harlow had decided that change could be a good thing. this realization took a long time for her to come to because routine had always been important in her life. every morning harlow had a smoothie and a piece of toast for breakfast and she always went to the same grocery store every sunday evening.

lately, there had been a lot of change in her life, which is one of the reasons that she decided it wasn't always awful. in the past two weeks, harlow had failed her philosophy midterm, signed a lease on an apartment, went broke due to said lease, got her first job out in la, and of course, there was colby.

it's not like she wasn't expecting him to ask her out. the two had had many discussions about labeling their relationship, so when he finally did ask her out, it wasn't a shock.

it wasn't anything crazy or over-the-top, and that's what had made it so special. it was the last night spent in the house before move out day, and harlow had been helping colby pack up his things all day. by 6:30 pm they were finished up, and by then, harlow was in desperate need of a smoke break.

"roof break?" colby asked harlow as she dug through her purse looking for her pack of smokes.

harlow grinned at the boy who knew her so well, "you know me too well, brock."

colby led the way out of his room to the ladder they kept in the hallway. harlow began her final climb up to the roof, suddenly feeling slightly sentimental. she pulled her body up through the small hole to the roof and made her way over to their regular spot.

harlow and colby spent a lot of their time up on the roof together. so much so, that they brought up blankets and pillows to keep there for their little breaks. harlow made her way over to the pile of blankets and sat with her legs crossed. colby sat next to her, immediately pulling one of the blankets across their laps.

harlow lit the end of her smoke, took a puff, then passed it to colby. "y'know, i'm gonna miss being able to come up here with you," she admitted.

colby nodded his head, then wrapped his arm around the brunette, bringing her close to his chest. "me too, harls," he took another drag before speaking again, "we could always find a way to get to the roof of my apartment,"

harlow pouted. although the idea was thoughtful, it just wouldn't be the same. "but we won't have all our stuff out there like this,"

"so we have to carry our blankets up, it's not the worst thing in the world,"

harlow rolled her eyes, "you know what i mean, brock. it just won't be this," she gestured around the two as she spoke.

"what exactly is this?" he questioned,

"i'm gonna sound like such a sap though," harlow whined, crossing her arms like a toddler.

"oh now i definitely want to hear it," colby teased, stealing the smoke from harlow's grasp.

"okay, well, it's just that this is like where we bonded, y'know? i mean i literally met you here-"

"well technically, you met me down there," colby interrupted, pointing down towards the backyard.

"same thing," she jokingly gave colby a little push before continuing, "not to be like, cliche or anything, but it's like our story. it's us."

colby smiled at harlow, "it'll still be us over there, though."

harlow watched as colby flicked the smoke out, then nodded. "yeah, i guess so." she maneuvered her way out of colby's grasp to lie down. "still different."

"is different bad?" colby questioned, looking at her from his sitting position.

harlow shrugged, "i'm just a creature of habit, i guess."

colby leaned back until he was lying next to harlow. he opened his arm up so she could cuddle up beside him. her leg was wrapped around his and her head was resting on his chest. harlow and colby remained in that position for a long while, laying in comfortable silence.

at least twenty minutes had passed before colby spoke up again, "harley," he started, harlow making noise in response so he knew she was listening. "these last few months have honestly been some of the best of my whole life. and well, you're obviously a really big part of that. i don't want you to feel like obligated to answer this or anything, but i just really wanna know. i want to date you. like for real."

in all honesty, harlow should've felt panicked. her life was already so complicated. she had been sneaking around with colby for months behind elton's back, and the worlds, really. and although initially, she was against the idea of labeling what they had, at that moment it made perfect sense. making things official wouldn't make anything more complicated than it already was, in fact, it might make it less complicated. she might finally be able to tell elton how she felt about colby, and the fact that they had been together for a while already would just prove to him that she was incredibly serious about him.

"okay," harlow replied.

colby rolled harlow over to her back, so he was hovering above her. "really?"

harlow grinned widely, "yeah, brock. i really wanna date you, too."

harlow reached up to kiss the boy, and her arms instinctively went to his neck, her fingertips just barely touching his hair. colby deepened the kiss, flipping onto his back so harlow was straddling him. she broke off in need of air, but colby's lips never left her skin. they trailed down to her jawline to her collarbone, where he lightly sucked at the skin, making harlow moan quietly. his hands were on her hips, fingertips just underneath the oversized shirt she wore.

harlow, remembering that they were on the roof, which anyone in the house could access since they left it unlocked and open, broke away by sitting up. colby didn't move his hands though, they just continued to slowly trail up higher against her bare skin.

colby grinned a slow, lazy grin as he made figure 8's with his thumb underneath harlow's ribcage. "it's officially me and you, castee."

harlow laughed, "i do like the sound of that,"

change isn't that bad after all, harlow thought. but she still had to tell elton, and she knew that it probably wouldn't be an easy conversation.

"me and you," harlow repeated.

feelin' soft

also pls check out my new story cloud nine!! (it's a colby fic too)

it would mean a lot!