Click to Subscribe - By L. M. Augustine Page 0,14

rather passionately for a coffee shop. It’s like they’re trying to taunt me about being here alone. Without Harper.

I shift my gaze to my left, where a cashier snores softly on the counter. The whole place is painfully quiet.

I just want Harper to get here.

The thing is, I’ve never seen her before and I’m therefore not entirely sure how I’ll recognize her, but I have this gut feeling that I’ll know who she is the moment I lay eyes on her. I’ll know she’s my Harper, the one who I can’t get out of my head, the one who I don’t want to get out of my head. The one who, all this time, I’ve been falling in love with.

I wait.

My eyes stay glued to the door for several more minutes, but there’s still no sign of Harper. After a while longer I pull out my phone and start wasting my time on random apps and memes, as well as by constantly refreshing my vlog page for no real reason. Where is Harper? She didn’t strike me as someone to be late to something like this.

Finally, forty minutes after she was supposed to get here, when I’m just about ready to call it quits and leave, she messages me through our chatroom.

Hey Sam,

Sorry I couldn’t make it. Something came up. I feel like an asshole, because I still DO want to meet. Can we try again? Tomorrow maybe? Ugh, still so sorry for not being there. I’m an idiot.

My heart sinks a little further as I read it. I close my eyes, the defeat slipping in. I feel like a pouty five year old thinking this, but I want her here now.

Yeah sure… I write. Okay. Tomorrow. Same time/place?

Yes! I seriously feel terrible for leaving you. I hope you weren’t waiting too long. Tomorrow, yes. I’ll be there. PROMISE.

With the Chewbacca glasses?

Hell yes with the Chewbacca glasses. How could you doubt me? Also, I think next time we need to wear something so we each stand out to each other… How about I wear a “I <3 Sam Green” shirt?

Yesss! And I’ll have on a custom-made “Harper Knight Is Cooler Than Pizza-Eating Cows” shirt.

And by custom-made I assume you mean made with markers from your house?

Of course.

I would expect no less.

They’ll be badass marker drawings, obviously.

Wait, really?

*waggles brows* Really.

Good. I should never have doubted you.

That is true. Now, promise to bring yourself tomorrow, too, k?

Of course. Prepare to be blown away by my drop-dead good looks.

Oh believe me, I am prepared, m’lady.

Coolness. See you tomorrow!

Bye!

I start at my phone for a while after she logs off, re-reading the conversation again and again. After the third time, the reality sinks in. A smile flickers across my lips.

Tomorrow, I meet Harper Knight. For real this time.

Chapter 6

I spend my night filming another vlog and thinking about Mom. When I get home, aside from commenting once again on my dad’s lack of contribution to the family, I run upstairs, slam my bedroom door shut, pull out my camera, and begin filming. I try not to get upset about Harper, but the sadness just pours out of me.

My words come out in a jumbled mess. I sit on my bed and start talking about losing someone you care about, about death and hopelessness and being lost, and the next thing I know I’m staring into the camera, my heart pounding, my eyes fighting back tears, talking about Mom. “I remember when I was in fourth grade and my mom took Cat and me to the local playground,” I say. “It was a normal day—the sun was out, there was a nice breeze, and kids all around us were dancing and laughing and playing on the slides and swings. When we got there, Cat and I squealed about how incredibly awesome the whole place looked. Then, she ran to the playground. I turned to Mom before following her, though, not wanting to abandon my mom. When I hesitated, she said to go on, that we had the whole afternoon to play, that she’d be there waiting. So I raced after Cat, grabbed her hand, and we headed first for the sandbox, where we built a replica of cake and then destroyed it, a process that slowly devolved into a sand-fight. Next we ran to the swings, then the slide, and we laughed and played and laughed some more. It was a great day, full of life and more importantly, full of my best friend. But,