when all is said and done | e.d.

twelve

ethan

i pull up to harper's house at 11:28, and plan to knock on her door. before i can even get out of my car, she's hurrying out and quickly locking the door behind her.

she wears a plain black fitted turtleneck shirt, with dress pants that seem to be small buffalo check and a long coat.

much to my surprise— her usual heels are replaced with black platform vans.

i let out a small chuckle at the unusualness of her outfit, and she slides in, holding a steaming coffee.

"what're you laughing at?" she eyes me curiously.

"nothing. you just seem... not formal."

"i don't spend my free time in pencil skirts and pantsuits, ethan," she mutters, immediately pulling down the visor to check her makeup in the mirror.

"touché," i nod, putting the car in drive.

on our way to the address she texted me, a chick-fil-a pops up in the near distance.

"oh my god i'm starving. swing in," she instructs, motioning to the turn that takes you through the drive thru.

i quickly do, earning a honk from someone for forgetting my turn signal.

"do we have time for this?" i ask nervously, checking my watch.

"are you questioning me?" she asks, looking at me through the top of her glasses.

"no."

"good. order me a lemonade and some fries. and whatever you want, too. it's on me."

i pull up to where you order, and recite the things harper requested.

"wait they have frosted coffee?" she whispers to me, peering at the menu.

i squint at it and nod. "yeah, but it's made with soy milk. you're allergic, remember?"

"i am?"

i turn to her with an odd look on my face. "... yeah. you are. you have to use almond milk in your coffee, because soy will make you break out in hives. and you're mildly lactose intolerant too, so whole milk is a no."

her eyebrows jump up in surprise, mouth parted a little bit. "h-how do you know that?"

"i have to. when i started working for you, i called your mom and she gave me a list of your allergies. did she not tell you that you're allergic to soy?"

"i- i guess not."

"well thank god you know now. so yeah, you can't have the frosted coffee."

the guy working the drive thru reads back our order and i confirm it, and pull up to the next window. harper's quiet, as if she's deep in random thought.

i turn to her with a raised eyebrow. "you okay?"

"i'm fine."

her fries and drink get handed through the window, along with my frosted lemonade.

"question of the day," she announces once we've officially pulled back out into traffic. "what's your biggest fear?"

"you first."

"okay," she nods. "i think mine would be... not achieving my dreams."

"that sucks. mine's throwing up."

"you're such a liar," she laughs. "you have to have a worse fear than that."

"nope," i sigh out. a complete lie. "i even went to therapy for it when i was younger. it was... weird."

"lying is against company policy."

"good thing i'm not on the clock, then."

"ethan stop. it's a qotd. you have to tell the truth."

"i don't know," i reply simply. "something like... trying new things, i guess. i hate it, it's awful."

she gapes at me. "seriously? i love trying new things. it's like an adrenaline rush, you know?"

i shudder just thinking about it. "adrenaline is... horrible. i hate it. can we be done talking about this now?"

harper looks like she's about to argue, but i thankfully turn into the parking lot of a big, windowed building— notorious for holding conferences like this.

we park and walk in, immediately hearing the buzz of chatter as people greet each other and start to socialize before we're all shoved into one big auditorium for three hours. like a college lecture.

"oh my god," harper whispers to me, eyes wide as she looks across the lobby. "i see the ceo of urban outfitters. what do i do?"

"don't go over there, are you kidding me?" i whisper back in a tone implying that she's crazy. "he probably wants to be left alone."

"fine. you're right."

we wait in the crowded lobby for ten more minutes, before the doors open to the auditorium, and everyone is ushered in.

a power point is projected onto a screen on stage, and a man in a suit is standing in front of it proudly.

harper and i take a couple seats in the back, far away from everyone.

"what's this even for?" i ask.

"i don't know, honestly. wherever bentley tells me to go, i go. you don't get to ask questions."

i nod and the speaker introduces himself. my mind immediately tunes him out as i rest my head on the back of the auditorium seat.

maybe i can take a nap.

honestly why did i come to this?

i could've lied and said i had a date or something.

a light jab in my side makes my eyes fling open. harper looks to me like she's holding back a laugh, but a small one escapes anyway.

"what?" i whisper.

"you're sleeping."

"i was trying to," i grumble, closing my eyes again.

"boo. no fun."

my mind drifts off after awhile, the last thing on my mind being how much i enjoy harper's company.

but only when it's not work related.