Shine On

Harper wasn’t too keen on falling for someone, or love in general as a matter of fact. The last time she fell for someone, all she got out of it was a broken heart. She had a strong feeling this time wasn’t going to end well either. She always had that kind of feeling though. What good was love if it hurt people?

Right when Harper was about to drown herself in music, there was a knock at her bedroom door followed by Melody peaking in with Harper’s iPhone in her hand. “Rupert’s on the phone for you.”

Harper went over to get her iPhone. Before answering, she pulled Melody into a hug. “I’m sorry for what I said. I was just...” She couldn’t think of the right word.

“I know.” Melody gave Harper an encouraging smile. Luckily Mel knew exactly what was going through Harper’s mind most of the time. She pointed to the phone before leaving Harper alone in her room.

“Hey.” Harper greeted glumly. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, it read 1:00 in the afternoon. Had she really slept till noon?

Rupert must have heard the downbeat tone in Harper’s voice, because instead of saying ‘hello’ in return, he replied. “Ice cream always makes me feel better.”

Harper smiled immediately and giggled.

Rupert laughed on the other end of the phone. “I’ll pick you up. Um...Mel’s your mate’s name, right?”

“Yeah.” She answered looking around her room for her bag. She was always losing that thing. She finally found it laying in the middle of some clutter in the corner of her room.

“Cool. She can come as well if she’d like.”

Harper smiled to herself as a result of his kindness. That was a big reason as to why she liked him so much. She swore he didn’t have a mean bone in his body. Although she only knew him for about 4 months, she never witnessed him being mean. She didn’t even remember him raising his voice to anyone. She thanked him and told him where she lived before ending the call.

When she told Melody that Rupert had invited her out with them, Harper thought she was going to exhausted herself with all the jumping around she was doing. It wasn’t until Harper invited Melody along that she felt a slightly concern about it. Mel always got the attention of guys. Whenever Harper and Melody would go out with a group of friends, Melody was like a guy magnet. They would be all over her trying to charm her while none of them ever paid attention to Harper. Harper didn’t compare to Melody; Melody had the looks, she had the curves, she had the sexuality. Whereas Harper had the sexual attraction of a spoon, she had the brains instead of the curves, and she was shy whenever she met someone for the first time. She was worried the same thing would happen if Mel joined her and Rupert. She wished she hadn’t invited her at all now.

Within minutes, Rupert texted Harper saying that he was outside. She made her way out the door with Melody hopping like a bunny behind her. Rupert was leaning with his back against a black car and his hands in his pockets. He watched her intently as she walked up to him. Explosions erupted in Harper’s stomach when he grinned at her, her eyes never leaving his. He took his hands out of his pockets when they met and pulled Harper into a hug. She felt him give her waist a couple of extra squeezes before stepping back. Forgetting that Melody was with her, she felt the urge to pull him into her again. It was interrupted by Rupert greeting Melody with a shy ‘hello’.

“Hi!” Melody’s voice was back to sounding like a pig’s squeal. Rupert smiled politely at her, then linked hands with Harper and walked her to the passenger’s seat. Harper saw Melody adjust her shirt to accentuate her cleavage. She wasn’t sure if she was doing it because of Rupert or it was just a habit of hers. Rupert opened the car door for Harper before she could say anything. She did, however, flash Melody a scathing look that went unnoticed before getting into the car.

“So I borrowed this from my driver. You drive on the right side of the road here, right?” Rupert asked with a smirk on his face when he got settled in the driver’s seat. Harper’s eyes widened in fear. Rupert laughed and rubbed his thumb on Harper’s cheek. “Harp, I’m joking!” He then looked in the rearview mirror. “Are you all right back there?” Rupert and Harper simultaneously glanced back to see Melody checking her make-up in a compact mirror. It took a while for her to realized she was being watched, then she slammed her compact shut and threw it in her purse. “What?” She chimed cluelessly. He took that as a ‘yes’ and they were on their way. When they stopped at a red light, felt Rupert’s fingers intertwine with hers.The car ride was mostly silent. During the beginning of the ride, Melody complimented Rupert on various things. She started telling him how attractive he was, but Harper turned the radio on loud enough so no one could hear anything but the music. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rupert laugh quietly to himself.