Just a Fool

The next morning Harry woke up sore and with a black eye. Sitting up in bed he groaned realizing he was going to have to come up with some kind of story to tell his mom. Stretching his aching muscles he slowly made his way into the living room. He was surprised to see his sister laying on the couch. “What are you doing here?” He blurted.

Gemma sighed, “My friend Julie called me last night.” She explained standing up. “She said you had gotten into a fight with Daniel. I wanted to see if you were ok.”

“I'm fine,” He shrugged.

“And that's why you're hunched over like that?”

Running a hand through his hair he nodded. “It was four against one.”

“Harry, that is so stupid. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking I'm not gonna let that dickhead talk about you like that!” He exclaimed, his sudden outburst surprising him and his sister both.

Gemma's face softened. “Harry I appreciate it, really I do,” She frowned. “But he is my problem, you don't have to deal with it.”

“I know that but if you think I'm just gonna stand back and let someone like Daniel Rogers disrespect you you're out of your mind.” He sighed. “Ok I gotta get ready for school. How long are you staying this time?”

“For the weekend, I hope I get to meet this new girl in your life during this visit.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Mom already told you about that?”

“Yes she did and you're going to tell your new girlfriend she's invited to dinner tonight with all of us.”

“Gem, no, don't scare her off yet.”

“Relax little brother, we just want to meet her. I mean, I have to see the girl who's got my brother so head over heels in person.”

Running a hand through his hair Harry sighed in frustration. “Fine, but I don't know if she's going to go for it so I make no promises.”

Giving his sister no chance to reply he stalked into the bathroom to start getting ready for school. He cringed thinking about telling his girlfriend about dinner, one of their first dates already didn't end well he needed smooth sailing from here on out. Turning the shower on he started to come up with a way to bring the subject up to Abigail in a way that wouldn't be terrifying to her. “This has to go well,” He muttered stepping under the warm water.

As she walked down the stairs Abigail was just waking up when she noticed two bags by the door. “Dad?” She called but received no answer. “Dad?”

To her surprise her father walked out of the kitchen fully dressed in one of his nicest suits. “Oh hey honey, I was hoping to be gone by the time you woke up.” He coughed. “I have to go to Chicago for a few days.”

“Really? While mom is away?”

“I've had this planned for months, I can't cancel. I have meetings with some very influential clients, I...”

“You have to be there so the deal goes down, I got it.” She mumbled crossing her arms. She had heard this same speech for years, she just never expected him to leave her completely alone for a couple days.

“You can go stay at a friend's right?” He asked.

“Yeah, I'm sure Kristin's parents won't mind.”

“Great, well I have to go, my flight leaves at eight thirty. Bye honey, I'll be back before you know it.” He smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

Then he was gone, a normal teenager would be happy to have the house to themselves unsupervised but Abigail just felt lonely. Trudging back up the stairs she thought about calling Harry but she knew she was just going to see him at school. She felt bad, she felt like she was always bringing her personal issues to Harry. She wondered how long he would be around, she was afraid he would eventually get sick of dealing with her problems.

When she arrived at school she smiled seeing Harry's car pull up beside her. Grabbing her bag and keys she climbed out of the driver's side to her waiting boyfriend. “Hey you,” She grinned.

“Hey,” He smirked leaning down to kiss her lips. “Ok so I have something to ask you but if you don't want to its perfectly fine.”

“Ok, what is it?”

“My sister is in town and she invited you over for dinner tonight.”

Abigail's mouth dropped but then she smiled. “Really? That's great cause I really didn't want to be home alone tonight.”

“What about your dad?”

“He's on a business trip, he'll be gone for a few days.”

“In that case...” Harry hoped this question wouldn't be asking too much. “would you want to stay at my house until he gets back?”

“Would your mom mind?”

She was actually considering it? “I'm sure she won't, I'll call her at lunch. You don't have to...I just thought you might...”

“Harry stop, staying with you sounds...pretty great.” She giggled. “I just don't want to be a bother to you or your mom.”

“Hell, you could never bother me.” He chuckled wrapping his arms around her waist. “So I'll talk to my mom and when she says yes I'll come get you at your house to bring you over to mine.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Harry felt like a weight had been lifted off of him. He knew meeting the parents was a big step in a relationship, a part of him wasn't sure if he and Abigail were ready for it. It was awkward enough when he first met her father, he couldn't imagine when she actually stayed at his house for an entire night. As Harry walked into the school every horrible scenario played out in his head. By the end of the day he was sure this was a mistake. They weren't ready, he wasn't ready at all. “Harry, you ok?” He heard a soft voice ask.

Turning around he sighed seeing his girlfriend staring at him with a worried expression on her face. “I don't know...are you sure this is a good idea? Not that I don't want you to meet my mom, I just worry its too soon.”

Taking his hand in hers Abigail smiled. “I'm positive. You learn a lot about someone when they're around their family and I want to learn more about you. Plus I couldn't think of a better place I'd rather be tonight than with you.”

His worries melting away Harry leaned down to give her a long kiss. Leaning his forehead on hers he grinned. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.”

“Good, now quit being such a worrywart and lets go.” She giggled leading him out of the school towards the parking lot.

Later on that afternoon, after Abigail packed an overnight bag from her own house, Harry pulled his car up into his family's driveway. Sighing to himself he grabbed Abigail's bag from the backseat for her. “You ready for this?”

Nodding her head Abigail climbed out of the car with Harry right behind her. Smiling at him she grabbed his hand as he led her up the stairs to his small home. Opening the front door he heard a baby crying and his mom trying to calm him. “Oh hi Harry, Blake is a little fussy right now.” Anne explained rocking the baby back and forth.

'Well this is off to a great start.' Harry thought.

Notes

I'm alive! So sorry, writer's block hit me hard, I know this is short, but chapters will gradually get longer :)