His phone rang as Harley looked at the different types of flowers. "Hello?" Loni's voice rang through the other side of the phone. Harley smiled at her voice, picking out a singular flower. "Hey babe, I'm coming over." He says, stepping away from the display. He was at his local grocery store, picking out a flower for Loni. He loved her. Make note of the 'her' part. "Um, ok. When do you think you'll get here? I'm kinda doing something right now." She mumbled, hesitantly. Harley frowned, lifting his hand to adjust the phone on his shoulder.
"Um, well I'm at the grocery store. But I should be there in maybe ten minutes. Is that fine?" He asks, walking to one of the self-checkouts. There was silence on the other end of the call for a moment, before Loni spoke up. "Yeah, that's fine. But I have to go, love you baby." She says as Harley scans the flower. "Love you too, bye." He mumbled, grabbing his phone and hanging up. He sighed, happily placing his card into the scanner. He tapped his finger on the scale, the machine beeping, and Harley taking out his car.
He remembered when Loni and he first met. She was a senior at Yokosa's Girl School of the World, while Harley was only a freshman. At first, he only started to date her to show his friends that he could get an older woman, however, he soon actually fell in love with her. And he never fell out of love. He smiled when the card went through, grabbing the flower and walking out of the store.
As he walked to his car, he sighed. He needed a break from school, a break from that class to be specific. The students were agitating. The teacher was self-absorbed, he did need a break. And he knew exactly who to go to for that break.
_____
He stepped onto the townhouse, knocking on the door. Loni didn't own the entire house, she just rented one of the three living spaces. A nice lady named Mrs. Shell owned the place. Loni lived on the second floor. Loni opened the door, squealing and tightly hugging Harley. The student quickly moves the flower out of the way, hugging her without crushing the delicate petals.
"Hey, baby!" She says happily, stepping back and smiling. "Hi, Pie. How are you?" Pie. That was his nickname for her. It had a funny story. Loni had always loved that name, so Harley always called her that. "I have so much to- wait, the baby is that for me?!" She gasped happily. Harley smiled, handing her the flower. She stood there, staring down at the tulip. It was one of the only flowers they had left, yet it seemed perfect for Loni.
"It's gorgeous." She mumbles, Harley shrugged. He placed his hands behind his back. He had spilled his coffee on his vest today during the first period, so he had to place his yellow with a navy blue fine-trimmed blazer. "Not as gorgeous." He says, looking back up at Loni. She turns to him, smiling before stepping to the side. "Come in. Sorry for keeping you in the cold." She mumbles as Harley steps inside.
He shakes his head, beginning to walk up the stairs as Loni closes the door, the warmth of the townhouse making him shiver. "Is Sorin here?" Harley asks, looking back towards Loni. "Nope, he's with his girl. Which gives time to ourselves." Sorin was Loni's roommate. He was usually at her place by the time Harley came over, so he was shocked that Sorin wasn't there. Harley hums, hopping up the last step and opening the door to his left, to Loni's studio apartment.
Harley glumly rushed to the couch, flopping on it. Loni chuckled. "Bad day at school?" She asked, Harley, moving his head to look at him. He glumly nodded his head. She moved his legs up, sitting down and laying his legs on her lap. "Can I tell you something to make you feel better?" She asked, Harley, turning onto his back so he could look at her. "Go ahead. I don't think it will work." He says with a shrug. She tapped a beat on his legs. "I saw this little girl, and her older brother went to Yokosa. She said that her brother plays basketball at Yokosa." She says Harley gives her a hesitant look. Did he know this boy?
"She said that she went to a basketball game last year, and fell in love with this boy. She wanted to see him, but she couldn't since that was the end of the season. She doesn't know who the boy was, but she is absolutely in love with him." He slowly sat up, crossing his arms. "What do you mean? How old is this girl?" He asked, and Loni smiled. "Only seven, but she's in love with the Yokosa's captain of the basketball team."
Harley chuckles and nods, a genuine smile on his face. "She's..." He stops himself, his eyes widening and shocked when he remembers. Loni works in a hospital. Ïs she ok?" He whispers. Loni gives him a sad smile. "She's perfectly fine. Just a little allergic reaction. She stayed the night for safety. Just in case something happens."
"Can you- can I make a short video for her?"
Loni looks at him, seemingly confused. "Video? As in, make a video and I can show it to her?" Harley nods calmly. She looks at him, a smile on her face. "Of course." She reaches over and grabs her phone, handing it to Harley. He opens the camera, setting it on his face. "What's her name?" He asks, turning to look at Loni. "Melony."
Harley nods, starting the camera. "Hi Melony!" He starts energetically, waving to the camera. "I heard what happened, and I hope you're doing better now. I know how scary it can be at the hospital, but I know you can get through it! I'll see you at my next game, alright? I'll make sure to meet you in person." He looked at the time. Twenty seconds left. "I hope I can make your day, just like you did mine. Well, I have to go. Bye-bye!" He waves once more at the camera, before turning it off.
He smiled a genuine, heartwarming smile. He hands Loni back the phone, before grabbing his. He unlocks it, his phone going directly to his gallery, a recent photo he took. He looked back at Loni, his smile gone, and replaced with a small frown. He shows the photo to Loni. "Do you know what this is used for?" She leans in to look at the photo. She hums, nodding her head. "Venlafaxine Systemic? Yeah, I do." He smiled at her.
"Tell me."