#Chapter31I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. I watched Harper have his lunch in peace while I kept glaring daggers at him.I could get up from the table and walk out of the cafeteria, but I was hungry and I didn't want to leave the battleground. Not when he was challenging me at my home ground.I gingerly picked up my fork and got back to eating my lunch, quite aware of the sneaking glances Harper constantly threw at me.***The week that followed was one of the most frustrating and exasperating one of my life. In the days that followed, Harper didn't just make a statement, he had gone all out and made a declaration to the world, which landed me in the centre of all the attention and the public's scrutiny.Every damn day, my day started with finding Harper in front of my locker, waiting for me, before the first class started. He had the gall to just turn up even after I told him off.I knew it was absolutely useless to ask him to stop bothering me. So I d
#Chapter32'"I think we should go, because your friends are standing at the bottom of the staircase, listening in on us."'******Nat and Sam were on my case. Like literally. They had been privy to everything going on with Harper and wanted to know about every decision I made regarding him.But I was reluctant to tell them that he had asked me out on a date. But then again, I didn't want to hide anything from them.It was a futile battle, really. After I reached home, it took me a few minutes' worth of debate with myself, and before I knew it, I had already called them on a conference call."What did you say when he asked you out?" Nat asked."Yeah, what did you say?" Sam asked."I said yes." There was a moment of silence. Silence of consideration and musing and after that came the debate. The debate whether saying yes to Harper was a good idea. A debate I had been having with myself and a debate in which I needed more clarity. A clarity only my best friends c
#Chapter33Sam scrambled off the bed when the door bell rang and ran downstairs to open the door to let Harper in.Nat put both of her hand on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "You look beautiful. Just don't do what I wouldn't do." I smiled and hugged her. She patted me on the back. "I love you, okay. Go now. He's waiting for you.""Aren't you coming downstairs?" "I have to gather all my makeup supplies before Samantha sees this mess and never lets me in her house again." Nat giggled. I looked around and sure enough, the room was a mess. Clothes and makeup were strewn everywhere.I giggled. "I wonder how Samantha controlled herself all this time." She laughed. "I know, right. Have a good time."I looked at her and with as much sincerity as I could manage, thanked her."Hey, you don't thank me, now get your ass downstairs and have a good time."I hugged her again and walked out the room and towards the stairs, which would lead me towards my dat
#Chapter34'Guess there is more to Harper than I initially thought!'******"You know, I actually thought you were going to cancel till the last minute." Harper glanced at me while driving to the destination he had planned and refused to tell me."I almost did." That was the honest answer. I kept having second thoughts about the whole matter. Even now, I wondered if there was any way to ask Harper politely, to turn his car around and go back to Sam's house.He sighed. "Well, I guess I deserve that.""Yes, you do." My reply was prompt and I glanced at Harper from the corner of my eye who was gripping the steering wheel with greater force than necessary, his knuckles turning white."Have you, um, ever been on a date before?" Harper chuckled nervously.Where is he going with this?"Yeah. Haven't you?" I turned to look at him, giving him my full attention."I don't exactly date girls." He smirked at me."Yeah, I know. All you do is sleep with girls and then b
#Chapter35I walked behind Harper who was a step ahead of me. The door looked exactly how the rest of the house did, beaten, worn and old. He took a key out of his jacket's pocket and unlocked the door. Why does he even need a lock for this place?He held out his hand and gestured for me to go in first. The inside of the house was just as I had expected. The supposed living room had old and beaten furniture, the wallpaper was mouldy and was peeling off the walls. There was a thick layer of dust everywhere and I thanked God that I wasn't allergic to anything or my throat would have closed up by now and I would have undergone an anaphylactic shock!The living room was cast in a soft glow of yellow light which emanated from the adjoining room. I looked back at Harper to check if he was coming after me and not leaving me alone in this God forsaken place.The floor boards creaked under my weight and I prayed that they wouldn't break. That would be so embarrassing!
#Chapter36'"I think we should go. If I am a minute late than 12, Samantha would bite my head off."'******"Why did you choose a BMW?" Harper asked me. We had been playing 20 questions and we had been going back and forth for a few hours now and surprisingly, I was really enjoying myself.Turns out Harper can be less of an idiot if he really wanted to. We had talked and laughed. And talked. And laughed. A lot.I giggled. "I think the question you should ask is, 'why not a BMW'?" "You got me!" He threw his head back and laughed, his shoulder shaking which showed how genuine he was being right now.We had done eating our sandwiches some time ago. They were absolutely delicious and my mouth watered just thinking about them. When I asked him about it, he told me he had his housekeeper make them. We had a can of coke with the sandwiches and then ended up sharing a chocolate bar.Harper smiled at me and then checked his wrist watch. I knew it was time to leave. I chec
#Chapter37He was asking me out on another date and I knew what my answer was going to be. I would simply love to go on a second date with him. I really enjoyed myself during the time I spent with him and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have such a night again."I, um, plan to take things seriously with you." What? Take things seriously with me? Who even says that?This was definitely more than I was ready for and everything in me, right now, wanted to protect myself, protect my own feelings. Warning bells started ringing in my head and the only thing I was sure of, right now, was that I just didn't want to get hurt again."Harper, going on a date and taking things to the next level are two different things. Two completely different things." My voice was small and sounded uncertain to my own ears."I know. Look, I asked you to keep an open mind about everything, right?! To keep an open mind about me?! It wasn't so bad, was it?!" His voice became small at the end of his
#Chapter38'"You call him right now and tell that you want to be his girlfriend."'******"So, he took you to his grandparent's old house." Natalie asked again."She has already told us that, Natalie." Samantha said and threw a pillow at Nat's head.We were sitting in Sam's room, on her bed, talking about my date with Harper. I had told them everything up to the point where he told me he was 'serious' about me."And that's not everything!" I gulped when their head whipped up to look at me, eager for any new information."He kissed you, didn't he?" Nat asked eagerly."He was about to but I stepped back." I smiled weakly. I had started to regret that decision already. All the reasons that had come into my mind at the time, sounded so foolish and empty right now. But I definitely wasn't going to tell them that."What? Why would you do that?" Samantha gasped."That doesn't matter. What matters is what he said after that." I waved a hand dismissively like it didn