I found myself talking to Harper more than I thought that I would. It was usually on our way to track practice or sometimes during our breaks. Other than that, she was usually surrounded by a group of people. And me being me, I couldn't bring myself to join in with the group as they talked to her. I could barely talk to them when they were all together. I would always choke up or they could barely hear me because my soft voice was drowned out by their loud and powerful volumes. And besides, I didn't fit in with them. They were all confident, fun loving, and energetic people. The only other person like that was Nina but even so she was able to fit in with everyone.
It was like they were all made to be together.
And I wasn't.
Even so, that didn't bother me. I made sure that it stopped bothering me and understood that I was fine by myself. And it wasn't like I was always by myself, Harry was usually next to me. Even when I had to go to practice, he would watch me from the other side of the fence where Coach wouldn't be able to see him. Whenever the two of us would make eye contact, he would wave at me and give me the thumbs up. Sometimes, he would ask me what the others were talking about and I would try to quickly tell him. Having Harry there helped me a lot and I never felt like I was alone.
However, once he joined the drama club, he wasn't able to be there for me when rehearsal started up. I no longer had my buddy there to cheer me up from afar. And I had to deal with that.
But with Harper joining the team, I realized that she soon took Harry's spot. If she saw me sitting to the side by myself, she would sit down beside me and try to hold a conversation with me. There were even times when she tried to include me in the group discussion but soon stopped when she realized that I didn't do so well in a large group. After that, she made sure that she would talk to me if it was just the two of us or with one person (who were either Nina or Alex). And it was nice. It made me happy that she took notice of a small thing like that. It showed me that she did pay attention to me, even if it was something small like that.
And I wouldn't deny it, I was also noticing a few small things about her. While Harper seemed to love being surrounded by a large group of people, I noticed that she also needed to take some time to herself. I realized this when we were in our art class. Any other time, Harper would sit at the table near me as she talked to our classmates the entire time. It usually had to do with music, about their weekends, or anything. During those times, I realized how loud they could be which meant that I had to start bringing headphones with me and start playing music that would drown out their voices. Sometimes it would work, other times I was still able to hear their laughter and conversations.
So like any other day, I pulled out my phone and headphones, preparing myself for another day of laughter. Plugging my headphones in and putting them into my ears, I began to skim through the songs on my phone, trying to find something to listen to first. I didn't even realize that someone was placing their stuff down at my table and took a seat across from me. It wasn't until I found Memories by Panic! At the Disco that I did.
Sitting there was Harper. Unlike any other time, she allowed her hair to fall down her shoulders, not caring to pull it back apparently. She pushed her binders and notebooks to the side as she focused on getting her paint ready for the day. When she noticed that I was looking at her, she gave me a small smile in return. "Hey."
"Uh, h-hi," I stuttered. "Why are you sitting here?"
She blinked at me, once then twice. "What, do you not want me to sit here with you?"
"N-no! You can sit here. It's just," I paused, trying to figure out what in the world I was trying to say. "You don't usually sit here. Did something happen over there?"
The two of us turned to look at her table, which was still a bit empty except for one person who had their head laying down on the table. "No, nothing happened. I just wanted to sit elsewhere for a change and because you're sitting by yourself, I decided that I would sit with you."
Oh.
"But don't worry, I won't say anything to you. So, you can just listen to your music and do your work. Just, let me sit here for today, please?"
It wasn't like I was going to say no, she was my friend, why would I tell her that she couldn't sit with me? I wanted to reassure her about the manner but kept my mouth shut as she started her own assignment. I waited a bit, expecting her to smile and say "just kidding, how are you, Lexi?" but she didn't. Her attention on the assignment in front of her. Which meant that I should do the same and do my own work. And with that, I went back to my own painting.
It was strange, having her sit there and not talking the entire time. Whenever I was with Harper, she was always so excited and talked nonstop. It would start off about school and then lead into some stupid post that she saw online and wanted to show me. I always enjoyed those conversations because it was easy being able to talk to her. I mean, I barely talked during those things but she didn't care as she carried the conversation herself. Not having Harper talking was... different and I didn't know if it was a good thing or not.
When Harper's other friends walked inside, some of them would call out to Harper, saying hi to her. She would smile at them as she waved, but it wasn't her usual smile. It was forced, fake, and just not Harper. I didn't like it, and I was sure that i was the only one in the room who even noticed how fake her smile was. Or at least, I was the only person who probably didn't like it. But I didn't say anything because I could never say or doing anything about it. I was too afraid of what Harper might do or say to me if I were to question her even more than before.
One of her friends came up to our table. "Hey Harper," the guy said. "Whatcha doing over here today?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I decided that I want to sit with Lexi during art, since I'm always sitting with y'all."
The guy briefly glanced in my direction and I did the same. I knew of him, but I never remembered his name. And I was sure that he was the same way when it came to me. "Hm, I guess that's fair," he said, his eyes going back to Harper. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Probably going home since practice was canceled due to the rain."
"That's lame, you should get ice cream with us instead."
"That sounds like fun, but I think that I'm gonna stay in." The two of us could see that he was ready to say something else so Harper added more before he could. "I have a lot of work to do and I want my free time to do it and head off to bed early. Next time, I'll get ice cream with all of you, I promise."
That was good enough for the guy because he smiled and then went back to his own table, telling the others about the conversation. And as soon as he left, Harper's attention went back to her work as her smile dropped. And I just watched her. I did that a lot apparently. Whenever something happened with Harper, i couldn't help but to just stare at her. However, unlike the usual times that I was staring at her, I was more concerned with her own wellbeing.
Because there she was, her energy low and smile forced. Even with me asking her if anything had happened, she denied it and I wasn't sure if it was because she was lying about someone hurting her, or that nothing no one did anything to her. That she was just in a bad mood because she was in a bad mood.
Thunder crashed outside of their classroom, catching me off guard and making me jump. I could hear a few people snickering at my reaction, which caused me to blush in embarrassment. I looked outside, seeing the dark grey clouds that were rolling in and the rain that hit up against the windows.
It looked like Harper and the weather had something in common: they weren't having it that day.
YOU ARE READING
Weather Girl (gxg)
RomanceLexi Bradley is always watching the "Weather Girl", whether it's during lunch or when they are both walking home, with Lexi far behind her. Her eyes are always trailing to the girl who's mood always changes depending on the weather.