Take a Breath and Hold On Tight
Fearless
“Should we get stuff to make S’Mores?” John asked me as we pushed our cart into the graham cracker aisle.
I nodded my head, crossing the items on our grocery list off as I glanced at everything that was placed in the cart. Today left with me one more month in Arizona, and Libby had insisted that I was going to go out with a “bang,” which really meant partying like it was going out of style. Acey had offered to host a bonfire at her house tonight, and everyone was assigned a duty; John and I were appointed grocery shopping.
“Alright, we just need to get Hershey bars and drinks,” he said, tossing a bag of marshmallows into the cart.
“Do you think we got enough stuff?”
He laughed and nodded his head. “I think we have more than enough stuff, honestly. It’s only going to be us, really.”
“Alright then. You can go grab the drinks and I’ll grab the chocolate bars and we can meet near the registers?” I suggested, ready to get out of the overcrowded store.
“Fine with me, Sweet Pea. I bet you I’ll beat you there,” he winked.
I laughed. “We’ll see, Sunshine. Good luck.” He smirked and placed a kiss on my cheek before running off towards the back of the store.
I couldn’t help but to smile myself as I went in search of the candy aisle. Everything in my life since that night on the hill seemed to be falling into place. I was a much happier Harper and I knew that everyone had noticed, especially John. Little gestures and public displays of affection no longer bothered me as it did before, which in my mind, made John and I a stronger couple.
I spotted the Hershey bars and grabbed two six packs before speed walking towards the registers, holding a grin on my face. There was no way John could beat me, as he had had to go to the last aisle.
My smile quickly fell, however, as I noticed John’s tall figure a few aisles away, talking to none other than Rory, who seemed to be even more beautiful than what I remembered. I felt my insides swell with jealousy, as I watched them smile and laugh together. I wasn’t sure what to do exactly; I could walk up to them, and quite possibly have to endure an awkward conversation, or I could wait patiently for them to finish talking. I decided on the latter and stood near an aisle of magazines, pretending to be reading the covers, while watching John and Rory out of the corner of my eye.
After what seemed like five minutes, John gave her a hug before walking towards the registers, his eyes scanning around for me. When he finally saw me, a smile decorated his face.
“I guess you beat me,” he chuckled.
I forced a smile and nodded my head, dumping the packs of chocolate into the cart. “Yeah, I guess so.”
He gave me a wary look and I shrugged it off before walking towards an open register. I began placing our groceries onto the belt, and John joined in soon after. I could tell by his quick glances at me that he knew something was wrong, but didn’t want to address right this moment.
Once we paid, we were out the doors and I took long strides as I walked, not really wanting to be near John, although I knew I would have no choice once we reached the car.
I unlocked the trunk and began helping John place bags in the car, when he stopped me.
“I can do this. Just go put the AC on,” he told me.
I nodded my head, not saying anything as I walked to the passenger side door and I got in. I turned on the car, blasting the AC and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sure why I was so jealous of Rory or why I was feeling angry with John, but I was. I could feel myself becoming insecure again, and that bothered me more than anything.
After a moment, John took a seat behind the wheel and instead of placing the car in drive like I expected, he turned and looked at me.
“Is something wrong, Sweet Pea?” he asked, sounding concerned. I shrugged and he arched his brows. “Are you giving me the silent treatment?” I could tell by his tone that he was trying to lighten the mood by making a joke, but it wasn’t helping. “Harper, did I do something?” he questioned, his voice serious now.
I crossed my arms over my chest before turning in my seat, looking at him. “Were you not going to tell me that you ran into Rory?”
His widened a bit as he realized why I was being so stiff with him. He sighed as he looked away, placing his hands on the bottom of the steering wheel. “Harper, we just ran into each other. I was literally running to the registers when our carts crashed into each other.” He diverted his gaze towards me. “She was just telling me about her trip to Europe and she actually apologized for everything that happened this summer.” He grabbed my hand and gave me a gentle smile. “I’m over Rory, Harp. I’m sorry if you thought that I was doing something I shouldn’t be. You honestly have nothing to worry about, though. I only have eyes for you, Sweet Pea,” he stated, reaching over and placing a peck on my lips.
I immediately felt my cheeks warm, and I suddenly felt very foolish. “I’m sorry for being rude to you, when you did nothing. I just … I saw y’all talking and I got – I got jealous,” I admitted.
He smirked. “You’re cute when you’re jealous, you know? Your cheeks get all pink and your lips pout in this adorable way and-“
“Shut up!” I laughed, playfully pushing his shoulder.
He chuckled. “I’m just being honest.”
I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Let’s get going to Acey’s. I’m sure everyone’s starving and we have all the food.”
“To Acey’s it is,” he said before pulling out of the parking space.
_____________________________________________________
“Baby, stop! You’re gonna burn yourself!” Acey laughed as we all watched a slightly drunken Pat lean dangerously near the wood of fire we were all sitting around.
I shook my head at him before taking a sip of my coke. I was probably the only sober one in the group, but I didn’t mind; I had gotten used to it over the summer.
Loud music was playing from inside Acey’s house, so that we could hear it outside, and everyone seemed to be engrossed in their own conversations. John was busy talking animatedly with Halvo, who we hadn’t seen since Rory’s party. I was the only quiet one, but once again, I didn’t mind it. I was sort of happy to just have some time to my thoughts.
“Who wants another beer? I’m going in,” Jared said as he stood up from his lawn chair.
“Me!” Kelsi, Kennedy and Libby yelled.
“Fucking alcoholics. I’ll be right back,” he laughed before walking off.
When Jared returned, I noticed John make his way over to him. They whispered a few words before nodding their heads and separating. I arched my brows at my boyfriend, confused as to what was going on.
“You’ll see,” he whispered in my ear before placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Listen up fuckers!” Jared yelled, gaining everyone’s attention, to which he smiled. “So, our lovely lead singer here,” he began, placing a hand on John’s shoulder, “received some glorious news today.”
“And that would be?” Garrett asked, taking a sip of his beer.
“John, you can do the honors.”
He smiled and took in a big breath of air. “Well, I sent out a few demos the other day to some record companies, and one actually got back to me …” I felt my breath shorten, as a chorus of gasps echoed throughout the group. “Fearless Records wants to meet with us in a few weeks, and if they decide they like us, we’re signed!”
“Oh my God!” Libby screamed before jumping up and crushing Garrett with a hug.
“We – we – we might get signed?!” Pat stuttered, clearly excited.
“Fuck yeah!” Kennedy cheered, pulling Kelsi close to him.
As each couple began to hug and kiss each other, Halvo stood up beside me and shook his head.
“Well, I feel like I should be kissing somebody,” he laughed.
John ran up and hugged me tightly, lifting me up in the air. “We might get signed, Sweet Pea!” he boasted, smiling widely.
“That’s great, John! I’m so happy for you guys!” I said, trying to sound convincing.
I was happy for John and the guys, I really was. I just couldn’t help but to wonder where this would leave our relationship at, because at the end of summer, I was going back home to Texas and he was venturing off to sign to a record label.
I nodded my head, crossing the items on our grocery list off as I glanced at everything that was placed in the cart. Today left with me one more month in Arizona, and Libby had insisted that I was going to go out with a “bang,” which really meant partying like it was going out of style. Acey had offered to host a bonfire at her house tonight, and everyone was assigned a duty; John and I were appointed grocery shopping.
“Alright, we just need to get Hershey bars and drinks,” he said, tossing a bag of marshmallows into the cart.
“Do you think we got enough stuff?”
He laughed and nodded his head. “I think we have more than enough stuff, honestly. It’s only going to be us, really.”
“Alright then. You can go grab the drinks and I’ll grab the chocolate bars and we can meet near the registers?” I suggested, ready to get out of the overcrowded store.
“Fine with me, Sweet Pea. I bet you I’ll beat you there,” he winked.
I laughed. “We’ll see, Sunshine. Good luck.” He smirked and placed a kiss on my cheek before running off towards the back of the store.
I couldn’t help but to smile myself as I went in search of the candy aisle. Everything in my life since that night on the hill seemed to be falling into place. I was a much happier Harper and I knew that everyone had noticed, especially John. Little gestures and public displays of affection no longer bothered me as it did before, which in my mind, made John and I a stronger couple.
I spotted the Hershey bars and grabbed two six packs before speed walking towards the registers, holding a grin on my face. There was no way John could beat me, as he had had to go to the last aisle.
My smile quickly fell, however, as I noticed John’s tall figure a few aisles away, talking to none other than Rory, who seemed to be even more beautiful than what I remembered. I felt my insides swell with jealousy, as I watched them smile and laugh together. I wasn’t sure what to do exactly; I could walk up to them, and quite possibly have to endure an awkward conversation, or I could wait patiently for them to finish talking. I decided on the latter and stood near an aisle of magazines, pretending to be reading the covers, while watching John and Rory out of the corner of my eye.
After what seemed like five minutes, John gave her a hug before walking towards the registers, his eyes scanning around for me. When he finally saw me, a smile decorated his face.
“I guess you beat me,” he chuckled.
I forced a smile and nodded my head, dumping the packs of chocolate into the cart. “Yeah, I guess so.”
He gave me a wary look and I shrugged it off before walking towards an open register. I began placing our groceries onto the belt, and John joined in soon after. I could tell by his quick glances at me that he knew something was wrong, but didn’t want to address right this moment.
Once we paid, we were out the doors and I took long strides as I walked, not really wanting to be near John, although I knew I would have no choice once we reached the car.
I unlocked the trunk and began helping John place bags in the car, when he stopped me.
“I can do this. Just go put the AC on,” he told me.
I nodded my head, not saying anything as I walked to the passenger side door and I got in. I turned on the car, blasting the AC and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sure why I was so jealous of Rory or why I was feeling angry with John, but I was. I could feel myself becoming insecure again, and that bothered me more than anything.
After a moment, John took a seat behind the wheel and instead of placing the car in drive like I expected, he turned and looked at me.
“Is something wrong, Sweet Pea?” he asked, sounding concerned. I shrugged and he arched his brows. “Are you giving me the silent treatment?” I could tell by his tone that he was trying to lighten the mood by making a joke, but it wasn’t helping. “Harper, did I do something?” he questioned, his voice serious now.
I crossed my arms over my chest before turning in my seat, looking at him. “Were you not going to tell me that you ran into Rory?”
His widened a bit as he realized why I was being so stiff with him. He sighed as he looked away, placing his hands on the bottom of the steering wheel. “Harper, we just ran into each other. I was literally running to the registers when our carts crashed into each other.” He diverted his gaze towards me. “She was just telling me about her trip to Europe and she actually apologized for everything that happened this summer.” He grabbed my hand and gave me a gentle smile. “I’m over Rory, Harp. I’m sorry if you thought that I was doing something I shouldn’t be. You honestly have nothing to worry about, though. I only have eyes for you, Sweet Pea,” he stated, reaching over and placing a peck on my lips.
I immediately felt my cheeks warm, and I suddenly felt very foolish. “I’m sorry for being rude to you, when you did nothing. I just … I saw y’all talking and I got – I got jealous,” I admitted.
He smirked. “You’re cute when you’re jealous, you know? Your cheeks get all pink and your lips pout in this adorable way and-“
“Shut up!” I laughed, playfully pushing his shoulder.
He chuckled. “I’m just being honest.”
I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Let’s get going to Acey’s. I’m sure everyone’s starving and we have all the food.”
“To Acey’s it is,” he said before pulling out of the parking space.
_____________________________________________________
“Baby, stop! You’re gonna burn yourself!” Acey laughed as we all watched a slightly drunken Pat lean dangerously near the wood of fire we were all sitting around.
I shook my head at him before taking a sip of my coke. I was probably the only sober one in the group, but I didn’t mind; I had gotten used to it over the summer.
Loud music was playing from inside Acey’s house, so that we could hear it outside, and everyone seemed to be engrossed in their own conversations. John was busy talking animatedly with Halvo, who we hadn’t seen since Rory’s party. I was the only quiet one, but once again, I didn’t mind it. I was sort of happy to just have some time to my thoughts.
“Who wants another beer? I’m going in,” Jared said as he stood up from his lawn chair.
“Me!” Kelsi, Kennedy and Libby yelled.
“Fucking alcoholics. I’ll be right back,” he laughed before walking off.
When Jared returned, I noticed John make his way over to him. They whispered a few words before nodding their heads and separating. I arched my brows at my boyfriend, confused as to what was going on.
“You’ll see,” he whispered in my ear before placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Listen up fuckers!” Jared yelled, gaining everyone’s attention, to which he smiled. “So, our lovely lead singer here,” he began, placing a hand on John’s shoulder, “received some glorious news today.”
“And that would be?” Garrett asked, taking a sip of his beer.
“John, you can do the honors.”
He smiled and took in a big breath of air. “Well, I sent out a few demos the other day to some record companies, and one actually got back to me …” I felt my breath shorten, as a chorus of gasps echoed throughout the group. “Fearless Records wants to meet with us in a few weeks, and if they decide they like us, we’re signed!”
“Oh my God!” Libby screamed before jumping up and crushing Garrett with a hug.
“We – we – we might get signed?!” Pat stuttered, clearly excited.
“Fuck yeah!” Kennedy cheered, pulling Kelsi close to him.
As each couple began to hug and kiss each other, Halvo stood up beside me and shook his head.
“Well, I feel like I should be kissing somebody,” he laughed.
John ran up and hugged me tightly, lifting me up in the air. “We might get signed, Sweet Pea!” he boasted, smiling widely.
“That’s great, John! I’m so happy for you guys!” I said, trying to sound convincing.
I was happy for John and the guys, I really was. I just couldn’t help but to wonder where this would leave our relationship at, because at the end of summer, I was going back home to Texas and he was venturing off to sign to a record label.