches my lunch table.
"What are you reading?" I look up through my glasses to see Harry standing awkwardly across the table. I hesitate to answer, but do anyway.
"It's called Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda." Harry nods slowly.
"What's it about?"
"This guy, Simon, who's secretly gay and messaging this other guy that goes to his school. Basically, they're both anonymous, so they don't know who the other is." I explain with a nod. Harry nods again.
"Sounds interesting."
"Yeah, it's really good." I smile, ignoring the pounding of my heart and the butterflies in my stomach.
"Can I sit?" He points to a chair right across from me.
"Yeah." I nod.
"I didn't know you wore glasses." He says with a weird look in his eyes. A look that I don't recognize.
"Yeah, only for reading." I shrug and laugh slightly. Harry nods.
"Didn't see you at the party Saturday." Harry points out.
"Oh, uh, yeah." I scratch the back of my neck with my free hand, the other hand still holding open the pages of the book. I just shrug.
"Why didn't you go?" He asks with a curious expression.
"I just, um..." I shrug. "Parties aren't my thing." I shrug again and give a small smile. Harry gives me a weird look.
"Is this the Noelle I never got to meet?" I look at him before laughing slightly.
"I, uh, I guess so." I laugh again. Harry reaches his arm over the table to me.
"I'm Harry." I form a smile on my lips and shake his hand gently.
"Noelle." I smile a little wider. Harry smiles and nods, looking slightly up. He sighs and looks at me for a moment.
"What if you came over afterschool?"
"What if I did?" I tilt my head. Harry just nods with a small smile on his lips.
"Yeah." He starts.
"Okay." I smile. He nods again and smiles before getting up. I smile and sigh a happy sigh before bringing my attention back to the book.
••
"Hi." I smile when I reach Harry at his car. He smiles and I get in the passenger side. Things are calm between us at the moment, and it's weird but refreshing.
Harry puts on some music and when he chooses the song, I smile. He plays Bibia Be Ye Ye by Ed Sheeran. Though I don't listen to the song much, whenever I hear it, I remember how much I love it.
"You can roll down your window if you want." Harry tells me after rolling down his. I take up his offer and let the wind blow through my hair. The combination of the wind and the song makes me smile and feel so content. I sigh lightly and close my eyes, the smile on my face remaining. I feel like I just barely made it. I got so lucky that Harry could actually be forgiving me. If I were in his place, I don't know if I would. I'll never know why he did, but I won't complain.
We get to his house, and I unbuckle my seatbelt and pick up my backpack. We walk up to the porch, and I wait as he unlocks the door. I'm surprised when I see his mom standing in the kitchen on the phone. He usually only invites me over when the house is empty.
Anne notices us and waves. She mouths a hello since she has the phone to her ear, and I wave with a wide smile.
Harry goes to a cabinet below the TV and pulls out a movie. He waves it toward me with a smirk and I recognize it as The Good Dinosaur. I laugh loudly. Harry lets a laugh slip out as he puts the movie in.
"I'll be right back." He says then walks into the kitchen. I take a seat on the couch and get comfortable. I start to smell popcorn, and soon after, Harry enters with a bowl of it. He sits next to me after grabbing the remote and starting the movie.
I sit through the entire movie, waiting for him to make a move. To grab my hand. To kiss me. To put his arm around me. But it's almost like we're just two friends hanging out. I try to tell myself that he just needs time after what happened because it was pretty shitty, but my heart can't keep from aching just a little bit.
"Noelle! Are you going to stay for dinner?" Anne asks once the movie's finished. I look at Harry who looks to me.
"Do you want to?" He asks.
"Um, sure." I shrug and smile.
"Yay!" She gives a wide smile. "It should be ready in 20 minutes." I nod and smile, turning back toward Harry.
"What are you doing after high school?" Harry asks suddenly.
"I actually have always wanted to be a teacher." I chuckle. "A preschool teacher." Harry smiles and nods approvingly. "What about you?"
"Good question." He shrugs. "Music would be ideal."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You know I used to be in a band back home. A few years back in England."
"Really?" I laugh, imagining Harry in a band.
"We were called White Eskimo." He shakes his head and laughs.
"I love it." I laugh.
"Yep." He nods. "I did a lot of things in England."
"Like?"
"You know..." He starts with a proud look on his face, before continuing the rest of his sentence.
"I used to work in a bakery."
