Chapter 2 Two

"You're joking, right?" Noel scoffs. "I mean most fathers bring home like a puppy or stray cat at most for their kids, not some...uh, some-"

"Delinquent? I think that's the word you're looking for," Harken chides.

Noel glares at him.

"I understand your hesitation about welcoming someone like him to live with us, but I assure you Harken will be on his best behaviour while he is here. Right, Harken?" He adds the last part with a tone of warning.

Harken lifts his hand to salute him, a cocky grin on his face.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Ashford."

Noel rolls her eyes and shakes her head, unable to wrap her head around the fact that she is going to be living with this immature man-child. She can already tell they won't be getting along, so she won't bother trying to, already planning to try and steer clear of him until he is inevitably kicked out or leaves of his own accord, unable to cope under the strict rules of her dad.

If there is someone like Harken Lewis living in her home, she doubts her dad will be leaving her alone at night now. How could he leave his precious daughter alone with some teenage delinquent he picked off the street?

Right?

"I'm not asking you two to be the best of friends, just please try and get along, maintain the peace in this house, that's all I ask," her dad says, before turning to walk back down the stairs, Noel gaping in disbelief as he leaves her alone with this weirdo.

Not forgetting how she just walked in on him stepping out of the shower, she turns on her heel to retreat to her bedroom and escape the situation.

"So, your name is Noel? With your interest in spying on defenceless guys, I would've thought your name was Peeping Jane," Harken calls out teasingly.

She closes her eyes as she feels her face go beat red, but she ignores him and continues walking, her hand pausing on the door handle as he calls out to her again.

"Nice pyjamas."

Her face now the colour of a ripe tomato, she rips open her bedroom door, dashing inside and slamming the door. Sliding down it she covers her face in utter shame, wanting to scream into her fingers, mentally clawing at her mind to remove the entire moment that just occurred.

She can't believe she did all of that while standing in nothing but an oversized hoodie with unicorns on them – there is even a horn on the hood! She gives herself a slight thumbs up for not wearing it, but she doubts that would make it any less shameful than it already is.

Twice in one day, she has wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.

Why is her luck so terrible today?

~*~

Noel decides to hide in her room for the remainder of the evening, distracting herself with the bit of homework she received, despite it being the first day back. She is just about done when there is a knock on her door.

She opens it to reveal Harken, this time fully clothed and in much better lighting than before, she can actually see his face this time. She hates that he is good-looking, naturally tanned skin with pretty pale blue eyes and shaggy dark hair, a chiselled face, and a tall posture.

As handsome as he is, everything about him screams playboy and it irritates her. Studying his well-toned arms, she can see a bit of colourful ink sticking out from underneath the cuff of his long-sleeve tee, suddenly interested in seeing the rest.

"Are you done checking me out? If so, dinner is ready, Scott told me to come get you," he says, grinning at her with a wink.

Caught off guard and red-handed, Noel just gapes at him, grasping for a comeback but finding nothing as her brain slowly processes what just happened. By that time, he has already turned around and sauntered back down the stairs.

She huffs angrily and marches down after him, taking an empty plate ahead of Harken and her dad and loading it with her serving of chicken, mashed potatoes, and boiled carrots. Although the dinner table looks set up for everyone to set down at, she walks right past it to the living room and sits down with her plate in her lap, turning on the TV.

Flipping through the channel while she lazily lifts her fork to eat, she nearly jumps with her full plate in her lap off the couch when Harken plops himself down next to her. He snatches the remote out of her hand and picks a random channel, some unknown action film halfway through.

"Hey, I was using that!" She reaches out and tries to snatch the remote back, but his long arms are more than enough to keep it out of reach.

"You were taking too long picking something," he grunts, then shocks her once more by shoving the remote down his pants as she makes another attempt to grab it, her hand reeling back as if his crotch is on fire.

"You've got to be kidding me? How old are you?"

Harken rolls his eyes. "Relax, guys wear these things called boxers, and it protects their junk from touching other outside things. I don't expect a virgin like you to know, it's all right."

Noel knows he is just trying to annoy her, but the fact that he was able to tell right away how innocent and inexperienced she is by one glance for some reason bothers her enough that a wave of anger washes over her unexpectedly.

Picking up her plate, she storms into the kitchen and tosses her half-eaten food into the sink along with it, before continuing to storm upstairs.

Scott Ashford has no choice but to watch his daughter storm away from a confused and dumbfounded-looking boy, bowing his head a moment before looking to the ceiling.

"And you always said you had wanted another child, Liliane," he mutters to himself, a bitter smile touching his lips.

He feels sudden unknown relief when he hears the doorbell, rushing over to open it for Noel's friend, Priscilla, understanding where the feeling of relief came from. Scott frequently refers to Priscilla as 'the buffer', being known to stop the frequent public outbursts between her father and mother, as well as keep Noel's anger in check.

"If you're looking for Noel, she just ran upstairs, come on in," he says and opens the door wider for her, revealing Harken still slumped over on the couch.

Priscilla offers a sweet smile to Noel's father Scott but drops it instantly when she spots Harken eyeing her from the couch, not bothering to even sit up straight and greet her properly.

"Who are you?" she asks, acting the same and not bothering to hide her snarky tone.

"Your worst nightmare," he says, pondering flipping her the bird since it's obvious she already hates him.

"Harken!" Noel's dad warns, but he ignores him.

Priscilla laughs at his comeback. "Impossible," she says. "Pretty sure I just left your mom's place, and if so, she outshines you." She tosses him a wink then struts upstairs, leaving Harken to scoff and look at Mr. Ashford in disbelief.

"That's the kind of friend your precious daughter has?" he asks, unable to see where the connection between those two contrasting girls is.

"They balance each other out, I suppose. Anyway, you need to watch that tone of yours. I already warned you I have a daughter and she has been on her own with me for a long time, she isn't used to living with anyone else, especially not someone like yourself."

Harken laughs mockingly and rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, I get it, I'm the big bad wolf and she's your sweet little red riding hood. If anything happens to her or I disrespect her in any way, it's out on the street or off to jail this time, right?"

"Harken, that isn't what I was going to say, but if you already understand what is expected of you to stay here, then just do it. You made this deal with the judge because it was either this or a government-run shelter, where you're monitored 24/7 and share a room with several other guys who have committed crimes."

"My name was cleared, was it not? The judge pardoned me, so why can't I be free to do whatever I want now? I can continue my parole without having to shackle up with my lawyer and his daughter."

Scott Ashford knew he wouldn't understand why his name was actually cleared or the consequences of doing so.

"You and your buddies got to walk free because you gave up the names and faces of the men who really did it. Do you know who those men are? Hired killers, this was a job for them, and they failed because you exposed them. Newsflash, genius, one of them is still out there."

Harken laughs. "So, you think they're going to track down a bunch of kids because they got caught? This isn't some stupid action film, Scott, or why not place us all into witness protection?"

"You fail to remember one of your little buddies wasn't completely innocent of his crimes of grand theft auto that night, thanks to the testimony you provided us. He only got 6 months in juvie being just shy of 18. What do you think he's going to do once he gets out? Do you think witness protection cares about that? I'm doing this because you have no options for protection at the moment, and you're my responsibility."

This angers Harken and he stands up in a flash.

"I'm just your client, that hardly makes me your responsibility. We agreed the only reason I'm staying here is to finish my high school and then get the hell out of here, I don't need your care or your protection, I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself."

At this point, Scott is too tired to continue arguing and allows Harken to think about what he wants.

"Just...watch your mouth, all right?"

Harken looks reluctant but nods his head, slumping back down into the couch as Scott wanders upstairs for the night. Harken finds himself flipping through the channels now, not paying attention to the screen as he contemplates his first night in the Ashford house.