one night. one night was changing her entire life’s course. the test had turned positive a couple hours ago, and since then, she had been sitting on a bench in one of the buildings on campus. she had already missed two classes, having planned on going about her day normally. but once she got outside of her first class of the day, she just couldn’t bear to put on a mask. how could she act normal when she had just found out she was pregnant? it was surreal, knowing that she had to deal with this when she was so young, when she had so many plans. not only that, but she had to deal with it with carson, if he even gave her the time of day. they hadn’t spoken since that morning when she’d left, only occasionally making eye contact walking to class. but she knew the right thing to do was tell him, and deep down, a part of her wanted to be able to get it off of her chest.
as if by luck, carson walked through the doors of the building, probably heading to one of his own classes. picking up her things and throwing them in her bag hastily, harper managed to block his path, trying her best to not look like she was a nervous wreck. she had no idea how she was going to tell him, and no way of knowing how he would react. it was hard not to be nervous. “hey, i uh, don’t want to bug you or make you late to class, but can i talk to you? please?” she had been avoiding eye contact as she spoke, finally looking up at him now. “it’ll be quick.”