Believe Me, I'm Lying [New & Improved]

Chapter Twenty-Three

"You ready, bud?"

Elliot nodded to me, pulling his wool hat further down his head. For a moment I surveyed his attire, determining whether or not he would be warm enough outside. He had an over-sized winter coat on, and just about ten pairs of pants. I was afraid someone on the street might accidentally mistake him for a walking marshmallow.

"Harley, wear this."

Something warm wrapped around my neck, and I turned my head slightly to see Will hovering over me, holding the ends of a fluffy, grey scarf. I took it from him, wrapping it the rest of the way on my throat. "Thanks."

He gave me a gentle smile. "Will you be okay today?"

"I'll be—" My voice caught and I cleared it before continuing. "I'll be fine..."

"Are you sure? You could always stay home and we could go through photo albums or something—"

I quickly shook my head. "No."

Will frowned at me. "Harley, trying to forget won't make things better. It's better to celebrate their memory."

My stomach twisted uncomfortably as a lump in my throat grew. "I don't want to forget. I just don't want to remember right now. I want to have fun today. I'm sure my mom and dad would rather see me having fun than see me crying."

"That's true," Will chuckled, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Go have fun, kiddo."

I shrugged away from his hand, giving him a quick grin. "That's the idea."

A knock on the front door signaled the arrival of Oliver, who had offered to pick Elliot and myself up. Elliot was pulling open the door before I even started toward it. I quickly looked at Will, making sure he was wearing pants. He was. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I turned back to the door. Instead of Oliver standing in the doorway, like I'd expected, Melissa, Zak, and Arden were there, wide smiles on their faces. Taken aback, I stared at the group for a minute, not sure of what to say.

"Harley! You made a girl friend?" Will cried excitedly, pushing past me. He went up to Melissa, scooping up her hand, and shaking it exclusively. "Hello lovely lady, what's your name?"

Melissa sent me an amused look before smiling at Will. "I'm Melissa, Oliver's sister."

"Nice to meet you, Melissa. I'm Will," he responded, finally dropping her hand. "It's so nice to see Harley with a girl."

Melissa laughed. "Is it so rare?"

"You wouldn't believe," Will said, and I stomped on his foot. "Ow," he muttered, shooting me a dirty look.

"Will, this is Zak," I said, gesturing at Zak. "And you know Arden."

"The want-to-be boyfriend," Will stated with a nod. "Yes, I remember."

Arden cracked a grin at him. "That's me."

"Oliver and Tucker are waiting in the van, so we should probably go," Melissa advised. "We don't want to put Oliver in a bad mood..."

Oliver. I chewed on my bottom lip, feeling nervous. How did his talk with Andy go? I hoped to God it went well.

"Who invited him anyway?" Arden muttered moodily.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I did. And you two are going to get along, right?"

Arden pursed his lips at me. "If I have to."

"You have to."

Will laughed, slapping me on the back none too gently. "You heard the pretty blonde girl, your friends are waiting in the van."