The Laws of Emotion

Chapter Twenty One

The softball girls were especially loud tonight on the bus ride home from our latest game. Yet during all of the laughter and yelling, Layla still snored next to me. The noise didn't seem to bother her one bit. However, it bothered me a lot. They were all talking about prom and their dates. 

I didn't have a date to prom. Nick hadn't contacted me since the scrimmage game, and Harvey and I had basically avoided each other at school. Sophia agreed to go with me after I told her what had happened with Harvey. She told me that she didn't know what was his problem and that she would try to talk to him. I begged her not to talk to him, but she was firm in her decision.

"I scored a prom date with a guy who is home-schooled," Harper said, her voice echoing in the bus. "He said he wanted to get back at someone who goes to our school."

I frowned. Why would Harper announce that to everyone? It seemed like she raised her voice just so I could hear it. 

"He is incredibly cute," Harper gushed. "And his name is Nick."

I nearly fell out of the seat at the sound of his name. Did she mean my Nick? He was home-schooled. He was pretty cute. But how did they meet? And why did he want to get back at me? What did I do to him?

I stared out of the window and sighed. I didn't like him like I used to, but he was a good guy. He was funny and sweet. We could have been friends. 

The bus pulled into the parking lot to the school, illuminated by the lights. Clouds blocked the moonlight from lighting up anything, so I was thankful for the light poles. I hurried off of the bus, but before I could walk to my car, someone grabbed the strap of my bag, pulling me to a stop.

"Did you hear who my prom date is?" Harper asked with a sly smile.

"Yes."

"Are you not upset?"

I forced a smile on my face. "Why would I be? You deserve someone better, and I know Nick is great. I hope you have fun with him."

She frowned and let go of my softball bag. I took that opportunity to turn on my heel and walk toward my car. I wouldn't let her get to me. I knew she blamed me for her breakup. However, I had nothing to do with it. It was his decision to cheat on her, not mine.

Sliding into my car, I sighed. I didn't want to go home yet. I needed to talk to someone, and the only person I could think of was Harvey. I knew he would be awake at this time of night, so I started driving to his house. 

The drive was short to his house, but I couldn't get out of my car. Fear rose up in my throat. What if he never wanted to talk to me again? That was why I didn't want to do anything romantic with him. I didn't want to ruin our friendship. 

However, I needed to talk to him. I came up with an idea while driving to his house that I needed to run by him. I locked the car and walked around the side of his house. Soft light illuminated a figure in the window, so I knocked on it. The figure jumped before opening the window.

"Cat? What are you doing?" Harvey asked with a frown.

"Can I come in?" I asked instead.

"Fine."

I pulled myself up and tumbled into his room. He didn't stoop down to help me up. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest, giving me a look I didn't like. I glanced around his room and noticed that Lindsey, the hot girl poster he used to have, wasn't on his wall anymore. "What happened to Lindsey?" I asked.

"Sammy didn't like her," he replied. 

My heart fell at the sound of her name. My plan wouldn't be able to work if he was still with her. But why would he kiss me if he was with her?

I shook my head. He raised his eyebrows at me, but I sat down on his bed, looking up at him. I had to psyche myself up for this. 

"What do you want, Cat? Shouldn't you be home?" he asked irritably. "I don't think your mother is going to like this."

"She won't know," I replied, hurt that he was mad. I stood up and hovered near the window. If he didn't want me here, I would leave. "I guess we could talk tomorrow."

I reached toward the window when he touched my shoulder. My eyes closed at the feeling, but it was gone in an instant. I turned around as he said, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I just found out that Nick is going to prom with Harper," I told him. "She was the one who told me."

"Why?"

I thought back to the last time we saw each other. Maybe he saw my kiss with Harvey and got upset. I did tell him that nothing was going on between the two of us. "I have a feeling I know what it is."

He stared at me for a second. I could have gotten lost in his eyes, but he blinked. "Me too."

"I was thinking you and I could go to prom together," I said, fidgeting with my hands. "To get back at Nick. What do you think?"

His eyes wouldn't leave mine at all. It seemed like he had gotten closer to me. I had to hold my arms back from wrapping around his neck. Harvey suddenly nodded. "Yes. I will."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "What about Sammy?"

"She got subtracted out of this equation."

I cracked a smile. "A math pun? Really?"

Harvey laughed, sending a shock through me. It had been a minute since I last heard him laugh. "Do you want me to ask you to go to prom in front of Harper?" he asked, still smiling.

"That would be nice."

"What do you want me to do?"

I tapped my chin. I hadn't really thought about it before. I just assumed the guy would choose something, not ask me what I wanted. "Can you write on some softballs, asking me out to prom? And throw them to me while having our friends serenade me?"

He chuckled. "That is very elaborate."

"Hey, you asked me what I wanted. That was the first thing I could think of."

"I'll do my best," Harvey said, nodding. "When do you want me to do it?"

"By the end of the week. We need to go shopping."

"Alright."

We locked eyes again. He suddenly pulled me into a tender hug, and I melted against his chest. I wanted to stay there forever. It seemed like he wanted to stay in my arms as well, but he pulled away. 

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," he whispered.

"Yeah."

We didn't move an inch. I couldn't move at all. His hypnotic gaze pulled me in. Just before we could meet, his mother yelled, "Harvey, you should get some sleep!"

I jumped away from him and turned around. "Bye."

"Bye, Cat."

I quickly clambered out of the window and hurried toward my car. I couldn't believe we almost kissed. We would have to talk about that later. Not right now. I didn't know how to approach that conversation. I just wanted to be with him already.