Chapter Text
Everybody was looking at you. You were sure of it. As you walked to your locker monday morning, you started feeling dizzy as you felt several eyes full of pity focusing on you. You hated it. If it wasn’t for the english test in the second period, you would’ve already faked a disease in order to go home.
Headphones playing “skinny dipping” by Sabrina Carpenter in your ears, you finally reached your locker. Usually Jessica would be waiting for you there, so you could walk to class together. Even though you loved her with your whole heart, you felt relieved. She knew you too well and although she would absolutely give you time and space if you needed it, you wouldn’t be able to pretend you were fine. Not with her.
Books in hand, you closed your locker and started walking toward history class. The hallways were almost empty at this point, which you were almost grateful for. The feeling went away instantly when you got closer to the classroom. You froze. Harry was leaning his back on the wall next to the door, looking at the screen of his phone, his other hand holding a box of chocolates.
As if sensing your presence, he looked up, his expression going from indifference to something that tried to be, but wasn’t quite sorrow. You wanted to disappear. You knew you would run into your ex some time during the day, but not so soon, he was always late to class. Always.
He took a few steps and got closer to you and said your name. It was like everything was happening in slow motion, you felt a jolt in your heart until the events of saturday started coming back to you.
***
There was a party at Peter B.’s house. His aunt and uncle won a vacation to Miami in a radio contest and would be out of town for a week. You knew it because Peter told you himself when he invited you and Harry. Peter was nice and funny and you wished he and Harry were as close as they used to be. They were childhood friends, but when high school came around, Harry started walking with a different crowd and eventually Peter made new friends of his own.
Still, Peter B. never stopped trying to keep in touch with Harry, even if the effort was one sided. You felt so bad when Harry seemed uninterested in Peter’s stories or completely ignored his friend. When you started noticing that, you tried to compensate for your ex’s behavior, going out of your way to be kind and pay attention to Peter.
Which was not hard at all, the kid had a heart of gold. He was one of the few who could circulate between all groups at school and have friends in all of them, from Mary Jane Watson in the theater department to kids like Miles Morales and Miguel O’Hara, who he was always with.
It was your niece’s 3rd birthday on saturday night, so Harry went to Peter’s by himself and you were supposed to meet him later. Except, when you got there, everything was pure chaos. You took your phone out of your purse to text Harry and Jess, realizing it had been in airplane mode for some reason. Once you deactivated it, several notifications popped up, from texts to social media tags. Feeling uneasy, you searched for your chat with Harry first. Nothing new since you texted him a few hours before. You then clicked on Jessica’s avatar.
J: I’m here babe let me know when you arrive
J: where r u??
J: come already that chick gwen is gonna dj soon
she is always goooood
J: call me when you can
J: pick uppp please
J: u still at home? don’t think it’s a good idea for u to come here
You: i’m here
You: jess whats happened
You: people are looking at me funny
J: meet me in the kitchen
“Harry was making out with a random girl”, Jess told you, holding your hands on hers. “He didn’t even try to hide it, they were in the garden, a lot of people saw them.”
You open your mouth, but the words failed to come out. Just an hour before you were trying on outfits, trying to decide which one your boyfriend would like more on you, and then this. Jess held your hands tighter.
“I’m so sorry, honey”, she said. “You deserve so much better than this…”
The two of you turned your heads, there were sounds of screams and things falling and breaking.
“No no no no no, please stop, guys, please”, you heard Peter B. pleading. Your heart tugged at his desperation.
People were joining the crowd, you and Jess followed. “What’s going on?”, she asked a guy next to them. “I think Osborn harassed the guy’s girlfriend or something”, he answered.
Standing on the tip of your toes, you saw Harry stumbling, clearly drunk or high, probably both, trying not to fall. “Fuck you, man, who do you think you are?”, he screamed at someone.
When you look at the other side, you couldn’t believe it. Of all people to fight with, Harry just had to mess with Miguel O’Hara, arguably the strongest guy from school. You met him in middle school and have taken several classes with him since. Miguel was known for keeping it to himself, but managed to have some close friends, like Gwen Stacy, Hobie Brown and Peter himself. He wasn’t anything like Harry and the other rich kids. Miguel would wear hoodies and basketball shirts, he was disorganized, always borrowing your pens during class, and every now and then would get in trouble.
But fighting? It didn’t seem like his thing, in spite of his size and strength. He was staring at Harry, looking more serious than ever.
“Huh? You think you are all that, motherfucker?”, Harry continued.
“Oh, honey”, Jess looked at you, worried. Her hand wiped away a few tears from your face. You didn’t even realize you were crying. Since you arrived at that house, your life turned into a nightmare sequence. “That’s it, we’re leaving.”
As she put her arm around your shoulders, the same guy who told Jess what the fight was about screamed: “Yo, Osborn, you coward! Making your girl cry!”.
More sounds from the crowd, your head spinning, heart breaking, you were feeling the tears now, they brought sobs too, how was that your life, why couldn’t you just wake up. Your eyes looked for Harry, he was steady, going in Miguel's direction. You looked at the latter. He was looking at you. His brown eyes wide, a crease on his forehead, mouth half parted. Somewhere in your head, you wondered if Harry had been able to hit him before you and Jess arrived. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.
Then a fist hit his face. Harry’s fist.
Peter, Hobie and a couple of other guys held Harry, and the crowd started screaming, Jess pulled you back to the kitchen, in the direction of the back door entrance.
You heard the music stopping and a voice, who sounded like Miles, on the microphone. “The party is over! Time to leave”, he said. People started booing him. “Y’all know my dad is a cop, right? Let’s give him a call, shall we?”
***
Harry got closer to you. Suddenly, his hand was on your cheek.
“Honey…”, he whispered.
How could a gesture you used to love trigger the alarms in your head? Instinctively, you took a step back.
“Harry.”
“No, hun, come on…”
“Harry.”
“Is this about the fight? If it is, you should k…”
“Harry, just listen, ok?”, you had planned so many scenarios in your head, yet, this was just coming to you naturally. “I know you cheated on me with a freshman.”
“Who told you that? It’s a bunch of l…”
“Jessica saw it. So many people saw it. Strangers were sending me pictures and videos of my boyfriend with someone else.”
“Honey…It wasn’t like that, I wasn’t thinking…”
“So, if I’m not right by your side, it’s like I don’t exist, right? You can do whatever you want”, you took a long breath. You were really doing this: “It’s over”.
“What do you mean it’s over? You’re giving up, just like this?”
“You gave me up when you kissed someone”, you let a sad chuckle out. “Not to mention the fight…I just can’t.”
“So you’re really ending this?”
“Yes.”
“You know there is no turning back, right?”, Harry had his hands on his hips, which, knowing him, meant he was pissed off.
You nodded.
“Well, I hope you really thought this through because no one is going to accept dealing with all your bullshit like I do.”
“My bullshit?”, you gasped.
“Anxiety, depression, all that bullshit”, he pointed at you. “The whole good girl act…only I know what you are really like. No one is going to want you.”
You just looked at him. You felt sad, confused and so angry. Because, although you knew it was a provocation, he did mention your worst fears. Being too much, ending up alone, unloved — you had been there.
What Harry didn’t consider is that you might have your insecurities, but you are also competitive and have a lot of pride. If hurting is what he wants, two can play this game. So you just stare at him with your arms crossed.
“Ms, class has already started”, your history teacher, Mr. Bloom, opened the classroom’s door and called you. He must have sensed there was something wrong, you have always been an A+ student and a great kid. The truth is you didn’t even realize how much time had passed.
“Yes, sir”, you walked around Harry and entered the classroom.
***
You arrived right on time for english class. Entering the room after a few classmates, you noticed the teacher, Mrs. White, was standing up, talking quietly with a student. She had a motherly aura, like she is irritated, but worried most of all.
“I’m sorry, but if you don’t apply yourself and get better grades, I can’t help you”, she said.
“I just don’t get it”, the student said. “Numbers…they come so easy to me, words, not so much.”
“We’re going to figure this out. Now go sit.”
Already at your desk, you saw when he turned. Miguel O’Hara. His cheek was a little swollen with a purple mark, a small token of Harry’s actions. You looked at him, but he did not look back at you, staring ahead and sitting in the back.
Then it dawned on you. An idea. A very good one.