...Living in a Lonely World

Chapter 2: In which Harmony attempts to salvage her encounter with James.

For a second she just laid there - cheek pressed against the concrete, limbs asprawl, handbag wedged uncomfortably under her torso. Her eyes were clamped shut; she wished more than anything that she could just disappear! She felt herself begin to blush, and realized that the heel on one of her ever-so-stylish crimson pumps had snapped off. This was the ultimate humiliation.

A cool came over her then, and she opened her eyes to see that a shadow had fallen over her. A voice cut through the mortified shock around her brain and she realized that it was his.

"Hey! Hillary, right? Are you okay?"

Knowing how unattractive she must look, Harmony struggled to her feet. He offered her his hand, but she was desperate to salvage some dignity. She was very aware of how handsome he was.

Standing awkwardly with one broken shoe, crumpled blouse and tousled hair, she forced herself to meet his gaze. His face showed pure concern - he bit his lip slightly as he looked her up and down. Feeling a swoon coming on, she dug her meticulously painted nails into her palm and focused on the pain to keep herself upright.

"Yeah... yeah, fine. Thanks... I... Sorry... I..."

Stop babbling you idiot! He'll think you're some kind of ditz!

"Tripped... Yeah, I saw." He was grinning now. Harmony began stroking her hair, trying to put it back into something resembling a decent look. Her face was still as red as a beetroot.

"So it is Hillary, right?"

"Huh?"

"Your name?"

"Oh... Um... Yes. No! I..." (Pull yourself together, girl!) "I'm Harmony."

And then because she wasn't sure what else to do, she stuck out her hand.

Part of her expected him to drop to one knee and kiss it tenderly like a knight from a fairytale greeting a princess. That was the kind of guy James was - sweet, caring, gentlemanly beyond belief. And damned good looking, to boot.

But after blinking in what Harmony hope to hell wasn't surprise, he grinned again and shook her hand. His grip was strong but gentle, and his hand warm and smooth.

"Harmony, huh? That's cool... I like that name."

She giggled like a little girl.

"So you sure you're okay? You haven't grazed anything?"

She shook her head.

"Yes. I mean no. I mean... Yes, I'm sure."

He flicked a lock of hair out of his eyes. Harmony had gone from stroking her own hair back into place, to curling a strand around one finger. She hoped that this was making her look coy and seductive, not shy and immature.

"Cool. Oh... hey, you've got something..."

He reached out to brush a piece of leaf off of Harmony's blouse. His hand brushed slightly against the mound of her breast. She drew in breath sharply. It was his turn to blush.

"Oh sh... sorry! I... um..."

"No, it's alright..."

"Well, I... I'd better get going. Y'know... my music teacher..."

"No... yeah... it's alright, I mean... I'd better head to class too."

They stammered a handful more awkward goodbyes, then turned to walk their separate ways - he with his confident yet unpretentious gate, and she limping awkwardly with her skirt riding up at the back and the heel of her left shoe clutched in one hand. With an impulsive thought of "oh, what the hell..." she turned and yelled:

"I'll see ya around, James!"

But he was too far away to hear her.

Author's Note

Again, just let me know what you think :) Please be honest!!

- Love, Annabelle

Reviews

[Mikayla_Stagg]

I love the way you write realistically. Nobody is perfect and you do an amazing job showing that here. Loved it. Please write more and dont forget to send me a read request when you do (:

[jjwilbourne]

Haha. Such an awkward encounter.
Some sentences might sound better rearranged but overall it seems to be working.
Im curious as to where you're going with this.

[Lady Annabella]

Thank you! :) I'll try and tweak it a bit. Next chapter will be up soon!

[jjwilbourne]

cool. let me know when it's available!

[Jenna21]

I really enjoyed reading this, as well as your other chapter. I can't wait to read more! :D

[Lady Annabella]

Thank you so much! That means a lot to me!! :)