Harper stared at her watch, the frown on her face deepening. Logan Hayes was 30 minutes late, and he wasn't answering her calls.
She had thought of leaving and entering herself about one thousand times within the 30 minutes she stood there, but she had to make their relationship look believable enough.
Even if not for anything, for her reputation — her father.
It meant much to him, and she was at the edge of losing it if she didn't take this fake relationship seriously. She checked the time again for the twentieth time in 30 minutes and stamped her feet, groaning.
If she was late for biology class, she'd—
Vroom
Vroom
Logan's motorcycle was heading towards her, and she frowned, clenching her teeth and folding her arms. Logan got off the motorcycle and walked majestically towards Harper. But something was weird—he was staring with scrutiny at Harper.
Her throat felt dry, like she had swallowed sand as she stared at him.
Logan admired Harper as he walked towards her. She looked... different.
Her hair wasn't swept back or tied into a boring ponytail.
She had a side fishtail braid, and because of how dark and long her hair was, it looked nice on her. The style was a perfect match to her baggy pants with a basketball top she had tied into a knot behind her. She looked simple but cute.
Pretty, even.
Wait, what was he even thinking?!
"Hi, princess," he greeted, flashing a smile at her, which Harper reciprocated with a poker face.
Forcing a smile, she greeted, "Hi, Logan."
"How are you doing?" he asked softly, his eyes piercing her skin as he admired her further.
"Terrible," she stated.
Without waiting for Logan to talk, Harper proceeded. "Do you mind telling me why you are coming here at this time?! You're thirty minutes late, Logan!" she hissed.
"Oh, so that's what your poker face is all about, huh?" Logan drawled, his grin building.
"Unlike you, Logan, I take my class seriously. And I swear I'll throttle you with my bare hands!" she barked, her hands clutched into fists.
"Chillax, princess," was all he could say, and what angered Harper even more was when he asked, "Did you sleep on the wrong side of your bed today?"
"Ugh!" she groaned loudly, her hand covering her eyes.
"These are the sacrifices couples make, you know," Logan purred, and a faint hue of color appeared on her cheeks.
"We're not real couples, Logan!" she shot back, barely breathing.
"Shh, someone might hear you. It's not like I don't want that to happen," he teased. "Girlfriend," Logan added teasingly, seemingly stretching out the word a little.
"Let's just go, Logan. I'm too late to argue." With that, she began walking away. Logan rushed after her.
"New hairstyle, huh?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes. Harper said nothing and continued walking.
"What do they call this one?" he asked, playing with her hair.
"Hands off!" Harper retorted, almost violently.
"Come on, princess," Logan Hayes pressed, and Harper rolled her eyes.
"Fishtail braid," she mumbled, lowering her eyelids.
Logan chuckled. "Fishtail?" he repeated.
Harper turned to him.
"You literally heard me," she said, fuming.
"What invented it, a mermaid?" he asked and burst out laughing, causing Harper to follow.
"Why would you say that, Logan?" she giggled, holding her tummy.
"Yes, 'cause if the mermaid's not the one, then it's the fish, huh?" he joked, and Harper joined him.
"Bro, the fish doesn't have a hand," Harper said while laughing. This time, her hand was on his shoulder as he laughed with her.
"See? I made you less angry, Fishtail," he teased, a proud smile at the corners of his perfect lips.
"I'm still angry. And don't call me Fishtail, please," she chuckled, tucking the cute tendrils she left on her forehead behind her ear while smiling.
Logan had a good sense of humor. Look how he just made her smile while she was practically fuming with anger. That made her smile even more prettier.
And with perfect timing, Logan Hayes pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of them together.
"Say cheese!" he said and took the picture.
"What in the world, Logan?! Why would you do that?" Harper's eyes widened.
"So that in the future when you're angry at me, I'll show you this picture—this day—and how I made you smile when you wanted to literally murder me," Logan explained, a smile on his lips while hers got wider as she listened.
"No, Logan. I'll still throttle you, I mean it," she joked, her hand on the waistline of her baggy jeans as she stared at him, trying to hide her smile.
"Oh no. You scared me to death, Fishtail," Logan said sarcastically, and Harper giggled. Logan smiled softly as they both headed to campus.
Logan was beginning to realize that Harper made him feel like everything was okay. Like he wasn't hearing any echoes from that past life he wanted to run from so badly.
And?
He liked it.