Teens

3 Years Later

Ruthie was jealous.

Harley was late and she knew why. Once again, he was facetiming his girlfriend and it had gone on longer than he first intended to. Summer was almost over and Ruthie had gotten fed up waiting out on the front lawn of his mom's small house by herself, drinking orange juice and listening to Lorde songs that had come out three years ago. Being a teen had lost it's appeal, mostly because she wasn't a teen anymore. Not to mention the fact Lorde really needed to release a new album. 

The juice left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Ruthie had no right to be jealous. Harley didn't belong to her and as much as she hated to admit it, it had been entirely her fault. He had tried the year before, when he kissed her and she slapped him.

Then she ghosted on him for the rest of the summer. He messaged her a few days before he left telling her when he was leaving and she rushed to see him again, full of apologies. It had been awkward but she wasn't ready and he accepted that. She thought he'd wait for her.

But during the first semester of their second year of college, he met Tatyana. The rest was history.

"Hey, Ruthie! Did I keep you waiting long?" He said. Ruthie hadn't realised that he was outside again and looked up, very startled.

"No, I wasn't waiting," She lied.

"Cool. Sorry, Tati was just stressed about work."

She nodded. She didn't care.

"I can't wait for you to come down and meet her. You'll like her, the two of you are pretty different though," He said.

"Yeah,"

Harley picked up the radio, showing off the tattoos that ran up his arms. He had really changed in the past year, and his once hidden array of tattoos had begun to peek out of his clothing - Ruthie couldn't believe it when he told her two years ago how many he had. He must've had at least triple that now. Gone were the days where he wore only tank tops and sunglasses with a matching beanie. His hair was always buzzed down now, the curls never given a chance to shine. She had to admit that his new style suited him a lot. But that didn't mean she had to like it.

"You ever gonna let your hair grow back?" She asked.

He shrugged, finding a radio station he liked and sipped on his orange and mango juice. Apparently, Tatyana loved mango. "It's buzzcut season,"

"That song came out three years ago, let go," She said.

He laughed. "I always let it grow out in the winter when it's cold,"

"Oh,"

"Yeah."

"Huh."

He sipped on his juice. "I like it shorter though."

Ruthie suddenly felt very sentimental and her eyes pooled with tears. Before she could hide them, Harley saw.

"What's wrong?" He asked, alarmed.

"Don't ask me questions," She mumbled and rubbed at her eyes. He stood up and rushed away, coming back a few moments later with a pack of tissues. She accepted them gratefully and sighed.

"Ruthie?"

"I'm just feeling sentimental, don't mind me." She said.

"You sure?" He asked.

"No."

There was a strong silence that filled the air around them. Harley tried to find the words to speak but decided that silence was the option.