Shine On

Harper shuffled into her dorm after a long and grueling day of classes. She took a deep breath as she dropped her bag onto the floor. Her room was covered with books, papers, photo paper, photos, film that needed to be developed, and tiny post-it notes with tasks that needed to be done. The sight of her room overwhelmed her. She took another deep breath hoping it would bury down a little bit of stress level that was bubbling up inside of her. As she looked around her room and saw all of the things that needed to be done before the weekend came, the ocean of stress continued to overflow inside of her. She knew she couldn’t get any of this work done without calming down first and staying in her dorm wouldn’t be much of a help either. She grabbed her peacoat from her closet and walked out the door. As she walked down the cobblestone street, she thought about things that made her calm; music, Rupert, Johnny Depp movies, Rupert, hot tea, Rupert, Rupert, Rupert...She couldn’t erase his smiling face from her mind. Just thinking about him lifted her spirits a tiny amount. She began walking in the direction of his house. Although it was a little ways away, she needed to see him and she didn’t have a car or her mobile phone with her. With each step, her stressed out state quickly got replaced with excitement.

When she reached his house, she couldn’t unlock the door fast enough. It was almost as if she craved him, she needed to see him. He always relieved her of any sadness or stress. He always knew how to put a smile on her face. She needed those things more than anything right now. She needed the person who made her the happiest. She had never felt like this before, normally this feeling would scared her. However, her excitement masked any bad feeling that she could have been feeling. She practically threw her coat onto a nearby coat rack and searched the house for him. She heard a distant giggling and immediately followed the sound. Who or what the sound may be didn’t even cross her mind, the only thing that was on her mind was Rupert.

There he was sitting on the couch with a beaming smile on his face. Harper could feel herself smile immediately at the sight of him. However, she couldn’t be prepared for the next feeling that would hit her. She turned her gaze to what was making him smile so much; next to him sat a girl with wavy brunette hair and brown eyes. She too had a beaming smile on her face. Harper never looked in a mirror whenever she looked at Rupert, but she could imagine she had that look plastered on her face whenever she saw him. Harper felt as if she was interrupting something intimate. The girl had her arm draped around his neck, giggling up a storm. She seemed quite eccentric and animated. Harper couldn’t feel her legs, all she could do was stand there and stare. The girl would laugh at everything Rupert would say. Every time Rupert smiled, the girl would push a stray hair out of his eyes. She wasn’t gorgeous, but she wasn’t ugly either. But Rupert didn’t like breath taking girls. She was exactly his type.

Of course things were too good to be true. She should have known this would happen. Guys don’t go for her. If by chance a guy, such as Rupert, does hang around for a bit, it’s only because they haven’t found something better yet. She was the girl they always settled for, she was the substitute girl they had until they found the one they were looking for. Who the hell would want to be in love with her? Who would want to spend their life with someone like her? No one and not even Rupert could be an exception. Suddenly Harper felt her leg twitch. She took that moment and ran. She couldn’t bare to hear her laugh at all of his jokes anymore. She couldn’t bare to hurt anymore.

When Harper got back to her dorm room, all the books and papers scattered around didn’t help her mood. As she walked by her desk, she shoved all the books off the surface, then ran to her bed. She buried her head into her pillows and screamed as loudly as she could. This day couldn’t get any worse. Every single bad thought raced through her mind. She could feel her heart beat quicken as her mood became worse. Her eyes began to fill up with tears. She didn’t know what to do and she couldn’t think straight. She was a lonely girl stuck in a pile of homework in London, with no where to go and no one to turn to now. No one. She couldn’t find the will to get out of bed. All she wanted to do was sleep in her bed forever, nothing could hurt her in her sleep. She quickly rushed to her bathroom and grabbed a bottle of Tylenol PM. After swallowing three with a big gulp of water, she plopped back onto her and stared blankly at the ceiling waiting for the pills to kick in.

When she was beginning to feel a drowsy haze seep over her, she faintly heard a knock on her door. She figured if she didn’t answer it, whomever it was would take the hint and walk away. She turned to her side facing a blank wall and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt lips gently press against her forehead. She breathed in deeply, taking in that familiar scent she loved, his scent. She heard her heart beat loudly in her ears, it began to slow down when she felt his lips press against her forehead once again. A part of her was glad he was there. Although she wasn’t planning on speaking with him or even turning over to say ‘hello’, she was glad that he was in the same room with her again, even if it was probably for the last time. He did what she needed him to do in the first place, he calmed her down.