[ 32 ] 2013

When Calum left that night, Ashton remained in Harley's bedroom. He had nowhere else to go. The house that now belonged to the Quinns was the only home he knew. She had gone into her bathroom to change into something comfortable for the night and emerged wearing a pair of white shorts and a black tank top that Cindy had given her with the words 'St. Genevieve's Cheerleading' on it. Her hair dyed black with electric blue tips was pulled back into a pony tail. It was a warm night in the Australian summer and she wanted to keep refreshed.

Ashton coughed awkwardly, looking at the way she was dressed. "Doll, don't you think that's a bit too exposed?"

She rolled her eyes at him and climbed into her bed. Her legs kicked her thick blanket to the other side, she wouldn't be using it. Rolling her eyes playfully at him, she said, "I don't want to bake like a chicken in this heat just because seeing skin makes you uncomfortable." A smile played on her lips. She always found it rather amusing the way in which he had seen several generations go by, yet his mind was still stuck in the early sixties.

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable." He told her. "Not in the way you think."

"I'm not thinking anything." She said to him innocently.

After she spoke, there was a silence between them which lasted a couple of minutes. Harley bit her lip nervously, noticing that there were thoughts that bothered him. She wanted to know what those were. It was a few more moments before he finally spoke up. He had been debating with himself on whether or not he should ask her, but he needed an answer. "Harley, can I ask you a question and will you promise you'll answer truthfully?"

She nodded, but said nothing.

His face completely serious, he continued, "Ever since you moved here, you have made things more interesting. Before I met you, all I wanted was to move on, to be reunited with my family wherever it is that souls go once the body dies. But now...I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you because...I've realized I'm in love with you. My question for you is...what are your feelings for me?"

"Oh Ashton," She began, "I really like you too. You're so kind and you always help me whenever I need you." Harley paused for a moment. She was definitely attracted to Ashton, but how normal would it be for her to admit that she could possibly be in love with a ghost? 

Her thoughts then drifted to Calum. He also did so much for her. Calum actually cared about her. 

"If you are unsure of your answer..." He sighed, his hazel eyes looking down at the ground. "Take your time, I don't want to rush you." Her lack or a response wasn't exactly a bad thing, but he knew it wasn't a good thing either. In his fear and hesitance to show her how he felt, he thought maybe it had taken him too long.

"Ashton..." She began.

But he stopped her. "I'm going to go find Claire and have a talk with her. Hopefully she'll believe I've changed my mind and am willing to help her. Goodnight, doll."

"Goodnight." Harley said back, but he was already gone.

-

When Harley woke up the next morning, Ashton still wasn't back. She wondered what had happened to him. Her thoughts made her assume the worst; that maybe he had gotten back together with Claire and wanted to continue to the afterlife with her. 

She got out of bed, dressed as she was and went downstairs for breakfast before she would return to her room to shower and get dressed for school. Her jaw dropped in surprise when there was a new person at the kitchen table, chatting with her mother, but this was a person she knew from before moving to Sydney. They both turned at they heard Harley walk in. The girl sitting at the table with Harleen took one look at Harley and crinkled up her nose. "St. Genevieve's Cheerleading?" She read the words on Harley's shirt, but they came out as a question. "Since when are you a cheerleader?"

"Isn't it great?" Harleen sighed happily. "Harley has lots of friends at her new school and is even on the cheerleading squad. I'm so proud of her."

Running a hand through her hair, Harley explained with a lack of enthusiasm, "They forced me to join a club or a sport at my new school, and I got stuck with the cheerleaders." Gesturing to the backpack on the girl's shoulders, she asked, "Shouldn't you be back in Perth, maybe going to school or something?"

This girl had jet black hair like Harley's, but hers had red at the tips. She shrugged her shoulders, "You said you would visit after moving to Sydney, but you never did. I thought we were best friends, Harley. And I didn't even get one phone call from you. You lied to me, you're a liar."

Harley rolled her eyes playfully. "Cut the drama, Phoenix."

"You know me." Phoenix joked, "Always dramatic."

"How did you even get here?" Harley wondered.

"There's a weekly retreat with my church youth group. And we aren't allowed to use technology. So I told my mum I was going there, and that she wasn't allowed to call me." Phoenix explained. 

Getting up from her seat at the table, Harleen said, "Well, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that or else I'm going to be forced to call your mother." She walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a plate of food which she had prepared for her daughter. Handing it to her, she said, "Eat and then go get dressed before you're late for school.

-

Phoenix waited for Harley in the livingroom while she changed into her school uniform. Just as Harley made her way down the stairs, the door bell rang and she had to go answer it. Standing outside her door was Calum, ready to give her a ride to school.

"Ready to go?" He asked her.

Harley nodded. "Yeah, just give me a moment. A friend visited me from my old school and I want to know if she wants to come to school with me." Calum craned his neck to look inside the house where the girl was sitting on the couch. Harley saw the smirk form on his lips and swatted his shoulder, shooting him a warning, "Don't you even dare say anything."

"I wasn't." Calum said innocently.

He remained at the front door while Harley went towards Phoenix. Her friend also had something to say about Calum. "Is that your boyfriend?" She asked in a whisper. "He's hot."

"No!" Harley whispered back. "He's a friend who gives me a ride to school. Do you want to come with us or do you want to stay here all day?"

Phoenix thought about it.

"I guess I'll go." She finally said.

"Okay, come with me." Harley took her friend's hand and dragged her up the stairs toward her bedroom. "You can borrow one of my uniforms and then maybe you can pass off as a St. Genevieve student."

It only took them a couple of minutes and they both emerged from the top of the stairs. Calum was still waiting for them at the front door. Before heading to school, Harley introduced the two of them. "Phoenix, this is Calum. Calum, this is my best friend Phoenix."

"I'm her boyfriend." Calum winked as he shook Phoenix's hand.

"I knew it!" Phoenix shouted. "Wow, Harley, you've become such a liar."

Harley shook her head. "You don't know Calum. He likes to say we're together, but we're really not."

"And what kind of name is Phoenix?" Calum asked, her name finally registering into his mind. It was odd, he had never heard it before. At least not as a person's name.

Phoenix sighed. "Its my name and last name combined. Phoebe Nixon."

"Oh," Calum said. "That's pretty clever."

Taking the car keys from Calum and handing them to her friend, she said,  "Phoenix, will you wait for us in the car? I need to talk to Calum alone."

She nodded and walked off, leaving them.

"Can we be normal, just for one week?" Harley pleaded, "I don't want Phoenix to freak out."

"You mean you don't want me doing things like this?" Calum grinned as they both looked at Phoebe. She had just hit the button on the car key to unlock the Camaro, but with a quick wave of his hand, the car locked before she could open the door. Phoebe tried a few more times, but with the same result.

"Stop it." Harley warned.

"Okay." Calum chuckled. "I promise I'll be a good boy."

"Just for one week." Harley told him. "Try to be normal for one week."

But she herself was unsure if they would be able to pull it off.

-

another update! yes.

since we don't know much about harley's life before she moved to sydney, i thought i would bring one of her friends out to visit her. will they be able to manage being normal human beings for a whole week? who knows.

question of the day: how long have you been on wattpad? i have been on wattpad for almost three years. i started out writing janoskians fanfics, then i moved onto 1d, then 5sos, and now football fanfics. the only reason why i started posting on here was because i was really sick and bedridden during the summer/fall of 2012 and thought i could spend my time writing stories. had i been healthy, i probably would have never came here. probably would have spent my time doing other things. and now i have 11K friends ^.^ i am so grateful for all of you. thank you so much for your support.

i love you!

-clary xx