Love Will Tell Us Where To Go

Between homework, going to more work related things with my mother, going through the process of leaving public school to be home-schooled, and planning our getaway, the 20th got here a lot faster than I thought it would.

“Last day of school tomorrow!” Harry exclaimed to me last night before leaving my house.

“Well, for you anyway.” He made an adorable sad puppy dog face. I kissed his cheek which made him smile.

“It’s going to be hard to not show how sad I am that tomorrow is your last day.” He said.

“I’m sorry! But we really do need to make sure nobody knows. We don’t need nosy people, Amanda, interrogating you.” I coughed in-between saying her name. It made him chuckle.

“I know, I know. And if anyone, I mean, if Amanda asks, I’ll tell her that you have the flu.”

I felt kind of silly being so worried about Amanda, but she’s the only person I know of that could possibly have a chance of ruining anything. I just can’t risk that.

Plus, we’ve been put in a group in English again. Another stupid project. We were first told about it yesterday. We’ll start it today and they’ll continue it for the full first week that I’m gone. That means she’ll have a lot of time to talk to him. Of course she’ll ask about me since I’ll be there.

I wonder what she’ll think of Harry going missing out of no where.

That’s what I was thinking as I sat down next to Harry at our usual seat on the bus. Aww. This is the second to last time we’ll be sitting here together. Who knew a school bus seat could be a sentimental place.
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“I wonder what stupid project we’ll have to do this time.” Amanda said as she walked up to Harry and I in English class. To be honest, I didn’t care much. The only reason I do at all is because Harry is going to have to do it alone with her.

Neither of us had much time to respond, because a few seconds later the teacher handed us each a paper with instructions on them.

Another poster project. This time on one of the sonnet we’ve been studying.

“Well, we’ve done it before, so it shouldn’t be too hard.” Harry stated as he put the paper in his binder.

There was a day by day schedule on the paper. We were told we didn’t have to go by it, but it was strongly suggested. All we had to do today was decide on which sonnet the poster was going to be about and discuss what we could put on it.

After looking through all of the sonnets we had analyzed in class, Harry and I both agreed that we should choose Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare. It’s my favorite, and I think it’s his too. Probably because it’s about love.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

To sum it up, it means that when two people truly love each other, there is no reason they shouldn’t be together. When love is real, nothing can change it; not even if one of them leaves. Love isn’t controlled by time. Love lasts forever. In the last line, Shakespeare says that if he can be proven wrong, he has never written, and no man has ever loved. I think that is so beautiful.
I guess Amanda doesn’t agree.

“Why that one?” she complained annoyingly. No, really. Her voice was literally irritating. Not that I’m saying she has a bad voice, that’s just mean. My problem is I know she’s doing it on purpose.

“Why not?” Harry asked. “It’s like, the easiest one to do.”

She folded her arms and let out an exaggerated sigh. It’s obvious she isn’t use to not getting her way. Luckily for us though, she gave in without much of a fight.

What happened over the next ten minutes or so is something I will end up going over several times in my mind. At the time I found nothing wrong with the way Harry and I were acting.

To be honest, even now I don’t think there was anything wrong with us acting a bit overly…couply. It was our last day of school together, we were looking over a romantic sonnet, and honestly I try to block out Amanda as much as possible. I was doing a good job too. That is, until she left the room and was visibly upset to anyone paying attention.

What was even weirder was she didn’t even ask the teacher before leaving. Harry and I looked at each other before I glanced at the teacher who was looking at her computer, completely oblivious to the fact that a student just left and went to who knows where.

It sure is easy to leave this school unnoticed.

I didn’t want to go after her. I really, really didn’t. She hates me. I don’t like her because of it. I’m probably the last person she wants to see.

“I better go check on her.” I said suddenly. I still wasn’t sure if I was, I was trying to find out what Harry thought.

“She looked upset.” he replied. I guess that’s a yes.

I let out a small sigh before asking the teacher if I could go to the toilet. I grabbed the pass and went to the closest restroom. I didn’t actually expect to see her there, but I did. I also didn’t expect to see her leaning against a wall crying, but I saw that too.

I’m an awkward person. I always have been. I’m the worst person to come to for these kinds of situations unless you’re Chloe or Harry.

I cleared by throat before saying, “Amanda.”

She quickly glanced up before turning her face away from me. Her hands swiftly wiped her eyes in hopes that I hadn’t seen the tears.

“What?” she asked harshly. “Did Mrs. Andrews tell you to come find me? Am I in trouble or something? Because I don’t care. She can go jump -“

“No.” I said. I think she was just as surprised as I was that I interrupted her. She even looked at me.

“What?” she asked, this time not harsh. More shocked than anything.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed…upset.”

She slightly squinted her eyes as she looked at me like I was some weirdo. Just when I was beginning to regret my act of kindness, her face softened as she told me, “Thanks.” Like, legit.
No sarcasm or anything.

I don’t know where this came from, but I somehow walked over to her and asked her what was wrong and if she wanted to talk about it.

“It’s stupid.” she replied as she fiddled with the fringe on her purse. It was so weird to see her so…normal? She acts so rude and stuck up all the time, it’s unusual to see her with her guard down; because that’s what all of that is apparently. A guard to keep others out.

“You’ll feel better if you talk about it. And don’t say that. Anything that can make you feel bad isn’t stupid.”

After a few seconds of thinking it over, she said, “Well…it has to do with…you and Harry.” The pause between that sentence and the next almost killed me.

“You guys are just so…happy. And in love. I just wish I had that too.” Her voice cracked on the last sentence, though no tears fell.

My heart sank. We really could have cut back on acting so mushy. But then I remembered
Riley. “What about your boyfriend?”

She let out a small laugh. “Him? Yeah…right.”

“Why are you guys dating if you don’t like him?”

“I don’t know.” she replied. “I mean, he’s okay. Most of the time. It’s just…we’re nothing like you guys. I guess I stay with him because it’s better than being alone.”

“You shouldn’t settle. It may not seem like it, but you’ll find your ‘Harry’ one day.” She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but I would love to know where he is.” Wow. Two “thanks” in one day. Am I dreaming?

“I know, I know…it doesn’t help much. I know how you feel. You think I was hopeful of finding a guy like Harry? I thought I would never find a guy much less a guy as wonderful as him. If it can happen for me, it will definitely happen for you.”

I couldn’t see her face completely, but I saw it enough to see that her eyes were tearing up. I hope I had helped some.

At the same time, it was strange to feel sympathy for someone who was so rude to me. She just seems so different…I can’t help but relate. I’ve never had a boyfriend before Harry of course, but I know all too well how it feels to think that you’ll never find the perfect guy for you.

She wiped her eyes then she looked at me. More like stared. Long enough to be awkward. I almost spoke when she thanked me again. “Sorry I acted like such a weirdo.” We both laughed as I told her she didn’t need to apologize and that we all have bad days.

Looking back I wonder if she was apologizing for just that day, or all of the other times she acted like a “weirdo” by being so rude. I’d like to think there’s a bit of kindness in everyone and that is what she meant.

“Really, though…thanks. I feel much better.” she said as we walked towards the door to leave the restroom. “No problem.” I replied.

Just as we approached the door, she stopped and turned to me. Just as I was about to ask her why she had stopped, she hugged me. “You and Harry are really great together. I wish you guys the best of luck.” she said quietly as we hugged.

Oh how I hate over analyzing things.

What did she mean by “I wish you guys the best of luck”? Does she know something? If she did, why would she suddenly like us and want us to get away with running away? More importantly, how did she find out?

And what’s up with her getting so upset about Harry and I? Is she really that jealous of our relationship, or is she jealous that I’m with Harry and she’s not?

I was still wondering all of that when she walked out of the door just as the bell rang for us to go to the next class.

Between having more classes with her and doing work, I told Harry I would tell him what happened at home.

Not that I actually paid attention in any class. I was too busy over-analyzing. By the end of the day though, I decided that I was being silly and paranoid. There is no way she knows about us running away.

Why should I care what her true feelings are? Even if she does like Harry, he doesn’t feel the same way. We’re leaving at the beginning of next month, and after that, I won’t even have to see her again.

Of course I still told Harry. He seemed even more shocked than I did, although he didn’t discuss it much.

“Wow…” he said once I finished telling him everything in detail.

“I know right?” I replied. “It was like she was a completely different person. There were several times when I questioned if she had a twin nobody knows about.”

He was a lot more quiet than I had expected. “Hello?” I said with a laugh.

“Oh, sorry. It’s just so…weird.” he replied. “I thought her and Riley were one of those couples people say are going to be together forever.”

“People can be wrong. And are in this case.”

“Yeah…well, anyway, we better start this homework.”

“Hey, I don’t have to! I’m through with that school!”

“Yeah, but you can help me!” he replied. I laughed as I opened his math book.
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The days flew by after that. Today is February 1st, Harry’s birthday. He told me to not buy him anything considering all the money we were about to spend. Plus we need even more for food, staying at a hotel, and anything else that might come up.

I knew he was right, but I hated not getting him anything. I ended up getting him the newest Coldplay album. I knew he’d love it, and it didn’t cost much money.

Luckily the day I’m suppose to go to Australia moved from the fourth to the sixth. We hadn’t bought our plane tickets and couldn’t until Harry could set up a bank account without his parents permission. Once he has one, we’ll put some of my money in it. Hopefully we’ll be able to get to leave the sixth.

But that isn’t going to happen until later.

Right now I’m on my way to Harry’s house for a small party. All of the same relatives from Christmas will be there. His cousins wouldn’t get there until a little after three because of school. Harry got to skip and told his family I did too.

Harry walked out of the house as I pulled into the driveway. “Happy birthday!” I exclaimed as he walked up and hugged me tightly. “Thank you.”

“How does it feel to be an adult?” I asked as I tried to hide the small wrapped present. I had it in a small box so it wouldn’t be obvious that it was a CD.

“Please love, I’m never going to be an adult.” I thought I had gotten away with hiding the gift, but just as he was about to walk away, he turns back and grabs it from me.

“And what is this?” he asked with a smile. “Megan…”

“Oh, hush. It’s your birthday. Besides, it was cheap.”

“So I’m not worth spending money on?” he asked with a smirk. I slapped him playfully and he grabbed my hand before we made our way to his house.

I was greeted even better than the last time I saw his family. Even thought not all of them were there yet, I ended up getting hugged a lot, and for a moment, everything was amazing. Then I remembered those dreams I had. Specifically the one where his family yelled at me for being the reason Harry was in jail. Thankfully I managed to shake that thought away quickly.

It was a great party. Small, but perfect nonetheless. After eating some food, we had a piece of his cake. It was very Britishy with their flag on it.

He got money and cards from everyone before I gave him his CD. “Aaah, thank you!” he exclaimed. “I love it!” We were in front of his family, so we just stuck with a hug.

After the party was over, Harry and I went to the bank to open up the account. We were both so nervous. We knew we weren’t doing anything wrong or illegal, but under the circumstances, it felt like we were risking getting in trouble.

However everything went as planned. The lady at the bank didn’t question us at all. Little does she know what this money will be used for.

Now it is time to buy the plane and train tickets. Aaahh!

“You’re sure this place allows me to fly by myself?” I asked.

“Yeah, see.” he pointed out where it said it was allowed.

“Alright then, let’s do this.” I say before he clicked the button that got us our tickets to America. I squealed when it showed that is had worked.

“We’re actually doing this!” I exclaimed.

“We are! I can’t believe how well everything is going!” he said with just as much enthusiasm.
We were in the middle of kissing when I got a text. I laughed when Harry sighed as I pulled away to see who it was from. It was from Chloe.

“It’s Chloe asking if we got the tickets.” I told him as I replied to her.

“I can’t believe her parents are okay with us staying at their house for a while.”

“I know right? They’re awesome.” They really are. “I guess they can’t stand what my mother did just as much as me. Plus I’m sure they know what I’ve been through since I’m close to Chloe. Wow. I haven’t seen them in so long.”

I got a text back from Chloe. She told me how excited she was and that she couldn’t wait to see us again.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t tell your dad that we’re coming? You know, let him be a little prepared?”

“All he’ll do is tell me not to, then he’ll come here himself. That can’t happen.” I told him. “And we don’t know exactly when we’ll go to his house to meet him. I’m sure we’ll be there a few days before I get the nerve to actually do it.”

Every once in a while between all of the excitement, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. What are we doing? Can we really do this? We’re not even sure what we’ll do once we meet my father. We hope that we can have it legally proven that he’s my father so he can get custody of me, but how difficult will that be? Maybe we’ll have to lay low until I’m eighteen. Will he let us live with him until then?

He had told us his wife is pregnant, what if they’re house isn’t big enough? What if they can’t afford to let us stay there? I do have quite a lot of money, but…maybe Chloe’s parents will let us stay with them? They can only be so generous.

What about school? I’m home schooled so it’s not like I have to worry about a school wondering where I am. But the school is online, and I have to turn in stuff and show grades. What will my mother do about that?

Who knows how long it will be before I can go back to school or even be legit home schooled. Will I have to wait until I’m eighteen? What about Harry?

Whenever I think like this I zone out and Harry can tell something is wrong. At this point, I don’t say a word. He just pulls me close to him and holds me tight.

“We’ll be okay, Megan. Everything is going to work out perfectly.”

True or not, his words calm me down every time.
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My mother and I have been packing for a while now, so it’s been easy to set away the bags I’ll be taking with me when Harry and I leave tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

My heart beats faster every time I remember that.

I’ve moved so many times, I’m use to it. This time is different though. I love this house. I have so many wonderful memories here unlike most of the others. The other day I took a million pictures from pretty much every angle possible.

It's so hard to narrow down which clothes I’m taking. I have a lot of clothes, but don’t want to carry too many bags. Then again, this is all I’ll have.

It’s almost time for Harry to get home from his last day of school. He’ll have to pack tonight as well. It sucks that he’ll have to do it after everyone else has fallen asleep so they won’t see him doing it. That gives him less time.

Because this is the night before we leave, Harry wants to spend some time with his family. But before that, he said he’d drop by to see me and make sure everything was going ok with packing and everything else. That, and I’m pretty sure he just wanted to see me.

Once packing clothes overwhelms me, I start packing my shoes. Harry still isn’t here. It’s forty
five minutes after three. What the heck?

I ask him where he is and if he’s okay via text. I don’t get a reply.

I tell myself that there’s no need to worry. Maybe he went home first instead. But why couldn’t he reply to my text?

To distract myself, I go back to packing my shoes. It’s when I get done thirty minutes later that I really worry.

I text him again, and this time I get a reply.

Harry: Sorry for not replying earlier, love. I’m fine. Change of plans though. I’m at my house right now, but I’ll be at yours as soon as possible.

Wait…will he go back to his house again later? There has to be something he’s not telling me.

Oh no…what if his parents found out what we’re doing?

I should feel better knowing he’s fine, but something just doesn’t feel right.

Despite the new situation, I have to keep packing. I finish packing my make up, hair products, and accessories by five fifteen. I think about texting him again, but he already told me he’d be
here as soon as he could.

I can’t keep packing. Instead, I go downstairs and watch television. I also check the window often to see if he’s here yet. Too many times, actually.

But finally, there he was at seven o’clock. I happened to be looking out of the window when I saw him walking up the driveway; several suitcases in tow.

Oh no.

I could already tell from a distance how upset he was. Angry is actually the best way to describe him. As he approached the door I opened it. He walked in and tossed the luggage on the floor. “It’s so freaking stupid!” he screamed in frustration.

“Harry, what’s wrong?” I asked. As badly as I wanted to freak out, I knew that I needed to stay calm.

He clasped his hands together behind his head as he paced back and forth. “I just - I don’t understand! Why - how - they have no freaking right!”

“Sweetie,” I said as I walked towards him. He stopped pacing and I walked up him and placed my hands on his hips. “I need you to tell me what is going on.”

His breathing was ragged even though I could tell he was trying to breath normally. His eyes were tearing up. Had he just cried, or was he about to?

“Harry, please…tell me what’s wrong.” I begged as my eyes began to tear up as well. I can’t stand seeing him so upset.

He took a deep breath before saying, “The principal. She told my parents I filled out papers to drop out of school. They know. We got in a huge fight, I didn’t know what else to do, so I packed and left.”

I pull him towards me and his arms tighten around me. “I just wanted to spend one more night with them before we left.” And with that, he starts to cry.

Notes