Her head kept nodding off until someone sat beside her and gently placed her head on his shoulder.
He carefully waited, and seeing that she did not wake up, he heaved a silent sigh of relief.
'You ran yourself ragged, it seems,' he thought.
Shawn followed Harmony onto the train without letting her know he was there.
'I feel like I am a stalker now,' he chuckled to himself.
But he was glad they saw her today and that he noticed something was wrong.
Because while he was watching her after they got in the train, he noticed some people eyeing her.
Not in a lewd way, but in a way that one could assume they intended to rob her.
And when she did start nodding off, they inched closer to her, so he made his move and sat beside her after putting on his hood.
There might still be a few people who'd recognize his face, and if they took a picture of him being like this with Harmony, it would cause Harmony more trouble. And she would hate him even more—something he was trying not to receive.
Once they arrived at their station, he could only wake her up. Because he felt that carrying her would just infuriate her.
"Miss Thomas," he returned to calling her by her family name.
"Miss Thomas," he repeated.
"Hmmm," Harmony slowly opened her eyes.
"We're at the station," he continued, as she pulled her head away from his shoulder.
Harmony instantly recognized his voice.
"Thank you," she said before standing up.
"Hmmm," he responded.
He stood up before her and left the train.
Harmony was still a bit disoriented. It had been a deep sleep.
In the beginning, it was not, but somehow, she fell deeper and deeper into her sleep.
"No wonder," she muttered as she stepped out of the train as well.
Upon getting home, she was still as sleepy as ever.
So after taking a shower, she brushed her teeth without looking at the mirror, only to wince.
She touched the side of her lip and her cheek. She could still feel the wound on her lips and surely the bruising in her cheek is still visible.
She shook her head and went to sleep. There was no point in thinking about it.
The very next day, Harmony was still feeling unwell—not that she was sick, but she simply needed more rest.
Despite that, she chose to go to school, for there was something she needed to clean up. There was no point in letting it go on any further.
"Ah, Harmo—"
"Why don't you stop it already?"
Her very first class was the same as Clara's, and as if on cue, when she arrived early, Clara also came early.
She was leaning by the window when Clara came in.
"What are you talking about?" Clara looked genuinely confused.
"Harmony Thomas—someone whose presence was barely known by her classmates. Hanging in the middle of the rankings every year. Living alone in an almost isolated subdivision. Didn't have any friends."
Clara's eyes slowly showed shock.
She intended to keep acting clueless, but every word that Harmony uttered was the exact same as what she had received in the reports regarding her.
"The only time her presence became more noticeable was when she entered the play held by their class at their school festival. Followed by a series of bullying after an incident of pushing a classmate, which ended when the real perpetrator was one day announced to the whole school."
Harmony, who had been leaning on the window, slowly stood straight.
"And the list goes on."
"Harm—"
"Enough. You really should stop. I have no time for your games."
"What do you mean by games?"
"Maybe I should enlighten you with just one point from everything I just said. Hanging in the middle of the rankings every year from the beginning? Do you think that's normal?"
Clara was suddenly stupefied.
"You looked into me, right? Did you really understand what you read? Did you really understand who Harmony Thomas was?"
Harmony looked at her with indifference, but Clara felt a shiver run down her spine as she stared into her eyes. There was this silent coldness exuding from her.
And Clara felt that Harmony was looking at her like a superior looking down at an inferior person.
"I did not try to mind you because I find it troublesome, but you were the one who kept following me like a parasite."
"Wha—"
"I don't care what you plan about that person, but don't pull me into your schemes. I don't want to take part in your ridiculous plan."
Clara could feel her legs going weak. This person was not simple.
Clara's throat felt dry, and she could barely swallow. Harmony's words struck her like a slap, sharp and undeniable. She had never expected this kind of reaction. Never expected Harmony to be this… intimidating.
"I—I don't know what you're talking about," Clara forced the words out, trying to keep her voice steady.
But even she could hear the slight shake in it.
Harmony didn't reply right away. She just stared at Clara, her expression unreadable. Then, after a moment, she let once again open her lips.
"Oh? You don't?" Her tone was light, but it was one that held no warmth.
And Clara could feel it. There was something underneath it. Something cold.
Clara clenched her fists, "I wasn't—"
Before she could finish, Harmony took a step forward. It wasn't threatening at all, it was just a step.
But it made Clara tense up all the same.
Now that they were closer, Clara could really see her eyes—calm, steady, and piercing. There was no anger in them, no frustration. Just plain indifference, as if Harmony had already figured everything out and didn't even find it worth discussing.
"I'll tell this one last time. You should stop," Harmony said softly.
"If you know what's good for you."
Clara's breath caught in her throat. The words weren't spoken with malice, yet they felt heavier than any threat she had ever received.
She wanted to argue. To say something, anything, to turn the situation around. But she couldn't. Her legs felt weak, and her thoughts were scattered.
Harmony didn't wait for a response. She turned on her heel and walked away, her posture relaxed, as if none of this had been worth her time.
As Harmony turned away, leaving Clara frozen in place, she realized one thing.
This person… she wasn't just different.
She was dangerous.