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Excuse the mistakes

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First things first, I’m the realest. Drop this and let the whole world feel it…

“Ow, shit!”

Pain shot through my toe as I stubbed it against my dresser in an effort to reach my phone. Olive had taken the time to make her personal ringtone “Fancy”, which had cost me ninety-nine cents without me knowing at the time. Since she was giving me a ride to school this morning, I should probably answer the phone, despite the fact that I was running late.

I grabbed my phone off of my bed and pressed answer. “Hello?” I called as I wedged the phone between my shoulder and cheek and started shoving my books into my backpack.

“Bitch, I am outside in my car,” Olive replied, and I could hear music in the background, “Where are you?”

“I’m running a bit late,” I stated as I hurried back into the bathroom. My hair was still damp and tangled from my shower this morning, so I started tugging my comb through my hair while staying on the phone.

“Shocker,” Olive muttered, her voice distorting a little. “You’ve got three minutes before I pull out of this driveway because if I’m late to homeroom one more time this quarter, Mr. Cross will have my ass.” Olive’s homeroom teacher seemed to have a thing against her, and he’d been threatening her with detentions lately.

“Alright I’m going as fast as I can,” I replied, and then I ended the call and shoved my phone in the back pocket of my jeans.

I know what you’re all thinking. Harper has a car, so why isn’t she just taking that to school? Well, I don’t own the car, I share the car. Duke had had an early football workout this morning in the school’s weight room, and he’d asked me if he could take the car. I figured I would get a ride with Olive like old times, so it was fine with me. However, I didn’t count on waking up twenty minutes late and then spending longer in the shower than I’d thought.

So here I was, late.

I decided to let my hair dry naturally, since I didn’t have time to do anything with it, and then I walked back into my room and pulled on my purple Vans. I grabbed my backpack, and after mentally making sure I had all my homework and such, I flicked off my bedroom light and ran out of my room and down the stairs.

“Do you want any breakfast, Harper?” My mom called from back in the kitchen.

“I’m late!” I yelled back as I opened the front door, “Can’t stop!”

I closed the door behind me, and I walked swiftly over to Olive’s car and ducked into the passenger seat. I buckled myself in and shoved my backpack between my legs, and after exhaling loudly, I glanced over at Olive, who was doing something on her phone.

“Aren’t you in a rush?” I asked, and she raised a finger at me.

“One moment,” she said, and she finished typing something and hit send. “Alright,” Olive breathed, locking her phone and putting it in her cup holder. “What were you saying?”

“Aren’t you in a rush?” I repeated, and Olive looked at the stereo clock and then swore.

“Yeah I did,” she grunted as she put the car in reverse. Faster than probably necessary, Olive backed out of my driveway and started on the way to school, which wasn’t that far. However, she was still speeding, and I felt bad for being late. It was only by like five minutes, but still.

Soon enough, Olive was turning into the school parking lot. Miraculously, she found a parking space pretty close to the building, and within seconds, we were out of her car and hurrying towards the school. As I held open the door for Olive, she flipped open her phone and squinted at the screen. Then, all sense of rush left her.

“What?” I asked, stepping into the school behind her.

“Mr. Cross isn’t in homeroom,” Olive answered with a grin. “We just have to sign in at the main office. So, I can take my time now.”

“So I busted my ass this morning for nothing?” I asked, throwing my hands up in the air. “Dude, I’m so out of shape. That was awful!”

“A little exercise never killed anyone,” Olive replied, and we turned down the hallway that led to her locker. “Besides, you were technically still late.”

“I… Well… Okay, point taken,” I said, conceding. Olive laughed as we reached her locker, and I watched as she spun her combination into the lock. I leaned against one of the neighboring lockers and sighed, and as Olive’s locker banged open, she glanced over at me.

“Speaking of exercise,” Olive said, pulling out a book, “How was your mystery date with Duke?”

“Exercise?” I asked, frowning. I hadn’t told Olive anything about the date yet, since it had only happened just yesterday, so she wouldn’t know about the bowling.

“Yeah,” Olive replied, shrugging, “making out burns a ton of calories!”

“We did not make out!” I cried, and then I blushed at the faces that turned to look at me. “We did not make out,” I repeated in a hushed tone, “We only kissed once, so you can just—”

“Holy shit, you kissed?” Olive asked, completely disregarding any comprehension of volume. People looked over at us for the second time in thirty seconds, and I winced.

“Do you realize how loud you’re being?” I hissed, grabbing her arm.

“I’ll shut up if you tell me the details,” Olive replied, grinning at me.

“Fine,” I said, and Olive’s smile broadened with excitement. She shut her locker, hooked her arm in mine, and we started walking down the hallway.

“Now, spill it!”

“Okay,” I started, the memories of last night coming to the forefront of my mind. “So the surprise date was that he took me bowling, except he kind of sucked at it. So I went to help him, and then it just sort of… happened. The kiss, I mean.”

“How was it?” Olive asked, and she smirked for a moment before continuing with, “Was it as good as you remember?”

I elbowed her playfully in the side for bringing up the whole mess at my Aunt Jenna’s wedding, but I did laugh. “I don’t really remember how it was the last time,” I replied lightly, since the alcohol had sort of distorted my memories, “but this time, the kiss was great.” It truly had been, and I hadn’t had a chance to do it again since.

“Did you kiss him, or did he kiss you?” Olive questioned intensely. This was turning into something of an interrogation, but I understood it since I did the same thing to Olive when she’d started dating Lillian.

“I kissed him,” I replied, and Olive applauded for a few moments.

“Very forward,” she commented, nodding her head. “I like it.”

“So did I.”

I jumped and let out a choked squeak in surprise, and I whirled around to find Duke standing a few feet away. He looked freshly showered from practice, and he had his backpack slung lazily over one shoulder. Obviously, he’d heard the last part of Olive and my conversation, and I reddened.

“Hey there,” I said, trying to act cool, “How was, um, practice?”

“It was too early for physical activity,” Duke replied simply, and then he looked from me to Olive. “Hey, Olive, is it okay if I steal Harper? I would like to walk her to homeroom if that is okay with you.”

“It’s fine by me,” she said, and then she winked at me before saying, “Have fun, kids.”

Olive looked from me to Duke one more time before chuckling and turning on her heel. She walked away and then disappeared behind a corner, leaving me alone with Duke. I would’ve thought that I would feel uncomfortable, since being left alone with guys before that seemed to have that effect on me, but I was actually really comfortable.

“Shall we?” Duke asked, extending a hand.

“We shall,” I replied, smiling at him as I slipped my hand in his.

Duke and I started walking down the hallway, the opposite way that Olive had gone, and I found myself very aware of our touching hands. I’d never really held hands with a boy before, and let me tell you something: touching hands might be the tamest thing you can do with someone, but there’s something in the simplicity that makes it feel really special.

“You okay?”

Duke’s voice brought me back to reality, and I shook my head. “What?” I asked, my eyes meeting his.

“I asked if you were okay,” Duke replied, and I realized that we’d stopped. “You were just sort of staring off into the distance.”

“Oh, right,” I said, feeling a little awkward. “I was just thinking about stuff.”

“What stuff?” Duke asked.

“Um…” My voice trailed off, since I didn’t exactly want to admit to thinking about holding hands. I wasn’t really ready to get into that ooey gooey stuff, at least, not out loud. “I was thinking about the… the English homework I didn’t finish,” I blurted. I mean, I really hadn’t finished my English homework, which was a really short character comparison. So that part was true.

“You should probably finish that,” Duke replied with a laugh, and we started walking again. “I would offer to help, but I’m shit at grammar… and anything English related. Math is much more my thing.”

“Well, it’s not mine,” I said with a shrug, “I had no idea what was going on during the whole unit we had on parametric equations.”

“Now that’s something I can help you with,” Duke stated confidently, and I laughed.

“Thanks, Duke,” I replied, and he let go of my hand so that he could wrap that arm around my shoulders. He pulled me close into his side, and I absentmindedly wrapped my arm around his abdomen.

That’s when I noticed all of the staring.

As Duke and I walked, both girls and boys were turning to look at us, and then most of the girls would glare at me. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable, like something stuck under a microscope. I tried to ignore all of the looks, but it got much harder when I started to be able to hear all of the things that the people were saying at me.

“Is anyone really surprised?”

“She was totally drunk at the party.”

“They went upstairs together, I saw it.”

 “What a slut!”

“She’s so desperate. It’s pathetic.”

Why me? I thought, mentally swearing. I wasn’t going to cry, and I wasn’t going to retaliate or say anything back. I knew I wasn’t a slut, and I definitely know that Duke and I did not do any of the things that they were whispering about. However, it still made me uncomfortable and upset that these rumors were flying around about me. I wanted them to stop.

“Hey,” I said, pulling away from Duke and stopping, “I should really get to homeroom.”

“Yeah, I know,” Duke replied, giving me a weird look, “Hence me walking you there. Plus, we have time. The warning bell doesn’t ring for a couple more minutes.”

“I know,” I said, shifting uncomfortably, and I could still feel the eyes on me.

“Harper, are you okay?” Duke asked, and he put his hands on my shoulders. I didn’t answer for a moment, and Duke took that moment to look around us. The expression on his face told me that he finally understood what was going on. “C’mon,” Duke said, and he grabbed my hand.

Duke pulled me into a nearby empty classroom; an action I knew would just spark more rumors, these ones about us having sex at school and stuff along those lines. However, I didn’t stop him. Instead, I let him sit me down at one of the desks, and then he stood in front of me.

“I’m sorry for telling people about what happened at your aunt’s wedding,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“You already apologized for that,” I replied, tipping my head to the side. “I already forgave you, Duke.”

“Yeah, I know,” Duke sighed, “But, I didn’t think it would still be causing stuff. It was my fault, and it is still my fault. I’m sorry for the shit people are saying. I know it’s not true, and so does everyone else who matters.”

“I know,” I said quietly, and I did know, but Duke saying so made me feel better. It also made me feel a little better knowing that Duke knew what was going on, and that I wasn’t in it alone.

“We’re in this together,” Duke said, taking my hand.

“Together,” I echoed, and a smile crept across my face.

“Yeah,” Duke replied, sharing my smile. “Now,” he said, pulling me to my feet, “Are you ready to go face everyone?”

I nodded, and Duke enveloped me in for a quick but snug hug. I let my head lay on his chest for a moment before pulling away, and together, like Duke said, we walked out of the empty classroom.

I was right about the spark of new rumors.

The hallways had gotten even busier with people trying to get to their lockers before the warning bell, and when we emerged, there were even more people looking. Duke squeezed my hand, which helped combat the knot in my stomach, and I exhaled quietly.

“Ready to get to homeroom?” I asked, turning to look at Duke.

“Almost,” Duke replied, and then, catching me totally by surprise, Duke pulled my hand towards him. I lost my balance and ended up falling into his chest, and he caught me and wrapped his arms around me.

Then he kissed me.

Right in front of everyone.

It was slow, it was soft, and it was innocent. My hands were trapped between our chests, so I could reach up and touch his cheek or anything, but that didn’t stop him from resting one of his hands on my shoulder. When Duke pulled away, it seemed like the kiss had lasted forever, yet not long enough.

“Okay,” Duke whispered, smiling, “Now I’m ready for homeroom.”

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Whoop, there it is. New Chapter. What do you think? check out that PDA. I love Olive. Also, I confused myself with the timeline. The party was friday, the hangover chapter was the next day, then the chapter afterwards with the bowling was sunday, and this chapter is monday. That's how it's supposed to read, at least.

Also, it's 1AM where I live, and I'm exhausted. However, I wouldn't let myself go to sleep until I finished this chapter and posted it. I think my tiredness is shown in the title of this chapter, but frankly, I can't think of anything else atm, and high school musical is actually the greatest thing in the history of the universe ever. And I mean this chapter has something to do with Harper and Duke being in it together.

I believe that next chapter, we're back in the art studio, maybe with a shirtless Duke. We shall see!

Also, I just finished a book! Go check out 'Thin Ice', which I completed a week ago. It's done, which means you don't have to wait for updates. yay.

kthanxbye.

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