I pulled my brown hair back into a pony tail. I couldn't believe that Harley had called me cute the other day. Me? Cute? I was so boring. Brown, curly hair. Brown eyes. So boring... So vanilla. I looked closer in the mirror. What is cute about this face? Do guys think that big eyes are cute? I think they look like bug eyes. I shrugged and exited the bathroom. I said goodbye to my baby sister before heading off to school.
"Bye, Taci! Have a great day at school!" my sickeningly cheerful mother said. Oh how I hated her. I wished she would just run away and have my dad come back. He was the better parent anyway.
I walked past her without looking at her and walked to school.
Not very surprisingly, Harley met me somewhere down the road.
"Hey, Taci," he said happily.
I sideways glanced at him and, of course, said nothing. Today was not Harley's day. I hope he realized that it never would be and leave me alone. He was such a sweetheart. He deserved better than me. I was just a broken toy.
He laughed, "You're such a mystery. It really does intrigue me... So, you know, if you never talk, it will be okay with me."
You're just saying that, Harley. One day, you will get fed up with not being able to communicate and leave. That's what they all do. Please, leave now and don't get hurt. Find another girl, a prettier one... Before you know what you're getting into. I'm damaged goods.
"So, do you talk to anyone?" Harley asked.
Instead of shaking my head, I nodded. Why am I telling the truth? I never tell the truth when asked this question! I thought to myself. Ugh, stupid boy... I blushed and looked down at the ground. This boy was trouble. He was going to make me spill my guts, I just knew it.
"Is it your mom?" he asked.
I shot daggars out of my eyes at him.
"Okay, I'm guessing it's not your mom," he put up his hands in defense. "Then is it your dad?"
My eyes went back down to the ground sadly. My dad? I missed him so much... If he was still around, I would probably still be talking. I felt a tear push up behind my eye and I gasped. I hadn't felt a tear since he had left almost a year ago. I quickly wiped it away before Harley could see, but it was too late.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to... I won't bring him up again..." he said quickly and put his hand on my shoulder.
It oddly felt comforting. I let out a sigh, then my eyes shot open. This could not be allowed. I lifted his hand off my shoulder and dropped it. Harley, you will not be allowed to get close to me, no matter what.
He rose a perplexed eyebrow, "No touch?"
I shook my head.
He laughed, "You're one of those girls that like their personal space. I can dig."
I almost laughed. Who says 'dig'? I looked forward and realized we were at school. Not only were we at school, Richard was heading towards us. I looked at Harley, who gave me a reassured look. Walking together with a boy was not going to be good for my reputation. Harley was going to get the worst of it because he was new and walking to school with the "retarded mute". Ugh, I hated those words. They were so mean. But... I didn't let them get to me. Yesterday, they didn't get to Harley, but that was in class. That was low-key bullying. This was technically outside of school and Richard was at his worse... It was now to test Harley's true faith. Was he still going to be true to me? Part of me hoped he would join Richard and have a better life, but the other part liked having him as a friend. Well, it was now his test.
"Yo, Mute!" Richard called.
I stared at him blankly. This did not phase me.
"Leave her alone," Harley growled. "We just want to go to school."
"Oh, it looks like you have a little boyfriend now!" Richard mocked. "How cute. Are you going to make him stop talking and go mute too?"
I blinked and looked away. This stupid moron was not worth my time.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you..." he said in a low rumble. He took a few hulking steps towards me. I still looked away from him. He did this several times a week. He would punch me in the stomach and I would take it, then go to class like nothing had happened.
"Get away from her!" Harley yelled and charged at Richard full speed into his stomach.
I watched with large eyes. Harley was a full head shorter than Richard. His black hair disappeared into Richard's stomach as he headbutted him. Richard fell to the ground with an "umph!" Harley stood back with a red face and smiled.
"Hasn't your momma ever told you not to hit a girl?!" he spat. "Come on, Taci, let's go to class."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the school's double doors. I looked down at our hands touching and smiled. Harley, I could get used to you.
