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"If you ask me, the asshole never deserved you anyway."
Harper scoffed at the boy's statement. As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew that after what Drew had done, he was right. She remained in denial though, honestly, so as the boy to whom she had spent the last two hours venting placed his calloused hand on her outstretched leg, she couldn't prevent herself from flinching ever so slightly.
She had become so used to shrinking away from any male attention for the sake of her relationship and now, though she no longer needed to, she remained cautious. However badly her heart hurt over what had happened, it had been so little time and her emotions were raw and fresh.
"Hey, hey. Sorry." he chuckled lowly. Harper was was yet to see his face, or even to know his name, but his voice was warm and comforting and she couldn't help but smile as he spoke, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"It's fine. I'm just a little on edge, I suppose," her hands toyed with the hem of her jeans as she glanced onwards into the darkness, "It's so weird that I feel so comfortable here in a dorm room I've never acknowledged with a guy I don't know."
"I'd like to think that after sharing such a personal thing as you have with me tonight, we can consider ourselves friends, right?" the boy laughed, coughing a little and shifting slightly in Harper's direction as he sat up a little.
"Considering I don't know your name and have yet to see your face, I'll have to say no." She scoffed mockingly, her hand swinging at the air to slap him. Her palm collided with his shoulder and he yelped, faking injury and slamming his back down onto the bed, "Rude."
Harper collapsed back onto the bed down beside him, their bodies almost touching. She could only tell from the feeling of his body heat radiating beside her as silence hung in the air. It was a comfortable silence, however, and being in this boy's presence was incredibly soothing to Harper particularly now that she had finally stopped crying.
"So go on then," the boy pressed, "If we can't be friends without knowing each other's names, tell me yours."
She swallowed hard, eyes rolling though he clearly couldn't see that, "I'm Harper, Harper Marie," she told him matter of factly, biting her lip as she did so. She heard him laugh subtly, turning his head towards her so that his warm, deep breaths now fanned over her face.
"Well, Harper Marie, you can call me Luke," he spoke softly, and Harper couldn't help but bask in the soft lull of his Australian accent.
She hummed quietly, as if in approval, "Oh, that's what I can call you? Thank you kindly for the permission, Lucas," the pair both laughed at her sarcasm-laced response as Luke shook his head, saying nothing for a brief moment.
In the short time that she had known Luke — if you could call their brief acquaintance 'knowing' him — Harper had come to learn very quickly that silence in his presence seemed perpetually comfortable.
There was something about him, along with the current environment, that made her want to spill her every secret to him and never leave dorm 63 (or his side, perhaps). She knew she was just emotionally fragile and felt comforted by the fact he was willing to actively listen to her problems, but all the same she was glad she'd stumbled into the wrong dormitory.
"My name," Luke paused briefly to stand up from the bed. With a swift, soft 'click' he had switched on the light and Harper realised that her eyes had been clenched shut for most of the time that she had been here, "is not Lucas. It's just Luke."
Harper feared opening her eyes but couldn't tell quite why. She didn't know what to expect from the boy, his deep voice somewhat intimidating now that she considered the notion of what he looked like.
When she finally did open her eyes, she choked on a gasp as she took in his features. He too seemed surprised and bit his lip as his eyes seemed to scan her in her entirety.
He was gorgeous — chiseled features, a sharp jawline and blonde soft curls cascading just a little over his face. Suddenly the comfort she felt in his presence was replaced by anxiety because he looked like... that and she had just spilled all of her feelings to him.
"You're staring, Harper," he laughed, teasing her, "But I suppose I'm doing the same, so, let's just move on. The mystery has been revealed!"
He slumped back down beside her, his eyes adjusting to the light and the gorgeous girl poised beside him. He couldn't help but notice the nervous frown on her face and bit his lip as he pondered what to say next.
"You're probably just staring at me because I've got makeup smeared across my face," she blinked, lowering her head a little as Luke shook his head.
"If you say so. I happen to think it's a good look on you," he teased, reaching for a packet of wipes on his bedside cabinet and tossing them to her, "But go ahead, if it'll make you feel more comfortable."
Harper shuffled a little closer to him, relinquishing herself of the stress she had become awash with — why should she let the way he looked evoke such anxiety? She'd been so comfortable moments before, she knew she was being ridiculous.
She pulled a wipe from the packet and began using it to rid her face of the mascara stains that somehow seemed to be all over.
"Thanks, Luke," her smile was genuine and warm, returned by a matching one from Luke flashing his bright white teeth, "You're literally a godsend."
"I know, I know," he smirked, returning the packet to the cabinet when Harper was done and tossing her used wipe in the bin, "I take care of my skin and random girls who walk into my room at midnight in need of emotional support."
"Sorry," she mumbled, toying with her hair and glancing around the room for a brief moment with a jokey scowl on her face, "Come to think of it, I should've known this wasn't my dorm from the distinct smell of boy."
