Chapter 21 surprise arrangements and phone calls

Harlow's POV

My worries continued to circle my head until I got to school on Monday morning. I had spent about ten minutes trying to fasten a shirt which was inside out and I had nearly forgotten my tie. My mind wasn't with me as I nearly entered the school gate without Emi. I wasn't sure if that was a conscious decision or not. I wasn't sure if I didn't want to face her or if I didn't want to leave her alone until she answered my questions.

Either way, I waited for her like I usually would. I knew that something was wrong as soon as she didn't greet me in her usual manner. I had been checking my phone for messages from Aiden, to which there was still none, when she scared the life out of me by nudging me.

"You ready?" She asked in a soft tone.

"Actually, There's..." I trailed off with the uncertainty of my next words. "Yeah I'm ready." I backed out of asking what I was going to ask. I wanted to get some answers to the questions but I was too scared. I usually didn't care but this was all too crazy, I had to care.

She just nodded and we went into the school. The day went normally once again, up until lunchtime. I had still been as scatter-brained as I had been this morning. EmI and I were sitting in the cafeteria with people rushing around us. I had a rather standard school meal in front of me whilst Emi had gotten a cookie.

"By the way, I wanted to tell you something." Emi was picking at the cookie and eating it slowly. "Karim and you have a date this weekend." I choked on the food which I had in my mouth and coughed a few times.

"W-what?" I managed to get out as I reached for my bottle of water. She was lightly chuckling at me, her lips closed tight to stop her from bursting out laughing.

"You heard me." She giggled still. "You're nearly finished school, chances are you're gonna get an apprenticeship. You need a high school romance." I rolled my eyes and huffed at her. This topic was one we agreed on in the past, we both agreed that there was no point in a 'high school romance'. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"Aren't we a bit busy at the moment?" I whispered somewhat desperately. I didn't really want to go on a date, Karim seemed nice but I'm not sure if he was my type. Heck, I wasn't sure if I had a type. "You do remember the 'saving the forest' plan right?"

She nodded sternly, her eagerness for the date calming down slightly. "Of course I remember. This is a distraction front hat." There were a few moments of silence between us as I tried to figure out what was going on in her mind. "Plus, he's an older guy. You'd be dating a college student." I blushed lightly.

"Dating implies the date goes well." I hung my head as she squealed. I had just confirmed that I would go on this date. I honestly couldn't say no to her, she seemed so excited. I wasn't sure if Karim would have agreed to this though, we had only just met. "Where are we going?"

She shook her head. "Leave everything to me. I'll get you guys the perfect place." I was even more scared now, I would've preferred for her to just tell me, rather than it being a surprise. "Just wear something comfortable." I put my bottle down and raised my hands in a mock surrender.

"Whatever you say Cupid."That earned me a good whack to the head. I joked about needing to constantly wear a helmet now that was becoming a very common thing. The school day continued on as though nothing had happened. I didn't get to ask ehr about the wolves, my nerves got the better of me. However, I feel like I now have a better opportunity. Karim himself might be able to give me the answers.

She didn't seem to notice the fact that I was on edge all day. She didn't mention anything and before I knew it, I was home. I got in and looked into the living room to see my mother asleep again. I was reminded that I actually had to get in touch with Aiden, whether I liked it or not.

I debated over whether or not to have something to eat first, deciding it was probably a good thing to have as an excuse in case the conversation became awkward or undesirable. I spent another fifteen minutes sitting on my bed and looking at my phone. If I had dwelled on it much longer I wouldn't have done it. I clicked on his name and put the phone to my ear.

It took me a few rings for him to answer but when he did, I could tell that he was tired. "Harlow? What's wrong?" I hated the fact that he thought there was something wrong, I should just be able to phone him whenever because we're brothers. It made me feel like our sibling bond had been stretched so thin.

"Nothing really." I gave myself a one-armed hug as I talked. "Well nothing more than usual. Mam was visited by the doctor last week. They said that things are stable." He took a sharp intake of breath as I said this. "You saw my text, which you didn't reply to." The saltiness was clear but he didn't mention anything. "What are we going to do?"

"We have a plan." He said very quickly into the phone. In my mind's eye, I had a clear vision of him looking towards someone. I obviously didn't know who it was but I had a good feeling that was what he was doing. "Though now we have less time than we thought. Do you know anything else?"

I shook my head even though he couldn't see. "Not on the forest front." I gave a small chuckle at the alliteration. "I went to the business party where they announced the deadline. I have a date. We don't really know what's happening to the forest between then and now so we're not sure if we can do anything. I've got more people involved." I was cut off, it wasn't really like being cut off since I was talking rather slowly.

"Wait, you have a date?" He picked up on what I had tried to talk over. "Since when? With who?" I could hear the eagerness as he asked the questions. I was sure it's one of the last things that he would have expected me to say.

"His name is Karim.He's Emis' cousin. He lives with her and her parents. The ones who own the company." That lead to silence.

"Oh wow, congratulations brother." I was sure he had a smirk on his face. "Let me know how the date goes okay? I'll update you over the week if anything changes. I'll talk to you then alright?" His tone had gotten a little bit softer, a little more comforting. A smile appeared on my face. "Love you."

That was enough for the smile to widen and my heart to warm. "Love you too, see you then." I put the phone down and sighed. I gave a chuckle and shook my head. I highly doubted that was the last I'd hear from Aiden this week.