harlow and colby were currently sat in harlow's jeep in a parking lot at venice beach. they stopped on the way to grab snacks, which consisted of red bulls, blueberries, and hot cheetos. the combination of snacks didn't work at all, but the two didn't care.

in the time harlow arrived at the house to the two leaving, it had begun pouring rain. so they sat with the top up and the heat on because harlow was perpetually cold.

"so, was this your plan for the night?" harlow joked. as they ran to harlow's jeep from the house, colby produced a string of "fucks". she wondered if it was because of his hair getting wet (because how does one just have messy hair? there is obviously tons of product in there), but then came to the conclusion that he had wanted the two to do something outside, and the rain would prevent that.

colby rolled his eyes, reaching for the bag of hot cheetos in the back seat. "no, but i think it works. this is pretty chill, and i think you're pretty chill, so i guess it works out,"

harlow laughed, "bold assumption, there." she reached for the bag of snacks, taking a handful. "but you're kinda right. i am usually pretty chill."

"usually?" colby asked while shoving a cheeto in his mouth.

harlow nodded in response. "college makes me go batshit crazy," colby just looked at the girl, waiting for her to elaborate. "i'm a slight perfectionist, and the timeline of my classes doesn't really allow for me to be a perfectionist. which leads me to down three red bulls in a night and read then re-read the same essay twenty times over,"

colby was an intense listener when he wanted to be, and with harlow, he wanted to be. he wanted to learn things about her because something about her intrigued him. he wasn't sure if it was because she was the mysterious sister of elton or if it was because he thought she was pretty. all he knew was he wanted to listen to her talk about herself for hours, and that was exactly his intentions.

so he asked her question after question to the point where harlow pointed out it was beginning to feel a little bit like hot seat. colby laughed it off, telling her that he was just interested in what she had to say.

colby and harlow sat in her jeep for hours talking until the rain stopped. harlow told colby about what it was like growing up with elton, including more stories that he would later use to embarrass his friend. she told him about her first ever "boyfriend" when she was in fifth grade, and how they never spoke and technically never broke up either, meaning they were still "together". she spoke of her dreams, and all the places she would love to travel to.

throughout this time, colby learned a lot about the girl across from him. he learned that she didn't learn to swim until she was in seventh grade because elton would always hold her under the water, so she avoided swimming like the plague. her favorite color was pink but a close second was yellow. she has always dreamed of traveling to iceland. she claimed she could eat pasta every day and never get sick of it, which colby challenged.

"okay, your turn." harlow looked expectantly at colby, seeing as she spent the last two and a half hours talking about herself but learning nothing about the boy across from her.

colby glanced at the time on the dash. the numbers read 1:49. "next time," he replied motioning to the time. "i do need to let you get back to obsessively reading your essay,"

"no way, that's not fair at all," harlow crossed her arms and huffed in annoyance. "you ask me to hang out and don't even talk about yourself at all,"

of course, harlow's heart fluttered at the thought of a "next time", even if this was just two people hanging out. however, she still didn't know much about him, just that he posted youtube videos and occasionally smoked.

colby just stared back at harlow. "well next time you ask me to hang out, and you can ask the questions,"

"touche" she replied while looking through her bag. she managed to find her half-empty pack of smokes, but no lighter. "do you have a light?"

colby felt around his pockets, pulling out a black lighter. "only if i get a smoke,"

she opened the door to her jeep, leaving colby sitting in his seat watching her with a confused expression. harlow hoisted herself onto the hood of her grey vehicle. "i don't smoke in my car," harlow half-shouted to colby.

he quickly hopped out and climbed on top of her jeep, positioning himself carefully. he didn't want to sit too close, but not too far away either. harlow was sat with her back against the windshield and her legs stretched out.

"lighter," harlow didn't ask, more so requested. colby passed it to the girl, watching her light the smoke between her lips. "so, why did you start smoking again?"

colby took a minute before answering, lighting the cigarette. "that counts as a question, you know." he replied coolly.

"oh don't be a bitch. you easily asked me 80 questions tonight, i think i'm entitled to one," harlow replied, blowing the smoke in colby's direction just to annoy him.

"i don't really have a good answer," colby replied. "i smoked on and off for a few years, and then elton moved in with us and he convinced me to quit. so i did. but then he moved out, and we were having lots of parties and shit. everyone smokes at parties, and here we are now," colby shrugged.

harlow understood. she began smoking while still in high school, starting off just at parties when she was really drunk. eventually, it blended and she was pretty consistent for a few years. elton had also been on her about it, so she had tried to cut back. harlow liked to think she just smoked at parties or when she was stressed, but truth be told, she still smoked regularly.

"yeah, that's kinda me too," harlow replied after a few minutes of silence. "elton knows i smoke, but he thinks it's occasional, so it doesn't bother him as much," she confessed.

another five minutes of silence passed between the two. harlow spent the time reflecting on the night. it was fun, even if it was just the two in her jeep eating snacks and telling stories. harlow came to the conclusion that not only did she think colby was extremely good looking, but that she genuinely enjoyed spending time with him. she knew she was ultimately digging herself an even bigger hole, but as of that moment, she didn't give a fuck.

harlow watched colby as he took one last puff, then flicked the smoke to the ground. "so, is this like our thing now?" colby asked the girl. harlow just looked at him confused. "smokes and red bulls."

harlow laughed, "yeah i guess it is,"

"you know, you're kind of like the fuel to my bad habits." colby stated.

"i don't know if that's a good or bad thing?" harlow laughed, tossing her smoke onto the ground.

colby looked over at her with a smile. "good,"

"yeah, i guess you can't corrupt someone that's already corrupt."

this time it was colby's turn to laugh. "i don't know if that's a good or bad thing?"

harlow jokingly held up her middle finger to the boy who mocked her. "guess you won't know, asshole,"

colby placed his hand on top of harlow's to stop her from flipping him off. the physical contact felt like a fire lit beneath her skin, even if it was only momentarily.

harlow was aware that she was fighting a losing battle when it came to her feelings towards colby. each time they were together, even in a group, she felt drawn to him, almost like magnets. there was no way to avoid spending time with him either, as she quite enjoyed the group of friends she had made through her brother. harlow knew that suppressing the feelings she had for colby wasn't going to work, considering just his eyes on her made her feel as though she was melting.

"what are you thinkin' about?" colby asked, bringing the girl out of her thoughts.

harlow flushed at the thought of telling the boy exactly what was going through her mind. instead, she settled for a half-truth, as harlow was no good at lying. "just about how you kinda add fuel to my bad habits too,"

harlow had many bad habits. she smoked pretty consistently, picked at her nails when she was feeling anxious, constantly swore, and she even cracked her knuckles subconsciously. one she deemed particularly bad, was catching feelings for guys who couldn't or wouldn't reciprocate the feelings and to this, colby added plenty of fuel.