"Dad's awake?" Asher asks, standing up from the couch. I don't answer. I grab the keys and run out of the hotel room. I hear Asher's loud elephant feet run behind me.

I hop in the car, blast the radio that's playing a Snoop Dogg song. I speed down the streets of Miami in a rush.

We get to the hospital and I press the elevator button but it doesn't work.

"Fucking-!" I hit the button with my fist but it doesn't budge.

Asher hits my hand making me pull away. "Your pressing too hard, moron." He presses the button softly and we wait.

"Who's the moron now, idiot?!" I walk out the broken elevator. "Will have to take the stairs."

"Noooo! My legs already hurt from all that running." Asher complains, sounding like a little girl. I ignore him, running up the stairs. "Hurry up, fatty!"

I push open dad's room and run over to him. I dodge my mom's open arms and go to my dad's. "Dad!" I jump in his arms. He grunts but hugs me back tightly.

"I told you Harlow loved me more, Vera!" Dad chuckles while mom huffs.

Asher joins our embrace. "Hey kids, I love you but this banana pudding is calling my name." He points to the bowl near his bed.

I let him go while he eats. "So...Harlow, How was your date? Did he treat you right? Do I need to go beat that boy's ass!?"

"No! No it went great!" I reassure him. How the hell did he remember my date with Danny?

"Remember Harley. You can't marry until your thirty! And no sex until your forty! Right Asher?"

"Yup." Asher agrees with our insane dad.

"That's totally unfair. Mom tell him!" I sit and ask my mom with the 'puppy dog eyes.'

"Jay....Harlow can make her own decisions babe." Dad is about to argue but stops when mom gives him the 'look.'

"Yes, dear."

>>>>>>>>>>

It Tuesday and I'm going back to the hell hole parents call school. My dad decided to retire from football. He will no longer be playing for the NFL which made me happy. Instead he was going to work from home on a sportswear line. I was excited to see my dad more often!

I change out of my PJ's to a Nike hoodie and leggings. It was starting to get cold outside and I did not want to be a human popsicle.

"Asher get your ass moving." I grab my keys while waiting for Asher-the-slow-poke!

Asher walks in looking like a zombie. There were dark circles under his eyes and his usual tan complexion was pale. "Hey buddy are you okay?" I check his head to see if he's warm but he shakes me off.

"I'm fine. Let's go please." He walks ahead of me into my car. Frowning, I shake off his cold attitude and join him in my car.

Driving to the school was pure torture. It was awkward as heck! Our usual bickering was overthrown by silence. Awkward silence. He walks out the car, slamming the door and running into the freshman center.

Damn, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed!

I walk in school to find Kaia, Cal, Brody and Ace standing near my locker. "Hey guys! Did y'all miss me?"

"Harlow! Your back!" Kaia hugs me tightly.

"Did you bring back souvenirs from Miami?" Brody asks. Kaia pinches his arm making him shrug and ask what he did wrong. Laughing, I hand him a Miami shot glass.

Brody texted me the day before I left Florida to ask me to buy him a shot glass. He said it would complete his collection.

Next Cal pulls me into a hug. "Short Stack, I'm so glad your back! It's been boring without you!"

"Hey!" Ace and Brody exclaim. "That hurts man."

"Whatever." Calix shrugs. "You missed so much, love bug. I got a fucking boy friend!"

We both scream with glee as Ace covers his ears. "Congrats, Cal! I'm happy for you!"

The warning bell rings and our group scatters like bugs. I walk to Economics with Ace by my side.

We sit in the back of the class like usual. The boring ass teacher walks in with a tea cup.

"Today will be talking about the StockMarket!" I tune the rest out and look at Ace. He was texting somebody with a smirk on his face.

"Whatcha up to?" I grin up to no good. He winks and slides his phone in his pocket. "Texting....a friend." He shrugs making me laugh.

"A friend? Or a booty call?"

"Booty call." He chuckles knowing he was caught. "Rena to be exact." I nod. I met Rena at the party he had at his place. She was definitely his type. They both probably banged half the population and were good looking. It made since.

"Didn't you go on a date with Daniel Kane? How was it?" He looks curiously at me. I notice the teacher is going over notes but neither of us wrote down a word.

"Good. I think it went well. I hope he feels the same way though." I bite my lip, tasting my cherry lipgloss. I hope Danny asks me to be his girlfriend soon.

I really do like him.

"Good." Ace mumbles and pops a piece of gum in his mouth.

>>>>>>>>>

It's lunch time! My favorite time of day! I skip to the line with Kaia. I get a baked potato and an apple. I pay .99¢ for a sugar cookie.

We walk towards our usual spot but I stop and stare when I see Daniel sitting next to my usual chair.

"Hey Danny." I plop in a seat right next to him. He smile in pecks a kiss on my lips. "Hey. Can I join y'all today?"

I look at Kaia. "Uhh....!"

"Oh course!" Kaia replies, taking a seat on the other side of me.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm happy your sitting with me, but what about the usual people you sit with." I point over to his old table. His friends consisted of the football players.

See Ace, Cal and Brody were the bad boys! They were popular and had girls throwing themselves at them. However the popular squad was a mix between cheerleaders and football boys. They also had girls dropping their panties for them.

"I didn't get to see you all last week. I want to catch up with you, kitten."

We chat and I hold his hand underneath the table. His phone dings, interrupting a conversation about the Coronavirus.

He smiles and chuckles at his texts. He looks over at me then back at his phone. I'm so tempted to lean over and look at what he finds funny but don't.

Privacy is a valuable thing in life!

He frowns when his blue eyes meet mine. "I-I have to go meet up with the football coach. He's been.....M-Making me practice extra hard since I fumbled a ball."

"Oh....Okay." I try hard not to show my disappointment. He kisses my cheek and walks out.

Just in time, Ace and Brody take a seat.

"Where did perfect-boy-Danny go?" Brody asks while handing a cookie to Kaia.

"He said football practice." I shrug and swipe through Snapchat.

Ace and Brody look at each other. It's like their communicating without words. "What?"

"N-Nothing. It's just......" Ace trails off. "Nothing...it's nothing."

"Okay...."

Weirdo!

"Kaia. Harley. Have y'all met my boyfriend, Dave?" I look up to see a football player with his arm around Cal.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you, Dave." I greet him. Cal looks super happy.

"Sure." Dave replies simply. I hear a snort and see Ace try to hide a smile behind his hand. I kick his shin causing him to let out a long line of curse words.

I get a notification on my phone and see it's Daniel.

I grin to myself and shut off my phone. I wonder what he wants after school?

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