The Laws of Emotion

Chapter Ten

"Margaret!" I giggled. "I love your drawing!"

I held it up in front of my eyes. She looked so proud of drawing me and Harvey holding hands. It didn't look like me at all, but she did a good job for Harvey. She really captured his natural smile.

"Would you show it to Harvey for me?" she asked, shyly tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Maybe you should give it to him."

Confusion took over her face, so I waved at Harvey to come in. His arms were wide open before he wrapped her in a huge hug. Her giggles warmed my heart. Sophia walked in as well and stood next to me.

"It seems like he's popular with girls of all ages," she muttered to me.

I laughed. "I don't know how that's even possible."

"I mean, have you seen him?" she asked me. "He's hot. He's a gentleman. That's the perfect guy right there."

I rolled my eyes. I knew what she was doing. "Sure, Sophia. Whatever you believe."

She laid off of me as Harvey pulled away from Margaret. She had the largest smile on her face, and she gazed up at him lovingly. "I love your drawing," he said to her. "Thank you so much!"

He held it close to his chest, and something inside me grew warm. I watched as he hugged her again. There it was again. The warmth spread through my veins, slowly but surely. But it went away in an instant when Sophia said, "Come on, Harvey. We have to go."

I stared at her for a second. "Where are you two going together?" I asked.

"Some of the baseball guys are taking the little league boys out for ice cream," she explained. "I'm tagging along because Kota begged me to."

"I remember when Beckett used to tag along with me everywhere I went," I said with a small smile. "Now he acts like I don't exist. Most of the time."

"The only reason Dakota wants to be with me is because I'm a senior in high school," she replied with a laugh. "He's going into middle school, and he thinks he's the coolest guy ever. Especially since he thinks he's friends with Harvey."

"What? He is my friend!" Harvey said, joining our conversation. I called out to Margaret, saying goodbye before we exited her room. "I love your brother, Soph! Just like I love Cat's brother and Ethan's siblings. I love all my friends' siblings just like they're my friends."

"I think you love them because you don't have any siblings," I replied as we stepped into the elevator. 

"They're my unofficial siblings!" he announced when we stepped into the lobby. Some people looked at us, wondering why he was being so loud. 

"Hey, Cat, why aren't you staying here a little longer?" Sophia asked.

I shrugged. "I have homework that deserves my attention."

"Is it that sexy calculus?" Harvey asked with a wink.

"As a matter of fact, yes," I told him. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to have the house to myself for a little bit, as well. That's exciting."

"Don't burn the house down," Sophia teased. 

I rolled my eyes. "I'm never going to live that down. Ever."

"As long as we're friends, I won't let you forget it."

"So that's forever, isn't it?"

"Of course."

I pulled her into a hug with a laugh. "I'm glad."

She broke away first. "I'll talk to you later, Cat."