I Love Your Switchblade Attitude

The thin wipers continued to squeak obnoxiously as they slammed against the windshield repeatedly. Sheets of rain poured out of the heavy black clouds that loomed above her like thick dark stones hanging in the air.

The only sounds in the car were Harley’s ragged breathing, along with the even pitter-patter of rain hitting the thin metal roofing of her mother’s Honda.

Finally flicking on her turn signal, Harley pulled up into the familiar driveway of her brother’s house, before realizing that she didn’t have an umbrella. Sighing once again, Harley pulled open the door of the car unenthusiastically, before stepping out into the humid air.

Her feet immediately began to travel towards the small sheltered porch of Rian’s home, but it was no use—the rain had already soaked through her clothes. Letting out a groan as her sneakers came in contact with a large muddy puddle, forcing shimmering droplets of filthy water to spray onto the hem of her jeans, Harley managed to finally make it to the door.

She knocked with all her strength, already annoyed with the fact that she had to be at her brother’s house in the first place, and waited impatiently until the door swung open.

The sight that greeted her made her want to run back to her car, no matter the volume of rain that seemed to douse her in water.

“You know, if I was a telemarketer, I would be scarred for life.” Harley eyed her brother’s half-naked appearance while holding back a smirk. She realized, not without amusement, that the only piece of clothing he wore—a pair of painstakingly white boxers-were covered with the playboy bunny symbol.

Rian rolled his eyes, “Nice to see you too.”

“No seriously Ri, put some pants on.”

“Stop exaggerating, it’s not that bad.” He scoffed, opening the door as his sister entered behind him, thankful to be out of the rain. “It’s not like you haven’t seen a guy in his boxers before. Hell, you’re dating Max Porter. I’m sure you’ve seen him in a lot less than his boxers, anyway.”

A blush immediately coated the apples of Harley’s cheeks, and she tried to hide the fact that she was absolutely mortified. She would not discuss her sex life with her own brother; that was disgusting and against the sibling code.

Instead, she thought back to Max, who had tried to have sex with her in his apartment over five days ago, and mentally shuddered. He had been texting and calling her non-stop, but Harley had been ignoring all his attempts of communication in the hopes that he would get the hint to leave her alone.

“It’s not like that, Rian.” Harley retaliated, but she noticed that her brother was no longer paying attention to the words coming out of her mouth, but instead focusing on his flooring.

It was no secret that Harley was soaked, with rivulets of water running down the back of her shirt, her hair damp and clinging to her face, and her drenched clothes feeling like they weighed a ton. After a moment, Rian seemed to realize that the puddle of murky water that had accumulated on his polished floor would be a sort of penance for making Harley drive all the way to his house for some stupid reason.

“Thanks for coming.” He nodded, pulling on the pants that he had been holding. He glanced past her at the weather, and frowned, as though he had not realized the extent of immeasurable rainstorm that was currently flooding the suburbs of Maryland. “So much for outdoor seating,” He muttered under his breath, before leading his sister further into the household.

“So, why am I here exactly?” She had gotten the basic gist of her desired presence at the Dawson/Gaskarth household—Rian had a date with Cassadee, and needed some help. All the further details had been promised once Harley had arrived, and before Harley could even ask about those details prior to her visit, Rian had hung up on her.

“Alex is really sick, and I just need someone to watch over him. Basically, he needs someone to take care of him.”

“And that someone is me?” A sound of agreement echoed from Rian’s throat, as he went in search for a button down shirt. “But what about Lisa?” Harley asked, following close on his heels.

“Lisa?” Rian asked, distracted as he pulled two almost identical looking shirts up to his torso. Harley pointed her finger at the right one, causing Rian to choose the left, and Harley rolled her eyes. “She went out with her friends to the mall. Twenty-five percent sale storewide at Macy’s and Chanel or something.”

Scoffing, Harley watched as Rian rushed back to the front door, slipping his large feet into a pair of sneakers before grabbing an umbrella that seemed to be shoved sloppily against the wall by its previous user.

“Don’t break anything. I’ll be back by nine. If something goes wrong, please don’t fuck it up some more. I owe you!” Without another word, the door slammed shut behind him, leaving Harley to find Alex.

This was ridiculous. Why was she even here?

She ignored her inner thoughts and began to roam the house. Finding Alex wasn’t hard to do—she heard the faint murmur of a television echoing through the house, and managed to make her way to the living room.

She stood by the entrance of the living room, watching a pale looking Alex dangle the television remote from his right hand, while his left hand remained on his stomach. His hair was sticking up in all directions, a messy but somehow adorable look that made Harley smile.

His top half was covered in a plain white undershirt, while his legs and most of his torso were wrapped in a navy blue blanket. A couple of bottles of medicine were scattered across the dust-covered coffee table, and a few used tissues hung out of the trash can that sat loyally by his side.

He must have sensed someone watching him, for his head turned sharply, causing his gaze to land on Harley. A look of surprise crossed his features but only for a brief moment, and almost immediately his trademark arrogant smirk rested on Alex Gaskarth’s face.

“Harley,” He uttered her name as though it was something that made him happy, and it caused her toes to tingle. “What are you doing here?”

“Rian, uh, left to go on a date with Cassadee. I’ve been assigned to look after you now.”

Harley tried to pretend that staying in a house with Alex Gaskarth alone was not nerve wracking, and almost succeeded, until she felt his gaze slide up the length of her legs, glide over the contours of her hips and stomach, before landing on her chest.

Harley became painfully aware that her baby blue blouse had become awkwardly transparent, clinging to her curves, and more importantly, her lace bra.

“Does that mean that as my nurse, you can give me a sponge bath? I’m not afraid to get naked, if it’s required.” Alex smirked once again, his eyes finally tracing up the curve of her neck, before meeting Harley’s gaze.

She blushed, feeling a prickly heat travel through her veins and instantly cursed the affect Alex had on her. Crossing her arms over her chest, Harley attempted to hide her embarrassment and appear collected.

“I, uh, am going to c-change.” Harley felt like smacking herself for stuttering, knowing that she didn’t have a response to his suggestive question. Instead, she scrambled up the stairs in hope of escaping the beautiful boy that awaited her company below.

_____________________

She had eventually decided on wearing a shirt that belonged to Rian when he was still in high school—a faded blue thing with an unknown band name scrawled across the chest, and a pair of sweatpants that she had to roll numerous times in order to fit her petite waist.

She had thought about venturing into Alex and Lisa’s room in order to borrow Lisa’s stuff, but that seemed wrong and she doubted any of Lisa’s clothing would even cover her chest, considering the fact that it didn’t even cover Lisa’s.

Hoping that she didn’t appear too unattractive, Harley grudgingly headed down the stairs to find the couch empty. Panic surged through her brain as she stumbled throughout house, her body on autopilot as she searched room after room for Alex’s body.

Relief washed over her as she heard a sort of guttural retching sound coming from the bathroom, and started to knock on the door. After realizing that she was stupid—and that Alex couldn’t ask her to come inside if he was throwing up—Harley pushed open the door.

She was immediately greeted with the sight of Alex’s crumpled body leaning over the toilet bowl, jolting erratically along with each gag; the violent sound of his retching thick and throaty, making Harley want to empty her stomach in the sink beside him.

The repulsive smell of vomit wafted towards her nostrils, and it took all her strength to stay upright.

She was gone for only five minutes and returned to find Alex vomiting? This was going to be a long day; she was sure of it.

It was nauseating, and Harley wasn’t sure how she was supposed to react to the situation, considering she couldn’t exactly hold back Alex’s hair like she could with Colie, whenever Colie got drunk and gagged after a party.

Instead, she rested a cool hand on Alex’s back and attempted to mutter soothing words into his ear, before whispering that she would return. After searching frantically for the right medicine and a glass of water, Harley returned to the tiny bathroom to find Alex leaning against the sink, his face pale and cheeks gaunt, with beads of sweat plastering his hair to his forehead.

It was clear that he had brushed his teeth, and although the toilet now appeared immaculate and untouched, the stench of vomit lingered in the air.

“First five minutes on the job and you’re already falling behind,” Alex commented mockingly through cracked lips, the corners of his mouth tugging south with a counterfeit frown. “You might not be such a good nurse after all. Though I admit, you’d look much better in a nurse’s uniform than Rian.” Harley could only roll her eyes this time, slowly getting used to his teasing.

“Let’s get you back to the couch.” Harley muttered, taking a hold of Alex’s arm and ignoring the warmth of his body against hers.

Instead, she managed to maneuver Alex back to his lying position onto the couch. Once the struggle was over, Harley panted realizing that Alex was much heavier than he looked, while Alex watched her through half-lidded eyes

“I’m kind of hungry,”

“You should be, considering the fact that you just regurgitated your lunch. What do you want to eat?”

“Chinese would be good.”

“Chinese it is.” Harley beamed, glancing at the boy beside her, who had managed to stretch out comfortably on the couch.

Getting up and stretching herself, Harley searched quickly for the sleek cordless phone, before getting her hands on the worn white and red menu that displayed columns of Chinese delicacies.

“What do you want, Alex?” Harley asked, walking back to where she had left the boy as she punched numbers into the phone.

After hearing no response, Harley slowly raised her head and could only chuckle, seeing the sleeping form of Alex in front of her, one large hand dangling off of the couch. Harley tried to ignore the thought that Alex looked handsome, even when he slept, and tried to avert her eyes from drifting across the muscles that convulsed under his thin shirt as he shifted in his disturbed sleep.

This was going to be even harder than she thought.

____________________

The Chinese food arrived at five thirty, and Harley had occupied her time by watching cooking shows until then. She had managed to retrieve the Chinese food and bring it to the dining room table, when she noticed a dark figure stumbling towards her out of the corner of her eye.

Whirling around in surprise, she noticed Alex watching her groggily, his blonde hair sticking up almost completely.

“Nice bedhead.” She commented, snorting slightly as she unloaded the many cartons of food. Alex ignored her, still feeling the effects of his afternoon nap, and instead made a beeline towards the food. While Harley began shoving her food onto her plate, she discreetly eyed Alex as he stared at his food in disdain.

“What is that?” Alex asked prodding the orange covered chicken with his finger. He glanced back at Harley, and furrowed his eyebrows as she rattled out her order. “I want yours.” He decided finally, cutting her off before she could finish speaking.

“No!” Harley protested, moving towards the living room where a television show featuring a pudgy chef flashed across the screen. She sat down on the loveseat facing the television, followed by Alex who sat closely by her side. “It wasn’t my fault that you fell asleep before I could order.”

Alex let out a noise that sounded like something between a grunt of annoyance and a laugh. Without warning, he picked up a pair of chopsticks and reached over. Harley was paralyzed for a moment, freezing in place as Alex’s hot breath fanned her ears.

His body was pressed against hers and she seemed so distracted by the warmth radiating off of him, she didn’t notice when he plucked some of the noodles off of her plate and shoved them in his mouth. Confused, Harley retracted her body from his, and realized that he had stolen some of her food.

Before she could protest, he swooped down and took another chopstick-full. She was losing her appetite, the nerves intensifying in her gut from being so close to him.

“Ale—” She was cut off by his charming grin, and reluctantly, she handed the box over to him. Laughing triumphantly, he devoured her dinner.

“I feel sick.” He muttered after he finished, and Harley bit back a remark about stating the obvious.

Slowly, she moved her hand to press lightly against his warm forehead, before pressing against each of his cheeks and the base of his neck. His skin burned in a way that proved he had a fever. She retracted her hand slowly, ready to get up when Alex’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Don’t go. That felt good.” His eyes flew open and he opened his mouth clearly embarrassed, letting Harley know that wasn’t something that he had meant to say aloud. “I—”

“—am going to get the thermometer.” Harley muttered, attempting to find any excuse to leave before she found herself doing something she regretted.

Rian really needed to return soon.

_____________

By six thirty, Alex was wide awake. And because Alex was awake, so was Harley. The tension was thick between the pair, and Harley was aware of every movement that Alex made—from shifting slightly under the blanket that kept his chills away, to brushing his fingers along hers as she handed him the tissue box—and Harley knew if she kept analyzing the situation, her mind would explode.

He has a girlfriend. And you have a boyfriend.

The pair had spent most of the remaining afternoon arguing what to watch on television, with Alex determined to watch the game while Harley just had to see the new What Not to Wear.

Harley had reluctantly given up, only because Alex was ill, and allowed herself to be succumbed to watching the Baltimore Ravens throw a ball around. Things had gone smoothly for the most part, and Alex’s attention had been occupied by the television, something Harley was very grateful for.

She wasn’t sure if she could take another provocative remark or sexy smirk, both of which caused her to fantasize things that no girl should be thinking about, especially with her brother’s best friend.

It wasn’t until her phone began to ring; an obnoxiously cheerful tone that Colie had set when fiddling with the brunette’s phone that blared from the speakers, that Alex averted his attention to the girl beside him. Harley was forced to look at the receiver, even though she knew the identity of the caller, and felt Alex’s curious gaze on her as she ignored the call.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” He gestured towards the phone, and not so subtly peeked over her shoulder to see the caller ID reading Max Porter.

“Um…no.” Harley prayed that Alex wouldn’t prod further into her business, knowing that she didn’t have the time or energy to explain that she was avoiding her boyfriend because he tried to have sex and because he received strange texts from other girls. It was stupid, she knew, but she wasn’t ready to confront Max yet.

“Trouble in paradise with lover boy?” Alex’s tone was teasing, but something in his hazel eyes told her that he was somehow pleased.

“You could call it that, I suppose.” Harley sighed, not bothering to get into detail and hoping that Alex would not push the matter. Much to her relief, Alex only plastered that knowing smirk on his face, and turned back to the game.

_______________________

By eight twenty-two, Harley had somehow ended up sharing a blanket next to Alex as the two lay sprawled across the couch.

She wasn’t sure how she had ended up in such an intimate position with him, but she only remembered that once it had fallen dark, she had begun to feel lethargic. The sound of another endless rerun of What Not to Wear lulled her in and out of sleep as she gazed drowsily at a lanky blonde with wrinkles creasing her forehead who modeled a low-slung pair of tie-dye bell bottoms.

“Who would wear that?” Alex scoffed beside her, their proximity allowing Harley to feel the vibrations in his chest as he spoke.

She was secretly ecstatic when Alex had given her a heart-warming grin and changed the channel to allow her to watch what she wanted, but only muttered a small ‘thank you’ in reality, as to maintain her cool exterior.

“I don’t know. But look at that shirt—is that a fur collar?” Alex watched her as her eyes widened and her mouth became slightly contorted, and her expression alone caused him to laugh harder. “What?” She blinked at him innocently, as he lazily grinned at her. He only shook his head, causing her to turn back to the television screen.

“Harley,” He said after a moment, leading the petite girl to turn her head towards him, indicating that he held her attention. “Have you ever felt like something was missing?”

She contemplated his answer with a surprising seriousness. It was unlike him to ask such deep questions unless something was wrong, and Harley couldn’t help feeling like she was an inadequate source for a valuable answer.

“Sometimes. Why?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes, when Lisa and I fight, or if I’m away from my friends or family for a long time, I get a sort of emptiness. Other times, though, I get an emptiness that’s totally different, like it’s been there the whole time and I can’t fill it.” He looked away, pondering something carefully, “Do you think it’s possible to fall out of love?”

This startled Harley, and Alex could feel her muscles tense beside him. “Of course…” She muttered slowly, choosing the words carefully. “Sometimes people just become too different, or just aren’t attracted to each other anymore.”

“Even after a long time?”

“Even after a long time.”

“Harley?”

“Yeah?”

“That woman seriously needs to get a fashion sense. Once she put on that leopard print jacket, I knew it was all over.”

And with those words of wisdom, their conversation was over.

________________

Rian had returned home at nine-forty five, with a giggling Cassadee Pope on his heels. Their hands had intertwined as Rian locked the door behind him, and he could faintly make out the glow of the television in the darkness of the house.

He fumbled around the wall nearest to the door for a light switch, and groped around until he found it, causing the room to become illuminated with yellowish-orange light. Quieting Cassadee, who had drunk a tad too much, he pulled her towards the glow in search of Alex and his sister.

He had expected Harley to come rushing towards him, to scold him for being late or beg to leave, but was only met with a stony silence. Once Rian had reached the living room, he knew why.

He gazed wearily at his sister, who was curled up on the couch with a soft blue blanket covering the majority of her lean body. Her small hand rested on the chest of a body beside her, and the faint glow of the television allowed Rian to make out the angular cheekbones and blonde hair that he knew belonged to his housemate.

Alex had his arm draped around Harley protectively, his mouth slightly open as he too, slept quietly. Rian pushed away the questions and assumptions that instantly formulated within his mind, and decided that the two looked almost peaceful, his only concern being that Harley might have caught Alex’s illness by sharing a bed.

“Oh my gosh!” Cassadee squealed beside Rian, and his eyes instantly flew to her as she wobbled in her heels. His arms flew out to steady her, but she was already teetering towards the sleeping couple on the couch. “They l-look so cute together!”

She clapped her hands in glee, the noise bouncing off the walls, and Rian winced slightly.

“Cass, you’ve got to be quiet!” He hissed to his girlfriend, but it was no use, Alex’s eyes had already begun to flutter open.

“Wha—?” He stopped as soon as he noticed his arms wrapped around Harley, and her arm resting on his muscular chest.

Rian could make out the slight crimson colour forming on Alex’s face, and he watched as the singer glanced down at the girl, who had also begun to stir.

“Rian, it’s not—.”

“—what it looks like? It’s okay man, I don’t care.” Alex seemed unconvinced, and Rian couldn’t blame him. Rian only half-believed it, himself.

“What’s going on?” Harley mumbled into Alex’s body, and seemed to go completely still as she realized where she was. Jolting upwards, Harley tried to hide her mortification. “Sorry, Alex and I fell asleep I guess…I don’t even know what time it is…I’m so sorry… and sorry Alex but I didn’t mean to fall asleep and…”

Her rambling was cut off by Cassadee, who was slowly making her way towards the couch. She linked her arm into Harley’s and grinned, looking through half-lidded eyes between the brunette girl, and the singer, who remained seated on the couch.

“Are you two, like…” Cassadee hiccupped, giggling to herself as though it was a hilarious joke, “…a couple?”

“No.”

“No!”

“Oh.” Cassadee seemed disappointed, and pouted slightly, sticking out her perfectly glossed lips. “Well you should be. You’d be so cute t-together.”

Rian sent the pair an apologetic glance. “Come on, Cass. We’ll get you to bed.” He turned to the pair. “Has Lisa come back yet?”

“Nope. Mall doesn’t close ‘til eleven.” Alex rasped, coughing slightly.

“You don’t look well. Maybe you should go back to sleep.” Rian suggested and Alex nodded, still groggy. The faint blush that had coated his cheeks was still present as he glanced back at Harley, who had feigned a sudden interest in the episode of ’Say Yes to the Dress’ that flashed across the screen. Rian turned his attention to his younger sister. “You’re welcome to stay on the couch if you don’t want to head back so late.”

Harley looked at the couch and blushed, almost certain that she didn’t want to sleep on the couch where she and Alex had already slept. The smell of Alex’s cologne would be sure to linger.

“Nah, it’s okay.” Harley declined, rubbing sleep away from her eyelids. “Colie wanted me to come back before midnight anyway. She’ll be happy to see me back so early.” She laughed to herself, though there was no joke. “I’ll see you around.”

“Okay. Thanks for helping me out.” Rian grinned, full of gratitude.

“No problem.” Harley turned to Alex, who was already halfway towards the staircase. “Feel better, Alex.”

“Thanks, I will.” His smile suddenly turned seductive. “And thanks for being such a good nurse.” He sent her a wink that only she managed to catch, before heading up the stairs.

The last thing Harley heard before she closed the door of Rian and Alex’s house was Cassadee’s loud drunken screech, echoing throughout the walls.

“I was right! They are SO CUTE TOGETHER!”