Does Watching Disney Movies Alone In My Room Make Me A Loser?
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Excuse the mistakes
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You know what’s super cool?
Watching movies alone in your bedroom, and not just any movies; Disney princess movies. Tangled, The Little Mermaid, Brave, Sleeping Beauty; if you can name it, I have it. I wish I had some mature reason, like the art was fantastic or I was studying it for inspiration. However, in reality, I was just feeding my inner five-year-old.
School had been canceled today because the school had lost power, so I’d spent the better part of this Monday morning in my pajamas, watching movies. Currently, I was watching Anastasia with a bowl of Spaghettios in my lap. See? I was literally feeding my inner five-year-old.
Just as Anastasia was about to jump of the side of the ship she was traveling on with Dmitri and the others, there was a knock at my door. I jumped, since I wasn’t used to people knocking. My mom would usually barge in unabashed, and my dad would call to me through the door. The only one in this house who knocked was Duke, and that usually came from the door to our shared bathroom.
“Come in,” I said slowly, and I pointed my remote at my TV and paused the movie.
The door to my bedroom opened slowly, and just as I thought, it was Duke who walked into my bedroom. He was clad in a pair of flannel pants and a white v-neck shirt, and it made me feel slightly better knowing that I wasn’t the only one still in pajamas just shy of eleven o’clock.
In my movie marathon haze, my self-control was absent, and I couldn’t help but look Duke up and down. His pajamas hung loosely on his hips, and when he reached up to run a hand through his hair, I could see that v-muscle that made girls stupid. Duke’s shirt clung to his torso enough for me to tell he was defined, and I swallowed quietly.
Harper! Pull your damn self together!
I blinked and shook my head as the little voice in the back of my brain screamed at me to stop drooling over the boy standing in front of me. I cleared my throat and folded my arms across my chest as I looked at Duke expectantly, trying to hide the fact that I’d just been staring at him.
“Hey,” Duke said, and he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Hey there,” I replied, flicking my hair over my shoulder, “what’s up?”
“Your mom sent me to come get you,” Duke said, nodding back towards my door, “she said she needed to talk to us about something.”
I frowned, and as I pushed back my blanket and swung my legs over the side of my bed, I asked, “Did she look mad, sad, or indifferent?”
“What?” Duke replied with a confused frown.
“I’m trying to figure out if I should be worried about what news she’s about to throw our way,” I explained as I stood up. I slid my slippers on and walked over towards Duke and the door.
“Oh, okay,” Duke said with a nod, and he thought for a moment before saying, “she was definitely mad, but she was trying to contain it.”
“Alright,” I drawled, and I tipped my head to the side and tapped my pointer finger against my cheek. “Well, if she’s mad, someone must’ve messed up something that included her,” I stated confidently, “chances are good that she’s going to have to go and solve the problem.”
“What makes you think that?” Duke replied doubtfully.
“Why else would she be telling us?” I replied with a shrug, and I led Duke out of my room. We walked down the hallway, and as I descended the stairs, I could hear my mom swearing at someone or something. Sure enough, when I entered the living with Duke right behind me, my mom had her phone pressed to her ear, and she looked pissed off.
My mom saw Duke and I walk into the living room, and she gave a hurried goodbye before hanging up her phone. With one hand on her forehead and the other one on her hip, my mom nodded at the couch in front of her. “Sit,” she commanded tiredly, and Duke and I didn’t hesitate.
“Is everything okay, Mom?” I asked, and my mom snorted and ran a hand through her hair.
“Do you remember a couple weeks ago, when I told you that we were moving your grandma to a nursing home?” My mom asked, and I nodded as the memory came back to me.
My grandmother on my mother’s side was getting to the point where she needed help, so my mom and her siblings had sat down and made a decision. They were going to move her out of her home in San Francisco and into a nursing home near one of my uncles, who lived in Monterey Bay.
“Well,” my mom continued, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, “that was supposed to be this weekend. However, your dumbass Uncle Luke neglected to tell me that he will be out of town this weekend for an alleged business trip.” My mom pursed her lips before disdainfully adding, “We all know that means he’s just avoiding responsibility.”
“So what does that mean?” I asked, but I was already sure that what I’d predicted a few minutes ago to Duke was true.
“It means your father and I have to fly to California on Thursday, and we probably won’t get home until Monday,” my mom stated with a sigh.
“We’re going to be home alone?” Duke asked, glancing over at me.
“Yeah,” my mom confirmed, “I don’t like leaving you two alone this long, but I can’t afford to bring you guys with me. Plus, I trust both of you not to have wild sex all over the house while we’re gone.”
“Wow,” I said loudly, and I could feel my cheeks flushing. I avoided looking at Duke and said, “That was really unnecessary.”
“Was it?” my mom replied, and she looked at Duke and then to me with her eyebrows arched suggestively. I slapped my hand over my mouth if possible, I blushed even more. I hesitated before reluctantly looking at Duke, who was a red-faced as I was. Suddenly, my mom’s phone rang, and she swore before hurrying out of the room to answer it.
Enter the awkward silence.
“Well,” Duke said, and he stood up and walked in front of me, “You were right.”
“I’ve had seventeen and a half years of experience,” I replied with a nervous laugh, “Of course I’m right.” Duke and I looked at each other, and we both smiled. “Sorry about my mom,” I added after a moment, and I exhaled loudly, “she must’ve decided not to wear her filter today.”
Duke laughed and shrugged. “Don’t worry about it,” he said dismissively, “my mom has said worse things, and she’s made sure to do them at the worst possible times.” That was a pretty poor time, I thought, but I didn’t say it out loud. Instead, I pushed myself up off of the couch and walked out of the living room.
“I think I’m going to head to the studio for a bit,” I called over my shoulder, “I need to work on my portfolio, and I figure I have the time today to really make some progress.”
I’d told Duke about the competition for the Marx Gallery, and the deadline was coming up in only a few weeks. I had one piece that I felt was strong enough to submit, an abstract painting I’d done earlier in the year, but I still had a couple pieces that I needed to complete. I really wanted at least one of my pieces to be chosen, but now I was under a time crunch, and inspiration wasn’t exactly flowing through me.
As I was halfway up the stairs, Duke cleared his voice, and I stopped and turned around to see him standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Can I come with you?” Duke asked, and I hesitated, so he quickly added, “I’ve got nothing to do here, and I just want to get out of the house. I promise not to bother you, Harper.”
“Fine,” I said reluctantly, and Duke grinned and started to say something. However, I held up my hand. “Bring something to do, and if you start to get distracting, I reserve the right to make you sit in the car until I’m done.”
“Yes sir!” Duke replied with a mock salute, and he smirked at me.
“Nice,” I commented with a raised eyebrow, and then I pointed at him. “Street clothes instead of pajamas are probably a good idea, too.” Duke nodded, and then I added quickly, “ten minutes and then I’m leaving.”
With that, I turned and hurried up the rest of the stairs. I could hear Duke coming along slowly behind me, and I walked into my bedroom and shut the door. The first thing I did was throw my sketchpad and charcoals into my shoulder bag, and I also tossed in my wallet and car keys.
I stripped out of my pajamas, and I rummaged around in my dresser until I found a presentable outfit. I shimmied into the dark wash jeggings, and then I tugged on a mint sweater. Not wanting to be rid of feeling cozy, I unearthed a white scarf from my closet. After looping it around my neck, I raked a brush through my snarled hair until it was lying flat and untangled.
“Duke,” I called, and I walked across the room and opened the door to the bathroom. “Duke, are you ready to go yet?”
Duke’s door to the bathroom swung open, revealing a shirtless Duke holding his toothbrush. Thanks to my teenage hormones, my breath caught in my throat, and I found myself struggling to find words to say. Thankfully, Duke talked first, and I was able to tear myself out of my estrogen-fueled trance.
“Yeah, just give me a second,” he replied, and it took me a moment to realize that he was answering my question. I watched as Duke pulled on a black, Radiohead shirt, and then he grabbed a jacket and a book. When he turned around, I got a glimpse at his ass, which was no disappointing.
Hey, don’t judge. Ladies, we know we’ve checked out a guy’s tooshie before.
“Alright,” he said, and he started through the bathroom towards me, “I’m ready to go.”
“Great,” I replied.
“Harper?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to move?”
“Right!” I said, way too loudly, “Right, sorry. C’mon, let’s go.” As I led Duke downstairs, I mentally kicked myself for being so stupid.
*
I’d been staring at a blank canvas for at least half an hour.
I thought coming to the studio to the day would help me find my inspiration, but it hadn’t. Ruby and Hank were back from their cruise, which Duke and I got to hear every single detail about, and then I’d been forced to use my least favorite studio because the other two were in use already.
Suddenly, the door to the studio creaked open, and I whipped around to see Duke walking into the room. While I’d been in the studio, frustrated and stumped, Duke had been talking to Derek about something that had to do with cars. I’d heard two minutes of the conversation, realized that I had no idea what either one of them was talking about, and then I’d gone to my studio.
“Sorry,” Duke said quietly as he saw I’d been sitting in front of my canvas.
“No, it’s fine,” I replied, and I put down the piece of charcoal I’d had gripped in my fingers for at least the past ten minutes. “I wasn’t doing anything that you could distract from.”
“That’s good,” Duke said, almost to himself, and then he stopped and looked at me with wide eyes. “I didn’t mean that it’s good that you’re not doing anything,” he explained quickly, apologetically, “I just meant that I didn’t want to distract you, and if you aren’t—”
“Duke, you’re fine,” I interrupted with a laugh, “Really.”
“Okay,” Duke replied, and he walked over to one of the paint-splattered tools. He sat down and pulled his book out of his back pocket, and I caught sight of the title. A Tale of Two Cities.
“That’s a really good book,” I commented, gesturing towards it with my charcoal-stained fingers. “We just finished reading it in my English class.”
“Yeah, I’m liking it so far,” Duke said with a grin, “I’m only in the beginning of Book Two, though.”
“Oh, that’s the best part,” I replied with an excited grin, and I sat back, “I’ll let you read, okay? And get excited because chapter 13 is going to rip your heart out.”
“Fantastic,” Duke muttered sarcastically, and I watched as he opened his book and began reading.
Duke had one leg resting on the cross bar of the stool, and the other on the ground, and he had assumed a pose similar to The Thinker. He was frowning in concentration, and his forehead was furrowed. Absentmindedly, I reached for my charcoal, and I started to put work down on my piece.
Before I knew it, I’d roughed out Duke’s basic shape, and I was starting to add more depth. I was really happy with what I was working on, and Duke’s form was interesting to draw. I guess I’d found some inspiration.
“Hey, Harper?”
I glanced up from the canvas to see Duke looking at me with his book lowered to his lap. I wanted to yell at him and tell him not to move, but I also didn’t want him to know that I was using him as a subject. So, I just nodded and put my charcoal down.
“What’s up?” I asked, wiping my hand off on my thigh.
“You know how we have that big football game on Friday?” Duke asked.
“Vaguely,” I answered, wondering what he was getting at. “Why?”
“Well,” Duke drawled, and I noticed that he looked a little nervous, “Since your parents are going to be out of town, I was wondering if you wanted to throw a party after the game?
“A party,” I echoed, processing. “You mean a party with tons of people, garbage, and probably alcohol?”
“Yeah,” Duke confirmed cautiously. I thought about saying no because I knew that Duke wouldn’t have a party without my say-so. However, I wanted to say yes. I’d only been to two parties in my high school career, and both had actually been fun.
“Okay,” I said, and Duke’s jaw dropped.
“Are you serious?” Duke replied, and I nodded.
“Sure, why not?” I said with a shrug, and Duke still looked surprised.
“I’ll take care of organizing it,” Duke stated firmly.
“Good,” I replied, and then I thought for a moment before asking, “Can you just do me one favor?”
“What is it?”
“Keep me away from the booze.”
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Alright, update!
Do we think Harper is going to stay away from the booze at the party? Nope, probably not. Everyone loves drunk Harper. I know I do ;) Other opinions?
Song on the side is... hmm... what's a good song I've been listening to lately? oh, okay. "Hey Brother" by Avicii. It's been stuck in my head for awhile, so I'm sharing it with you because why the hell not?
Does anyone else here watch Dance Moms? Cuz I do.
Chloe's the best.
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