* 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 / 𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓹

     harper had been dreading this for M O N T H S  — sure, nolan seemed nice enough but he also seemed deathly b o r i n g to the young socialite. granted, she hadn’t actually taken the time to get to know him, but just the concept of him and whatever life they could have together made her feel some kind of WAY. she had always dreamed of meeting the love of her life in some sort of meet cute story that her kids would ask to listen to over and over, and she’d fall M A D L Y in love with him, and they would live happily ever after  — and her union with nolan represented NONE of this. it was all planned, organized, and entirely O U T of her control. it was like her parents couldn’t even trust her to choose the man she’d spend the rest of her days with and she resented this. how dare they assume she’d want to be with some boring businessman who’d spend all his time at work and away from her ? a man who’d never love her as much as he loved his work ? it was downright c r u e l of them.

     for the past eight months she’d been deflecting, blowing him off and slipping away from their dates as swiftly as she could, with little regard for his feelings — but w h a t e v e r, right ? he surely had more important things to do than entertain some SILLY GIRL. she didn’t understand why he kept asking her out, but she had to give it to him  — he knew how to insist.

     still, harper wasn’t completely heartless. after TWENTY NINE times of rejecting him, she figured that one full, actual date couldn’t hurt. maybe it’d finally make him realize they were not compatible. as she got the text to confirm that he was here, she replied with a single emoji and a huge sigh. she wasn’t really dressed in anything too fancy, the cold night weather of the city making her shudder a little bit as she stepped out of her apartment. she was simply dressed, wearing black tights and a black mini dress covered by a beige coat and a positive attitude to top it all off. 

     “hey.” she said with a smile. it was refreshing to see him not in a suit. “you don’t look messy at all. i like this look on you.” harper admitted with an honest smile, sighing and sanding in front of him. “okay, so tell me. where are we going on this fine evening ?”

               leaning  against  his  newly  waxed  black  beauty  :  asami  ,  nolan’s  thoughts  were  running  wild  .  he  really  had  wanted  to  get  to  know  the  blonde  better  ,  not  because  of  his  father  &  his  wishes  ,  but  because  he  wanted  to  .  the  time  leading  up  to  this  moment  was  like  every  other  time  they  had  planned  to  see  one  another  .  full  of  c u r i o s i t y  &  a  tinge  of  FEAR  .  this  time  around  he  really hoped  that  she  wouldn’t  cancel  on  him  .  he  even  crossed  his  fingers  as  he  waited  outside  for  her  .

                 when  harper  finally  came  outside  ,  nolan’s  pale  eyes  could  not  believe  his  sights  .  she  was  absolutely  stunning  !  she  had  looked  captivating  every  time  he  had  seen  her  ,  but  he  couldn’t  stop  himself  from  thinking  it  every  single  time  he  laid  his  eyes  on  harper  .  the  simplicity  of  her  outfit  actually  put  nolan  at  ease  ,  every  time  they  had  previous  seen  one  another  he  was  dressed  up  &  more  ‘ official  looking ’  than  he  personally  wanted  .

                   with  the  compliment  there  was  a  soft  pink  that  seemed  to  spread  over  nolan’s  cheeks  ,  he  wasn’t  expecting  the  blonde  to  actually  like  his  outfit  .  but  with  her  comment  it  got  nolan  thinking  that  perhaps  it  was  all  the  suites  that  he  had  previously  warn  on  all  their  outings  that   had  her  avoiding  him  .  of  course  nolan  took  this  as  a  learning  moment  to  not  wear  suites  from  there  on  out  .  “  hm  ,  well  if  you  have  a  set  soon  then  perhaps  getting  a  drink  isn’t  the  best  thing  to  do  right  now  .  ”  nolan’s  lips  seem to  pucker  &  then  twist  off  to  the  side  in  thought  ,  it  looked  as  if  the  young  man  was  POUTING  ;  but  he  would  assure  anyone  that  he  was  just  thinking  .  

ella: wonderful! they're amazing, that's for sure.

ella: i figured if anyone would appreciate them as much as i do, it would be you

ella: that's so sweet, but you don't have to!

nolan : i didnt know u liked butterflies so much !

nolan : do u have a fav ????

ella: hey, it's ella

ella: bit of a weird question, but there's this event thing at the butterfly conservatory

ella: and i don't wanna go alone

ella: any chance you'd wanna come?

nolan : i would LOVE to go !!!

nolan : 🦋 are so nice !! theyre v v important to the ecosystem

             TWENTY - NINE  .  .  .  that  was  the  number  of  times  nolan  had  asked  harper  out  to  go  out  &  do  something  with  him  .  granted  ,  he  wished  he  could  call them  dates  ,  but  harper  had  blown  him  off  completely  fifteen  of  those  times  .  all  the  other  times  she  had  an  emergency  or  a  work  related  thing  to  tend  to  .  unfortunately  it  was  d r a i n i n g  to  continue  to  pursue  the  blonde  -------  &  for  WHAT  ?  a  forced  marriage  where  neither  of  them  actually  liked  one  another  ?  it  didn’t  matter  ,  nolan  thought  as  he  pulled  up  to  where  the  actress  was  at  .  he  was  fairly  nervous  ,  but  made  sure  to  contain  his  feelings  as  he  leaned  against  his  dark  bmw  . 

‘  here  ’

* ANOTHER TEN MINUTES LATER *

harper: um

* FIVE MORE MINUTES *

harper: yea if u want

. . . SEVEN MINUTES LATER . . .

harper: yeah i can!! but i cant rlly stay too long, i have a photoshoot at 10 :/

harper: in 30? let me check

* TEN MINUTES LATER *

harper: where did u have in mind ??

nolan : i think there might b a pie bar close 🥧 ?

harper: sure, yeah!!

harper: what time ??

nolan : OH ? you can !?

nolan : that's great , really great !

nolan : so , i didnt think u were gonna say yes tbh

nolan : but how about a dessert and drink in 30 instead ?

harper: hey !!

harper: not sure, why ?

nolan : 🥑🥞🍳🍩☕🍴 ?

nolan : hey !

nolan : what r u doing tomorrow morning ?

       ponyo’s  here  ;  twenty - two  ,  pst  ,  any  pronouns  !  i  currently  live  next  to  seattle  washington  aka  the  state  that’s  at  80  degrees  yesterday  &  pouring  down  rain  today  .  anywho  ,  if  you  go  beneath  the  read  more  you  can  read  about  my  baby  nolan  !  if  there  are  any  spelling  mistakes  forgive  me  ,  i  got  a  kitten  (  who’s  only  five  weeks  old  )  a  day  ago  &  she  is  obsessed  with  climbing  on  my  laptop  only  when  i’m  using  it  haha  . also  ;  i  prefer  discord  over  tumblr  ims  so  feel  free  to  send  me  a  message  at  jackie fricken burkhart#6145  oh  lord  ,  when  did  this  intro  get  so  long  ahh