20
HARLEY
The sun had completely set by the time Harley got out of her last class, and considering daylight savings was in two days she knew it was only going to get darker even earlier but thankfully next week was officially reading week.
At Thorne, they were given two weeks off instead of one. She was glad, she needed the time off.
She decided to go into stores to see if she could find a costume for the Halloween party.
After watching the comet a couple days ago, she felt alright about being around Annabel’s friends.
Still, she was partly worried she’d end up spending most of the night nursing a drink in the corner of the room.
She remembered that Annabel said she could invite a friend, her mind immediately went to Scarlett.
However, she recalled her and Scarlett’s deal about not mixing their relationships together.
No doubt she would decline, her hatred for Annabel ran too deep and Harley still hadn’t received a reason as to why.
There was nothing she could do to change it.
In her almost two months living in London, she rarely had a chance to herself so she ended up walking a lot everywhere. Her legs had become extremely toned from how much. She enjoyed watching how the lights lit up the city in place of the sun.
There was a costume shop located in a wide alley, it had other cafes next to it as well as a cake shop she was definitely going to try.
On her way into the store, she spotted three huge men standing not too far by the entrance and it immediately had her on alert.
Perhaps she shouldn't judge a book by its cover, as they were dripped in tattoos and piercings but they reminded her too much of the men back home who would take advantage of the younger girls in her neighbourhood.
She couldn't help but be cautious at their mere presence.
Their eyes trailed her as she walked past them but she behaved as though she didn’t see them. Harley spent fifteen minutes in the shop but couldn't find anything she liked.
She walked out to see a familiar face coming out of one of the stores, Scarlett in a short jean skirt, crop top and puffer jacket. Harley couldn't help but marvel at how she never got cold no matter the weather and right now it was under ten degrees.
Just as she was about to yell her name, she saw Scarlett walking up to the three men she had avoided earlier.
She frowned immediately, trying to place how they knew one another.
She was much shorter compared to the rest of them but they all stood a little straighter as she spoke.
Harley’s head tilted as she observed the interaction, trying to understand why alarm bells were going off in her head.
She must've stood there too long as Scarlett spotted her and froze, she handed the men something and ran up to her with a smile on her face. The last few days had changed their relationship massively because depending on who you’d ask, she had chosen her over her sister. “I didn't know you’d be here.”
“Just shopping,” Harley answered plainly, she nodded to the three who stood there like they were awaiting orders. “Who are those guys you were with?”
“Oh nobody,” Scarlett replied but quickly moved to change the subject and linked their arms together, dragging her away, “I’ll help with your shopping, come on.”
When Harley turned back around the men were no longer there, almost like she imagined them.
They had darted in and out of stores until they finally found one with something that would work for the outfit she had in mind.
She picked two separate sizes of the two piece silver set, Scarlett followed her into the dressing room despite how small it was and sat on the chair, their legs essentially knocking together.
Harley stripped out of her jeans and her top, forgetting for a second she wasn't wearing a bra.
Scarlett watched her, not looking away even when Harley caught her eye.
She held her hand out for Scarlett to pass her the bigger set, to try the skirt on first. When struggling to zip it up from the back, Scarlett got up from her chair to help her, “Let me do it.”
Less than a foot away, Scarlett’s fingers lingered around her waist while zipping up the skirt. She turned Harley around to help her put on and zip the scrunched metallic cropped top as well. They look at one another in the mirror.
Harley could feel the simmering tension in the room, she gave her a strained smile, as she tried to remember to breathe. In an attempt to deflect from whatever was going on here, she asked, “Yes or no?”
“No,” Scarlett shifted her body around, putting a finger inside the skirt to show the space. Her finger touching Harley’s skin, “It’s a little loose. Get the smaller one.”
They were standing so close to one another, Harley could barely hear herself think and she still wasn’t even sure she was breathing. She cleared her throat and took a step back, hitting the wall.
“I didn’t even ask, what is the outfit for?” Scarlett asked Harley as she changed back into her clothes, sitting back down.
“Halloween party. Annabel, and technically I, are hosting it,” she replied. Harley figured she’d use this moment to take the risk to ask, “Do you want to come? I have permission to bring whoever I want.”
“Being in the same space as those pricks? Not a very good idea.” She cringed at the thought.
“It’s alright. Figured I’d just ask,” Harley said, barely holding together a smile. There went her hopes of having a friend of her own there. Maybe she’d invite Anika, Jamie and the others.
“Don’t be sad, my Starley.” Scarlett had started calling her that after finding out her middle name. Her disappointment must’ve been more revealing than she thought. Scarlett stood and used her hands to physically pull Harley’s face into a real smile, which made her laugh. “There it is.”
“Come on, let’s go pay for your shit and get some ice cream.”
“I thought we agreed, we were trying to stop the sweet tooth. It’s also nearly eight o’clock”
“Never too late for ice cream, my love,” she said with a wink, “And, I realised there’s no stopping a sweet tooth, you either got it or you don’t and if you’ve got it you might as well carry on.”
“That makes no sense,” Harley laughed.
Scarlett shrugged and pulled them both out of the tiny changing room, holding Harley’s hands. They don’t let go the whole time Harley paid or even after they left.
???
“If we got caught on camera, and then arrested, I hope you have a really good lawyer. You have made me an accessory to your crime!” Harley coughed out, trying to catch her breath after they ran from the sweet shop in Westfield White City that they (Scarlett) took from without paying.
It was fun to do something out of character for once.
Not be so responsible all the time. Though she knew she would go back tomorrow and pay for the sweets.
“Between the two of us, you're the one with resources for that,” Scarlett said, hinting at her familial situation.
“I doubt it,” she replied. Now solemn, remembering the only way she had seen her father had been via the news.
They fell silent for a beat, and then Scarlett asked, “How is that going?”
“Fine, I suppose.” Harley shrugged. “I can’t complain about the chance at a new life that I have been given. I get to study and have fun without worry.”
She sighed and repeated under her breath, “I can't complain.” Harley wanted it to be enough but for some reason it just still didn’t seem to be.
Scarlett looked at her unconvinced, but didn’t press. “Why did you never go to uni before now?”
Harley paused, unsure of how much she wanted to reveal. So she kept it vague, “Things were just simply difficult for me back home, it was just easier not to.”
“I get it. I told you before it's just me and mum, too.”
“And your cousins,” Harley added. They had walked into Harley’s street, it was after ten o’clock which meant the tourists who stood on the street taking pictures, despite the fact that it wasn’t summer, were most likely gone and the street descended back into its serene quietness.
The wind that brushed against Scarlett’s pin-straight hair moved with barely a whisper as she walked backwards, facing Harley.
“How come you don’t have the same last name as them? ”
“Argent is my mum’s maiden name. Her and dad never married and when he died she changed it.”
“Why?” she asked, but Scarlett stayed silent. They had spoken a lot about other things but not in depth about family. Harley followed up, “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.”
Assuming she had been offended Scarlett rushed to say, “This isn't about you knowing but more how you'll react.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
Scarlett hesitated once more before she spoke, “I want to explain this carefully, so you properly understand why things are the way they are.” Harley nodded, waiting for her to give the explanation.
“Remember when Pose told you to stay away from our side?” she asked, Harley nodded again. “It’s because of the gang. My family runs the Southwark gang. More specifically Southwark Carney but Luke always said it was dumb to have our last name in our title.”
Harley stopped walking, her entire body stiffened at once. Unable to process the information she had been fed. A gang? “Are you taking the piss or are you being serious?”
There was skepticism written all over Harley’s face and it was obvious she didn’t believe her.
Then Scarlett began fiddling with her boots, then she brought out a knife from the hilt of her boots, “So serious.” She flicked it open then held it out to Harley like a prized possession.
A switchblade. She took it from her admiring the handle that seems carefully crafted.
“I bring it with me everywhere. Luke gave it to me when I was thirteen. It’s my favourite,” Scarlett said, her lips almost tilting into a smile, but she thought better of it. “And my forty-five, but I gave it to the boys when I saw you.”
“A gun…” Harley trailed off, still trying to wrap her head around the things she was discovering about her friend.
“I know it's a lot to process at once and I see why you’re looking at me like I’ve grown another head, but it’s nothing mindblowing.
This has been my life for a very long time; it’s my family’s legacy.
That can’t change. You never stop being a Carney.
” She said the last sentence like it was a motto drilled into her.
“What does this have to do with your last name being changed?” Harley asked, remembering what her initial question was that led them here.
“My dad didn’t just die. He was murdered, along with Pose and Luke’s dad,” Scarlett said with a shrug, like a comment about a family member being murdered was just another Tuesday. “Mum thought it’d be safer for me, in case the people who killed them ever came back.”
“That’s a bit redundant considering you're in the gang.”
“That came later. See, mum was part of the life too but she left when dad died, she didn’t want another person she loved to die and she worried about me.
” She brushed her hair from her face, then put her arms in her coat pocket.
“It’s why she works so much, she didn't want any handouts from the money that came from it.
Mum wasn't happy when she found out, she and Luke had it out for a while.”
Harley didn’t know what to say, they had reached the front of the townhouse. She didn't get her key out of her pocket. “What age exactly did you join?”
“Techinally thirteen. That’s why I got my knife, it was my present. But more seriously at sixteen.” Scarlett replied.
Harley inhaled the information and processed, her voice a little cold. “Gangs in my neighbourhood back home were filled with men taking advantage of little girls and boys, knife crimes and causing trouble.”
“You’re upset.”
“I don’t like it. Not because of what you think, but because I think your cousin groomed you into a role that you now feel like you have no choice but to accept as normal.”
“It’s not–” Scalett cut herself short then took a step back.
“I have to go, it's getting late.” She began to walk away without another word.
Harley knew she had overstepped, she turned around fiddling with the key, not wanting to see her leave.
It felt like a chord had been yanked between them like Scarlett was pulling away from her.
Then a voice startled her from behind, Scarlett had come back “What time is the party?”
“Starts at ten.” Harley replied.
“I’ll be there,” Scarlett said with a smile. Then she walked away and disappeared from sight. Harley wasn’t sure what she had gotten herself into but she finally understood why Annabel had told her the redhead girl wasn't all she seemed to be.