"THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN TO ME, FLO," Malaysia sobbed into the phone after explaining her situation to me.

I wanted to cry along with her because the sounds she made caused my heart to ache. It just wasn't fair. "Have you told Ethan what you just told me?" I questioned in a soft voice. As I waited for her to answer, I glanced to my left and then to my right before walking a little farther up the street.

"N-no, he already has so much g-going for him," she confessed with a shaky voice, "maybe it isn't too late to reverse what's done."

I sighed before asking her, "Wouldn't that just create more problems for your parents?"

"I'll be eighteen in a few months, and it's my last year in high school, Flo. They should have asked me first instead of making the decision without me."

I nodded silently and muttered a "yeah" as I ran a hand up my shivering arms. She was in a tough situation. I honestly don't know what I would do if my father bought a house in Georgia and told me I'd have to leave all my friends behind and finish senior year there.

"How about I come over tomorrow so we can hang out?" I offered, hoping that it would lift her mood in the slightest. "I'm sure my dad can let me take off for the day."

"Would you really?"

"I absolutely positively would," I said in my best impression of Anastacia.

"You're the best Flo. I'll see ya tomorrow then," Sia told me before hanging up.

"See you," I managed to say right before the line went dead.

I stuffed my phone into the back of my pocket and walked down the street to Adrian's. When I entered the pizzeria again, I saw Mr. Twist talking to my father near the booths and spotted Harry eating a slice of pizza at the kitchen counter. My eyes became the size of saucers as I did a double-take in the window to make sure no leaves or twigs flew into my hair before I joined Lester and the others in the kitchen.

"You good?" One of the bus boys asked me as he dusted off his hands on his apron.

I nodded my head and looked over my shoulder to see Harry poking his tongue out before munching on the pizza crust. "Yeah, I was just talking to Malaysia," I explained as I glanced down at the floor.

"Hey, do you know that guy or something?" I heard Lester ask, but somehow my head managed to turn in Harry's direction again, and I became distracted by his heart shaped lips. "Earth-to-Florence."

"Hm?" I hummed, mindlessly twirling my hair as I tried to contain my smile. "What. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Somebody's gotta a little crush," Lester teasingly sang. "Florence has a crush," He began to chant no matter how many times I begged him to stop.

"Will you knock it off? I don't want him to hear you," I hissed, pushing Lester further into the part of the kitchen where the sink and dishwasher were located.

"So you do like him then?"

I let out a loud huff and then finally spilled the truth. "I mean--sort of...but, like, he just got out of a relationship, and I don't want to be the rebound. It's stupid really."

"Trust me, you definitely wouldn't be anyone's rebound. Have you taken a look in the mirror lately?" Lester raised his eyebrows, staring down at me with a smile. "You're beautiful."

My cheeks were beet red by the end of his statement and all I could mutter out was a cheap "Thank you" in response to his compliment.

"You're welcome." He nodded his head and captured his bottom lip in between his teeth. "You should go talk to him before he leaves."

"You know what, I will," I replied, and with a newfound confidence, I left the kitchen and stopped directly in front of Harry. The only thing keeping us at a distance from each other at this point was the wooden counter.

"Hey Harry."

Green eyes peered up from the bright phone screen and landed on my face with curiosity. His gazes were always so intense, and I had a bad habit of feeling self-conscious around him, but tonight that was going to change.

"Hi Florence. What's up?" Harry inquired with a sweet smile, but I waited for his phone screen to go dark before answering his question.

"I have some good news," I told him and noticed how his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I might be able to get you a volunteer job at the library after all."

"Oh," he drawled, "That won't be necessary, love. Principal Bailey wasn't being serious."

"I think he is actually," I paused and bit my lip before saying, "he told me to tell you that if you don't start your service by the end of this week, he'll get the football coach to bench you for the next three games."

Okay, maybe that was a lie.

"What the fück?" His face twisted in anger once I broke the news to him. "That's a load of bull. Who the hell does he think he is?"

"The principal. Now, Harry can you please quiet down?" I asked him as nicely as possible, "60 hours isn't even that long of a time. You can do 4 hours each Saturday morning."

This made his eyes widen even more. "You volunteer at the children's library on Saturday mornings?"

"Yeah, you say that like it's a bad thing," I rolled my eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Well, like most teenagers do as I assume, I usually go to parties on Friday nights and don't see the light of day until noon," Harry chuckled while slipping his phone into his back pocket. "I've never met a girl who preferred spending her Saturday mornings volunteering at a library."

I didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, so I decided to redirect the conversation and get straight to the point. "Look, Harry. Do you want to get your community service done or not? It's as simple as that," I layed it out for him.

A few moments of silence lingered between us before he drove his tongue along his lips and asked, "How soon can I start?"

I smiled in a victorious fashion and said, "I think I can get you started this Saturday, but I'm going to need your contact info. What's your number?"

He held out his hand and gestured for me to give him my phone. "I'll put my info in your contacts," Harry assured me.

I nodded my head and handed him my phone. While he took the time to enter his digits, I glanced in the direction of my father again and saw that he was wrapping up his conversation with Mr. Twist. Not wanting him to see me this close to Harry, I grabbed his paper plate and walked around the kitchen counter to throw it away in the trash.

Once I looked back over my shoulder, I saw that Harry had my phone faced down on the counter and his stepfather was walking towards him. My own father joined me by trash can with a child-like grin on his face.

"You look insanely happy," I commented, attempting to coax the information out of him. "What's got you so giddy?"

"Sweetheart, we've just been hired to cater the Styles' Winter Formal," My father proudly announced. "Isn't that fantastic?"

Great, I'll never hear the end of this from people at school.

"Yeah, Dad. Sounds great," I faked my enthusiasm.

§

Author's Note:

Hey everyone thanks for the read. I thought it would be funny to update on a Saturday morning because of the conversation my characters have in this chapter.

I still can't believe Harry's 23. He's grown up so much over the last six years, and I just can't wait to see where life takes him this year. I'm so hype to see Dunkirk and hear his future solo album, like you don't even know.

Question for my readers: Have you ever volunteered anywhere before?

I sing at fundraiser events at my program, but I helped distribute food at a food bank in Harlem once with the Black Student Union in my school.

—
Kaylandia