closed starter for @fallingsohard
harlowe sauntered over to justin's table in the dining hall. it had been two weeks since he got his chemistry test result back. he stared at the a on his laptop screen, fist pumped in excitement then never thought about it again. what he thought about more often was whether or not he should tell justin about his grade. he was torn. he didn't want to give him anything to be smug about. he expected him to take all the credit. but harlowe believed in fairness. justin was a pain in the ass to work with but he had helped him achieve his grade ; his flashcards were useful. he was also kind of impressed that justin kept tutoring him despite how much of a nightmare he was to tutor.
as he looked at justin from across the dining hall harlowe decided it was his moment to talk to him. "hey, i've been looking for you." he greeted. that was a lie but he couldn't say he'd almost drunk texted him as least four times. "i got my chemistry test back. i got an a." he paused to give justin time to react. he scratched the back of his neck before he continued. "i was wondering if you wanted to do something to celebrate? i could buy you dinner to thank you for putting up with me? or we could go out for drinks? i was going to say beers but you don't seem like the beers type ,which is cool,. i'm chill going to a nice wine bar or maybe somewhere that does cocktails?" harlowe rambled, tapping his fingers underneath his tray. he didn't know why but he found it difficult to look directly at justin for too long. that was the part he was dreading. he didn't want to give justin the power to humiliate him by saying no and he knew how weird it was to ask someone he found irritating to hang out. but his decision made sense. he wanted to be polite and thank justin for helping him pass his exam.
