9.
As soon as Harlow made it out of Levi's eyeline she let out a large breath. She lent on a tree for support and screwed her eyes shut. Her heart was still beating way too fast. Being that close to him, it was like torture. Thank god she had something to distract her from him. He was way too gorgeous for his own good. Although her resolve wasn't as strong as she thought it was since she did give in and reach out to him more than once. She could have asked him to look at her and she didn't need that piece of hair out of his eye. In fact, she did draw the piece of hair in anyway. It was part of his charm and it added to his look.
Damnit. Yes, of course, Harlow had noticed how attractive he was from the moment she saw him, but she had been avoiding that thought like the plague. She already liked his personality, they were oddly similar, if she admitted she liked his looks too she was sure to realise the weird crush she had developed on the man. And that was exactly what happened. So here she was, leaning against a tree, her heart trying to tunnel out of her chest, trying to get the man's eyes out of her head.
Harlow quickly came to her senses and moved faster toward the building. She was glad Levi had decided to stay behind for whatever reason. She didn't know If she could have kept up her calm façade any longer. What she needed now was to get to her dorm and sort out her thoughts. She needed to decide what to do with this new information now that she had it.
After practically running up the stairs Harlow scrambled with her keys, opening the door and slamming it shut behind her. She leant against it, closing her eyes and trying to even her breathing. She had so many secrets. So many problems. It would be cruel to start a relationship with someone and never tell them the truth about anything. She cared too much about Levi to do something like that to him. Plus, she didn't have the time. She had a point to being here. See, this was the danger about making friends. She had tried to warn herself, but she didn't listen. And now nothing was stopping the horrible aching in her chest.
Levi probably didn't even like her back. Why would he? Every fucking girl in the school knew who he was. He could have anyone. Why would he want her? She was a mess. No body deserved to be stuck with a mess like her.
"Shit." Harlow whispered to herself.
"Are you okay?" A loud voice said. Harlow flinched and snapped her eyes open. Only now, registering the other presence in the room. Izzy was rubbing her eyes in her bed. Harlow had forgotten she normally slept in on the weekends and just assumed she would be out and about like normal. Harlow forced a smile, setting her stuff down on her desk.
"Yeah sorry. It's really hot out there today, I got a bit lightheaded on the stairs." Harlow lied with ease. She hated lying to the redhead, but it was necessary, and it wasn't like she had never lied before. Izzy smiled and jumped out of her bed, running over and opening the sketch book before Harlow could stop her. Isabel's face lit up and she gasped in delight. Harlow couldn't help but feel a little proud at her reaction. Despite her conflicted feelings about Levi right now his picture was turning out rather well if she did say so herself. He was the perfect subject and was glad Izzy had managed to bully him into it.
"Harlow this is... amazing! It looks exactly like Levi!" Izzy praised with a wide smile; eyes glued to the page. Harlow smiled.
"Thanks, but I still have a lot to do. This is just the first step. I need to add the paints next." Harlow sighed, dropping herself down on her bed and stretching out. Lying on the ground for an hour bent over a sketch book didn't do wonders for the back. Izzy scoffed at her modest response.
"It will be great. How was Levi? He didn't give you any trouble, did he? Any rude comments?" Izzy asked with an intense look on her face, sitting on the edge of Harlow's bed. Harlow laughed at her scepticism.
"Nah, he was great. He just sat there quietly and let me get on with it." Harlow replied truthfully. He oddly was the perfect model. Especially since he only had one facial expression. Izzy laughed at that.
"Doesn't sound like Levi but makes sense. He's different around you." Izzy smirked to herself. Harlow raised an eyebrow.
"Different?"
"Yeah. Of course, you haven't noticed it. You haven't known him for as long as I have. But if you did you would see the changes. For example, I say let's go to the September fair. His answer: no fucking way. I say let's go to the September fair to help Harlow take her mind off of that Bryce fucker. His answer: fine." Izzy explained. Harlow felt her eyes widen and her heart rate pick up again. Knowing this stuff was not helping. It only made her like him more. He put his own comfort to the side to help her out. She knew he hated stuff like that. Isabel laughed at her reaction, patting her on the head before sliding back into her own covers and hugging the giant panda Harlow won her. "Don't worry about it. Forget I said anything." Izzy yawned closing her eyes. It wasn't long before she was snoring again. But Harlow knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep any time soon. How the fuck did she let this happen?