"I'll text you tonight, Gracie."
"Don't waste your credits."
***
I was an idiot. Because it didn't take long for me to cave.
One week, to be exact.
One week of texts, notes left in lockers, and gentle smiles, and I was sold. I didn't acknowledge him in school, and neither did he, but the bullying and snide comments stopped—and not just from him. All his friends had taken note of his change of behavior and proceeded to treat me like everyone else in the student body. That meant I was ignored, which was fine by me.
The only person who could not hide their true feelings was Jessica.
Oh, she had stopped her mean-girl comments, but she could not hide her visceral reaction to me. Whenever she passed me in the halls, she would flash me a look that could only be described as pure contempt. She always appeared like she was on the verge of spewing absolute hatred on me, but something held her back.
Harrison came over a lot. Sometimes prearranged, sometimes unannounced. I had no idea why my mom let him in. Maybe it was because I was now eighteen, and she thought I needed privacy. Or perhaps she was just happy that her normally antisocial daughter finally had a gentleman caller. I was betting on the latter.
I tried to get rid of him the first few times but to no avail. I mean, who wanted to sit in a bedroom with me when there was a party to attend or a pretty blonde cheerleader to bang?
But he was persistent. And charming. And so disgustingly handsome I would sometimes stare at him under the guise of reading a book.
We then progressed to watching TV shows and movies. I was flabbergasted that he had never watchedFriendsbefore.
"Oh, my God! We need to rectify that.Friendsis required viewing; it's compulsory—non negotiable."
"Well, if it's compulsory, you better put it on, then," he laughed.
"They were definitely on a break," Harrison nodded as he took a bite of the cheese pizza he had brought over.
"I agree. But she still had a right to be pissed. It wasn't even twenty-four hours."
"Yeah, but they were still on a break," he shrugged.
I picked at my pizza crust as I glanced at Harrison below long lashes. A smile pulled at my mouth as I watched him munch on a piece of garlic bread while chuckling along to Joey's antics.
A sense of contentment and happiness poured over me. How was this my life right now?
But all good things come to an end, and it all came crashing down horribly the week before prom.
Harrison had texted me to wait for him outside one of the school buildings after a late football practice. He wanted to take me home.
We were leaning against the side of a building, flirting heavily with one another. Neither of us were in a hurry to get home.
"So, prom's next week," he murmured as he lifted a hand to brush my hair back.
I blushed at the intimacy of his touch.
"Yeah," I whispered.
"You going?"
I shrugged before quickly shaking my head. "No, it doesn't interest me."
And it didn't. I was never going to prom, even though some boys in my circle had tried to drop hints. I was very vocal about not attending. Not because I thought I was too cool for it but because a social school event with people I rarely cared about was not my cup of tea.
I had planned to sleep over at Amelia's, watching cheesy John Hughes movies and binging on junk food and soda. Watching Sam Baker inSixteen Candlesdrive off with Jake Ryan was my kind of prom night.
"It's not really my kind of event, either," Harrison confessed, surprising me. "But I'm kind of expected to go. People follow my lead, which can be exhausting at times."
