24.
Harlow was sat on her bed in her dorm, reading a book in her pyjamas and trying to keep her mind off of Levi for two seconds. They were supposed to meet in the woods tonight after Levi talked to Farlan. She couldn't deny she was nervous about the blonde's reaction. She didn't want there to be a split in the group because of her. They were a family and family came first. Harlow already promised herself if it was too much of a problem, she would remove herself from the equation. She cared too much about the three people to damage the bond between them.
Harlow sighed as Izzy came through the door, wheeling what looked like some sort of cooler behind her. Harlow raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Iz? What's that?" Harlow asked curiously. Izzy turned to her and gasped.
"Harlow?! Why aren't you dressed yet, they'll start arriving in like 20 minutes." Izzy said dramatically, running over to Harlow and pulling her up from the bed. It was then that Harlow took in what Izzy was wearing. A short green dress that had a sweetheart neckline and complimented her eyes. Harlow blinked at her in confusion. What was going on?
"Izzy? Please explain to me what's happening?" Harlow said, her face scrunched up in confusion. Izzy gave her an 'are you serious?' look.
"We're having a party. I told you about this at the beginning of the week, remember, we were lining up by Erwin's room..." Izzy trailed off hoping Harlow would remember. But unfortunately, she didn't. She did remember Izzy talking about something, but Harlow had tuned the girl out after spotting Levi. Oops, now she felt bad. She gave Izzy an apologetic look and shook her head. Izzy sighed in annoyance before pushing her towards the bathroom.
"What are you-" Harlow was cut off as a piece of material was thrown at her head.
"Go in there, put that on and sort your hair out. Be quick, Levi and Farlan will be here soon. Farlan promised he'd help me set up." Izzy said quickly, shooing Harlow into the bathroom and shutting the door before she could protest.
Harlow sighed but did as was commanded of her. She put on what she now realised was a skin tight, black mini dress with an extremely low cut neck line. Harlow looked at herself with wide eyes, Izzy certainly had some weird clothing. Harlow didn't think she owned anything like this. She felt kind of ridiculous.
"Izzy, I don't know if I can wear this." Harlow called from inside the bathroom. She heard a shuffle from outside before the door was opened and an unamused redhead walked in. She scoffed and flicked Harlow in the head. "Ow! You know you remind me of Levi when you do that." Harlow blurted out but mentally face palmed as she heard the words come out of her mouth. She waited nervously for Izzy's reaction. Luckily Izzy just laughed and shrugged before fixing Harlow's hair. She left most of it down, only pinning up a few bits that were in her face.
"You look great." Izzy reassured. Harlow smiled at her friend. She wondered how the redhead would react when she found out about her and Levi's relationship. Would she be mad that Harlow didn't tell her about it? She didn't technically lie because Izzy never asked her directly if something was going on between them. Still, it was something that worried her. Izzy smiled back passing her some black high heels and glaring at Harlow when she didn't put them on immediately. Izzy went back into their room for a second and came back holding a simple gold necklace with a thin gold metal line on the end of the chain. She put it on Harlow and smiled at her. "Perfect." Izzy said as she heard a knock on the door. Harlow's heart jumped. If what Izzy said was right, that was Levi and Farlan. Harlow guessed because of this party Levi would have to wait another day to tell him.
Harlow gulped and she followed Izzy out to the door. She opened it and as Harlow suspected, there was Farlan smiling happily and Levi behind him looking slightly irritated as always. Harlow couldn't deny that she liked what he was wearing tonight though.
"Hey guys, come in." Izzy smiled. Harlow watched as both boys' eyes widened as they looked passed Izzy and saw her. She stood there feeling slightly awkward as two pairs of eyes stared her down. Damn Izzy, I knew I shouldn't have worn this. Luckily the redhead came to the rescue and aggressively kicked both boys in the skins.
"What the fuck, Iz?" Farlan whined clutching his leg in pain. Levi looked extremely irritated but if he felt any pain, he wasn't showing it.
"Shitty redhead. Finally gone insane, have you?" Levi spat, mockingly, stepping inside the room. Farlan followed, limping slightly. Izzy scoffed.
"Nope. But would you do me a favour and stop eyeing Harlow, like she's a piece of meat!" Izzy cried aggressively. Harlow felt a blush run to her cheeks. Farlan went beat red and looked down at his feet mumbling an apology. Levi simply shrugged, a light smirk on his lips. "Oh, think that's funny, huh? Well, you can go and clean the bathroom then." Izzy ordered, forcefully passing Levi some cleaning supplies. Levi frowned but did as he was told. Harlow was surprised he didn't put up more of a fight. Izzy walked up to Harlow and put and arm around her "Men are insufferable." She whispered; Harlow laughed in response.
10 minutes later and Izzy and Farlan were trying to work out how to connect the speakers to their phone so they could play the music they wanted. People would start arriving soon. While they were distracted Harlow got up and entered the bathroom shutting the door behind her. She giggled seeing Levi sweeping the floor. He looked like he was in his element. Levi turned around at the noise and smirked widely, eyeing Harlow up and down again. This time, she didn't mind it much, even giving the man a twirl. Levi's face grew serious and he put the broom down, taking large strides towards Harlow before pulling her into a deep kiss.
Harlow broke the kiss, breathing heavily just as loud music started blaring in the adjoining room. Harlow laughed quietly, hearing Izzy and Farlan's cheers.
"Like what you see." Harlow whispered in Levi's ear. The faint dusty pink on Levi's skin was answer enough. It was hard to make Levi blush so when she did, she always felt extremely proud.
"Cocky brat." Levi mumbled; Harlow laughed. "Did you know about this party?" Levi asked quietly, stroking Harlow's cheek before stepping back and passing her a broom and picking up a cloth and spray to wipe the sink. Harlow assumed it was so they wouldn't look suspicious if anyone decided to burst in.
"No, I'm guessing you didn't either." Harlow replied. Levi shook his head. "We really need to pay more attention to our friends." Harlow said through a chuckle. Levi smiled at her before his face fell serious. Clearly, he just remembered something.
"I need to talk to you." Levi whispered, getting closer. Harlow nodded. "Farlan said he might confess to you tonight. I can't tell him here of all places. You need to stay away from him tonight or, I don't know, put him off in some way." Levi explained. Harlow nodded again in understanding just as the door opened. The pair separated quickly and got back to cleaning. Harlow turned to see Farlan standing in the door.
"Oh, there you are. Izzy was worried. Here, I'll take over, you go help her with the decorations, you'll be better at that anyway." Farlan said with a smile, holding his hand out to take the broom. Harlow felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach. The boy was too kind for his own good. Harlow didn't feel like she deserved his kindness.
"It's okay. I'd feel bad, any mess in here is mine and Izzie's." Harlow tried to reply but Farlan waved her off and grabbed the broom.
"I insist." Farlan said kindly. Harlow felt the twinge of guilt again but gave in, sparing one last glance to Levi before smiling at Farlan and leaving the boys to clean.
A few hours later and the dorm was swarmed with people. Half of whom, Harlow didn't even know. The music was booming loud, people were dancing and drinking. Harlow was slightly worried about if they got caught. It's not like she could scatter. This was her dorm room. Still, Izzy assured her there were not teachers on duty tonight and everything would be fine. Against her better judgement she trusted the redhead. She even let loose a bit and had a beer. It's not like she hadn't drunk before, in England the legal drinking age was 18, but it had been a while, so she made sure to keep tabs on her intake. She didn't want to get drunk and do something she might regret. Like kiss Levi in front of Farlan. That would defiantly be something she would regret doing tomorrow.
Harlow had been avoiding Farlan ever since the party started. The good thing was that there were lots of people to talk to. The bad thing was that a lot of them tried to hit on her. Harlow stumbled back into someone.
"Sorry." Harlow chuckled, maybe she was a tiny bit tipsy. When she turned around to look at them, she scowled. What was an asshole like Reiner Braun doing here? Surely Izzy didn't invite him, right? He was in all her classes and constantly bragging about his work being the best, when in reality he's shit. Not only that but Reiner was constantly hitting on Harlow and saying things that made her uncomfortable as well as touching her. The bastard had even squeezed her ass once and claimed it was an 'accident'.
"Well, well, well. Harlow Danes, what a pleasant surprise." Reiner smirked, taking a glug of his beer and resting a hand on Harlow's shoulder. Harlow shrugged it off and glared at him.
"This is my dorm, asshat. Leave me alone." Harlow hissed and turned to leave and go and find Izzy, hoping she would kick the rhino out but was stopped by an arm around her waist. Well this isn't good. Reiner smirked and pulled her closer, his hand getting dangerously close to Harlow's ass. Harlow felt her eyes widen in disgust and panic. The nerve of this guy. "Let go Reiner. Before I make a scene." Harlow warned dangerously, trying to pry herself from the blonde's grip. Reiner only tightened it.
"But your so pretty. Come on, let's go back to my place and have some fun, yeah?" Reiner lent in to kiss her. Harlow's eyes widened. She wasn't his, no one was allowed to kiss her except Levi. Harlow lifted her hand before he could close the gap between them and punched him in the nose. Hard. Her knuckles hurt from the impact but the look on Reiner's face made it worth it. A few people turned around, but the party still buzzed on around them. People were too drunk, and the music was too loud for anyone to notice. Reiner's face fell dark and he raised his fist. "You little bitch!" Riener hissed and was about to attack Harlow in his drunken state before an angry Farlan came in between them. The blonde pushed Harlow behind him and gripped Riener's collar. Riener gulped and went very pale. Farlan was very intimidating when he wanted to be.
"I suggest you get the fuck out of here, before I put your ass in the ground." Farlan hissed darkly. Reiner nodded quickly. Farlan let go of him and Reiner stumbled away towards the door. Farlan took a breath to calm himself down before turning to Harlow and smiling. "Are you okay?" Farlan asked, concerned. His speech was slightly slurred. He seemed pretty wasted; his eyes were all foggy.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for doing that. Farlan how many bottles of those have you had?" Harlow asked pointing to the half empty beer bottle in his hand, forgetting about what happened, more focused on the fact that her friend looked as though he was about to fall over. Farlan laughed and hiccupped. Not a good sign.
"Umm... this many." Farlan smiled drunkenly holding up 6 fingers. Harlow sighed and shook her head. He was shit-faced.
"Come on, let's go get you some air." Harlow said, taking the bottle out of his hands and abandoning Levi's order to stay away from Farlan. The blonde needed her help right now. She helped him through the mass of people, wondering where Levi was, and outside the dorm. The stairs were tricky since Farlan walking when he was drunk resembled Bambi on ice, but they made it down and into the cool October air. Harlow helped Farlan lean against the wall before she quickly made her way back into the building to grab a bottle of water for him. When she came back Farlan was smiling to himself.
"Harlow! Your back!" Farlan laughed, almost losing his balance. Harlow smiled and shook her head, passing him the water.
"Yep. Drink this, it will make you feel better." Harlow replied kindly. Farlan took the water with a drunken nod and glugged half of it down. He sighed in satisfaction and wiped his mouth.
"You're so good to me." Farlan said his speech still slightly slurry. Harlow did not like where this was going.
"You're my friend, Farlan, of course I'm good to you." Harlow replied, putting enough emphasis on the word 'friend' in an attempt to get through to his drunken mind. Apparently, her efforts were null and void.
"No. You don't get it, Harlow." Farlan whined walking a few paces forward before turning around and pouted at the girl. Harlow gulped nervously. What was she supposed to do now? "I..." Farlan took a step toward Harlow. Harlow instinctively took a step back. "Like..." Another step forward, another step back. "You." Farlan took a last step and was standing very close to Harlow now. Harlow tried to step back but was blocked by the wall. Well shit. Harlow sighed.
"I'm sorry Farlan but I-" Harlow started gently, not wanting to hurt the man's feelings especially when he was in a vulnerable state like this, but her words were swallowed as Farlan forcefully pressed his lips to hers and started kissing her. Harlow squirmed and tried to push him off her, but even in his drunken state the blonde was strong. He either didn't notice Harlow's disagreements with the kiss or he didn't care. Of all the people, she never expected Farlan to do something like this. She felt two tears slip down her face when Farlan tried to shove his tongue down her throat. Why was he doing this?
Suddenly Farlan was ripped off of her and pulled away to reveal a very pissed Levi. Harlow took a deep breath and coughed a bit from where she was denied the air she needed and watched with wide eyes as Levi punched the blonde in the face which sent him to the floor. Farlan fell with an oof, clutching the side of his face where Levi had made the impact.
"Levi! What the hell man!?" Farlan exclaimed but was silenced as Levi sent him a dangerous glare. Harlow hadn't seen him look his murderous since Bryce.
"What the fuck did you just do?!" Levi was seething at the teeth. Farlan paled slightly.
"I... was kissing... Harlow?" Farlan said, a bit unsure. He may have sobered up a bit thanks to the water and the punch, but he definitely was still under alcohols influence. Levi let out a humourless laugh. It was slightly terrifying.
"Take a look at her Farlan, you shitbag. Does anything about her make her look like she wanted you to do that?" Levi yelled. Farlan looked confused and turned to look in Harlow's direction. Harlow realised she was still crying and quickly went to wipe her eyes but Farlan had already seen it. "So yes, you were kissing Harlow. Next time be a fucking decent human being and make sure the person you are kissing is kissing you back and you have their consent." Levi snapped. Farlan looked horrified and turned his gaze back to the very angry Levi. Harlow felt slightly bad for the blonde and wanted to say something to calm Levi down but was frozen to the spot.
"I-I'm so-"
"Sorry? Sorry doesn't mean shit to me. But listen here, you ever touch my girlfriend without her permission again, I'll bury you alive." Levi whispered harshly. Farlan was stunned to silence but even if he wanted to reply he wouldn't have been given the chance. Levi had already walked over to Harlow and left the blonde lying on the floor. He took his sports jacket off and put it over Harlow's shoulders before taking her hand and leading her away from Farlan and towards the forest. Harlow tried but she couldn't stop the tears. That had gone terribly, why was everything so difficult? Why did she fuck up everyone's lives? She was a curse. Maybe she should have just died that day. It would have made things a lot easier for everyone.
