The Laws of Emotion

Chapter Four

I pulled into the parking lot of Hotcakes. Unsurprisingly, I was the first one here. I didn't really go to my locker, so I left school right when the bell rang. Ethan had to drive his girlfriend home. Harvey usually took his time because he chatted to other friends and other girls. Chris drove so freaking slow. The only person who wasn't here yet was Sophia, which was strange. She usually sped here because she loved breakfast food.

I stepped out of my car and headed inside. The guy working today nodded my way, so I sat down at our usual booth. The tacky decor brought back fond memories of spending time here with my friends and the softball team. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and checked my messages. I had made sure Harvey knew we were meeting at Hotcakes, but no one else texted back.

"Already on your phone?"

I looked up to see Harvey standing in front of the booth. He slid in beside me, shoving me against the wall. "Hey!" I said as my head came very close to hitting the wall. 

He smiled. "I heard you were late today. Why?"

"Mom didn't wake me up because she found out I talked to you at midnight." I sighed. "Dad actually woke me up."

"You really still have your mother waking you up?" His eyebrows were raised.

"Yeah. I never got around to setting an alarm, and she doesn't seem to mind."

"What else happened?"

"How did you know?" I asked, laughing. "I fell down after I showered. Thankfully I didn't fall down the stairs."

"Are you okay?"

I shrugged. "My shoulder slammed into the banister, but I think it's better now."

He brushed my long hair out of the way before starting to rub my shoulder, so I leaned into his touch. I lied. It hurt really bad. But he was making it feel so much better. 

"You're very tense," he mumbled in my ear. "Why?"

"No idea."

His other hand settled near my hip, sending shivers up my spine. I made myself believe that the shivers were from him rubbing my shoulder. Nothing else.

"Does it feel better?"

"Much." He still continued, kneading his thumb into my shoulder blade. I groaned and said, "You should do this more often. Softball messes up my shoulders."

"If I do it to you, you should do it to me, too."

"Deal." He finally took his hand off of my shoulder, but we stayed right where we were sitting. I tilted my head to face him and whispered, "Your turn?"

He shook his head, nodding toward where our friends were coming in. He kept his hand near my hip, but I really wanted to scoot away from him. Sophia and Chris slid into the other side of the booth together, and Ethan pulled up a chair. 

"What were you two doing?" Sophia asked, raising her eyebrows. 

"Talking," I replied. "What about you?"

"Talking."

Why was she acting like that? There was nothing going on between Harvey and me. She knew that. Even though I wanted to move away from Harvey, I didn't. I didn't want to give any sort of satisfaction to Sophia. 

"Would you guys like your regular orders?" the dude asked, walking over to us.

"That would be nice." Chris nodded. "Thanks."

My arm brushed up against Harvey's, so I rested it against the table. "You all wouldn't believe the day I had," I said. 

"I know what happened!" Chris said, raising his hand.