The New Face of Failure

Stan Gable: What are you looking at, nerd?
Booger: I thought I was looking at my mother's old douche-bag, but that's in Ohio. – Revenge of the Nerds

Harper kicked her feet back and forth to the rhythm of Justin Timberlake’s new single as she went highlighter crazy all over her American history text book. Harper didn’t understand why all of her teachers wanted to give them big tests or papers due right before Thanksgiving, but they did and did it with such fanfare that Harper wondered if they enjoyed it. She wanted to go to Patrick’s room, but she knew that they had just gotten back from LA and were unpacking from the long trip.

Harper was surprised that she and Patrick were able to handle being away from each other for that entire week, but it helped that she was extremely busy studying for all of the tests that were coming up. She didn’t even have time to think about the fact that she was finished wither story and didn’t have another one to start on. She kept thinking up new story ideas, but they all fell short of her Ada and Cross fight against perfection and mechanization in the future. She loved the world she created and wasn’t ready to give it up. It had provided her comfort when she felt alone in the world. Although she didn’t need it as much anymore, she had grown to enjoy slipping away into her own world especially when things seemed too difficult to handle, like Patrick leaving for tour soon.

“Harper! Hey good you’re here!” Cassidy stormed into the room, seeming too cheery for her usual self. Harper’s concentration on her textbook was broken and she looked up at her roommate.

“Yep, just studying. What’s up?”

“I need you to come with me to Derrick’s rugby match, right now.” She said urgently.

“Um, what? Really?” Cassidy had never asked her to go to a rugby match with her. She always told Harper that it was the last place she’d want to be at because it was just a bunch of rowdy boys and their sorority girlfriends, minus Cassidy. Harper started to wonder if Cassidy wasn’t feeling a little like an outsider at those things now.

“Yes, please, I… yes.” She ran a hand through her blonde curls. “Please Harper? I know it’s not your thing, but…”

“No, yeah, I’ll go. I’m tired of highlighting all of the seemingly important crap in this textbook,” she said, closing her book and standing up. “Let me just get on some warmer clothes.”

“Thank you , thank you, thank you!” Cassidy cried out happily.

After Harper changed into a pair of jeans, sweater and a pair of Ugg boots her mother had bought her, she wrapped a scarf around her neck and started following Cassidy out of the door. As Cassidy opened the door, she nearly ran into Patrick and Joe who were just about to knock. Cassidy shrieked in surprise.
“Jesus, are you two trying to give me a heart attack!” she yelled.

Patrick and Joe exchanged baffled expressions. “Um, sorry?” Patrick replied. He looked at Harper.
“Where are you guys going?”

“Rugby match,” Harper explained, motioning to Cassidy.

“Rugby? What are you Harry Potter?” Joe said wrinkling his nose up.

“Uh, they actually played quidditch,” Harper corrected him.

“I love that you know that,” Patrick said, smiling and making Harper feel giddy with pride.

“Well, I guess I should ask if you two want to come too,” Cassidy sighed.

Harper gave Patrick an imploring look. He caught it instantly and just smiled at her. “Yeah, we’ll go. Joe needs more culture in his life anyway.”

“It’s a bunch of drunk dudes hitting each other while they throw a ball around. How cultured can that be?” Joe retorted.

“It originated from England, so it’s full of culture,” Cassidy retorted. “It’s better than that barbaric hockey crap that you like so much.”

“How does she know he likes hockey?” Harper whispered to Patrick. He just laughed and shrugged. “Okay,” she said in a louder voice, “Can we go now?”

“Yeah, bigfoot’s long lost cousin here is the one holding us up,” Cassidy said stubbornly, pushing past Patrick and Harper to make her way down the hall.

“Hey! How do you know how hairy I am underneath all of this?” Joe cried out, running to catch up with her.

Harper closed the door to her dorm and felt Patrick’s hand close around hers. She looked over at him and just sighed. “What are we going to do with the two of them?”

“We should just lock them in a closet until they have their way with each other,” Patrick replied.
“Do you want Joe to be ripped to pieces and lose your lead guitarist?” she joked.

“Eh, I think you underestimate Joe’s charm,” Patrick laughed.

“We’ll see about that,” she replied.

Cassidy drove the four of them up to Fairmount Park and they parked near an open field where about fifty other cars were piled on top of each other, hatchbacks open and beer flowing. Guys in short loose-fitting shorts and striped long sleeved shirts barreled into each other on the homemade field and the sidelines were covered with people in blankets sitting on camping chairs, screaming, shouting and laughing as they drank copious amounts of beer. Harper wondered who would be driving all of these people home afterward.

“Man, I feel out of place,” Patrick said, wrapping his thick maroon scarf tighter around his throat.

“Why? Because you’re not dressed like it’s 80 degrees out when it’s really 40?” Harper asked him, curling up under his arm as they walked. She shivered. “I don’t know how they can run around like that.”

“Well, when you’re trying to pass a ball backward and not get hit in the face, I guess the adrenaline makes you hotter,” Cassidy offered, her eyes scanning the field. She seemed to be looking for Derrick on the field.

Harper started looking as well and caught a glimpse of him on the sidelines, a beer in his hands, wearing the same ridiculously cold looking outfit, and chatting with two girls who wore tight v-neck sweaters and tall boots over their tight skinny jeans. “Um, found him,” Harper said hesitantly, pointing him out.

Cassidy’s eyes widened when she saw him and she marched over to his side of the field, the other three at her heels.

“Why do I feel like a shit storm is about to hit and we are trapped in it?” Joe muttered to them.

“They’re just talking,” Patrick said reasonably. “He always seemed like a pretty genuine guy to me.”

“Yeah, he’s super friendly, that’s for sure,” Harper added although she couldn’t shake the cramping feeling of uneasiness in her stomach. Although it had been awhile since she had a panic attack, and her feelings of anxiety were easing up, she still hated to be caught in awkward situations.

Derrick noticed Cassidy before she had a chance to surprise him. “Babe!” he said in an even and friendly tone. Harper didn’t detect a hint of guilt at all. He left the two girls who were eyeing Cassidy with a bit of jealousy and made his way over to Cassidy. “I thought you didn’t want to come.”

He went to hug her, but she refused to hug him back, her arms sticking straight to her sides. “Who are they?”

He pulled back and looked at the two girls. “That’s Mandy and Sarah. They are sorority sisters of JoAnn.” He gave her a scrutinizing look. “Wait, you aren’t mad that I’m talking to them are you?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “No, I just don’t like how skanky they are.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry about it babe, you’re my one and only.” He kissed her forehead, laughing at her jealousy as if it was the most ridiculous thing in the world. He then noticed the rest of them standing behind her. “Oh,” he straightened up and smiled tightly. “Hey Harper, and Patrick, right?”

“Hey man what’s going on?” Patrick greeted him as Harper waved shyly. He looked at Joe. “Oh, this is my friend and roommate, Joe,” Patrick added.

Joe walked up to Derrick and held out his hand. Derrick was still nearly half a foot taller than Joe, but that didn’t stop Joe from puffing out his chest and giving him a firm handshake.

“Hey nice to meet you. You’re in Patrick’s band right?” he asked him.

“I wouldn’t call it Patrick’s band, but yeah, I am,” Joe replied hotly.

“Cool,” Derrick’s smile widened. “Well, awesome that you guys are here. Feel free to grab a beer and enjoy yourselves.” He leaned over to kiss Cassidy again. “I’m about to go in babe, wish me luck!” With that, he jogged back over to the group of his teammates as they were discussing a new play.

“Beer anyone?” Cassidy said, turning around and smiling at all of them.

“I’ll take one,” Joe said, still watching Derrick, sizing him up in his head. Patrick and Harper both asked for one as well and Cassidy walked off to the large cooler near the players.

Harper then understood why Cassidy wanted them there. Everyone around seemed to regard her with some distaste. Harper didn’t see any other freshmen walking around the place for one thing and all of the girls sitting on the sidelines seemed to be wearing sweatshirts and fleeces with their sorority letters plastered all over. Harper felt bad for her roommate just then. She knew what it was like to feel out of place, and she was sure that Patrick and Joe did as well. They were just a bunch of misfits and Cassidy was having a hard time accepting that she was becoming a misfit too.

They settled down on the ground and started drinking their beers and watching the game. Cassidy was explaining the rules of rugby to them, but Harper could barely listen because her attention kept wandering over to the two girls that Derrick was talking to. They seemed to be staring, not at Cassidy, but her, whispering back and forth and giggling. She nudged Patrick.

“Is it just me, or are those girls whispering about me?” Harper asked him in a soft voice.

Patrick looked furtively in their direction. “Um, well, no, actually, they are,” he said. The girls quickly looked away when they realized that they were caught looking. “Do you know them?”

Harper shook her head. “Nope, I have never seen them before in my life…. Do I have something in my teeth or hair or something?”

“No,” Patrick replied.

“Maybe they are just jealous that you’re sitting here with the two sexiest men here,” Joe remarked, butting into their conversation.

Patrick blushed, which Harper found amusing. “Yeah, doubt that,” Patrick said quickly.

“No, it’s because they are Delta Zetas,” Cassidy said to them, although her eyes were fixed on Derrick playing.

Harper glanced at them again. “Oh, okay?”

“Come on Harper, remember the same sorority your ex-best friend is in?” Cassidy prodded. “They know who you are.”

Harper felt her cheeks grow hot. “What?”

Cassidy turned around and looked at her sympathetically. “I didn’t want to mention anything, but yeah, Akemi’s fake story about your jaunt to Chicago has pretty much spread throughout the entire Greek community on campus.”

“Fake story?” Patrick looked at them confused. “I don’t understand.”

Harper felt the sudden rush of panic when she realized that she never actually told Patrick what Akemi was telling everyone at home about her trip to Chicago with the band.

“Oh come on, Harper already told you I’m sure,” Cassidy said. “She’s been telling everyone that Harper only went with you guys so you could all screw her or something, like massive orgies or whatever.”

Patrick’s eyes widened and he looked at Harper stunned. “What! That’s why you got into a fight?!”

Harper ducked her head down. “Yeah, sorry, I didn’t think she’d tell anyone here because I don’t talk to anyone at Temple except for you, Joe and Cassidy,” she said.

“Wait a minute was that something you were offering?” Joe said. “I don’t remember that at all!” Patrick glared at him and shoved him a bit. “Ouch, okay, sorry, just trying to lighten the mood a bit.”

Harper glanced at the girls and realized that more of them were now looking her way and whispering. “Oh God, this is so embarrassing. Cassidy, why didn’t you tell me! I wouldn’t have come if I knew I was going to be the center of attention.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve told them all it’s lies made up by a stupid jealous hoebag.”

“Doesn’t look like they believe it,” Patrick commented.

“So what? Are you guys trying to be their best friends. You’re here with me.”

“What does Derrick think?” Harper asked her.

“He knows what’s the truth,” is all Cassidy said, and Harper glanced at Patrick worriedly.

Suddenly, Patrick’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. “Hey Pete.”

“Pete? What does that fucker want?” Joe asked him.

“Yeah, we’re at a rugby match right now… yeah I’m not fucking kidding… um, Fairmount Park?... Um, let me ask,” He covered his phone with his hand. “Cassidy, can Pete and Andy come up here?”

“Dude, you know they created a mute button for that,” Joe commented, motioning toward his hand over the phone. Patrick rolled his eyes and ignored him.

“Oh sure, but that’s only going to cause the herd to go even more wild,” Cassidy warned.

“Well, at least we won’t feel as outnumbered,” Joe muttered.

“Yeah, you can come,” Patrick said. “Oh, you can’t miss it. A bunch of dudes in short shorts tackling each other to the ground… Yeah that is definitely your kinda thing. Okay, we’ll see you soon.” He hung up. “Well this will be interesting.”

“Yeah, especially if Pete is hopped up on his psych meds,” Joe remarked and Patrick shot him a warning look that Harper noticed. She looked at them both curiously.

As the game drew to a close, Pete and Andy finally showed up in Andy’s beat up mustang. They got out and made their way over to where the others were seated, and their arrival did not go unnoticed. This was mainly because they were both dressed in almost all black and leather, completely opposite of how everyone else was dressed.

“Leave it to those two to make rugby punk rock,” Joe laughed, standing up to greet them.

“Rugby? What the hell is this devil magic!” Pete exclaimed loudly, earning a few glares from the crowd off to the side.

“Cassidy’s boyfriend is on the team,” Harper explained, standing up to greet them.

As she hugged him and Andy, she wondered what was going through the minds of all of the sorority girls at that moment. She wanted to not care about it because Andy and Pete were some of the best people she had ever met, but now hugging them made her feel uneasy.

“Well, we sure know how to make an entrance, huh?” Andy said, glancing at the crowd.

“Yeah it’s like Hot Topic trying to fit into an Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue,” Cassidy said, raising an eyebrow.

“Andy, you should totally take off your shirt and expose them all to the greatness of your tattooed self.”

“They can’t handle my rock bod,” Andy replied, sitting Indian style next to Joe.

“So, what is up Harper!? Glad to have your man back?” Pete asked her, taking a seat on her other side.

“Yes,” she replied, leaning into Patrick. “But how did LA go? we haven’t had a chance to talk about it.”

“It was fucking awesome, man,” Pete said enthusiastically. “The stockholders seemed happy and the recording sessions were off the hook.” Harper noticed that the other three guys all seemed to be glancing at each other uneasily, and she suddenly remembered the weird look Patrick had given Joe earlier.

“We did have to stay in these shitty apartments though,” Patrick noted. “It was like a breeding ground for STDs and drug addicts.”

“Well, I hope you stayed out of the hot tub then,” Harper replied.

“He did, but I can’t promise anything,” Pete said with a scoundrel look on his face. “So, who are we supposed to be rooting for?”

“Well, I guess…” Harper trailed off as the whistle blew and Derrick’s team cheered excitedly. “Oh, it’s over.”

Cassidy jumped up. “I’ll be right back guys.” She hurried over to Derrick to congratulate him, as the rest of them stood up.

“Wow, that’s her boyfriend?” Andy asked, staring at Derrick’s bulky frame. “Sorry Joe, you have got some major competition there.”

“Psh, whatever, the dude is a fake. Cassidy will realize it sooner or later,” Joe replied, although Harper could see a little bit of diffidence in his face.

When the match was over, Cassidy had run over to Derrick and the guys started walking toward the car, while Harper stayed behind to wait for Cassidy. She kept watching Cassidy, who seemed to be arguing with Derrick about something, and suddenly felt bad about her presence at the match, as if her less than stellar reputation was ruining Cassidy’s relationship. She wondered why Cassidy was potentially ruining her own reputation and life for Harper.

As she waited around, the guys getting further away from her, the two girls in v-neck sweaters, Mandy and Sarah, came up to her, blocking her view of Cassidy. They both had their hands behind their backs, trying to look sweet and innocent.

“Hiiii, Harper right?” the one with the high ponytail, Sarah, said in a long drawn out accent.

Harper’s chest tightened. “Uh yeah,” she said, trying not to show them how scared she was.

The one named Mandy just smirked and said, “This is for Akemi.” Harper didn’t have time to react as Mandy whipped her arms from around her back and dumped two red Solo cups full of beer on top of Harper’s head. Harper gasped and stumbled backward.

“Harper!” Cassidy shouted in shock and she started running over to her.

Just then Sarah pulled two cups from behind her back and doused Harper further in more light gold liquid, drenching her in the awful stench of the Natural Ice they were drinking.

Patrick and the other guys turned around when they heard Cassidy shouting and when he saw Sarah pouring her two cups on Harper, he made a run for her, the other guys are his heels.

Harper wiped the beer and some hot tears that had sprung up from her eyes. She started shivering as the wind chilled the liquid on her body. Behind the girls, the rest of the rugby team and their friends started laughing… hard. Harper staggered backward, trying to get away from the girls.

“Aww, where are you going Harper!? Can’t take a little joke?” Mandy taunted.

Harper choked back a sob and bumped into Patrick who had caught up with her. “Harper, are you okay?” he asked her worriedly. She looked up at him with fear in her eyes. He shook his head and started pulling off her sweatshirt and replaced it with his jean jacket. He looked at the two girls with daggers in his eyes. “What the fuck did you do that for?”

“She deserved it, that stupid little skank!” Sarah exclaimed angrily.

Cassidy pushed Mandy angrily. “Mandy, Sarah, go fuck off and go throw your boobs in someone else’s face.”

The girls glowered at her. “This is why you’ll never get into a sorority around here. Aligning yourself with the freaks,” Mandy spat out at her.

“The only freaks I see are a couple of Dr. Oz patients gone horribly wrong. Mandy did you ask them to make one boob massively larger than the other, or are the guys you fuck into that sort of thing?” Cassidy shot back and Mandy gasped dramatically.

“What’s going on?” Pete asked, looking at Patrick with concern as he and the other guys caught up to them.

“Nothing,” Harper and Cassidy said in unison.

“Cassidy, I don’t know how you can room with her. She probably has like a million STDs or something!” Sarah exclaimed.

“Who has a million STDs?” Pete blurted out. “Harper?” he laughed. “That’s ridiculous!”

Harper tugged Patrick’s’ arm. “I want to go.”

“Yeah okay.” He motioned for the guys to follow him.

Just then a couple of Derrick’s rugby teammates came up behind the Mandy and Sarah. “Hey man, that’s not fair. I thought you liked to share your girlfriend. Or is only with your other weirdo friends here,” one with a buzz cut said, smirking.

“Yeah, I mean how’d you convince her to fuck all of you dude?” The other one with scraggly brown hair added.

Harper felt Patrick freeze and his grip tighten on her hand. “Patrick, no, just let it go,” she whispered urgently.

“What the hell did he just say?” Andy asked, looking at Patrick.

Patrick let go of Harper’s hand and turned around. She grabbed his jacket. “No, Patrick, they’re not worth it.”

“Let go of me Harper, I’m not going to let them talk about you like that,” he said through gritted teeth.
He pushed her away and started toward the two beefy boys.

“Harper, what the fuck is going on?” Pete exclaimed, walking up beside her.

“Harper’s ex-best friend has been telling everyone that she came to Chicago with us so that we could have massive orgies with her or something,” Joe explained, coming up next to him.

“What the hell!” Pete shook his head. “Wow, now I know why I stopped going to college.”

“Stop talking shit about my girlfriend,” Patrick shouted at the guys.

The one with the buzz cut pushed Patrick’s shoulder. “Why don’t you and the Motley Crue go ahead and head out of here, I’m sure you have a shrooms induced gang bang to get to.”

“Dude, why don’t you just shut the fuck up and go shove some date rape drug down a girl’s throat because that’s the only way they’ll sleep with you,” Pete growled as he came up behind Patrick.

“Richie, Adam, enough, okay!” Cassidy exclaimed. “Derrick shut your Neanderthals up!” she shouted for her boyfriend who was watching the whole scene with the rest of the rugby team and their friends and laughing.

“Oh come on Cass, they are just playing, right guys?”Derrick said, walking over to the group.

“Yeah, man, we’re just playing,” Adam, the one with the messy brown hair, said, rubbing his hands together and nodding along with Richie.

Harper stepped in front of Patrick and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Let’s go,” she said firmly under her breath. She looked over his shoulder at Pete who nodded in agreement with her. Andy and Joe were flanking him, ready to fight.

Just as Patrick was about to turn around, Richie said, “Hey, I hear she gives good head and I could really see that pretty mouth of hers around my dick,” and he made a grab for Harper.

“That’s it,” Patrick muttered and he pushed Harper out of the way and lunged at Richie, driving his head into his stomach and knocking the one backwards onto the ground. Harper watched in horror as Patrick got about two punches in before Richie rocked him over onto his back and took the mount.

“Andy, we gotta help him!” she heard Pete shout, and she could feel the air whisk around her as Patrick’s three band mates rushed to help him.

Harper could feel her vision blur and her lungs desperately expanding for air. Through the white fuzzy spots, she could make out Andy and Joe pulling Richie off of Patrick, while Pete grabbed Patrick’s hand and helped him to his feet. Harper felt someone grab her hand. “Harper, Harper!” she heard Cassidy cry out, her voice muffled by the thick sound of blood rushing in her ears. “Harper, snap the hell out of it!” Cassidy shouted. She could feel tears start to drip down her face as she feared the worst for Patrick.

“Harp, Harper, hey,” Pete’s face came into focus in front of her face. “Hey he’s all right, well, for the most part.” The spots faded and Harper’s eyes connected with Pete’s. He smiled. “There you go.”

Cassidy whirled around and faced her boyfriend. “Derrick what the hell! Why didn’t you stop him?!”

Harper looked over at Patrick, who’s left eye was quickly swelling shut and turning a deep purple. She saw some blood trickling out of his nose and he appeared to be barely lucid. “Patrick,” she left Pete’s side and hurried over to him. Joe had him propped against his side. “Oh my God, Patrick,” she whispered, her fingers gingerly touching his face.

“Owww,” he moaned and she pulled away quickly.

“Babe, they’re guys, they’re just fighting it out,” Derrick said, his typically easy going smile fading.

“Fighting it out? Your bro over there not only harassed my friend’s girlfriend, but fucking nearly killed him,” Pete shouted angrily.

“Well, then I guess he should learn not to fight someone twice his size,” Adam commented, and the rugby group laughed at his comment.

“Let’s get out of here, please,” Harper said to the guys, pleadingly.

“Yeah, okay, Harper,” Pete replied and he took Patrick’s other side, helping Joe escort him to the car. Harper and Andy took the rear and Cassidy followed behind.

“Cass where are you going!?” Derrick shouted, running toward her.

“I’m going to help my friend take care of her boyfriend,” Cassidy said, not turning around to look at him.
“Cass, come on…”

“No!” She stopped and glared at him. “Face it Derrick. Ever since I came to this college, we have been growing apart. You’ve become such a fucking jack ass since you’ve been here and I can’t believe I forgave you for sleeping with that girl last year.”

Harper slowed her walk to listen to Cassidy’s rant.

“Cassidy, really, you’re going to bring that up? It was a year ago, and I apologized! And if we’re growing apart it’s your fault. You’re the one who started hanging out with your spastic roommate and her weirdo boyfriend. I thought you said you’d never be friends with her because she was too emo?”

“Well, first appearances aren’t everything. I used to think you were a gentleman but now I think you’re just an asshole.”

“What are you saying Cass?”

“I’m saying that this is over, and it probably has been for awhile now. I put up with a lot of crap from you, but I won’t stand here and watch you let your stupid friends fuck up my only friend’s boyfriend and call her a slut when you know it’s not true!” she shouted.

“You’re really ending our relationship over this stupid shit?” he asked her furiously.

“No, not just this, but this is the fucking tip of the iceberg baby!” She threw up her hands and stalked off, catching up to Harper and Andy. Harper gave her a sympathetic look. “Not now, Harper let’s just get in the damn car,” she said.

Pete and Joe helped Patrick into the back of Cassidy’s car and then Harper climbed in after. They peeled out as fast as they could, following Andy and Pete’s car back to their house. The ride was silent with just Cassidy’s music blaring. Harper could tell that Joe was hating the music because he seemed to be mumbling about it under his breath, but all she was worried about was keeping Patrick awake.

“Patrick, you didn’t have to fight them,” she whispered to him, using some napkins she found in Cassidy’s car to wipe the drying blood off of his face.

“Not gonna let them hurt you,” he mumbled, wincing as the movement of his mouth sent a sharp pain into his eye.

Harper blushed and brushed his hair back out of his face. “Thank you, babe.” He gave her a weak smile and rested his head on her shoulder.

“Don’t fall asleep buddy!” Joe shouted at him.

Patrick muttered something profane under his breath that Harper couldn’t catch, but she was grateful that he was at least saying something.

When they pulled up to Andy and Pete’s house, Cassidy shut the car off and then in a rage slammed her fists into her steering wheel. Harper, Patrick and Joe jumped in surprise. “That fucking jerk!” She turned around and looked at Patrick. “This is all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

“Cass, it’s okay, you didn’t know,” Harper said reassuringly.

“Yeah, you can’t help it that your boyfriend is surrounded by douche bags that dress in hot pants,” Joe remarked.

“I’m just so… the fucking nerve… I can’t believe I ever…” She muttered to herself.

“Um, it’ll be okay,” Joe said awkwardly, placing a hand on her back. Harper was surprised by Joe’s attempt to be nice. That wasn’t his usual style.

Cassidy looked up at him and then grabbed his face and kissed him hard. Harper’s eyes widened and so did Patrick’s, at least the eye that wasn’t swollen. Joe seemed shocked at first, but quickly overcame it and answered her kiss with equal amounts of animalistic wildness. Harper grabbed Patrick’s hand and pulled him out of the backseat, letting the two of them have some alone time.

She helped Patrick into Pete and Andy’s house, where Pete had already gotten a bag of ice and a washcloth to put on Patrick’s eye.

“Where are Cassidy and Joe?” Andy asked them.

“Well that you won’t believe,” Harper said.

Pete’s eyes widened. “No…”

“Oh yeah, it’s a huge slobbery mess in that car,” Harper joked.

“Dammit, I guess I gotta get that tattoo now,” Pete muttered, walking back over to the couch. “Well, that was a lot of fun guys, thanks for inviting us along to the rugby game from hell,” he said saluting Harper and Patrick.

Harper blushed. “I’m so sorry,” she looked at Patrick who had kicked his boots off and sat down on the other side of the couch. “I didn’t know…”

“It’s okay. I actually enjoyed it a little. I mean who doesn’t want to get in a good ole’ fight every once in a while?” Andy remarked.

Patrick raised his hand and groaned.

“I guess he’s got a point. Well, anyway, we got you some clothes to wear if you wanted to shower to get, you know unsticky,” Pete said, pointing to a t-shirt and sweatpants that were hanging over the side of the couch.

She escaped to the shower and quickly threw off all of her clothes that was drying slowly, but still reeked of beer. She let the warm water run over her body and she grabbed the bar of soap she found, not even caring whose it might have been or what body parts they washed it with. She heard the door slowly open and she peeked her head out, to see Patrick sneaking into the bathroom.

“Hey creeper,” she said giggling. He looked up at her startled, and she couldn’t help but giggle at how strange he looked with one eye covered with a bag of ice.

“Wow, I was going to surprise you,”

“But I have the ears of a fox,” she said. “What’s up?”

“Just checking on you.” He sat down on the toilet and she knew why he was checking on her. “I’m sorry they said those things about you Harper.”

She ducked her head back into the shower. She didn’t want him to see her if she started crying again. “It’s okay… well, not really, but there’s not much else to do, I guess. It’s not your fault though.”

“I know, but if you didn’t…”

“Don’t,” Harper said firmly. “I wanted to go to Chicago. I wanted to be with you and see what you did. I lied to my parents and to everyone. Not you.”

They were both silent for a second and then Harper suddenly remembered what she had been wanting to ask Patrick since the game. “Patrick did something happen to Pete in LA?”

She peeked out of the shower again and saw Patrick staring down at his feet. “Um, if you mean if he almost overdosed on antidepressants and went a little crazy then yeah, I guess so.”

“Oh my God, is he okay?”

“Well, look at him. He seems fine. I mean, I know he’s not, not really…. But, for now, he’s going to make it,” Patrick replied. He then gave her all of the details of LA, Pete’s penchant for staying out late, missing early recording times and apparently seeing her behind all of their backs, which led to his disastrous night in the hotel room with some bottles of pills. She remained silent, listening to the pain and frustration in his voice. “I’d do anything for him, Harper. But, I mean, I was so angry at him. How could he just try and leave us you know? Me, Andy and Joe. We need him, I need him.”

Harper turned the shower off and grabbed her towels, wrapping her body and hair up. “Patrick you put up with a lot for being only 18,” she said softly, not just meaning Pete.

Patrick stood up and closed the gap between them. “Harper, it’s all worth it, don’t worry. Pete, the band, you… you especially are worth it to me.”

“Even when you’re getting beat up and dealing with my tendency to freak out?” she asked him.

“We all freak out, we all just do it differently,” he bent forward and kissed her forehead. “And, this black eye gives me a story to tell… and some character.” He grinned boyishly.

“Yeah, you’re full of character all right,” she replied teasingly. He shook his head and pulled her close to him with his one hand, pressing his lips against hers.

After her shower, Harper curled up on the couch with Patrick. Joe and Cassidy had finally made it inside and Pete and Andy were harping on them about their car make out session, which Joe fended off with great irritation. Cassidy just sat there rolling her eyes, but when she looked over at Harper, she gave her a small smile. Harper could read Cassidy’s face by now, and what she was telling her was that she enjoyed making out with Joe. Even though Patrick was still icing his black eye and the other guys had a couple of scratches and bruises on their faces, for some reason, in that moment, Harper felt entirely content with everything in her life. She decided to pull her phone out and scrolled through her Facebook, then her Tumblr and finally Twitter before opening up her mail to check it. When she did, the first message she came across caught her off guard. She stared at the recipient’s name, her eyes bulging out and her neck craning to make sure she read it right. Then she tapped Patrick’s shoulder.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“Patrick, the Diane Woodall just emailed me,” she said turning her phone to his face.

For whatever reason, Patrick didn’t look too shocked by this, but then again, Harper knew that he didn’t read her series and had just seen the movies when Harper forced him to watch them all, so this news probably didn’t get him as excited as it did her. “That’s that author you like right?” he said.

She gasped. “Patrick, she’s the author! And…” she paused, reading the email. “She wants to speak with me? Why?” she looked Patrick as if he had the answers. He just shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know, maybe you should meet her.”

“Oh god, I can’t. I don’t know what I’d say. I mean, I’ll probably end up drooling all over her desk or something.”

“Well, that’s one way to make an impression,” Pete laughed.

Harper groaned. “I don’t think I can do it. I can’t go, I just won’t respond.”

“What!” Patrick exclaimed. “No, Harper, you are going to meet her. She is your idol right? How can you not want to meet her?”

“Because I don’t know what she wants. Why does she want to talk to me? Maybe Dr. Margold told her about the rewrite I did of one of her chapters from her books for an assignment and she’s mad at me… Or, she…” Truthfully, Harper had no idea why the author that she looked up to was emailing her asking her to meet with her.

She felt Patrick’s free hand cover hers. “Harper, don’t over think it. Just go. If you want, I’ll go with you to make sure you don’t faint or back out or whatever.”

She nodded. “Yeah that’s a good idea. Thanks babe.” She opened up a reply email. “So, I guess I’ll reply to her then….” Her fingers shook as she nervously typed up a response.