harlow had spent the weekend with her friends, who successfully took her mind off the colby problem. but now it was tuesday and harlow was back in la, with no one to take her mind off the boy.

one thing that did help her take her mind off her confusing love life was going to class. harlow was currently sat in the back of her english class half-listening to the professor, while she scrolled through various online websites. she loved her class but had the attention span of a squirrel.

english class and online shopping were proving to be a good distraction from harlow's thoughts until a text came through her mac.

r u home yet

i'm actually in class

so no

if ur in la ur home

well class isn't home so..

ur a smart ass

come over tn

dude i skipped out of class thurs

i need to catch up on my shit

ok well catch up on ur shit here

why would i do that when i have a perfectly good desk here

bc i'm not there

someone's ego has inflated

ignoring that

r u gonna come over tn or what

...yes

c u at 8

harlow hadn't even been back in la for a full 24 hours and she was already back to hanging out with the forbidden boy. harlow had told elton that she was going to continue being friends with colby, she just had to push away her feelings for the boy.

she and her friends came to the conclusion that harlow would rather have colby in her life as a friend than not have elton in her life. family was very important to the girl, so she fully intended on staying true to her word.

the rest of the class went by extremely slow, as harlow now had something to look forward too. after her class was done, she went back to her dorm to catch up on assignments that were happening in the classes she missed to go home. after a few red bulls and iced coffees, plenty of netflix brain breaks, and a quick nap, it was 7 pm.

the drive to the house wasn't as bad as it normally was, admittedly because harlow was a little bit more excited to see the boy than she normally was. it had only been a few months, but harlow had been used to seeing colby regularly, so her weekend getaway threw her off a bit.

harlow parked on the road in front of the large home, letting herself in through the gate. the boys had a tendency of leaving the front door unlocked, especially when devyn wasn't around to remind them, so harlow was able to let herself in.

the house was pretty quiet, which wasn't normal. harlow looked down at her phone, making sure she was there at the right time. it read 8:13. she peeked her head in the kitchen, finding no one. she then walked through the living room/bar area looking for anyone but came up shorthanded.

harlow really was trying to avoid colby's room, especially after the bed incident, but she wasn't sure where else he would be. she quickly made her way up the stairs and down the hall to colby's room. the door was half-shut, so harlow knocked lightly before peeking inside.

colby was laying on his side in his bed, propped up with an arm, with his netflix playing on his computer, which had been delicately placed on a pillow pile.

colby looked up at the girl standing in the entrance of his room, his eyes instantly lighting up. "harley!"

"what, no hug?" harlow joked back, looking at the boy still laying in his bed. "you cold as fuck," colby scrambled to move his computer out of the way and stand up, making harlow laugh. "jesus, kid, i was making a joke,"

harlow watched as colby melted back into the bed. "damn, woman. don't do that,"

harlow looked at the bed, wanting to sit down but not wanting to put herself back on the bed. so she leaned against the doorframe instead. "so, where is everyone?"

"i think they were going to the batting cages, but i told them i wanted to stay home to hang with you," colby replied, pulling a sweater on over his t-shirt.

harlow stuck her lip out, "why didn't we go with them to the batting cages?"

"are you trying to tell me you like them better than you like hanging out with me?" colby asked, feigning hurt.

harlow laughed, going along with colby, "i would never." colby just rolled his eyes at the girl. "anyway, what was your big plan for tonight if we aren't going to the batting cages?"

"i'm kinda in the mood for postmating some food and kicking your ass in mario kart."

"and he redeems himself!" harlow exclaimed while laughing.

the pair made their way to the main floor, making themselves cozy on the couch. harlow immediately covered herself with a blanket, as she was always cold. colby went and placed an order for chinese food after harlow begged him for about fifteen minutes.

the night was going just as harlow expected it would. she always loved to be in colby's presence, even if it did hurt her a little bit to swallow her feelings. even then, it was still so easy for harlow to be herself around colby, dorky bits and all.

after kicking colby's ass in 7 consecutive games, their postmates finally arrived. the two opted to go out to the roof, so they could have a smoke while they ate. colby carried the bag of food with one hand as he made his way up the ladder and outside on the roof.

harlow had somehow managed to carry her blanket up with them, so she placed it over top of the two as they sat down side by side. "oh my god, i'm so hungry!" harlow said as she grabbed the bag from colby's hand.

the two ate their food, laughing about how bad colby was at mario kart compared to harlow. harlow told colby all about her trip back home to see her friends, even all the embarrassing things she did when she was drunk.

eventually, colby pulled out a pack of smokes from his pocket. "it's that time," he said jokingly, passing it to the girl sat beside him.

"you better have brought the red bulls," harlow replied, lighting the smoke that she held between her lips.

"the red bulls are the best part, why would you think i'd forget?" colby laughed, grabbing the red bulls he had thrown in the bag before they came up to the roof. "so, are you gonna stay until they get back? i think kat wanted to see you,"

harlow shrugged, puffing on her smoke. "depends when they get back, i guess. let's not forget that i'm-"

"yeah, you're a uni student, i've got it" colby replied, rolling his eyes in a joking manner.

harlow laughed, playfully pushing colby's shoulder. "i just like to remind people that i'm the more intelligent castee,"

"i would have to agree with ya on that one,"

harlow grinned at the boy, who watched as she squished the cig out under her shoe. "are you ready to get your ass kicked in mario kart again, brock?"

"you know, i'm feeling fuelled by the chinese food. i think i might just kick your ass, castee." colby replied, pushing himself out to his feet.

harlow laughed, "ya, ok, bet."

colby held his hands out to help the girl stand. harlow put her hands in colby's, which was more than enough contact between the two for harlow to handle. he pulled her up with more force than she was anticipating, so she flung up and into his chest.

"smooth," harlow laughed as she took a small step back from the boy.

the first mistake that harlow made during the night was to look up at the boy in front of her. he was looking at harlow like he was just seeing her for the first time. harlow watched as he looked from her blues eyes to her lips.

instinctively, harlow took a step back. just friends, just friends, just friends, she chanted over and over in her head. think about elton.

colby clearly couldn't read her mind, and if he could, he didn't give a fuck. he took one step to clear the space that was between the two, pausing to look at the beautiful girl stood before him.

the second mistake that harlow made that night was not moving away from the blue-eyed boy, as he deliberately tested her. harlow didn't move at all, she just stood frozen staring at the boy only a few inches away from her. she didn't move when colby cupped her face in his hands, she didn't even flinch as she watched him look from her lips back up to her eyes. she stayed completely still, sirens and red alert bells going off in her head as colby inched closer and closer to the girl.

but the third mistake that harlow made that night was by far the worst one. with harlow close enough to colby's mouth to smell the cigarette he had just had, the sirens and red alert bells finally reached her brain. she took a big step back and then took one more just for good measure.

harlow reached down and grabbed her phone from where she was sitting, then looked up at the boy who was now stood completely still staring at harlow with confusion in his eyes. "we can't go there, colbs. i'm elton's sister, i can't - we can't..." she trailed off, leaving an awkward silence between the two.

"ok, well maybe i should just go." harlow finally said after waiting for what felt like an eternity.

she spun on her heels and made her way down the ladder and out of the house quickly. this time colby had the sirens and red alert bells going off. move! go after her! do something!

but colby just stood in his spot, thinking about the almost-kiss with harlow. if an almost-kiss with harlow castee was as close as colby could get, he'd gladly take it.

😇😇😇😇