Chapter Eight

After the argument between Harken and Noel that night, it seemed he listened and obeyed what she said about staying away from her. It has been a few weeks now and neither of them has said a word to the other, never having the need to unless they want to. Harken hasn't offered to give her a ride to or from school since the last time, leaving before she gets up in the morning and going before she gets to the parking lot after class.

She avoided returning to Mr. Baldwin's class and ended up backing out from taking pictures for the homecoming dance, not bothering to go, and staying home to emerge herself in her painting like she did every other year. He was devastated, but there was nothing else he could do. Noel skipped the party at Karl's place, though Harken himself didn't attend either and locked himself in his room for the night instead, she didn't have it in her to go, regardless of if it meant giving up an opportunity to get closer to Nolan. Math is the only class they have together, and she sits at the front of the class while he sits at the back, never exchanging so much as even a look.

It was pure bliss for after the first few weeks, finally being free from him and sleeping soundly at night knowing she no longer has to worry about him. But after several more days of this, it is starting to make her uncomfortable and slightly guilty for some of the things she said that night, giving herself a lot of time and space to reflect on everything.

Although she feels she still had every right to be angry and upset that night, she does feel she crossed the line when once again pointing out his faults, something she does agree she has done too frequently since meeting him. She didn't mean to do it intentionally; it was always just a slip of the tongue because that's all she really saw him as.

But she forgets he is still just another teen like herself, who just walked a different path growing up. She may not entirely believe that he has changed his ways from who he was that landed him in juvie and under the care of her dad to begin with, but that doesn't mean she deserves to hold it against him for the rest of his life, or his remaining time with them.

On the other hand, she can't shake the feeling that Harken is holding some sort of grudge against her from the past, and after speaking with Priscilla after their argument, she kind of confirmed it. Although she couldn't recall much of what happened during that camping trip, she was 99% sure that Harken was on the trip with them, pulling up more photos that she managed to salvage from her storage of that day, and Harken is in a few of them as she mostly took pictures of group activities, she participated in.

Noel doesn't understand that if he does hold a grudge against her from back then, why he went out of his way to lie to her about it, saying he wasn't there and making up some story to further push his lie. Why would he expect her to remember him if he isn't trying to help her remember? On top of that, he keeps confusing her with his different attitudes, switching from being nice to being cold in a flash, never bothering to explain to her what's going through his head.

You would almost think he was a girl himself with how dramatic and sensitive he is.

Her dad has tried asking her if there is anything going on between the two of them, picking up rather quickly on the constant bad vibes Harken carries with him around the house, though he acts like nothing is wrong with the other students at school. Noel has tried her best to deny it, but having it go on for weeks now, it's getting harder to come up with excuses to explain his attitude and having him ignore both her and her dad, Harken isn't helping her in anyway.

He disappears every day after school and doesn't come home until later at night, just before Noel goes to bed and when her dad decides to come home the few times a week he does. She has no idea where he goes or what he is doing, knowing her dad is keeping a close eye on him regardless of if he is around or not, but still concerned he might be getting into trouble again due to his foul mood, pushing him back to where he was before after making the decision to turn his life around finally.

Not wanting to think so highly of herself, Noel can't help but feel she is the reason behind that if that is the case with Harken. She can't explain where else he might be disappearing to, assuming he doesn't have anyone he knows left here besides the other rebellious kids he used to hang out with that were also released recently with him. She only assumes this because the first few days he arrived here, he spent those days attached to her, following her every where she seemed to go.

That doesn't mean for sure he doesn't have any other friends, she thinks.

It's a Saturday and she has done nothing but lay in bed all morning and contemplate everything between her and Harken, even though once again he disappeared this morning on his bike to God knows where.

Her phone goes off with a message, dragging her out of her thoughts and off her bed, wandering over to her desk where her phone is still charging, she reads the message from Priscilla, asking if she can come over. Noel texts back confirming she can and puts her phone down to proceed getting ready to take a quick shower and get dressed before she comes over.

No one else being in the house, Noel unlocks the front door for Priscilla before going into the bathroom and finds her waiting for her in her bedroom when she gets out, looking like she is ready to go somewhere.

"Where are we going today?" Noel asks, not bothering to beat around the bush and ask why she came over.

"I want to do some shopping, my dad gave me some money to buy an outfit for a dinner party he has this weekend and as usual I talked him into giving me more than necessary, thankfully he never shops for my mom, so he has no idea how much a dress and shoes cost," she says and winks playfully, looking proud for swindling her poor dad out of his hard-earned money.

"I don't really have a whole lot of money; I'm trying to save up the allowance my dad gives me from time to time and the money my work earned for winter break. We're still going to that spa you wanted to go to, right?" Noel asks. It was more of an excuse, but still and honest one.

"Actually, I was thinking about that, and I overheard Amy and some of the other girls talking about how Karl is inviting a bunch of people from our grade to go with him to his parent's beach club in Miami for the winter break, and I thought that sounded way better than going to a spa we can go to at any time, my mom is a VIP member, so we get a discount anyway."

Noel wants to roll her eyes at how much Karl flaunts his parents' wealth, and at how much his parents let him do it, but she can't deny how envious she is as well. Having a beach club in Miami you can visit whenever you want during the holidays must be nice. Her dad might be a big time lawyer, but in the small town of Bisbee not a whole lot of crime happens and when it does, it's nothing bigger than a breaking and entering, or minor assault case.

"Won't we have to pay for that? I don't think I can save up that much money to go afford a trip like that," Noel frowns.

"Don't worry about that, I can cover our plane tickets there and back, you just need to save spending money for while we're there, the trip should last a week but who knows if we'll really stay that long. I heard Miami is the party central of the Florida state, but I've also heard that it's not as great as every says it is and being at a luxury beach house has it's perks for so long."

Leave it to Priscilla to complain about spending a week too long at a beach house and getting bored before the trip even ends. Noel knows that even a week at a place like that isn't enough for her to fully enjoy the luxury she imagines people with that wealth do on a daily occasion. She still hasn't had the chance to attend a party at Karl's, but she has heard the way Priscilla has described it before and can already imagine how grand it is.

"Alright, fine. Let me grab my wallet and bag, then lead the way," Noel says finally caving, she feels there is no way she can argue her way out of this and feeling slightly drained from the constant negativity in the house from Harken and his bad moods, she could use a break outside of the house and away from her own looming thoughts.

Driving to the downtown core, Priscilla finds a parking spot along the main strip and gets out, taking a look around at the many store options she can choose from to pick her first target. Seeing the fierce determination in her eyes, Noel is thankful she decided on sneakers for her footwear today.

After a few hours of hitting multiple clothing, shoe, and accessory stores, Priscilla finally settles for three different sets of outfits, all with matching shoes, necklaces, and earrings. Noel can barely feel her legs by the time they find a small bakery and café closest to the last clothing store they leave, taking their first break since arriving downtown.

"How do you have the stamina to walk and stand up this much?" Noel groans, collapsing herself onto one of the patio tables. Priscilla ignores her and waves down a waiter, ordering two extra strong lattes for them, requesting he add an espresso shot to Noel's. She gives her a glare when she hears this, but it quickly falters into an appreciative smile.

"It got you out of the house and out of whatever funk you've been in the past few weeks," Priscilla says, shooting her own narrowed look.

"What are you talking about?"

"You missed the homecoming dance, though I'm not surprised, but this year you offered to take pictures and help add more things to your college application but backed out last minute. Then, you also backed out on your promise to come with me to Karl's party, missing the opportunity with Nolan that I worked hard to get you. On top of that, you have been rejecting every other offer I have made to go out until today."

Noel opens her mouth to give her some excuse about being miserable living with Harken, but Priscilla quickly cuts her off. "You can't give me some bullshit about Harken bothering you, I know for a fact there is something going on between the two of you right now, and he is never home whenever I come over to your place."

"Why do you assume that means something is going on between us?"

Priscilla scoffs and rolls her eyes. "It's obvious with the way he's been creeping on you constantly the past few weeks. Don't tell me you haven't noticed? If so, you're the only one, I think even Nolan has started to notice it."

"No, I didn't notice. What do you mean he's been creeping on me? He hasn't so much as glanced at me since we had that huge argument, remember?"

Priscilla pinches her brows together, looking confused. "Have you guys not talked at all since then?" she asks.

Noel shakes her head. "Not a word."

"Well, that explains why he's acting the way he is, I guess. I've noticed him lingering around you quite a few times when we're in the hall or hanging around outside, he's always looking at you, but he never approaches you, even if you're alone. I even tried asking him what was up one day, but he brushed me off, he didn't even try and give me some snarky comment, nothing."

This confuses Noel even more than she has already felt since her last conversation with Harken. Just what does he want? What is going through his head and what is their connection? She has so many questions, but she isn't sure if she still wants them answered. It's been weeks now and Harken has made no attempt to try and apologize to her or return to their conversation to try and clear the air in anyway. It's obvious he doesn't seem to care about what happened and it happier forgetting it and pretending like she doesn't exist to get through until he leaves.

Will he really continue living like this with me for the remainder of the school year? It's barely been a month, yet I can't barely take this anymore.

"What are you thinking?" Priscilla asks.

Noel shakes her head and laughs to herself a little. "So much, I'm not sure what to focus on. Harken lied to me about the trip and knowing me in the past like he doesn't want me to find out, but from our last conversation he kept pressuring me about not remembering something, accusing me of even pretending and playing innocent. I just don't know what to think right now."

"Do you think something happened during that trip between the two of you, and he isn't telling you himself because he just wants you to remember?"

As crazy and delusional as that sounds, it does sound like something Harken would resort to doing just to mess with her, if he really does have a grudge against her and is using this opportunity to get revenge by making living with him a living hell. It would at least explain his hostility towards her from the moment they met, using every weakness he can find against her.

"I've thought about it, and I really can't remember, it was so long ago I forgot the whole trip even happened. I think that was just before the summer I fell out of the tree at your parent's cottage, remember? I can't really remember that time either, but my dad had said we wanted to build a tree fort or something, so we climbed it to find a sturdy branch and see if it was possible, but I managed to fall," Noel says, trying to recall the memories but quickly getting a slight headache.

Priscilla hums to herself and thinks back, vaguely remembering that as well. "Yeah, I remember you spent a lot of time in the hospital after that, you were really sad afterwards because you missed out on the whole summer and most of the beginning of our grade 10 year."

Noel nods her head, remembering a bit more as she thinks about it. She was so worried about missing too much school that she would be held back in the end, so she had Priscilla and her dad bring her schoolwork to do in the hospital while she recovered, having suffered a bad head and back injury, breaking her collarbone and tailbone from the fall.

"Anyway, we came out here to have fun. Finish your drink, then we're going to head to the mall and spend whatever I have left at the retro arcade they have there, I've had my eyes set on a Tetris lamp they have there, where it's composed of actual Tetris pieces that light up when placed together, it's the coolest thing ever," Priscilla says and downs her latte.

Noel gapes at her and tries to hastily sip at hers, unable to down it like that with how much it still burns her tongue. Once she is done Priscilla waves the waiter down again to get the bill, just as a familiar voice calls out to them.

Noel's heart picks up speed as she turns and meets the bright face of Nolan James, thankful she it already seated when he gives her his adorable, crooked grin.

"Noel, Priscilla, fancy meeting you guys here," he says, and Noel can't help but take notice to how he says her name first, trying not to overthink it and let her thoughts run wild.

"We were just out doing some shopping and taking a break. What are you doing out here?" Priscilla says when she notices Noel is once again too starstruck to say anything.

Nolan scratches the back of his head, making him appear even cuter than Noel thought possible. "I was hanging out with Karl and a few of his friends, but I'm not really familiar with them, they're kids of parents that his parents are friends with, we don't really have a lot in common."

Priscilla kicks Noel under the table and gives her a look that she hopes signals to say something to contribute to the conversation.

She jumps in her seat and quickly turns to Nolan, stammering as she racks her brain for something natural and not weird to say. "W-we were about to go to the arcade. Would you, uh, like to come?"

Her face heats up when he flashes her a cute smile, looking like an excited puppy and nods his head. "That sounds like fun, I'd love to."

"Alright, I've paid the bill, lead the way," Priscilla says. She gives Noel a thumbs up and a wink for her good save when Nolan turns his back to them, linking her arm with hers as Noel rolls her eyes, but can't help but feel a little giddy and proud of herself as well.

The walk to the mall is short and thankfully Priscilla provides most of the conversation on the way there, complaining about the dinner party she has to go to next weekend. Nolan mentions that Karl is throwing another party and tells her she is welcome to stop by after the dinner if she needs a place to unwind.

"If you can make it this time, you're welcome to come too, Noel. It would be fun to have you there," Nolan says, giving her another sweet smile. Noel stumbles over her words again, unable to save herself this time. To her saving grace, Priscilla opens the mall door which sets off a bell up top, cutting off their conversation as they walk through and locate the arcade not too far in.

The place is full of load music with heavy bass and a few kids screaming and laughing near some of the games, most of the place pretty empty for a Saturday afternoon. Priscilla and Nolan walk up to the counter to pay for tokens, with Nolan quickly denying Priscilla the chance to pay for anything and saying the day was on him.

"Well, I guess chivalry isn't dead after all," Priscilla mutters to Noel as they stand off to the side and wait for Nolan to finish the transaction.

Priscilla suddenly pulls on her arm and points over towards a set of arcade games lining the far wall of the store. "Isn't that Harken?" she asks.

Noel peers at the back of the all too familiar frame, feeling her heart both drop to the pit of her stomach and start to race, making her feel slightly nauseous.

What is he doing here?

Before she has the chance to think about it, a girl comes into view with long black hair almost reaching her past her curvy, petite waist. She walks up to Harken and wraps her arms around his, pulling his attention away from the Street Fighter arcade game he is playing.

Noel watches as he smiles down at her, a smile she has never seen him give her before. She never knew he could look so nice and smile so sweetly at someone until now.

She can't explain why but she can't handle looking at the touching scene between them and quickly turns away, her chest feeling tight and her stomach growing more nauseous than before.

"You okay, Nole?" Priscilla asks, noticing the weird look on her face.

Noel nods her head, forcing a smile. "I think I just need to eat something; we only really drank at the café. Is there somewhere to get something to eat here? I can grab us something while you choose a good spot of arcade machines for us."

"Are you sure? We could go to the bathroom first if you're not feeling well and get food after?" she offers but Noel shakes her head with another forced smile. She just wants to get out of there for a second and get a breather. She isn't sure why she has the sudden urge but can't deny it has something to do with seeing Harken with that girl.

"I'll be fine, I'm sure it's just because I'm hungry. Tell Nolan for me, I'll be back soon."

Priscilla frowns, not looking convinced, but lets Noel run off anyway.

Noel takes her time finding the food court not far from their spot, picking out a KFC stand and getting in line. She takes a few deep breaths now that her stomach feels a little better and her chest not as tight, but the moment she tries to think about Harken smiling down at that girl, the feelings return, like she can't stomach what she just saw.

There's no reason for me to be so upset about this. So, what if he has been ignoring me? It's not like we were exactly friends or even close before that.

She thinks that, but it doesn't make her feel any better. Trying to ignore the feelings she studies the menu board, blocking out everything else, until she feels a presence walking towards her and turns to see the irritated face of Harken.

"Are you following me now?" he asks, narrowing his eyes at her.

She scoffs. "Since when is coming to the mall at the same time following you? How would I have known you were here beforehand? You haven't talked to me in weeks, let alone even look at me, and disappear whenever you want. I don't know how you expect me to have enough information to follow you here. Then again, you have a lot of odd expectations of me it seems."

It has been weeks and Noel had believed she got over their last argument, but the moment she hears his snarky tone, she can't help the anger the rises in her again, reminding her of every bad detail of that night.

"Seems it was the right decision to just leave you alone, you can't ever let anything go, and you never fail to hit a person right where it hurts the most," Harken bites back, an underlying tone to is words.

It sounds like he is accusing her of having constantly hurt him before. Is he referring to the one argument they've had so far? How is that fair, when it was the first and only time she has ever fought back against anything he has said to her, joking or otherwise? Before that night she always either let go whatever he teased her about or walked away in anger, still keeping silent afterwards.

"Why do you hate me so much?" she asks, her voice rising more than she wants it too.

Harken appears a little taken back by her question, a light frown touching his lips.

"I can't say I'm all that happy with you right now, but I don't hate you, Noel."

He sounds genuine, but her anger has risen too much for her to even hear his sincerity, chuckling sarcastically at his words. "You have a funny way of showing otherwise."

Harken grows irritated over her defiance, remembering they are still in public and doesn't want to cause a scene by fighting with her again, but if she continues like this it's only going to make it harder for him to control his anger. He just wanted to see her at first, stealing glances whenever he could in the halls at school and when they crossed paths at home, but it soon became not enough for him.

As much as he is still angry about what happened, he couldn't deny he missed being around her. Going out with Amy today was just to distract himself and get him out of the house, he didn't even intend to go back to her place or do anything with her after their date. But she has been clinging to him the entire night, making it obvious what she wants, and he has been too drained to care or push her off.

But when he saw Priscilla standing by the counter at the arcade, she knew that meant Noel couldn't be far away, and knew there was a large chance she saw the interaction between him and Amy. He wasn't sure why he cared if she saw, but something compelled him to run out of the arcade and look around for her. He didn't need to go far before he found her standing in line in the food court, looking miserable and lost in thought.

This time he couldn't settle on just looking at her, he needed to talk to her and figure out if she has moved on from what happened and might be willing to hear him out, and finally talk face to face about what happened 3 years ago back in junior year.

But it doesn't seem she is willing to let go, which tells him she probably won't be willing to hear him out. He just laughs to himself, wondering why he thought different, remembering how this all stemmed from her rejecting him in the first place. Just because a few years have gone by, it doesn't mean anything has changed, and he was stupid for thinking otherwise.

"Forget it, I hope you have fun on your date," he mutters, remembering the glare he was given by Nolan James when he left the arcade.

Noel scoffs at him. "You should talk, how's your date with Amy?" she mocks.

Harken smirks. "Why, are you jealous?"

He only meant to tease her, but with how annoyed Noel already feels, she instantly becomes irritated and flustered at his comment.

"Like I would ever be jealous of you," she says.

Harken takes this as a personal blow to what happened 3 years ago, reminding him that she has already rejected him once, making it clear she has no feelings towards him. Feeling his anger flare, he knows he has no choice but to leave before he does something he will regret, giving her one final glare that intimidates Noel quite a bit, before he turns around and storms off.

Noel doesn't realize how much she is shaking until he is gone, and she comes back to reality, her legs almost giving out from under her. She feels the urge to both cry and scream but can't do either as the cashier urges her to the counter. Noel just orders the first bundle meal she sees in a daze on the menu and shuffles down the line until she pays.

She walks back to the arcade with legs that feel like jell-o and a pounding heart, unsure if she will be able to keep it together if Harken is still there with Amy. She scans the area where they were when she left and the surrounding area of the arcade, but doesn't see a glimpse of them, letting out a breath of relief.

She finds Priscilla and Nolan in the opposite corner of the arcade, Priscilla watching as Nolan seems to be on a high level of the arcade he is occupying. Not ready to face them just yet, Noel finds an empty arcade and places the food down, trying to pick at it but not having the stomach for it.

A few minutes later Nolan loses his game and turns to high five Priscilla, showing Noel why her friend seems to get along with Nolan and his group so well; she is practically just another guy to them.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Priscilla asks when she notices her standing there.

Noel tries to give her a convincing fake smile, but Priscilla sees right through it, frowning and patting her shoulder, understanding that she will tell her later. Nolan on the other hand isn't aware that anything is wrong and simply thanks Noel for the food, proceeding to dig in.

They play a few more games before Priscilla finally complains about having stood too long, despite still not getting enough tickets to get the prize she wanted.

Walking out of the mall, Noel was almost successful in clearing her mind of Harken and their recent encounter, until she hears the familiar roar of a bike engine, and her attention is drawn to a corner of the parking lot where she sees Harken with his bike, Amy standing next to him. He takes the helmet and places it on her head, helping her with the chin strap in the same way he did with Noel her first and only time on his bike.

The tightness in her chest returns, but this time she suddenly feels like crying, rather than feeling annoyed at the scene.

As if sensing her standing their watching him, Harken turns in her direction, meeting her eyes from across the parking lot. Everything seems to stand still and disappear around them, leaving nothing but the two of them. She wants to run over at get angry at him, but she has no idea what for, feeling her heart tremble the longer she looks at him.

She feels someone touch her hand, and expects to look over and see Priscilla, but is shocked when she sees Nolan instead. He grabs her hand and tugs her toward the opposite direction where his car is parked, looking in the direction she just was and locking eyes with Harken.

Noel can't tell from the distance between them, but she has a feeling Harken is giving him a dirty look and decides to mess with him a little for coming after her today just to further upset her it seems. She grips Nolan's arm and gets the confidence to latch onto his arm, giving him a sweet smile in hopes that he won't be weirded out by her sudden gesture.

To her surprise he just smiles back at her and squeezes her hand, leading her away. She doesn't look behind her as they walk off, but she can feel the penetrating gaze of Harken the entire time.