Only Fools

Chapter Eighteen

"Good job, Aspen," Mr. Todd tells me with a smile as he hands me back the last test that we took. As I look at the A circled on the front, I can feel the sensation of pride swelling in my chest. I smile appears on my face with my next thought. I need to tell Margot.

I can't help but count down the minutes until the end of class, something that I normally do but has a different feeling today. Rather than counting down as a result of the boredom or confusion that I'd rather leave behind me, I'm purely excited to get to my next class as I know that Margot will be there.

Once the bell rings, I hurry out the door as quickly as possible, leaving Tori behind me, surely laughing at my antics.

As soon as I step foot in the art room, I immediately run to the spot in the back of the class where Margot sits for her independent art, to find her there with her nose buried in her phone.

"Margot!" I say rather excitedly.

"What?" she asks in a rather sarcastic tone, which I elect to ignore.

"I got an A on the last test," I tell her with a smile. She almost immediately smiles back, clearly proud of my accomplishment.

"That's great, A-"

"Margot Annalise May!" someone exclaims from behind me.

"Annalise?" I question her with a single raised eyebrow. She just shrugs before looking up to give her attention to the person who just said her full name.

"What do you want, Harrison?" she asks dryly. It's then that I decide to spare the boy beside me a glance, though to my surprise it turns out to be two boys, connected by the hands. The taller one, Harrison, stands beside me. According to my estimations, he would have to be close to six feet, if not six feet. On the top of his head rests a mop of curly dirty blond hair with seemingly no attempt to have been controlled, which juxtaposes the rest of his look. His eyebrows are so perfectly shaped and filled in that I'm nearly jealous. His eyelashes are extended to an unholy length and his winged eyeliner is far straighter than me. Even the freckles on his face seem to be specifically placed.

The boy standing closely next to him is just a couple inches shorter, but the expectation that Harrison should be the shorter one makes it seem much more drastic. The boy is almost the complete opposite of Harrison. Instead of messy blond curls, his dark brown hair hangs off his head in uniform waves. His eyelids droop with exhaustion while Harrison's eyes are wide despite the lashes you would assume weigh them down. His tan skin reveals no freckles. His hoodie reveals to me that he's part of the school hockey team, but I can't remember ever having a conversation with the boy (unlike the blond who I remember being in a group project with once).

Though, the name Harrison does ring a bell outside of that group project, I can't quite place it.

"Ok. You will not believe what I heard from Veronica,"

Margot just raises an eyebrow at him, beckoning him to keep going.

"Nick just got a girlfriend," Harrison says excitedly. Margot smiles in a wistful way as she shakes her head. I shoot Margot a confused expression to which she mouths that she would tell me later.

"Who's this?" Harrison suddenly asks, finally turning to look at me.

"Oh. That's Aspen," Margot says before turning her attention to me, "Aspen, this is Harrison and then Raider,"

It's then that the names click: Harrison and Raider, Margot's two best friends. She's mentioned them before. Glancing over at the two boys, I notice the difference in facial expressions. While Harrison holds a slight smirk, Raider sends me a genuine small smile which I return.