Anywhere With You • {J.C.}

||Five|Relationshit||

"He's gonna let you down, he's gonna let you down
And gonna break your back for a chance
And gonna steal your friends, if he can."
-Take It Or Leave It

Walking along the sidewalk, Harlow glanced inside a nearby storefront. It was a local diner—one she had been in a time or two during the summer. She remembered stopping on her way home from work before hailing a cab from the pizzeria. She did a double take before stopping dead in her tracks to look once more.

There, standing in line with a girl she didn't recognize, was Alex. She observed the scene closer, seeing that Alex's hand was in the young woman's as they smiled at one another; Alex having to look down at the petite young woman. It was at that point, Harlow had recognized her as Jena Reynolds—a sophomore from Dwight.

She wasn't sure why her eyes stayed glued on the pair when her heart was coaxing her to runaway. Deep down, she knew that if she stayed longer, she would see something more.

And that, she did.

Alex's hand swept the length of her hair over her shoulder before planting a kiss on the girl's lips. However, Jena didn't pull away—she kissed him back; lips meddling with his. Her eyes closed and her hands went to his waist and Harlow knew that the two had done this many times. She couldn't look away as the pair seemed to get lost in one another.

"Hey!... Harlow-" But Julian's voice went unheard—Harlow had become lost in the display of affection her boyfriend was showing another girl—another high schooler. "Lo!... you comin'?"

Harlow stood like stone, perplexed and filled with shock. The only movement her body made was the fluttering of her eyelids—her vision blurring, but no tears had yet fallen.

"How long do you think those two have been together?" Harlow murmured; her own voice sounded like someone else's.

"Who? The dude in the Yankees cap with Jena Reynolds?" Julian chuckled—completely oblivious as to why Harlow was frozen still. "Um... I'd say longer than three months, but less than six. You can tell it's still in the honeymoon phase." Her sniffles caused Julian's eyes to peel away from the affectionate couple through the glass. "It's just a guess, I really have no idea."

With that, Harlow took off—she started walking back the way she had came. She was anxious to get back to Julian's house to get her car and go. She had given him everything—her body, her time and all of her attention. Sure, she had filled her weekends with parties and new friends, but Alex had been invited. He insisted that he couldn't go because he didn't want to hang out with a bunch of "high school kids." And yet, there he was, kissing one.

As she stormed through the crowd on the sidewalk, it all began to fall into place; Alex didn't want to "party" with Harlow and her new friends in fear of running into Jena. He knew Harlow, well—he knew she didn't mingle with most of her peers—Julian and his friends were from an entirely different clique.

"Harlow!... Hey!" Julian sprinted down the busy concrete, catching up with her easily. "Hey... wha- where are you goin'?"

"Home."

"Just gonna leave me standing in front of an ice cream shop? Kind of a dick move." He snickered, playfully elbowing her shoulder. Harlow paid no mind to Julian's friendly gesture; she kept her head down, focusing on the ground beneath her feet. "What's wrong? Did I say something?"

"No."

"Look, I'm... I'm not really good ah-at talkin' to women. So if I did something or said something that pissed you off... I'm sorry."

Harlow stopped. She inhaled deeply, the sensation like it was the first breath she had taken since what she had witnessed through the window. "Jules, I'm not mad at you. You... you didn't do anything, I just need to go home." She started down the sidewalk again, murmuring to herself. Julian could swear she muttered something about a "boyfriend."

He trailed behind, leaving several feet between them to give Harlow some space. It wasn't until she started to climb into her car that Julian decided to intervene.

He got into the passenger seat, closing the door swiftly as Harlow started the car. She stopped strapping on her seatbelt to give Julian the stink-eye; flashing him a menacing scowl.

"What are you doing?" Harlow spat; her chest moving up and down faster than normal.

"I don't know... tryin' to talk to you?"

"Get out." Harlow didn't ask, she demanded. His tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek with narrowed eyes. He wasn't leaving. Harlow sighed; "Jules, please get out. I jus- I wanna go home."

Julian reached across the middle console, snatching the keys from the ignition. She slung the seatbelt off her shoulder, ready to climb into the adjacent seat to fight him for it.

"I'm not an idiot! That dude, that- that guy... it was your boyfriend, wasn't it? That why you're upset?"

His words caused her to stall; Harlow found herself falling back into the driver's seat, staring wide-eyed at Julian. "So what if it is... or was?"

"I knew it... Listen, jus- just hear me out." Julian twisted in the seat, facing Harlow completely with occupied eyes. "I know you're mad... I know you're hurt, but... the guy's a piece of shit. He's a fuckin' sicko that dates girls way too young for him. Not to mention he's a Yankees fan. Really, you should've known it wasn't gonna work out, just sayin'."

Harlow wanted to laugh; she wanted to give into his colorful jokes, but... she couldn't. All she could see was Alex and Jena standing in line at the ice cream shop, sucking each other's face. All she could think of was what a fool she had been to have given him her all.

The day just seemed to get worse—Julian had dropped out of school, Alex was revealed to be a cheater and now, Julian had her keys and wasn't letting her leave. It was only going to get worse, which was why she had to leave—to go to bed and start a new day, to finally be rid of this terrible one.

"Give me my keys, Jules." Harlow spoke low, keeping her eyes on the steering wheel. She didn't want Julian to see that she was fighting back tears; if her eyes shifted at all, the brimming waterworks would fall.

Silence fell over the pair for a long moment, Julian conflicted on what to do. Why couldn't she have been a guy?—Julian would know what to say if she were. "I've been through it too, you know. I've had... I had a relationshit once, for sure. I'm still not over it- I still think about it. It just gets easier, you get more weary about who you let in after that. That's why I don't date."

Any other time, Harlow would've pried about Julian's past "relationshit," but today, she wasn't in the mood. She didn't need to be told that everything was going to be fine, or that she deserved better; deep down, Harlow already knew that.

She just needed the day to be over—she just needed to get away before the floodgates broke and Julian caught a glimpse of the madness about to spew out. There were still parts of herself she wanted to keep hidden; things that made their friendship easy.

Julian handed the keys back to Harlow, opening the passenger door. With one leg out of the vehicle, he stopped. "I'm throwing a party tomorrow night... I'd really like it if you came. Speaking from personal experience, I think it'll do you some good."

She stuck the key in the ignition, waiting for the door to close before turning it over.