"Harper, hey! Wait up!"
Harper turned around at the sound of her name. She was a little unhappy to get held up when she really wanted to go home, but she knew that voice and it meant her friend Damon needed a favor. "What are you going to put me up to today?" She asked him. He smiled as he ran his hand through his jet black hair. "Nothing that will be too difficult or dangerous this time." He started. "The truth is, there's this girl named Jennifer that I'm really into, but I've heard that her family is really old fashioned about dating and such. So before I go all out in asking her out, I want to know she'll even say yes first. Would you mind finding out for me?"
Harper rolled her eyes and laughed. Finding out whether or not Jennifer liked Damon sounded so much like an elementary thing to do. "Damon, come on! Grow a set and stop making me do your dirty work!"
"Harper, please!" Damon pleaded. "I'm serious about this one! And not to mention, it's senior year! There's a lot of heavy stuff getting ready for us! I want to be able to say a girlfriend isn't one of those for me."
Harper put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "I do not understand your logic, but fine. I will talk to her."
"Yes!" Damon cheered, getting excited. He knew that he was going to have to pay Harper back in some way, as she has definitely done a lot for him. She's always been a great friend to him, even when life was putting her through the ringer. Damon wanted so badly to make Harper's life just a little brighter so that she would hopefully one day realize how awesome she is. As he was thinking of this, movement caught his attention and he looked up to see Harper's boyfriend Billie coming towards them. He had seen that look one too many times before, and knew that today wasn't going to be a good day for Harper.
Harper notices Damon's expression change. She turned around and caught a glimpse of Billie, recognizing that look as well. Her insides cringed at the knowledge of what was to come next. "Hey Billie," she greeted as he came closer.
"Hey Harper," Billie greeted back uncomfortably. He looked from Harper to Damon before asking: "Damon, could you give us a moment? Harper and I need to talk."
Damon didn't move an inch at first, anger starting to make his cheeks flush red. He looked at Harper, ready to pummel this guy at a moment's notice, but she just looked at Damon and nodded her head. She knew what was happening and she was prepared for it. With her nod, he finally budged and walked away.
Harper sighed and pinched her nose, her blonde balayage hair falling on her face as she looked downward. "Let me guess," she started, annoyance clear in her tone. "After one week of dating, you are going to tell me that something came up, this just isn't working out, or some crap of that sort. Am I right?" She looks up at Billie, and his sheepish expression was all the answer she needed. "Why? Why is it always the same exact excuse?!"
"Harper, please..." Billie started, running his hand through his blonde hair. He really liked Harper, and hated seeing her this frustrated. He knew what he was doing wasn't right, but he also felt like he didn't have a choice.
"No! No, I demand an explanation." Harper insisted. "You're breaking up with me, so at the very least I deserve an honest answer."
Billie sighed, knowing she was right. "Okay, look, it's not that I want to break up with you." He began his explanation, knowing this wasn't going to end well. "It's just that I'm on the football team, and we have a code. If one of the guys has some sort of history with a girl, we all have to back off no questions asked."
Harper stared at Billie for a moment, not knowing if she was happy to finally get a straight answer or infuriated by the answer she was given. "Okay," she began, anger making her voice a little higher pitched than usual. "Alright, well, thank you for being the only one who had the balls to say so."
"Harper-" Billie began, but she just walked away. She didn't want to hear one more word of it. Truthfully, she knew that she had history with at least two of the guys on the football team. One was a humiliating experience she would rather forget, and another was a breakup not too different from this one but a lot more volatile.
Harper walks to her car, gets in and leaves the campus. Before heading home she wanted to stop at her favorite coffee shop. Harper truly believed that there was no better medicine for the crappy feeling of a breakup than a hot mocha latte.
"Hey Betty," she greets the barista when she reached the counter. "I'll have my usual please." She and Damon come here nearly every day after school and sometimes more if they had a test coming up. Harper loved the location because it sat perfectly between the high school and the university and only five minutes from her house. She could come here her entire life.
"Of course hun," Betty said with a bright smile. She reached behind herself and handed Harper a piping hot cup with a bunch of hearts drawn on it. "I started it as soon as I saw you walk in. Damon came in here a little bit ago and paid for your drink. He said you were having a hard day so I put a couple hearts on it to help your day go better."
Harper couldn't help but smile. Damon is such a great friend, she thought. He knew just as well as her what Billie walked up to do earlier and he knew Harper well enough to predict she would come for her mocha latte. "Thanks Betty, I really appreciate it. This is just what I needed." Harper left a little tip in the jar for Betty and started to walk out, already feeling her mood lift. As she was about to leave, a familiar face popped in through the entrance. Harper stopped in her tracks, her heart fluttering while also her stomach turning. She felt flushed yet terrified, the common onset of feeling whenever she saw Noah Myers.
"Harper, hey." Noah greeted with a soft smile. "How have you been?"
"I'm fine." She replied shortly. "Just getting my coffee and headed home."
"Oh, okay. How's Connie doing?" Noah asked politely. He didn't want her to leave yet, though he knew she would never agree to sit with him.
"She's fine too. Actually waiting for me to get home." Harper glanced at the door, so badly wanting to get out of this conversation. She never thought she would be so excited to run back home to her adoptive mother.
"That's cool. Does she still hate me?" Noah asked with a nervous giggle. He immediately kicked himself for asking that question.
Harper looked him dead in the eye, surprised he would ask that. "Yes." She said slowly. Connie will always hate you, she thought to herself. "It was nice to see you Noah. Have a nice day."
"Yeah, you too." Harper could hear Noah say goodbye behind her, but she wasn't about to stop anytime soon. Case number one of history with a football player; the guy who ruined her freshmen year.
