I Love Your Switchblade Attitude

“Hurry your fucking ass up, bitch!” Colie shouted from the Dawson’s vibrantly green lawn, causing their neighbour—Mrs. Biscoe—to turn her head sharply and frown in disdain through her straw sun-hat. Colie noticed this and frowned back. “What are you looking at, grandma?”

The elderly woman shook her head, before returning to watering her bougainvillea.

“Why are you rushing me?!” Harley shouted back, stumbling down the front steps as she attempted to step into her flip-flops.

She slammed the door behind her, before walking rapidly towards the driver’s seat of her mother’s 2002 Honda CRV.

“Rian and Alex were expecting us twenty minutes ago!” Colie whined, placing her sunglasses on her eyes as she slid smoothly into the passenger seat.

As Harley started the car, Colie began to fiddle with the radio stations, before landing on a station with a familiar song.

I wanna feel weightless, and that should be enough—

“Change the station!” Harley hissed, pushing the ‘seek’ button, and changing the music to a heavy metal station. Colie cringed, and rolled her eyes.

“You hate your brother’s music?”

“No.” Colie watched her expectantly, “It’s just...I’ve already heard it a billion times. Why not listen to something newer?”

“It’s not because it reminds you of Alex and last summer, is it?” Colie raised a sceptical eyebrow, and Harley shook her head.

“Of course not.”

Both girls knew she was lying. Harley sighed, turning the radio back to the previous station, despite the familiar tune filling her ears. She didn’t bother to speak for the rest of the car ride.

______________________

By the time Harley and Colie had reached Alex and Rian’s house, Harley had become nauseous.

The world seemed to be spinning, her heart was racing and glistening beads of sweat had gathered on her forehead. While Harley tried to play it off as the flu or carsickness, she knew it was really because she was thinking about seeing Alex again.

Would he forgive her for punching him? Would he act affectionately towards Lisa? Would things be noticeably awkward between them?

Harley knew she was over thinking things, and instead attempted to muster up the courage to exit the car. While Colie was marching up the front lawn already, Harley remained planted in the driveway, staring at the house in front of her.

Finally, she managed to move her legs forward as she awkwardly shuffled towards Colie. By the time she reached the front steps of the house, Colie had already banged on the door at least twenty times.

“Open up, mother fu—!” The movement of the door swinging open cut Colie off and her eyes widened as Rian stared at her.

“Hi Nicole,” he said sarcastically, chuckling to himself, “nice to see you too.”

“Hi Rian,” Colie giggled, blinking at him. “You’re so funny!”

“Uh...” He trailed off, glancing at Harley, before looking back at Colie. “Thanks.” An awkward silence filled the air as Colie continued to giggle.

“So are we just going to stand here?” Harley exclaimed, glancing at her best friend and wondering why she was acting so strangely.

Colie didn’t like to giggle...and it seemed as though she was flirting with Rian...but...no, she couldn’t like Rian.

“No, uh, come on in.” Rian opened the door wider, before Colie and Harley stepped inside.

Harley had only been inside of the house once, though that was only a quick glance. She now felt strange in this unfamiliar environment.

It was a house decorated by two young men—nothing expensive, not much art work, the basics needed to survive and that’s about it.

Like the tour bus that Harley had lived in, take out bags were scattered along the carpets and on the table nearest to the door, even though the open kitchen showed that the boys owned a microwave as well as a stove.

As Harley continued to walk, she ended up in the living room, where—no surprise—sat Lisa and Alex.

They were both sitting watching the flat screened television in front of them. Alex was sitting upright, his legs wide open as he stared mindlessly at the screen in front of him, while Lisa was lying horizontally across from him, her exposed legs resting on his lap. One of Alex’s arms were draped across her feet, while the other was holding the remote.

Lisa had not changed much from the last time Harley had saw her. She was dressed in extremely short jean shorts and a sequined navy blue tank top. Her honey-blonde hair had gotten longer, but only by an inch or two.

She still looked perfect, and still had her iron hold on Alex.

“Guys, we have visitors.” Rian announced to the couple.

Alex’s eyes lingered on the television, before slowly lifting to meet Harley’s apologetic gaze. He shook his head ignoring her silent plea, and instead looked at Lisa.

Lisa looked up, probably expecting some of her friends, and once she realized who stood in front of her, she pounced out of her seat.

“Why the fuck is that bitch here?” She hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at Harley.

“She’s my sister, Lisa.” Rian stated calmly, as though he expected Lisa's outragous behaviour.

“She’s a boyfriend stealing slut, that’s what she is.” Lisa taunted, shaking her head as she stepped forward.

“Lisa, don’t—”

“Be quiet, Alex.” She frowned, not bothering to look back at Alex. “If you think you can just come into this house and seduce my boyfriend again, you are fucking mistaken.”

“I don’t...I wouldn’t...” Harley stuttered, widening her eyes as she took a step back. Lisa closed the space by stepping forward once again.

“Lisa don’t fucking talk to my sister like that!” Rian scowled, becoming overprotective for the first time this summer.

“Rian! What the fuck man?! Don’t talk to my girlfriend like that!” Alex called from the couch, getting angry.

“She’s insulting my sister!”

“Do you really think you can play innocent and get away with it?” Lisa jeered, ignoring the argument happening from behind her. “You’re seriously fucking crazy.”

“Excuse me, but who the fuck do you think you are talking to Harley like that?” Colie piped up, stepping in front of her.

“Who the fuck are you and why are you in my house?” Lisa shifted her gaze to Colie, who was pulling her hair up in a ponytail. “If you think you and that fucking slut can enter my house—”

“Oh that’s it,” Colie growled, taking off her earrings. “Har, hold my earrings, I need to teach this whore a lesson.” Colie tossed her earrings towards Harley who barely caught them, before charging towards a terrified Lisa, who began to back away.

“Oh shit.” Harley muttered, placing the earrings on the coffee table before chasing after Colie who was now close to tearing off Lisa’s face. “Remember what the president of University of Maryland said? If you get in a fight one more time they’ll—”

“Fuck.” Colie muttered, crawling off Lisa, who she had previously pinned to the floor. “Goddamn Harley, you always know how to ruin my fun.” She grinned as though the past ten seconds had not happened, and continued going to retrieve her earrings as Alex rushed to Lisa’s side.

Rian stared, wide eyed, at the scene in front of him, as Lisa opened her mouth once again.

“Just stay away from my boyfriend, okay?” She hissed, pulling her blonde hair out of her mouth. “Just because you are too much of a skank to have your own boyfriend doesn’t mean that you have to sleep with mine.”

“If you must know,” Colie piped up from behind Harley, startling her. She was speaking in such a civilized manner, that if someone had not witnessed the almost-fight a few seconds before, they wouldn’t be able to tell that Colie was about to beat Lisa’s face in. “Harley does have a boyfriend.”

“What?” Lisa stared at her.

“What?” Rian echoed.

Alex looked at Harley with wide, confused, brown eyes. “What?”

“What?” Harley looked at Colie helplessly, but Colie just smiled smugly back at her.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Colie nodded vigorously, and Harley knew right then that Colie had not minored in the Performing Arts for nothing. “He’s one of the most amazing people you’ve ever met, right Har? He has amazing black hair and dazzling emerald eyes as bright as the sun in the middle of a warm summer afternoon! His name is Max, isn’t it Har? They are so happy together! I only wish I had a boyfriend like hers!” Harley stared at Colie, her mouth wide in dismay. Was this really happening?

“Oh, really?” Lisa gave Colie a sceptical look, before turning to look at Harley. “If he’s so special, why don’t we meet him?”

“I don’t think that would be such a good idea...” Harley trailed off, fumbling nervously with the hem of her oversized t-shirt, before sending a pleading gaze towards Colie, who gave Lisa a challenging look.

“Why not, because he’s not real?” Lisa taunted, causing Harley to feel as though she was back on her elementary school playground, making up lies to appear popular.

Harley tried to ignore Lisa’s infantile behaviour, and instead focused on Alex, who was still staring at her intently. Harley then averted her eyes to the floor, feeling every eye in the room on her. A blush crept onto the apples of her cheeks, and she felt like hiding.

“Of course he’s real!” Colie’s voice broke the tense silence as she placed a confident hand on her hip. “Harley’s just wants to protect him from meeting bitches like you. But if you must meet him, I suppose that we could invite him along.”

Lisa raised her eyebrows. “Really?” Colie nodded, challenging her to continue speaking. “Fine then. Alex and I were thinking about hosting a costume party next week for a homecoming sort of thing. How about you bring him then? And make sure we meet him.”

“Isn’t it a bit silly to have a costume party in the summer?” Harley questioned, realizing the tension and rivalry that was forming between her best friend and Lisa.

Both Colie and Lisa ignored her. Rian walked out of the room to get a glass of water. Alex was hovering at Lisa’s side, still staring at Harley. “That’s fine. We’ll be there. All three of us.”

“Good.” Lisa smirked.

“Good.” Colie stared.

“Good.” Lisa raised her eyebrows.

“Good.” Colie grinned.

“Can we just shut the fuck up and stop saying good?” Alex piped up from Lisa’s side. Colie rolled her eyes.

“Next week, Saturday.” Lisa said finally, as the air settled into a silence.

It was then that Harley realized that she would have to somehow contact Max and convince him to go with her to this party, as well as pretend to be her fake boyfriend in front of her brother, her best friend, the boy who she slept with and the aforementioned boy’s girlfriend.

This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.