Larkin struggled to catch up with a briskly walking Maxime, who was too engrossed with mowing the lawn. He made longer strides through the meadow of dew covered grasses that swayed lightly to the gentle whistling wind and weaved itself together with broken twigs and clumps of moss. Taking in a sharp breath, Larkin wheezed out loudly when Maxime reached the barn. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

Maxime, dressed in a loose checkered shirt and his infamous smirk sticking to his lips, halted in his tracks. He had tied his obsidian black hair into a low ponytail, making him look like a low budget pirate. Larkin resisted rolling his eyes, when Maxime said. "No problem, man. How can I be of service?"

Larkin rubbed his neck nervously. This wasn't something he was used to, and Maxime seemed to notice. "You're usually good with girls, right?" It felt so weird to even ask. Normally Larkin used to know what to do. He used to be good with girls. Hell, he had everyone falling at his feet. But now, this particular girl was immune to everything and he didn't know what to do.

Maxime took a moment to stare at him like he grew another head on his body, before finally settling into a grin. "Are you joking?" Larkin's eyebrows had drawn tightly, almost making Maxime laugh. "Okay, fine. I see that you're not. Jesus, you're like a wounded animal. Always on the defense. Sheesh."

"This is so embarrassing. I'll just get going. Sorry I asked." He clicked his tongue gruffly.

Maxime stopped him before he could make his way out. "Slow down, man. I'm just surprised you're casually talking to me. But it's cool. I'm pretty good with girls. Don't let my complicated relationship with Leona make you think otherwise." With a wide grin on his lips, he added with sheer confidence. "Usually women find me pretty charming. It's my God given talent."

An eye roll was thrown in Maxime's direction. "With an ego like that, who can blame them."

"Thanks for your sarcasm, boss. It's liberating." Maxime nudged Larkin's arm with his elbow teasingly. "Are you really having girl trouble?" Larkin's silence was met with a throttling laughter. "What? A girl's willing to talk to you? What girl? Oh wait, you're talking to girls online? It has to be that. Good for you, man. You're finally going to get some. I always assumed you had your balls chopped off, since you've never had a girl over. But this is pure relief."

Larkin snorted. He didn't care much about what people thought of him but somehow, hearing them from Callista made it a hard pill to swallow. It was better people didn't misunderstand his friendship with Callista, so he just went with whatever Maxime assumed. "Whatever. Yeah, a girl online. She's different from people and honest about herself to me. And that's not something I'm used to. So, I lashed out and messed things up. I said some things I wished I could take back. Things ver—"

"So you were your usual grumpy ballbusting self?"

Larkin scowled at him. "I'm not grumpy."

Stifling what looked like a grin, Maxime coughed out his words. "Continue your story."

"Fine, just quit interrupting me." Maxime raised both hands in agreement, letting him talk. "My words got her angry and now she's ignoring me."

Maxime whistled. "Damn, you got ghosted. That's deep. When did it happen?"

"A couple of hours ago. Around lunch."

Maxime nodded. "Good. Don't let it drag on for too long. Girls are like time bombs. The longer you wait for it to detonate, the closer you get to an explosion you can't avoid." Larkin raised an eyebrow, which made Maxime grin. "Just don't tell anyone I said so. It's one of my self-help expert secrets."

Larkin bit back asking Maxime how much of an expert he was if he couldn't win Leona back. "Sure. Any other helpful tips?"

Maxime had a serious look flashing over his face. "Apologize. That's the surest certified tool to ease a wom—"

"I've done that. I think." He said, trying to ignore the burning pain in his right leg. The intense uneasiness seemed to weigh him down.

"You think?" Maxime's eyebrows raised quizzically. Larkin shrugged again, holding the end of his walking stick and leaning against the wooden barn wall. "Clearly, you messed up and your apologies hold no meaning to her right now, so you need to kick it up a notch. Usually, gifts would do the trick for me when it comes to a random chick but according to you, this girl's special and honest too. So, do what she needs. Tell your truth. Own up to it. Explain why you said the things you said. Don't argue. Don't try to be an ass. She'll listen to you, when you're vulnerable and sincere. She'll know it. If she's a smart girl and you're open about things, she'll see right through you and understand your feelings. "

Larkin blinked at him. "Wow. I'm surprised you had something like this in you. You actually have good advice."

"I've had the practice." He shrugged, then gave out an overstretched grin. "Look at how vulnerable you look. I bet you don't dislike me anymore. I mean, why would you? I'm so cool. Probably the coolest person you'll ever meet. I'm practically an underpaid life coach. I should totally ask for a raise."

Larkin fought back a grin. This dude was just like an energy ball that kept swinging life to everyone around him. He was once like this. But now, that energy ball in him was gone and he wasn't sure if he wanted it back.

★★★★
Callie spotted Larkin walking—no, limping around—and mumbling to himself like he was rehearsing lines from a play. He paused, when he saw her and his serious expression had softened. "Hey, Callista. Can I have a second?"

Callie felt a mixture of feelings run through her. She had been so angry at him for hours and didn't realize how much she missed seeing him, until he stood dangerously close to her. Despite whatever feelings she felt within her, Callie did see him as a friend and she hated how fragile the relationship felt. "I'd like to talk to you too."

Larkin demanded softly. "Me first. I fucked up. I'm a selfish prick who couldn't stand the idea of sharing pieces of myself with anyone. You are the best thing that has happened to me since my accident and I didn't know what to do with it."

Callie's breath hitched. Her heart drummed like it was in a marching band. "The best thing?"

His ears went pink. Larkin Hammell actually stuttered. That was a rare sight. "I-I-mean that in the most platonic way. I'm really not good at apologies and I'd hate for you to be mad at me."

Despite feeling crestfallen by his words, Callie knew it was time to own up to her truth. She owed herself that much.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm just upset because you were right all along. It was a change of pace I wasn't used to." She blew out air sharply, clarifying her words. "Larkin, you were right. You're the only person I'm honest with and that's a lot because I'm not even honest with myself. Just like you, I have a huge chip on my shoulder that weighs me down wherever I go. To other people, I'm a closed off sad girl who'd rather be alone because she lost her mom, takes care of her sick dad and can't even juggle everything without giving up on herself."

Her eyes dropped down, and the clicking sound of his stick drew nearer, till she felt a nudge on her shoulder and stared at his beautiful set of eyes. Larkin answered her quietly. "You're a mess, but you're the good kind of mess. Everyone's fighting a battle. Some are just better than others at hiding it and I guess we're the unlucky ones when it comes to that." Callie chuckled and it made him graze his eyes over that sweet smile. "I haven't had a friend in a while and it scares me when I picture losing you."

Callie sighed. "If it's any consolation, I've been a shitty friend to my only other friend in school because I don't know what to do with my emotions. But I want to be better." She gave a brief pause, then let out a snort. "I did make an effort to befriend a guy that has a crush on me. Somehow, I think I like his friends. They're fun. I misjudged them, but I'd rather die than to tell him any of that. He's insane."

Larkin winced. Of course other guys liked her. She was crazy attractive and had a sense of humor that would light everyone up. She continued to talk, with a flash in her eyes. "You know what? I'm going to make one new friend. To prove that I can be better. There's this guy I work with. He's a quiet one and customers seem to like him. His brother's dating my godmother, so it's only fair I'd make a real attempt to befriend him."

"Well that's brave of you. I don't think I could do any of that."

Callie elbowed him slightly, almost tipping him back. "You made me your friend, despite how terribly you express yourself and I'm sure there's a piece of your old self inside you. Have you even tried talking to the people you work with? Not just Mrs. Esther and Reneé. I'm talking about Maxime and Leona. They seem closer to your age."

Larkin protested. "They are, but—"

"No more excuses." She poked his chest. He glanced at her finger, once again saying nothing. "How about this? I'll be working at Alpha's tomorrow and Leona would be around for work. Here's the deal. I'll befriend Peter, my coworker and you'll do the same with Leona. When I come back on Friday, we'll make an assessment on who won and see how it went."

Larkin growled. "I don't like your idea. It involves me playing nice and interacting with Leona. You haven't met her yet but that girl's intense. I'm the same age with her, but she still does this thing that makes me feel small. I'm not going to put myself through that."

"No more excuses." She repeated. Larkin simply made a gruff-like sound. "I would have made us bet, but you're rich and I don't want to make this easy for you. I really want you to be brave."

"I'll be brave." His words came out softly from his mouth. He cast his gaze towards a framed picture of what seemed to be his parents. Callie could see where he got his good looks from. The couple, both with different shades of blond hairs, were both beaming widely like a pair of highschool students for a yearbook shoot, in the picture hanging against the wall. "I'll be brave for them."

★★★
Hi everyone.
So far, this is my longest chapter and it's so exciting.
I have decided to make my new chapters longer to appease the popular demand of those who privately asked for lengthy chapters. So you're welcome 😉😉.
Also, no one answered the question I penned down in the last chapter, so I'm going to go cry in my bathroom (😂😂😂)
Xoxo
Jasmine