Wednesday is arguably the most boring day of the week. The only good thing to come out of a Wednesday is the fact that Shakespeare was baptised on one in 1564 and that's about it.
I groggily wake up to Caesar's furry little butt in my face and the sound of my papa's voice that I had set as my alarm. It always made me happier in the morning when I remember how Papa would march into my room at 7 am belting out made-up songs just to get me out of bed.
That was when he wasn't so bad. When he was good. It used to annoy me when he was alive but right now I would give anything to hear that voice again.
I gently push him off and ready myself for the day. I plan on going straight to school on my bike.
I don't bother putting on any make-up. I throw on an old Batman T-shirt that I got from the salvation army about a year ago and a simple pair of jeans. I tell myself not to wait and see whether Parker would pick me up or not.
I don't want to face him after crying all over his shoulder yesterday following the whole debacle in lunch. He was so sweet about everything and had waited until the nurse had given me the okay before he went to Headmaster Holloway's office. He was so worried about me that it made me kind of uncomfortable, I've never had a friend who cared about me that much.
I didn't feel like talking to anyone but a part of me feels guilty about potentially keeping him waiting outside of my house. That's if he even bothers to come.
I've gotten about a dozen missed calls from him since yesterday. None of which I've returned. I don't know what I would say to him, he's probably worried about me and I'm making it worse by ignoring him. I feel somehow responsible for the whole fight with Brett.
I try not to think about him as I pedal to school. I try not to think about anything and concentrate on my wheels rolling across the ground.
The sunshine warmed my face as I rode through town. I could already feel my mood lifting. My T-shirt clung close to my skin like glue, my chest already slick with sweat. It felt good. It felt great. I've loved bike riding ever since I was a kid. I used to pretend I was flying if I removed both my hands from the handlebars and rode with only my feet on the pedals. I thought I was some sort of magician because I could cycle with no hands. It was the only time I felt like a superhero.
I remember always begging Silas to race me in the park when we were little and of course he'd always let me win. I sigh.
At times like this, I really miss my brother. I miss having someone to talk to. Someone to reassure me and tell me that everything's going to be alright.
I wonder what he's up to now. Probably sleeping.
Finally, I arrive at school. I chain my bike in the crappy parking stands that could only fit four bikes and head towards the front gates. I made a mental note to slip a query in the complaints box about the lack of space for bikes in the parking spots.
Beaumont Hill School was the only sixth form in the area that was built like a huge ridiculous castle. The building is so old, the floorboards creaked when you walk on it.
When I first came here, I used to pretend that I was in Hogwarts and it was time for me to finally learn how to become a witch.
The reality was much, much worse.
As I walk through the corridor, I immediately notice the stares and whispers. My stomach plummets. This can't be happening again.
The day after the whole anxiety attack incident in the cafeteria was the same. All the looks, the giggles and the pointing.
I felt so much shame over a part of me I had no control over.
I suddenly wish that I had never met Parker, that I never spoke to him so that all this attention I'm getting for just being associated with him would go away. I could go back to being a perfectly invisible wallflower.
But that's when I realise they weren't giggling or whispering about me.
There were papers plastered all over the walls.
I step past a couple of sneering year 11's and grab the first one I could see on one of the notice boards.
My heart sunk when I see that it's a picture of Rose, Parker's older sister with an incredibly cruel caption.
Who would do this?
Then I understood. Brett. The argument. Oh no.
Surely, he wouldn't stoop this low.
As I tear down the halls, I remove every single poster that was put up. I was aware of the weird looks of the other people but I didn't care I want to protect Parker. I had to protect him just as he protected me.
How could someone be so cruel? Using someone's disabled sister as some kind of sick joke. I feel so furious, so disgusted. I feel a sudden flicker of irritation and grimace at the sight of all the faces in the hallway.
And people are laughing? How could you laugh at something that is so far from funny?
I want to punch every single smiling or giggling face I see.
I've never felt this much hatred and anger in my body before. Rage pounds through me like a heavy metal drumbeat.
"Aren't you all disgusted with yourselves?" I hear myself suddenly scream at the hallway of students, looking at me with bewildered expressions on their faces.
I'm well aware of the fact that I probably sound like a teacher at this point and they were less likely to take me seriously. But, I keep going for the sake of Parker, my friend.
"Making fun of somebody that can't even defend themselves. Laughing at her like a bunch of heartless creatures. She's human just like you and me. Just because she looks different doesn't make her any inferior, I truly worry for the sake of humanity if you can laugh at a person with a disability."
The crowd of kids gape at me with a sheepish look of shame on their faces. I feel cleansed with anger but also in awe of myself that I was able to speak in front of that many people without being consumed by my negative thoughts.
Jasmin dressed in a plaid red mini skirt paired with black thigh-high boots and a black close-fitting turtleneck appears out of the crowd and walks towards me. She looks like a French spy as she casually re-arranges the black beret that sits on top of her hair.
"She's right guys, anyone laughing at this picture should never even think of trying to speak to me again." She announces, turning to face the crowd as soon as she gets to me. "Especially you, Brandon. Ew!"
Their eyes follow her, not sure whether to fall in love with or fear her. She narrows her eyes and purses her lips, daring anyone to object and of course, nobody does.
This is the effect she has on people.
No one would ever dream of rubbing Jasmin the wrong way. Everyone wants to be on her good side just in case they get to reap the benefits.
There were rumours that her parents were Brazilian filmmakers who were super loaded and of course she was an Acting prodigy and had already gotten minor roles in films.
She was the Beaumont sixth forms' Megan Fox.
She loops her slim arms through mine. "And anyone that's got a problem with her, has got a problem with me, capiche?"
She pops the bubblegum in her mouth and leads me down the hallway through the crowd of people.
I'm too shocked to say anything so I just keep my mouth shut and follow her obediently.
We end up in an empty classroom. She sits on top of the table and crosses her toned model-long legs. She has the skin of a burnt orange sunset and the eyes of a cup of strong whisky. Her lips were plump and red as if she'd just been kissing someone for the past few hours- which wouldn't be surprising if she actually had. Her skirt was so short, you could practically see her scarlet knickers peeking through but she didn't seem to care as she made no effort to hide it.
I was pretty sure she was breaking all the existing dress code violations but she was able to get away with it, of course.
She was so beautiful I can't even make eye contact with her.
"Cat got your tongue?" She wiggles her perfectly plucked eyebrows at me. She pulls out a packet of ready salted crisps casually from her bag and starts picking at them whilst peering at me curiously. Her willowy figure would make you think that she'd never eaten a packet of crisps in her life.
I ignore her and decide to sit on one of the chairs at a table as opposed to standing by the door like an idiot.
"What you did there was brave, Harley-Blair, I've got to give it to you." She continues with a coy smile. After I still don't say anything back, she then asks, "That is your name right?"
I nod. How the hell did she know that? Apart from her sticking up to Brett for me yesterday, I've never actually spoken to her.
"That's what Parker told us." She shrugs, licking the salt off her lips and scrunching up the now empty packet of crisps. She throws it behind her, narrowly missing the bin. "How's the shoulder?"
I shrug. It feels fine, still a little achy but nothing too bad.
"So what's the deal with you and him?" She asks, wiping her hand on a wet wipe she produces from her bag.
I breathe out through my nose and hold. Then breathe out through my mouth. Jasmin notices me doing so and says nothing, she just watches me with an unreadable expression on her face.
I remember the speech practices I've been doing and I try to repeat what Tracy taught me.
"...Did he say anything?" I manage to ask. "About me?" I try to play it off as cool or casual but a slow knowing smile starts to spread across her face. I mentally pat myself on the back. Good job, Harley.
Recognition dawns on her face. "You like him, don't you?" She goads and then squeals dramatically, clapping her hands together excitedly. She leans forward and winks at me mischievously. "He told us to make you feel welcome so I'm guessing you're here to stay."
I blush and look away. A warmth filled my stomach like hot chocolate on a cold day.
He said that?
"I like you, Harley-Blair," she jumps off the table and rearranges her skirt before searching for something else in her pastel blue tote bag. "I have a feeling we're going to be great friends. Let's just hope you don't turn out like Crescent." She applies lip gloss on her lips and gives me a quick, hopelessly false smile.
She walks towards the door ripping another one of those dreadful posters off of it. She stares at it with a grim expression on her face. "That's weird, Parker never mentioned that he had a sister."
She shrugs and puts it in the bin. "He's been suspended by the way, for the whole punching Brett thing." She says as if she'd been reading my mind.
My mouth drops open. It's all my fault. "I-" I start to say but she cuts me off.
"You should go to him, I know you guys have some little thing going on." She says, walking out of the door before I can protest. Her jet black waist-length hair bouncing behind her as she walks.
But one question was still playing on my mind.
Who the hell is Crescent?
***
Once the last remaining poster was taken down, I had sent an 'anonymous' report to the headmaster about Brett Valesquez being behind all of it. I then spoke to the school nurse about feeling incredibly anxious and requested the day off again and, of course, she allowed it.
I'm fully aware of all the classes I've been missing and how it'll possibly affect my grades but I promise myself that as soon as I get home I'll catch up on all the coursework I've missed and I'll even edit a collage for my photography teacher, Mr Taylor so he'll know that I've been doing work.
I pedal all the way to Parker's house until I'm all sweaty and gross again. Panting in his driveway, I take off my helmet and make sure my hair doesn't look too bad. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and check that I don't stink.
I knock twice on his door, wait 30 seconds then knock 3 times.
I audibly gasp when he answers.
He looks awful as if he hasn't seen sunlight all week. His eyes are red and he has dark circles all around them. His hair's sticking up in odd places and his skin is blotchy and pale.
He looks nothing like the Parker I was laughing in the car with yesterday morning. He was still in his red Spider-Man pyjamas and I don't think he's had a shower.
He lets me in without saying a word and angles straight towards the kitchen.
I look at the single picture above the wide mirror in his foyer. It was him, Rose and his mum on holiday somewhere sunny, Parker looked about 10 years younger but he still had the same happy face. His mum had mousy light brown curls and heavy freckles all over her face. She and Parker did not look much alike except for the hair and smile.
They had the same infectious smile that could light up a whole room in an instant. They also both had a beauty mark above their left eyebrow.
The pale purple walls of his house are so beautiful and I notice little hand-painted flowers in the small corners of the room. I already knew it was Parker who had done that. The gentle brushstrokes were identical to the ones I saw in his paintings.
The air is still with tension. "Are you okay?" I ask apprehensively, setting my bag down on the kitchen island. I sit on one of the stools as I watch him pour apple juice into my special cup.
"I'm always okay when you're here, HB." He smiles at me. The smile was so forced, nothing like the ones that made me melt inside. "Jasmin told me about what you did earlier."
"Already?"
That girl is quick alright. It hadn't even been that long since I left school.
So he must know about the posters.
He chuckles slightly and I could tell it was genuine. "That girl is a gossip machine, can't deny it." He hands me the cup of juice and our fingers touch for a moment. "Thanks for sticking up for me." He says earnestly, looking at me in the eye as I take the cup from him.
"That's what friends do." I shrug. That word again. I don't even understand my own feelings at the moment. Do I like him like him? I'm not sure, he might not even like me in that way back. It was safer to just call him a friend, that way I can't mess it up by making it any more complicated. And that's what he needs right now, he needs a friend. So that's what I'll be.
He leans back with his elbow resting behind him on the counter. A flash of skin appears around his collarbone where the zip of his onesie was slightly undone. "I tried calling you last night." He murmurs, trying to sound casual but I see through it. I can hear the apprehension in his voice.
"I know...I was busy with photography coursework and stuff." I lie. Truth is, I was terrified to pick up. I had no clue what I was going to say and I didn't want to ruin anything by talking about the whole incident.
His shoulders sag and he seems a little dejected. His eyes lowered, avoiding mine. He was fidgeting with his hair too much.
"I came to drop you off today as well, but you never showed." He bites his lip until it turns bright pink. "You don't want me to come anymore?"
"No!" I shout, almost knocking my glass of juice over. He laughs and it feels good to hear him laugh again. "I just felt like cycling today, I'm sorry, I should've told you."
"What's been going on? Where's Rose?" I was genuinely concerned but I was also trying to change the subject.
He shifts on his two feet. "She's at my aunt's house, that's where she stays while I'm at school and when my mum's at work." He pauses and surveys my face. "I suppose you saw the posters then?" He cocks his eyebrow.
"It was disgusting what Brett did. I can't believe someone would joke about that." I blush, remembering my outburst in the corridor.
"So you think it was Brett too?" He asks slowly, squinting his eyes.
I sip my juice and think. "Well yeah, it was probably some kind of revenge thing for hitting him."
Parker turns around and pours himself some juice from the pitcher. He turns back around and sips at it, his eyes look heavenwards, thinking about something.
"I feel so bad about it all like it's my fault or something," I confess. "I should've never tried to sit with you guys in the canteen, I'm not like you." I put my head in my hands and groan. All because of my stupid desire to be included I went and got Parker in trouble.
He pulls my hands away from my face and forces me to face him, his thumbs on my cheeks. "It's not your fault, silly." His steel coloured irises burrowing deep into my own brown eyes. "It's never your fault. And what do you mean you're not like me? I mean, sure, I'm probably about 10 shades lighter and not as pretty but I'm fairly sure we can pass as twins." He laughs.
I blush at the fact that Parker thinks I'm pretty. In comparison to Jasmin, I feel like a sack of potatoes but to Parker I'm pretty and it was only yesterday when he called me beautiful.
Suddenly, what Jasmin said runs through my head and the question that's been playing on my mind comes out.
Crescent. Who is she?
"Like Crescent?" I ask. His smile visibly fades and his mouth twitches as he stares at me.
I wonder what it was he was hiding from me that makes him feel so uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"What?" He looks away and starts to fiddle with his cup like he was looking for anything else to do other than talk about her.
"Jasmin and Zacchias both said something about a girl called Crescent. Who is she?" I ask again even though I have a sneaky feeling I wouldn't want to know the answer anyway.
However, the way he was acting makes me even more curious.
"What did Jasmin say?" He retorts quickly, avoiding the question and my eyes as he washes his cup in the sink.
"Look Parker, I'm not gonna push it, let's just talk about something else," I try to sound all chirpy so I don't end up pushing him away.
I know he would have just told me the truth if I kept on insisting but I didn't want to. The last thing I want is to put a foot wrong here. I thought about my own secret and I realised how hypocritical I was being. How can I expect him to be honest with me when I can't even do the same? "So, how long are you suspended for?"
"Just a day." He shrugs and looks kind of embarrassed. "I'm surprised they let me off so easily, I for sure thought I'd be out for at least a week but I and Headmaster Holloway managed to come to an agreement."
He sighs, his entire shoulders heaving downwards and his back slouches against the marble kitchen counter. The bags in his eyes become more apparent and it feels like I'm looking at a ghost of Parker rather than him himself.
I stand up from my stool and walk over to him. My heart doesn't beat like crazy anymore whenever I get close to him. I think my brain has grown accustomed to his presence since he spends so much time on my mind.
As I get closer to him, it's almost as if I could touch his energy. It wasn't like it usually was, it wasn't full of electricity or energy, instead, it felt like a drained water balloon.
I wrap my arm around his slim waist and rest my head on his broad shoulders. The fuzziness of his onesie scratching my cheek slightly. His body releases all the tension he was holding and he pulls me in deeper. His hand caressing the top of my head, playing with my thick coarse hair. This was different from all our other hugs, it felt as if I was transferring all the positive energy I had onto him. He breathes in the smell of my hair and chuckles slightly.
"Mmm, coconut." He says dreamily. I imagine the boyish grin on his face and before I know it, I'm giggling on his chest too.
I inhale his boy scent. The smell of dove body soap and freshly picked oranges. I could swim in his smell forever. I doubt he even knows how much I'm enjoying this moment right now. It's been a while since I've had a proper hug, not since Silas left for uni ages ago. I've forgotten how good it feels to be held, the reassuring feeling of gentle arms surrounding you like a human shield. His lean body overshadows my petite frame and pulls me in even tighter.
Even though I could barely breathe at this point I still nuzzle my head in closer. "It's gonna be okay, spidey." I hummed.
I forget about the fight, I forget about the Canteen, I forget about Crescent, I even forget about my AVPD. All I could remember at that moment was how much Parker was beginning to mean to me.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this is beyond friendship.
Maybe this is...
A.N- please vote and comment!!!!! It would mean a lot to me.