Harlow hummed Let it Snow to herself, her eyes looking for a specific brand. She strolled through the aisles of the small grocery store. It was the day after Halloween, her hand over was gone, and everyone knew that Christmas was now officially in full swing. Finding the brand she was looking for, Harlow placed the box of Mac and cheese into her cart and went into the next aisle. Quickly grabbing two boxes of Life, she tossed them into her basket and started towards the frozen goods. Before she could get there, her phone began to buzz. She turned into the nearest aisle, which happened to tbe the forever-lasting can food aisle. She dug her phone out of her purse and answered it.
"Hello?" As she held the phone up, her free hand grabbed a can of green beans, "Is this Ms. Write?"
Harlow dropped the can and then brushed back her hair, "Yes, this is her." Harlow picked up another can of green beans and put it into her cart. "Ah, yes, Ms. Write, this is Director Edwards from St. Dalton Theater, I'm calling on concern to your audition." Harlow's hand froze midair. "Yes?"
"Well, I am very pleased to offer you the spot of first female soloist for the winter spring season, if you would like it." Harlow dropped the can of green beans in her hand, and it landed on the two cans already waiting. "Yes, of course, thank you!" She ran another hand through her hair as she bounced up and down. "You're, uh, you're very welcome. I will email you the practice schedule for the Christmas Choir by six tonight." Harlow nodded her head, realizing he couldn't see her. "Yes, of course, I'll be waiting for it. Thank you again."
"You're welcome, have a good day."
"Thank you- you too!" Hanging up her phone, Harlow's smile reached nearly mile wide. Reaching for another can of green beans, she did a little dance before tossing it into her cart. It was at the sound of metal hitting mental then she realized she had grabbed a total of five cans. Shrugging, she grabbed a sixth can before moving on.
~~~
Meanwhile on the opposite side of the town, in the largest house of the Kurt Pines neighborhood, Viviana stood on the front porch as the door opened. "Viviana."
She gave a quick once-over as she crossed her arms "Jess." He motioned for her to come in, which she did. As much as she hated being in the house, she was also grateful to be free from the cold November air.
"How is he?" She slipped her gloves and jackets off. "As good as any guy who got pepper sprayed." She let out a bitter chuckle. "So in a ton of pain and very pissed off?" Jess smiled, and watched her take her winter boots off. "And to think I thought you might have actually forgotten."
Viviana moved to the stairs, pausing on the first step. "Forgotten what? That Colton has the threshold of a baby in the womb?" Jess slightly frowned at the insult. It was to be expected, Colton was his best friend. "I was going to say temper. Anyways, you know where to find him. I'll be in his office." Viviana nodded, climbing the stairs. She made her way down the hall with a specific door in mind. Opening the door without knocking, Viviana swung the door to the bedroom open and entered into the dark room. Colton laid on his bed, clothed in sweats and a washcloth over his forehead. Viviana stopped short of the bed and flicked on his lamp.
Annoyed, Colton groaned, "Can you not?" And blindly turned the lamp back off. "Stop being such a baby you ass." Viviana turned the light back on, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What the hell is your problem?!" Colton spat the words out as he glared at her.
"What the hell is my- MY- problem? What the fucking hell is YOUR problem?! You stare down my friend in the diner and then you chase after her in the parking lot of her work? What the actual fuck Colton?" Colton gave a defeated groan, covering his eyes with his hands. "I know I freaked her out, she proved it to me last night but I- I just- I don't know."
"You don't know? Like fucking hell you don't know. Tell me. Now." Viviana looked down to the man, demanding the answers from him.
"I don't take orders from you, now get out." He turned the light off once more, but as quickly as it was off it was back on.
"Need I remind you Colton, I don't take orders from you either. Harlow is my best friend- she is literally the sister I never had. So whatever- Oh my God. No." Colton looked at Viviana, her jaw hanging slightly open as the words hung in the air. He watched her, his own anger threatening to come out.
"No, what?" Viviana shook her head, her green eyes hardening. "I don't know what the hell is going on in that little brain of yours but Harlow is not. She can't be. I'm warning you, Colton, stay away. From her, from me, from our house, her job- leave her alone. She's better off without you."
"Like HELL she is!" Out of instinct Viviana took a step back as he yelled. She had done it, she had finally broken the lava barrier and now it was flowing. "She's my fucking mate, so excuse me for wanting to take her out and get to know her!" Though Viviana had broken what bond she had to the pack, the anger in Colton's tone had her gut in knots. Shaking her head, Viviana took another step back. "She can't be your mate- it's not possible!"
"And why not? What makes me-" He was suddenly cut off, "You don't know her!"
Viviana had angry, hot tears filling her eyes. "You don't know one damn thing about her, and you don't need to. She," Vivana took a shaky breath, "doesn't need you in her life. Fate's fucked her over enough times, that it would never dare make her anyone's mate." Viviana looked at Colton, wiping away the tears as she did. He slowly sat up, leaning on his knees as he listened. The next sentence came out low, "So just leave her alone; please. She came here for a fresh start, a new life." Viviana could see, could feel the anger slowly draining away from Colton as her words sunk in. "Her new life is one that doesn't evolve a world she doesn't believe in." Viviana took a deep breath before finally finishing her little speech. "So leave us alone or we will leave St. Dalton and never come back. I did it once, I'm not afraid to do it again."
"You know I can't do that Viv. I need her, the pack needs her." Colton casted his eyes up from where he had been staring off. They were red-rimmed and slightly puffy. "I'm not going to argue with you. I know you're right when you say I don't know her. Up until you said it, I didn't even know her name. All I've known about her is that I need her- I can't live without her. I'm asking you to please not take that from me." Viviana never thought she'd see the day that Colton Benjamin would be begging her not to do something. He was never the wolf who begged.
Vivana let out a sign, "She's a purple water lily." It was the world's most delicate, and to Viviana, most beautiful flower. "If you really can't live without her, you'll do your damn well best to listen to me. You can't stare her down, or chase after her like some psycho, or grab her and refuse to let go. You have to act like a fucking human with her. Don't expect me to help you either. I don't support this. You have to win her over on your own."
~~~
"I've been thinking." Harlow tossed on the top bread of the sandwich in front of her; glancing over to Viviana as she talked.
"About?" Viviana sat at their kitchen table, a bowl of ramen noodles in front of her. It had been just over a week since she had gone to talk to Colton. Besides work, the two women had been keeping to their house- preparing it for the coming winter.
"You know that carnival that's in town for the week at the fair's ground?" Harlow broke Viviana's train of thought as she walked over to join her at the table. "You mean the Fall Festival, yeah, it's put on every year."
"Let's go." Viviana glanced over to Harlow, a mouthful of sandwich in her mouth. Along with her sandwich, Harlow had brought over the flyer and slid it across the table. Viviana looked from the neon orange paper to her friend, "You wanna go?"
"Yeah, why not? I mean, it's been like a week since I found out I got my first real gig with the theater. We've been so busy working and preparing for winter that we haven't gotten the chance to go out. You know, celebrate and what not. So let's go."
"You sure you'll be fine around all those people, and noises? I just don't want you to push yourself."
"Viv, thank you for caring. I think I should be fine though." Harlow took another bite of her sandwich.
That night, two girls bundled up in jackets for warmth and made the short drive to the fairgrounds. Parking and paying for their entrance, they soon found themselves buying the twenty dollar endless-ride bracelet. The two had gone to fairs together before in the past. They had made it a yearly tradition to go at least to one fair together.
Exploring the space like children, each girl soon found a list of different food places they wanted to try. They worked their way through the list, going from ride to snack and then repeat.
"Okay, so what ride do you want to go on next?" Viviana tossed a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth as Harlow munched on a stick of cotton candy the size of her face. Harlow took a good glance around the rides in front of them. The two of them had conquered what they considered to be the most belly-turning rides before eating anything too solid. The only rides left for them to experience were the more relaxing ones. "We could go on the Drop Zone, or the Ferris Wheel- I know!" The two girls looked at each other, and together said: "Bumper Cars!" The two laughed while they made their way towards the ride. "Viv!" The two girls stopped, and turned to the voice. Harlow felt her mood fall drastically and she moved closer to Viviana.
Harlow hadn't been mad when Viviana came back a week ago, to the day, and told her that she checked up on Colton. However, Harlow was still scared at the fact of possibly seeing him after. She was not a fighter-she never had been. Put simply, Harlow was a weakling. The surge of fear she felt when he gripped her arm was just the right push she needed to have anger over power her terror. Being that she had injured him, Harlow also wasn't quite sure how the aftermath would be.
Harlow tightened her grip on Viviana's arm, her cotton candy dropping to the ground- no longer a concern to her. Colton was with the two men from the diner and another two who Harlow had never seen. Viviana's smile slipped a bit. "Colton, didn't realize you were coming here tonight" Viviana looked at the two men with him, "and you brought the gang."
Colton, and his group, stopped next to the girls. He nodded his head, "Yeah, well I was feeling well enough so we figured why not?" Harlow's face grew hot, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, and her fingers curled into Viviana's arm. Colton then turned and looked at her, not moving from where he stood. "Look, I'm super sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to scare you and I'm sorry I did. Can we start over?"
Harlow glanced over to Viviana. Her face was emotionless, so Harlow looked away. While the logical part of her brain was saying no- he had grabbed her and forced her to use her pepper spray- there was another portion of her brain saying to do it. Harlow looked back to Colton. Their eyes met again, and her stomach flipped. He looked so sad. It almost made her feel bad.
"Okay." The single word came out, against her better judgement, and she nodded her head. Hearing her agreement, he smiled. She could feel the joy from his smile and noticed a little twinkle in his eyes
He held a hand out to her, "I'm Colton." She looked down at it, and for a second could only feel his grip on her arm in the parking lot.
Blinking, and not taking his hand she flatly said; "Harlow." She could feel her mood possibly starting to escalate, and took a deep breath.
Colton dropped his hand, and a guy behind him let out a low cough. Nodding to the men behind him, Colton stuck his hands in his jean pockets. "These idiots are my friends; Jess, Ron, Andy and Chris. Viv knows them already." Harlow frowned slightly, and nodded her head at the men. They weren't the same man, Harlow knew that, but all four men held similar characteristics. They were all tall, fit and slightly handsome. It was as if something was in the water.
"Not that this isn't fun," Viviana brought the groups attention to her, "Colton, but Low and I have two bumper cars with our names on it." Viviana began to pull Harlow towards the ride's line. Colton, looking startled, followed after them. "Well, we'll go with you."
Harlow's grip was still as tight as death on Viviana's arm. "Um, no." They started walking again. "How about a bet?" Viviana stopped cold and Harlow stumbled at the move. She signed to herself, a small frown creasing her forehead. Clearly, Colton really did know Viviana. Together the women turned back to the group. "And what would the bet be?"
Colton gave a smile, showing off dazzling teeth and dimples. "Bumper Cars, you and Harlow verse Jess and me. We win, Harlow goes on the Ferris Wheel with me and you with Jess. You win, I take Harlow out to dinner."
"That's a horrible bet. How about we win, and you leave us the hell alone?" Viviana looked to Harlow, asking for her approval. Again, Harlow felt torn. Her logical brain said no. To shake her head and then run away to the safety of the car. But then, there was the other part of her brain that prevented her. It wanted her to do it.
Once again against her better judgement, Harlow nodded. Viviana gave a satisfied smile "Yeah, we're going with that." And held out her hand to Colton- who shook it.
Viviana and Harlow turned back toward the ride and began to move towards it again. It was a short line, the whole group only having to wait no more than five minutes. The two girls got their wristbands scanned, and headed to two side by side matching red and blue carts. Colton and his group spread out around them, each taking their own car. Harlow pulled the lap bar down and glanced over, for some reason, to Colton. Sensing her gaze, he looked up and gave her a smile. She quickly glanced away, not liking how the urge to return his smile almost over took her. The bell to signal the start of the ride dinged, startling her, and the soft hum of energy flowing filled the air. Their cars came to life and the bet was on. Pressing her foot into the single pedal, Harlow's car slid forward.
It was with a sudden jolt that Harlow's car stopped moving. She glanced over at Viviana, who was glaring at a high-fiving Colton and Jess. Harlow pulled her arm free from the shoulder strap, and stood up. Her body ached from the onslaught of hits she had taken from the men. Climbing out of her car, she met Viviana at the exit where Colton held the gate open. They both left through it, not thanking him as they did.
"We got our butts kicked." Harlow admitted. Viviana scoffed. "Those asses."
The two girls stopped a few feet from the exit. Viviana's eyes burning as Colton and Jess followed after them. "So, who's ready for the Ferris Wheel?" Viviana released a low growl-like noise from the back of her throat at Colton.
"One moment." Harlow, shocked at her friend's response, pulled her away from the guys. "Viv, it was just a little bet-"
"It's not about the bet, Low, it's about you!" Viviana pulled Harlow closer, "I don't want you to feel forced into anything is all." Harlow smiled softly, hugging her friend.
"This is why I love you; you're so caring." Viviana wrapped her arms around her friend before Harlow released her. "I think I'll be fine Viv. I'm just trying to live life as normal as I can. Besides, it's just one Ferris Wheel ride, and he said sorry." Viviana gave Harlow a small frown. In return, Harlow frowned too. "What?"
"A few days ago, you were terrified of the thought of Colton and now you're willing to spend time alone with him? What suddenly changed that I missed?" Harlow shrugged, "I don't know.know I'm going against my better judgement, but I need to try to do this."
Harlow felt guilty over the fact that she didn't want to disclose to Viviana that she was going more on a gut feeling than trying to live a normal life. After all, Lucas had been gut feeling as well. That landed her to where she was currently at. Viviana, unaware of Harlow's inward conflict, sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's get this over with." Crossing her arms, Viviana turned and walked back towards the waiting men. Harlow followed closely behind.
The four of them entered into the line for the Ferris Wheel, the wait painfully long as the women refused to speak to the men. It was a relief to finally reach the ride attendant.
"How many?"
"Four, two carts please." The worker nodded her head, scanning the group's wristbands. It had been a quiet walk to the Ferris Wheel. Harlow remained next to Viviana as long as she could- her near bipolar emotions finally seeming to be getting the best of her.
"Okay, first two." No one moved for a second. Jess then waved a hand, Colton took that as motion for him to go. He stepped forward, and held the cart steady before looking back to Harlow. He waved his own hand, so Harlow climbed into the front-facing cart. Colton climbed in after her, and the lap bar was brought down. With a slight shutter, the wheel began to move and their cart gently swayed. It was a short ride, as they were stopped so Jess and Viviana could get into the cart below them.
"I'm super sorry, about freaking you out, again." Colton broke the silence that hung around them. Harlow kept her eyes down at her hands gripping the lap bar. As they began to move again, Harlow glanced over to him."I really am, so thank you for giving me another shot."
"You're, um, welcome. I would say sorry for pepper spraying you, but I'm not."
"Yeah, looking back I had it coming." She awkwardly nodded her head and tucked a strand of hair. "Thanks for coming on the ride with me, and I kind of already said that. Um, I would really like to get to know you better- would you consider a lunch date- or coffee; please?" The ride suddenly stopped, their chart shaking as it did. Harlow held tighter to the lap bar, looking away as she answered. "Look, Colton, I'm sure you're a nice guy when you're not being a creep but I just got out of a really intense relationship. I just need to focus on myself right now; I'm just not looking to date anyone." Harlow was proud of herself with how she responded.
Right behind them, Viviana sat as far away from Jess as she could. Jess looked at her helplessly, "Oh come on Vi, why haven't you responded to any of my texts or calls?"
She rolled her eyes, "I don't know Jess, maybe because I don't want to talk to you. Maybe because I don't believe in mumbo-jumbo." She glanced at him, just as he was rolling his eyes. "If that's the case- then why is your best friend in the cart with Colton?" When she said nothing, looking anywhere but his face, he gave a smudge smile. "Knew it."
She huffed once more and uncrossed her arms; "No, Jess, you don't. I don't believe in the mumbo-jumbo that is 'us'. There is no us, there never was. We were just two stupid kids who thought they knew what they were doing." He grabbed her nearest hand, "That's a lie and you know it- tell me, tell me you don't feel what I'm feeling right now at the touch of our skin."
She pulled her hand away, frowning. "I don't feel anything Jess- I can't, and I won't. So stop trying, please." Jess grabbed her hand again. "No,Vi, I won't. Because I know that no matter what the case is with your other half; you're mine and I'm yours." Reaching with her free hand, Viviana caressed his face. She sought anything- a spark, a numbing, a wave of change of tempature. But, to her dismay, she felt nothing. Sighing, she pulled both of her hands back and placed them in her lap. "No, Jess, I'm not. I belong to no one."
~~~
Harlow watched, slightly antsy, as Viviana and Jess climbed out of their cart. Viviana no longer looked like she ate something sour, but there was a look in her eyes that Harlow had never seen before. She looked almost sad.
"How was it?" Harlow willingly left Colton to meet Viviana at the exit gate. "Um, it was fine. Just a ride, you know? How about you?" Harlow gave a round shake of her head, "It was a ride."
"Okay, well, what do you want to do next?" Harlow pushed her hair back, glancing over at Colton once. He was now talking with Jess, a slight frown on Colton's face. "I know it's barely eight, but I was wondering if you think we could maybe head home?" Viviana nodded, relief flooding her face."Yeah that sounds perfect. Let's go." Linking arms, the girls got themselves lost in a crowd, not saying another word to the guys they left behind.
The drive back to their house was a quiet one, neither girl speaking anymore about their time on the Ferris wheel. Each owner went into their respected room. Lady Luck, who had greeted them at the front door, trotted after Harlow. Lady Luck meowed, and rubbed herself up against Harlow as she closed the door. Harlow then entered into her walk-in closet, digging a plastic tub out from under a pile of blankets. She sat down, Lady Luck rubbing herself and demanding attention from Harlow. Reaching over, she pet the cat a few times before turning back to the box in front of her. She popped the plastic top off and looked down into it. Detective James had told her to get rid of everything- to destroy and leave it all behind. But she couldn't, at least not all of it.
No matter how much bad Lucas did to the world. No matter how much he lied and hurt her. No matter how much her life was now completely destroyed because of him. There was a piece of Lucas that would forever haunt her.
Harlow dug through the pile of shorts and tank tops until she found the small shoebox. Sliding the lid off, she sighed and leaned back against the wall. The box was filled with random little knick knack items. There was a golden locket a gift from him on their second anniversary. An Angel's baseball game ticket, their first date. Photos of them in places throughout the world. Then, underneath it all a rock. It was a plain rock, the size of her outstretched hand, sealed in a gallon freezer bag.
The rock was something someone would find on the side of the road. What separated it from any other street rock, was the writing on one side. The wording was written in haste, with some of them having dripped and the coloring- once red- had dulled to a dark brown. Harlow wasn't surprised that's what happens when blood dries. Picking the rock up, her fingers gently run over the wording through the bag.
You will die