Surviving the Harrison Boys (Re-write)

seventy-six // a figurative slap in the face

"A bitch is fucking tired." Katya grumbled as we all sat by our terminal. It was now 7:15am, and we didn't know when our flight would be. We had been here since 4:00am and our flight kept getting delayed.

I was sitting between Priya and Jaiden, with Priya asleep on my shoulder. Jaiden was highly agitated, music blasting loudly though his earbuds. His infamous scowl was back and nastier than ever. I could hear J. Cole calling out his LA sisters and his LA hoes.

Oliver mirrored his expression. His hoodie was pulled over his head, and from where he was sat across from his brother, he was listening to some Migos song. He glanced up and locked eyes with me, and cracked the smallest smile before looking away again.

Amandla was lost in a book (nothing unusual about that), and Katya was still complaining about her fatigue. Kevin was on his phone, minding his own business, while Reece was leaning on Hanna's shoulder. She was reading a book as well, and Liam was trying to figure out what the hell was going on with our flight.

"Hunt, let's go get everyone some coffee." Hanna suddenly said, already on her feet. I nodded, and Jaiden sat in my seat, letting Priya sleep on his shoulder.

Hanna linked her arm through mine as we walked through the airport to get to the smaller version of Susie's. Nothing beat the original shop, though.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"Nothing," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing okay right now. I woke up a bit sad, but I feel better now." I admitted. "How are you?"

"Good. I'm glad that you got through this week in one piece." She smiled.

"Yeah me too," I smiled back.

"I wanted to apologize," Hanna sighed, "about how I acted a few nights ago."

"When you accused me seducing Reece?" I asked.

She nodded. "That. Hunter, you're a wonderful girl, and if you decide you want to date Reece, you 100% have my blessing."

I blinked furiously in confusion for a few moments, clearly not expecting that to come out of her mouth. "Are you serious?" I asked.

"Of course." She paused, then sighed before speaking. "Reece has never liked a girl the way he likes you. It scared me at first, and I didn't want to admit that my baby was in love."

"In love?!" I shrieked, a little too loud because people standing around us turned to see what was going on. My cheeks flushed as I lowered my voice. "Don't you think "in love" is a bit much?"

"That's what my mom said when I told her about Liam." Hanna laughed. "I insisted I was in love with him, and she asked me the same question. I am 100% sure that he's in love, Hunter. 100% sure."

"Is this a mom intuition?"

"You could call it that." She laughed. "In all seriousness, love, I am totally okay with you and Reece being together. As long as the both of you are happy and respect each other, that's all that matters to me."

I sighed. "And what if I didn't wanna be with Reece?"

"Then that's fine, too." She shrugged. "You can't force yourself to love somebody. Reece will get over it. Will it take time? Of course, but he'll be fine."

We ordered the coffees and somehow carried five drink trays back to where everyone was sitting. We handed them out and I plopped back down beside Jaiden.

He texted me. everything okay with you and hanna?

surprisingly yes. i feel like there's some sort of catch coming, though.

don't overthink it. you'll be fine.

I smiled at him and he winked.

"Well," Liam came back and sat beside Hanna, "it looks like we're staying in Rochester another day."

Everyone groaned and frowned. Liam calmed us all down. "I know, I know. I want to go home just as much as you all do, but our flight has been cancelled and there's another one, with a better airline, tomorrow morning around 10:00am."

"So what, we just leave our stuff here and come back tomorrow?" Priya asked.

"I'm not too sure about that. Hanna, Reece, and I are gonna stay to figure that out. You kids can head back to the hotel."

"At least that extra night we paid for won't go to waste." Hanna smiled wearily.

"I'll stay, too." Kevin volunteered. "If we're grabbing everyone's luggage, that's gonna be a lot of weight."

We said goodbye to Hanna, Reece, Kevin, and Liam, and Jaiden, Oliver, Katya, Amandla, Priya, and I left the airport and headed back to mine and the Harrison's hotel.

"I'm so sleepy!" Katya exclaimed as she collapsed on what was Reece's bed. Amandla and Priya climbed on with her. Jaiden plopped down on a small couch, and I lied on my bed whilst Oliver kind of lingered against the wall.

"Then sleep!" Jaiden mocked her tone. As the two of them went back and forth, I called Oliver over and patted the spot next to me on the bed.

"You don't have to." He said.

"What, be nice?" I asked.

He gave me a look. "You know what I mean."

I rolled my eyes. "If you don't come lie your ass down..."

Oliver sighed and walked over to the bed, sitting down near my feet.

I sat up and frowned. "Oliver..."

"I'm okay standing." He whispered and returned back to his spot. Jaiden and I made eye contact, and I nodded towards the door.

"We need to talk." I mouthed to him.

"We'll be right back." Jaiden said, and the two of us got up and left.

"You told Oliver about our conversation and now he's acting different!" I hissed the moment the door closed.

Jaiden shrugged. "I didn't wanna see my brother get hurt."

I didn't even know what to say. "What happened to being on "my side," huh?"

"Can I not be on your side and still wanna protect my brother?" He asked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "He literally confessed his love for me last night. He said he loved me."

"I know, he told me everything when he got back." Jaiden sighed and folded his arms over his chest. "You gotta make your choice."

"You act like it's easy!"

"It is!" He grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me slightly. "You're fucking blind, Hunter. I know who you want to be with, and so do you. Do not make your choice based on the people around you and who you want to be happy. The only happiness that should matter is yours."

"I've never had that type of freedom before. Everyone's happiness has always come before mine."

"Babe, you can't play victim anymore." He said softly. "You're going to lose a great guy if you don't stop being so scared about what everyone else around you thinks and focus on yourself for once. Don't choose Reece because you don't wanna upset him or Hanna, but don't choose Oliver because you don't wanna upset me and our friends. If they really care for you, Reece and Hanna will love you if you choose Oliver and the gang and I will still love you if you choose Reece. These boys aren't some toys you can play around with. They're humans with real feelings; feelings that are getting hurt because you don't know what you want.

"I understand you have trust issues. I understand you've had limited freedom in making decisions for yourself. I understand why this is a big choice for you and why this is so scary for you, because you're opening yourself up to a whole new person and having to bare your feelings. I understand that all, I really do, but you need to realize that this is just as much about them as it is about you."

Jaiden brought me into a hug. "I don't wanna be that person but no one else is gonna be. When we get back, you have to make your choice. Neither boy can take this any longer."