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Excuse the Mistakes

Picture of Ruby (Juliette Lewis) on the side -->

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“Are you really going to keep ignoring me?”

I wasn’t even tempted to turn around and look at Duke as I walked out of the front door of my house and towards the awaiting Olive sitting in her car. I pulled open the passenger door and ducked down into the seat, and I quickly buckled myself in.

Taking one look at my tense expression, Olive grinned and asked, “So we’re not talking to Duke?”

“Affirmative,” I replied, and I looked at her out of the corner of my eye while still facing forwards. Olive snorted, and as Duke climbed into the car, her expression immediately changed from amused to blank.

I sensed Duke coming between the front seats, and he looked from me to Olive before throwing his hands up in the air and falling back into the backseat. “Are you guys serious?” he asked, and when we didn’t respond, he groaned. “This isn’t fucking kindergarten!”

The corners of Olive’s mouths twitched, but she fought the urge and stayed stony-faced instead of laughing. As funny as I found Duke’s kindergarten comment, I was too pissed off at him to waver. I did, however, flick on the radio because the silence in the car was getting awkward.

The ride to school seemed longer than usual, and when we finally pulled into the school parking lot, Duke let out an audible sigh of relief. Olive parked in her usual spot, and before she’d even turned off of her car, Duke was out of the backseat.

“Wow,” Olive commented, looking from the door to me, “He really wanted out.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could, someone knocked on my window. I jumped, slapped my hand over my heart, and whipped around to see who had managed to scare the crap out of me. Of course, it had to be Duke, and he was standing just outside my door. There was really no way to avoid him when I got out, which I knew is what he wanted.

“You could always crawl over to my side and get out of my door,” Olive suggested, putting a hand on my shoulder. I debated doing that for a moment, but then I just shook my head.

“I’m ignoring Duke because I’m pissed off,” I replied, shaking my head, “I’m not scared. He being there shouldn’t stop me from getting out of the car, and I don’t have to talk to him.”

“I see your point,” Olive said with a nod, and I gave her a small, pained smile before I reached for the door handle. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, and I let out a deep breath before pushing the car door open and climbing out.

Duke, with one hand on the top of the open passenger door, smirk triumphantly at me and said, “Harper, you and I both know I’m not going away. This whole childish game will end, and I will still be here.”

So many responses, many including the words “jackass” and “prick”, ran through my mind, but I just bit the insides of my cheeks and stayed silent. I left Duke to shut the car door behind me, and I walked over to Olive, who was texting someone, probably Lillian, while standing at the back of her car. I nudged her arm, and without looking up, Olive kept pace with me as we started towards the school.

“Harper, wait up!” Duke yelled, and I could hear the sound of his shoes slapping against the pavement as he hurried to catch up with us.

“Walk faster!” I hissed, and Olive snorted. However, she listened, and we kicked up our speed. I wasn’t going to outright run away from Duke, but I wasn’t going to slow down either.

“Hey Harper!”

I stopped in my tracks and glanced at Olive with a frown before turning towards the unfamiliar male voice that had called my name. It was one of the football players, which I could tell because of his varsity jacket, and he was sitting on the open bed of his pickup truck. He was surrounded by a couple teammates and some cheerleaders, and they were all smirking at me like they were just talking about me.

Let’s be honest; that was probably what had just happened.

The football player whose name I had no idea, winked at me and then had the audacity to point at his crotch and mouth something that looked like “wanna play?” His buddies laughed and high-fived and I looked over at Olive, who was glaring at the whole group. Then, I did something completely out of character, and I raised my hand high in the air and gave them the middle finger.

“Don’t be like that, baby!” the football player yelled back, and I rolled my eyes before grabbing Olive’s arm and pulling her towards the school.

However, before I could get too far, I felt a hand wrap around my upper arm, pull me away from Olive, and spin my around. Suddenly, I was face to face with Duke, and my temper flared immediately.

“Harper, don’t listen—”

“This,” I growled, gesturing around me, and with extra vigor at the pickup truck full of asshats, “This is all because you couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut! I’m not like you, Duke. I don’t need people knowing who I hooked up with because I don’t like being the center of attention. This is your fault!”

Then, I slapped him.

I slapped Duke across the face, turned on my heel, and stomped away. I didn’t stop to grab Olive as I passed her, though after a quick glance, I saw that she was surprised and amused at my little outburst. I myself was still too angry to be mortified at the scene I’d caused, which would no doubt add to the gossip about me.

I pushed into the school and immediately leaned against the stretch of wall next to the water fountain to try and understand what had just happened. I’d given people I never talked to before the middle finger, and I slapped someone. I’d never done either of those things before, and I was in shock.

“When did you become a badass, dude?” Olive asked as she squeezed my shoulder and walked around to face me. Olive was wearing a giant, excited grin, and she gushed, “Harper, I am so proud of you! You were, like, incredibly dramatic and wonderful! I cannot believe you slapped Duke, too. You should’ve seen his face afterwards; he looked like a lost puppy or something.”

“Serves him right,” I said with a sigh, and I crossed my arms loosely over my chest. “I’m going to head to homeroom, okay? I have a math problem to finish for first period, and it’s going to take a while.”

“Okay,” Olive said brightly, and she nodded as I pushed away from the wall. I walked past her, but only managed to get a few steps before Olive called after me, “Hey, wait a second!”

“What?” I asked, stopping and turning to face my best friend.

“I know you don’t want to hear this right now,” Olive stated, putting her hands on her hips, “But I don’t give a crap because I’m your best friend, and my job is to tell you things you don’t want to hear.”

“What is it?” I asked, bracing myself for what she was about to say.

“I think Duke is genuinely sorry for what he did,” she stated, “I’m not telling you to forgive him, since you know me and my thoughts on making idiots suffer, but I’m just saying that he knows he was a jackass.”

“Good to know,” I replied emotionally, and without addressing the topic any more, I once again started towards my homeroom, pushing Duke out of my mind.

*

I’m so lonely, but that’s okay, I shaved my head and I’m not sad. And just maybe, I’m to blame for all I’ve heard, but I’m not sure.

The music floating through the stereo system in the studio today was that of Nirvana, and the late Kurt Cobain’s voice was fueling my inspiration. I had oil paints in all different colors splattered against my smock and jeans, and I’d managed to get more than a few drops on my face. It was here, covered in paint, where I was in the “zone”; I felt my most creative and focused.

After finishing the area I was painting, I set my palette down on the stool I was using was a table, and took a step back. Without giving it much thought, I put my chin in my paint-stained hand, I my eyes narrowed at the painting.

I’d only just started it today, but already I liked the direction. It was somewhat abstract, but it was inspired by the idea of a post-apocalyptic world. I was using more of the warm colors, which some hues of purple and dark blue more so around the edges. I knew that the piece was going to take a few layers of work, but I also knew it was going to come out amazing as long as I kept my inspiration.

Inspiration was a slippery little bitch sometimes.

As I reached for my paintbrush and palette once again, spotting an area which could use more dimension, the door to the studio opened, and I jumped almost a mile into the air. With my hand clutching my chest, I let out a deep breath and turned towards the door. I was expecting to see Derek, who kept popping in to watch the early developments in my new piece, but instead, I watched as Duke walked into the studio.

I waited until he’d taken a few steps towards me and stopped before letting the glaring commence. “What are you doing here?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I’d meant for it come out in a more demanding tone, but instead, it just came out tired.

“Your mom asked me to pick you up,” he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets, “She lent me her car because she said she had to get on a work call, and I was just watching TV.”

“Great,” I muttered replied, pursing my lips. I gestured towards the clock on the wall, “I’m going to need, like, five minutes to get to a place where I’m comfortable leaving my work, so you’re going to have to wait.”

“That’s fine,” Duke said, and then he nodded once before started to wander around the studio, looking at the jars of paint, the pieces of art hanging on the walls, and all the other things covering the counters.

I didn’t like having Duke around while I painted. It suddenly added a layer of unwanted pressure, whose presence I didn’t really understand, and I was uncomfortable. Plus, and petty as it seemed, my studio and my work were things that made me happy and gave me peace, and the fact that Duke, the guy who’d pretty much ruined my reputation, was walking around in all of that pissed me off. I didn’t want to risk him taking away my special place.

It took me a moment, but I was able to pick up my paintbrush once again, and with a reduced amount of focus, I managed to finish the basic framework of my new piece. Then, I picked up my palette and paintbrushes, and I walked over to the industrial sink to wash them off. The sooner I cleaned up, the sooner I could get Duke out of here.

“So, this is what you like to do?”

Speak of the devil, and he will walk over and start bothering you.

“Yeah,” I replied, using my fingers to make sure all of the paint was out of the bristles, “This is what I like to spend my time doing; painting.”

“It’s pretty cool,” Duke said with a nod, and I watched as he looked around the studio once more.

“Thanks,” I muttered, not wanted his approval. I didn’t need, and I may be being petulant, but I didn’t care. I was an angry teenage girl who watched too many chick flicks for her own good; I could be over dramatic.

After I finished cleaning the palette and paintbrushes, and I stripped off my smock and hung it in the back room, since it was still wet and I couldn’t put it in my backpack to take home. It wasn’t a big deal, though, since if I wanted to do anything paint related at home, I had at least two extra smocks.

I pulled my current piece off of the easel, and as I loaded it onto the drying rack, I heard the sound of the studio door opening once again. I glanced over my shoulder to see Ruby standing there, and after she did a double take at a confused looking Duke, Ruby caught sight of me and hurried over.

“I have something to tell you,” she said not so quietly, and then she pointed over her shoulder at Duke, “but first I want to know who that attractive piece of testosterone is.”

“That’s Duke,” I deadpanned, and Ruby tipped her head to the side, and I explained, “you know; the one I have been constantly ranting about.”

“Oh,” Ruby drawled, her eyes narrowing, “I see.” I’d been walking around the studio the past couple days, complaining to Ruby and Derek about how Duke was screwing up my life. If Hank had been here instead of being sick with the flu, he probably would’ve also gotten to hear about my teenage problems.

“Yeah,” I replied, and I glanced over Ruby’s shoulder to see Duke staring at both of us.

“You know,” Ruby said, “he may seem like an ass, but he still looks scrumptious.”

“You are married,” I replied with a laugh, and Ruby rolled her eyes. “So,” I continued, now smiling, “what is it that you wanted to tell me?”

“Oh, right!” Ruby cried, clapping her hands together, “I have some awesome news! The Marx Gallery is having a competition for young, rising artists. You submit a portfolio of work in any medium, and up to three of your pieces could be chosen for an upcoming exhibit!”

“Really?” I asked, my jaw dropping. The Marx Gallery was a prestigious art gallery that always showed the coolest art exhibits, featuring art from many well-known people. Lucky for me, the Marx was local, and I went there whenever I needed to be immersed in what I loved. I aspired to one day hang in the halls of the Marx, and this competition gave me that opportunity.

“Yes,” Ruby stated firmly, and she grabbed my hands and continued, “Derek, Hank and I all agree that you need to enter, okay? Nod your head and say yes!”

Without hesitation, I nodded my head and said yes.

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YAY UPDATE FINALLY!

Sorry it has been so long between chapters, but I have been slammed. This past week, I had a ton of meetings for the fall play at my school, which I'm student directing. In addition to meetings, I had two days of five hour auditions. 

But now, I have posted! What do you guys think? Impressions on Duke?

Also, school for me starts on Tuesday, so hopefully Thin Ice will be updated before then. I'm trying, but we'll see. I procrastinated on my summer reading so.... whoops.

Song on the side is "What Are You So Scared Of?" by Tonight Alive. I love this song and I have been a fan of theirs for forever. (a year, just about). The song in the chapter is "Lithium" by Nirvana, and I would've posted it, but I think I have before... so... yeah.

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