FicWad

"Hustle Thompson!" Coast bellowed at me as I scooped up the ball and lugged it to my teammate.
After a few more minutes of non stop running, dodging, and diving coach blew the whistle and call it quits for the day. Breathing heavily I walked off the field and met up with Shane who was sitting on a bench watching us play.
"You're vicious." She laughed as I wiped the sweat from my forehead and smiled.
"I gotta be vicious." I breathed a deep sighed and picked up my gym bag.
"You stepped on a girl's wrist." She laughed as I took a swig of my water and looked past her at Joe coming down the hill toward us.
"Lover boy's coming." I commented then knelt down to undo my cleats.
They started talking and I took my time undoing my cleats then slipped on my Converses and started for the school. I stowed my gym bag in my locker and walked the school until Gabriel picked all of us up at 6:30. I walked past the detention room where Patrick was writing something on a slip of paper when he saw me walk past.
Pete was just getting out of the boy's locker room when I strolled past with my hands in my pocket. He ran to catch up, but that wasn't much of a problem considering he was almost all state in soccer.
"Hey Harper." He smirked and combed his hands through his messy hair.
"Yes?" I sighed as I walked up to a soda machine and got out a Pepsi.
"How was lacrosse?" He tried to start conversation.
"I almost broke a girl's wrist, does that count?" I sipped the soda lightly and looked at him. "But that isn't what you wanted me to say was it?"
"What?" He cocked his head to one side.
"You want me to ask you how you did today." I nodded. "I know how you roll."
"Um..."
"Well, I'm not feeding your ego." I turned and continued down the deserted hallway to my locker.
"Wait up!" He shouted and ran to catch up again. "How do you know so much about a person without really knowing them?"
"I hear it from other people." I sipped as he looked over his shoulder.
"Ahhh, rumors." He shook his head sadly. "We live in the same house and yet you listen to rumors more than the people."
"Don't guilt-trip me, you know you're cocky." I didn't know what got into me today; I never fought or acted overly mean. Yet here I was spitting angry remarks left and right.
"Gee, you sure are nice." He rolled his eyes and stopped walking. "And Shane told me not to be a douche bag."
"Don't remind me." I sighed and got a few books out of my locker.
"Why do you have to be so mean to people?" He spat glaring at me.
"Because my emotion wall is crumbling like the foundation of an old house." I pouted and laughed at him. "Sound familiar, doesn't it?"
"Wow, you're low." He scoffed and started to walk off. "Tell me when you get off your period."
"Will do." I nodded and watched as his slight frame disappeared around the corner. "Harper, you're an idiot."
"Yes you are." Patrick's voice made me jump and spin around.
"Don't do that you...you..." I stopped and looked at him before feeling my face flush and then go red with anger.
"I what?" He smiled, rocking back and forth on his heels.
"Nothing." I mumbled and picked up my bulging messenger bag before turning and walking down the hall.
"What's wrong?" He questioned almost protective as he walked up beside me. "You look down."
"I am." I answered back and kept looking forward.
"Why?" He readjusted his bag and looked forward too.
"Joe just told my something that caught me off guard." I sighed and stepped out into the parking lot where Gabriel was parked.
"Oh." He nodded and slid in the back to wait for the rest of the gang.
The rest got in the back and we all went home. When I got inside the door I raced up to my room and locked the door. Today was not a very good day. First I find out 'the bad boy' likes me, and then I piss off a guy I only want to help. I rubbed my eyes a little and gave my room the once over before I caught a glimpse of my shoebox full of pictures.
My heart leapt into my throat and I felt tears prick at the back of my eyes, but swallow them down and reached for the ratty old box. I knelt down on the floor and slipped the lid off it carefully, as to not rip it more than it already was. The first picture I picked up was one of me and my sister; both of us were pretty young. She was probably four and I was maybe only one. She was smiling and I was crying, but I never was a good baby.
After a few more memories and many more pictures I noticed tiny wet marks on a few of the pictures as I put them into stacks. I was crying, for the first time in almost three months I was crying for my family. I didn't cry when I missed them, only when I saw them; their faces, their eyes, their lives interconnected with mine.
Another knock on the door jolted me back to the world of the living. I cleared my throat, trying without much luck to hide the thick sound of tears on my voice.
"Yeah?" I choked out, putting some of the pictures back in the box.
"It's Patrick." His voice was soft and quiet through the wood of the door.
I bit my lip and wiped away the tears as I got up and opened the door. He stood with his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his head down. After a few seconds he glanced up at me and smiled shyly.
"Can we talk?"
I nodded and closed the door behind me as we started down the steps and out into the warm spring air. My hair messy from lacrosse stuck to my back as I started to sweat from the warm air swirling around us as we walked.
He sighed impatiently after a few more minutes of silence like he was waiting fore me to say something to him. I just kept my mouth shut and waited to see what would happen, maybe if I waited long enough the suspense would make his head pop off.
Finally we stopped in the middle of the road and he turned to me, pulled in a breath of air and let it out. He was debating on what to say. His face turned red and he shut his mouth quickly.
"D-do y-you wa-wanna-....." He swallowed hard and bit his lip in frustration. "Get.....some....ice cream?"
I smiled at his nervousness and nodded. For once he didn't look like he could hurt me, he look vulnerable and desperate. I laughed and pulled out a five out of my back pocket.
"Wanna split a milkshake?"
His eyes glinted as he nodded and he walked into the parlor and took a seat near the back. Instantly a peppy waitress waltzed up in a candy stripe style apron and asked for our order.
"Um, we want a vanilla milkshake." I nodded to Patrick and smiled.
"Two straws?" She laughed and wrote down the order.
"Yeah." Patrick smiled and glanced at me as she walked away. "Harper, you're amazing."
"No I'm not." I shook my head and blushed.
"Better than me." He focused on the scratch marks on the table top.
"Everybody has flaws." I reassured him as the waitress placed a frosting glass of milk, vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream in front of us along with a spoon and two straws. I handed him one of the straws and placed mine on my side.
"But mine put someone in the hospital." He punched the table and made the milkshake dance in its glass.
"Well, err." I bit my lip. "Just drink this; it'll make you feel better."
He nodded and sipped a little, smile and laughed bitterly. I pulled back and cocked my head at him.
"People think I could hurt them just because of my temper." He bit his lip and shook his head. "When I'm really a teddy bear."
I looked at him for a while then drank the last of the milkshake leaving the cherries at the bottom. I fished them out and handed one to him. He ate his and smiled at me and I bit the stem off mine and flicked it at his head.
"You suck." He laughed and flicked it back, I ducked and it bounced into the next empty booth.
We paid and left, walking back to the house felt better. I felt more at ease, he acted less nervous. I playfully shoved him into a row of bushes circling a house; he tripped me then helped me up.
I opened the front door and he let it click shut behind him, instantly we were attacked with an attack of questions.
"Where were you?!" David yelled in my face.
"We went for a walk." My voice was weak, hurt.
"You should know not to walk off and not tell us where you're headed."
"We walked to the end of the block." Patrick defended me, stepping forward; protecting me.
"That still doesn't let you off." Gabriel crossed her arms and tapped her foot.
"But-!" I stopped and rolled my eyes.
"No but's you knew the rules and broke them." Diana spat.
"You're so off balance." I rolled my eyes and forced my way past them up to my room.
"Young lady!" Gabriel shouted and stormed up the stairs after me. "Don't talk to us as if we don't know what we're doing!"
"But you don't!" I sniffed, crossing my arms. "You're not our parents."
She stood still, her face grim yet soft. She was going to listen to me this time.
"You act like you're our best friends and our parents, but that doesn't work!" I swallowed and gestured around us. "You can't be both, so pick one; our guardians or our friends."