Summary: Written during The Sophomore, Book 1 and set after Becca ruins the Kappa rush party and upsets Madison. Angry at what Becca did, Harper calls James to calm down. Fluff.
She stayed with Madison for close to an hour, her arm around the other girl’s shoulder as she cried. It was a mostly one-sided conversation, with Harper alternating between apologies and reassurances, and when Madison left her side to return to Kappa, Harper wasn’t sure if she’d helped at all.
The whole evening had left her completely drained. She wanted to curl up in her bed and sleep, but she didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to see Becca. She was too angry and she knew that if she got home and saw her again, it would most likely end up with them exchanging furious yelling and cruel words.
She needed to talk with Becca eventually, but she just wanted time to calm down first. She didn’t want Becca to try and brush her off because she was ‘too emotional’ or ‘overreacting’.
Harper called James before she even realised what she was doing. It ran a few times before he answered, his voice distant and quiet the way it always was when he used the bluetooth in his car.
“Harper? Is everything okay?”
She hesitated for a moment. Since he had become the editor, he’d spent too many late nights in the Hartfeld library, and she really didn’t want to keep him from getting home and getting some sleep. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she said, hoping her voice wasn’t as shaky as it sounded. “But the party’s over so I thought I’d see if you were in still in Hartfeld. But you’re not. So it doesn’t matter.”
“I can come back.”
“James, no. You’re on your way home, I don’t want-”
“I haven’t been driving for too long,” he interrupted. “I can pick you up from the library in twenty minutes if you want.”
“Twenty minutes?” Harper shook her head, even though she knew he couldn’t see it. “James, you’re almost halfway home. It’s fine.”
“Harper, darling, I don’t mind getting home forty minutes later than I planned if it means getting home with you,” he said. “Besides, you don’t sound fine.”
She sighed, one hand twisting in the fabric of her dress. “You’re right,” she said quietly. “I’m not fine. Please come and get me. I want to see you.”
“I’ve already turned the car around. I’ll text you when I get there.”
It was the first time she’d smiled since Becca had dragged her away from him hours earlier. “I really love you, you know?”
“I love you too.”
He ended the call.
It was late enough for the library to be inhabited only by those pulling all-nighters, so Harper was able to claim one of the few comfy sofas near the entrance. She curled up against the arm of the chair, untangled her earphones and tried to relax to her instrumental playlist.
Although she hadn’t intended to fall asleep, she was woken by someone nudging her shoulder. “I wasn’t sleeping,” she said, opening her eyes and looking up at James. “I just closed my eyes.”
“Of course you did,” he agreed. His smile was soft, his gaze warm, and he bent to kiss her forehead before offering her his hand to help her up. He gave her his jacket before draping his arm around her shoulders and leading her out of the library to his car.
Neither of them spoke as James drove them out of Hartfeld. Her nap had helped – she felt calmer than she had when she called him – but she was still weighed down everything else that had happened that night evening. She fidgeted with the radio, changing the channels after only a few seconds of each song, and ended up settling on silence.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, glancing over at her as she wrapped his jacket tighter around her. “What happened with Becca?”
Harper looked at him, his concern plain on his face. “It turned out she wasn’t kidding about the revenge thing.”
James frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means I spent the whole sorority party chasing after her while she slipped away and poured vinegar in the punch and sabotaged everything Madison has worked so hard on,” she bit out, her anger rising once again. “She didn’t even think about Madison’s feelings at all. Although I don’t know why I’m surprised. She never thinks of anyone’s feelings. I invited her to live with us because I honestly thought she could change but she’s just getting worse. She’s rude to Zack and Kaitlyn every day, terrible to Madison, and now she’s dragging me into her vendetta? And, yeah, she hasn’t had the best time lately but that isn’t an excuse. You know how Becca was voted out of Kappa? I’m pretty sure Madison was the one vote for her to stay. Becca is punishing Madison for something she’s not even at fault for and she’s trying to make me do the same! ” James sighed heavily, one hand leaving the steering wheel so to take her hand in his. “I didn’t even want to go to that party. She guilted me into coming, lied about why we were going, and insulted my outfit when I didn’t want to spend ages getting ready for a party I didn’t care about.”
“I think you look beautiful.”
“Oh, thanks.” He smiled at her, and if he hadn’t been driving, she’d have kissed him.
They settled back into another comfortable silence, and for several minutes, Harper leant her head against the window and watched the streetlights streak by, the road empty of other cars. Usually, that would be relaxing enough to lull her back to sleep, but she was too preoccupied.
“And, you know what?” she continued suddenly, turning back to James and waiting for him to look over at her before continuing. “Becca had to know she was doing something terrible because if she thought any of her plans were something I’d be okay with, she wouldn’t have lied to me about it. And I called her out on it, she just laughed it off. Like I was the one being unreasonable.”
He raised her hand to his mouth and brushed a kiss to her knuckles. “I’m sorry. It sounds like you had a terrible evening.”
“Not as bad as Madison’s,” she said quietly. “Thanks for coming back for me. I just… didn’t really want to go back to the house tonight.”
“Of course.”
It was nearing one in the morning when James pulled up in front of his apartment building. Harper left him unpacking his bag in the lounge area as she went to change into the pajamas she kept in his wardrobe. It didn’t take too long to brush her teeth and wash her face, and then she settled under the covers on her side of the bed.
She exchanged a few texts with Zack explaining why she wasn’t coming home while James took his turn in the bathroom, looking away from the screen when she heard the bathroom door open. He leant against the doorframe, still brushing his teeth, and said something so muffled by toothpaste that she couldn’t make out a word.
Harper raised an eyebrow, a fond smile on her lips when James held up one finger to ask her to wait a moment. “Sorry,” he said, joining her in the bed. “I said that tomorrow’s going to be better.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Well, I suppose I can’t guarantee it, but if you stay the weekend, I’ll try my hardest to make sure you enjoy every moment you’re here,” he said, snaking his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. “No newspaper, no drama, no parties. Just us.”
She smiled, raising her head to press a quick kiss to his jaw. “That sounds wonderful. Can you really promise no newspaper though?”
James sighed. “There were a few things I wanted to do over the weekend, but I’m sure I can get all the necessary work done tomorrow morning. The rest can wait.”
“Always so busy,” she muttered fondly, her smile growing even softer.
“Not too busy for you.” He kissed her, pulling her closer so she was lying on top of him, her hands resting against his bare chest. “I can leave the newspaper for a couple of days if it means I can spend that time spoiling you.”
Harper smiled against his lips. The next kiss was slower, his lips moving reverently over hers, his hands under her t-shirt, warm against her waist. She could feel his heart beating under her hand, the steady rhythm calming her, and when their kisses ended, she let it lull her to sleep.