#BreakingTheRules

by Yesenia Vargas

  Rey: It’s the only sport I would ever play. Maybe. Hey, no athletic body required ;)

  Wes: :O True! I bet wizards have like zero muscle tone. Lol.

  Wes flexed playfully from his window, and I found my seat again, texting him back.

  Rey: Haha. I know. Another reason I’m sure my letter to Hogwarts got lost in the mail…

  Wes: :b I would say that you’re a total dork, but I totally wish I could go to Hogwarts too. Really beats the Muggle life, you know?

  Wes and I may or may not have messaged late into the night, sending each other hilarious Harry Potter memes.

  Wes: FINALLY, I understand what these mean. LOL.

  That message had me laughing out loud.

  Rey: FINALLY, I have someone to send them to!

  Wes: ;)

  More than ever, I felt like Wes and I finally had a connection that did not involve my brother. I never would have guessed it would end up being Harry Potter.

  It felt too good to be true, but then my phone would chime with a new message from him, and just like that, I was on cloud nine again.

  When I got back from brushing my teeth the next morning, sure enough, there was a message waiting for me.

  Wes: It’s all fun and games until you’ve got an 8am class.

  Rey: Good morning to you too :) Yawnnnnn.

  Wes: I may or may not be in a constant state of yawning today. Thanks to a middle grade book.

  Rey: Hey! Harry Potter is LITERATURE. Never forget that.

  Wes: ;)

  By the time I opened my curtains, hoping for a peek of Wes next door, he was long gone, his room empty and his car gone.

  But I smiled anyway because when had a boy ever texted me first thing in the morning? Or late into the night?

  Uh, never.

  And now Wes and I were texting all the time.

  I could hardly believe it.

  As I got ready for school, I wondered what all of it could mean.

  Was it just easy for us to become friends because we’d known each other our whole lives? We’d been friends on some level growing up and the three of us playing together, especially every summer.

  But that had been ages ago, when we had all been kids.

  It definitely hadn’t been the case the past few years, especially since Hugo and I had each grown up. We got along, but we definitely weren’t close. He did his own thing, and I did mine, and there had been no more reason for Wes and me to talk or hang out.

  All of a sudden, though, Wes and I were closer than ever before.

  We were friends, friends who talked all the time.

  Could it be turning into more than that?

  I had no idea.

  Of course, I wanted it to, but I also knew maybe it was all in my head, and Wes was just in love with Harry Potter, not me.

  We just had something in common now.

  He didn’t see me as anything beyond a friend.

  Did he?

  Thirteen

  For the first time in a while, I had other things on my mind besides the impending doom that was graduation and college.

  And it was all thanks to Wes.

  His messages were a welcome distraction, and I found myself reaching for my phone instead of my journal a lot of the time.

  Talking to Wes was everything, and I couldn’t get enough.

  For some reason that I couldn’t understand, he seemed happy to talk to me too, and it was all I could do not to skip down the hallway like Ms. Moreau.

  Lena looked over my shoulder at the message I was writing out to Wes. “Someone’s been texting someone a lot lately,” she teased.

  Sure I was turning the color of a beet, I opened my mouth to assure her it was nothing, but I found myself speechless.

  The rest of the girls smiled knowingly at my attempts to respond to Lena’s comment. “It’s—just—nothing,” I said.

  Tori’s grin only went wider. “What’s nothing’s name?” she said, setting down her bottle of water.

  Harper said, “Is he cute? Do we know him?”

  Ella turned to me, closing her science textbook. “Is that who you’ve been talking to during study hall? Mr. Nothing?” She winked.

  I put my phone away. “Maybe,” I replied.

  Lena nudged me. “Tell us about him. Who’s the mysterious guy? Do we finally get to go on that quintuple date or what?”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “No, it’s not like that. We’ve just been talking. As friends. It’d be weird if we ever went out.”

  Harper leaned in, arms crossed on the table. “Why’s that?”

  I bit my lip. “Because it’s the guy I mentioned once. He’s off limits.”

  They stared back at me, waiting for me to go on.

  I sighed. “Wes? My brother’s friend. His best friend since forever, and he lives next door…” And it would never happen.

  Ella leaned back in her chair, Harper looked like she didn’t have the right thing to say for once, and Lena blinked back at me. “Okay, I knew you had like this epic crush on him, but I didn’t know you guys actually talked.”

  I nodded. “It’s only been going on for a couple weeks.”

  “A couple weeks?” Lena exclaimed.

  Tori eyed her. “Want to say that a little louder next time?”

  Lena laughed. “Sorry, got a little excited there.” She turned back to me. “Oh my gosh, so tell us. What does this mean?”

  I looked at each of them in turn, shrugging. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing. Maybe something?”

  Harper smiled. “I know you’ve liked this guy literally forever, so I hope it works out.”

  I smiled back. “Thanks. I mean, it’s awesome just getting to know him and talk to him. I know maybe it’ll never turn into anything, but it’s cool just the same.”

  “Well,” Lena said. “If you start getting love vibes from him, if you know what I mean”—that got giggles out of everyone, including me—“please tell me you’ll go for it.”

  Count on Lena to use a phrase like love vibes.

  I exhaled. “I really don’t know—about any of that… I’m just enjoying the fact that we have something in common. You’ll never guess. I’ve brought him over to the dark side.”

  Ella laughed. “Now you have to tell us.”

  I grinned, playing with my napkin. “I may or may not have turned him into a Potterhead.”

  Lena said, “Okay, now I’m just mad you didn’t say anything sooner.”

  Tori shook her head, giggling. “Okay, if you two aren’t a perfect match, I’m not sure who is.”

  The bell rang then and we got up, trays in hand.

  Ella leaned in toward me. “We want to hear more about this later.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  Everyone took off in different directions, and I made my way to English.

  When I got to my desk, I checked my phone, holding back a shriek when I saw another message from Wes.

  He’d sent a picture of himself reading Sorceror’s Stone in class. Except instead of having neat rows of desks in a packed classroom, he was in a large college auditorium-style room. The professor was down below going through slides, frozen in time as he explained something about the respiratory cycle.

  The book lay open on Wes’s desk, on top of his notes. The familiar pages stared back at me. That picture had me feeling like balloon full of helium, floating away from sheer happiness.

  Rey: That picture is next level <3

  I stared at that heart emoji. Too much?

  Maybe I didn’t care.

  Wes sent back his usual winking emoji, and I decided that if he ever winked at me in real life, I would probably pass out.

  And for good reason.

  As the teacher started the lesson about the reading from last night, I quietly grabbed my copy of Sorceror’s Stone from my backpack, setting it on my desk and on top of my ancient lit textbook.

  When the moment was right, I snapped a picture and sent it to Wes.

  Wes se
nt back a heart eyes emoji, and I struggled to hide the giant grin on my face.

  Did it get better than this?

  Texting Harry Potter-related pictures back and forth with a cute boy?

  I think not.

  After that, Wes sent one more message.

  Wes: We should probably pay attention now. Lol.

  Rey: You’re probably right ;)

  I put my phone away after that, but try as I might, I couldn’t stop thinking about Wes, the cute boy next door who was now into Harry Potter.

  SWOON.

  After school, we went right back to texting.

  Rey: Can I ask you something?

  A question nagged at me, and finally, I typed it out, wondering how Wes would respond.

  Wes: Sure :)

  Really, the question I really wanted to ask but never would was: could you ever like me as more than a friend?

  But I didn’t type that one out.

  Instead I said…

  Rey: What’s college like? Were you nervous at first? What’s the hardest part about it and how do you know if you picked the right major?

  Wes: I thought you said it would be one question…

  Uh…

  Rey: Sorry…

  Wes: I’m just messing with you ;)

  Three dots appeared on screen, and I tapped my fingers on the arm of my reading chair, where I sat curled up, and waited for his message.

  Sorceror’s Stone lay beside me, but at the moment, Wes had all my attention.

  Wes: It’s like high school except better. You get to make your own schedule and skip class if you want, although I probably wouldn’t recommend that. Lol. At least not more than once or twice in a semester. But you also have to keep up with everything yourself. It can be a little sink or swim, but it’s not as scary as you might think :) It’s fun to make your own decisions, like going out with your friends whenever you want. I live at home so I still have to check in with my parents and let them know I’m alive, but if I lived in a dorm, I wouldn’t have to do that. I actually want to get my own place next year. Like I said, way better than high school. More independence.

  Wes: The first day and week was nerve-wracking. I accidentally walked into the wrong science lab and didn’t realize it until halfway through… Awkward… Lol. The hardest part is making sure you study and stuff because it’s not like high school where you can just pay attention in class and ace the test. But most of the profs are pretty cool :) And there’s free tutoring if you need it.

  Wes: As far as picking the right major, you take a few classes and see if it’s right for you. You can change it if you want :) Also, everyone is pretty nice and there’s no drama like in high school.

  I read through all of his messages, the anxiety that had been present all year disappearing just a little.

  Maybe college wouldn’t be so bad.

  Maybe it would be like freshman year. That had been scary, but eventually, I’d found someone to hang out with, and the seniors hadn’t seemed so scary anymore. Or the teachers.

  And then I’d found the #BFFs.

  The idea of making new friends that didn’t include Lena, Tori, Harper, and Ella had been weird, but now it didn’t seem so bad.

  Wes: Does that answer your burning questions about college aka The Great Unknown?

  Rey: Yes :) Thanks.

  Wes: And if you end up going where Hugo and I go, I promise we’ll show you around. We won’t let you get lost around campus, at least not more than once ;) *evil laugh*

  Rey: Omggg. You guys would do that to me!

  Wes sent one of those silly laughing and crying emojis.

  It was still a little weird for Hugo to come up in one of our conversations, but even that was odd because obviously he and Wes hung out all the time.

  I wondered what Hugo would think if he knew Wes and I were texting this much.

  My stomach sank a little at that thought, but I pushed the feeling away.

  I wasn’t doing anything wrong, really. Just talking. There wasn’t anything wrong with Wes and I becoming friends.

  But then another part of me wondered if I should somehow tell Hugo about it. That didn’t feel right either, though.

  I didn’t want it to seem like we were hiding anything because we weren’t. There was nothing going on.

  Right?

  I glanced at my curtains, closed for the evening.

  My mind turned to Wes and what he thought of all this. Surely these kinds of thoughts weren’t swirling constantly through his mind.

  Maybe I was making a big deal out of this. My imagination was getting carried away with what was happening between Wes and me.

  Yeah, it had to be my imagination.

  Fourteen

  I sat in the treehouse and my gaze swept over everything I had lugged up there after the awesome idea I’d gotten on the way home from school.

  My thumb hovered over the send button, and I wondered if I was too chicken to go through with this.

  After two weeks of reading Sorceror’s Stone, mostly a chapter at a time, we’d finally reached the last page.

  Needless to say we’d made an exception last night and read two chapters because no way did one reach a cliffhanger like at the end of chapter sixteen and not keep reading.

  Pretty sure those had been Wes’s exact words…

  So we’d happily moved on and finished the book together, each in our respective rooms.

  And then Wes had blown up my phone with all of his thoughts on the book and the series and the fact that he needed the next book, now.

  I may or may not have jumped up and down screaming on my bed, only for Hugo to thump my wall and yell that he couldn’t focus on his paper due to my “hyena-like antics.”

  We’d stayed up way too late geeking out on Harry Potter, and when Wes insisted that we had to start reading Chamber of Secrets right away, I sent him a sad face, letting him know that I only had one copy of that one.

  So I had a date with the bookstore this weekend, and then we were gonna start Chamber of Secrets.

  Did I mention that I was head over heels for Wes and his newfound love for Harry Potter?

  As far as I could tell, though, that was as far as things went.

  He loved Harry Potter, not me.

  But for now, I was fine with that.

  I went back to my message, debating if I was going to go through with it.

  Finally, I just hit send.

  Rey: Are you busy? Because I’m in our backyard with the perfect way to celebrate finishing the book ;)

  After a few minutes, I wondered if he’d seen my message and ignored it.

  Ugh. I shouldn’t have sent it. He had better things to do than hang out with his best friend’s little sister and whatever dorky idea she’d cooked up.

  I stared at the laptop and bowl of popcorn I’d carried up here, wishing I could take back that text and get rid of this mortifying feeling like I’d put myself out there and been rejected.

  Then my phone dinged.

  Wes: Sorry! I just woke up. I think I was reading for my history class and fell asleep…

  He sent a blank face emoji, and just like that, all was right in the world again.

  Phew!

  I brought my hand to my chest and exhaled.

  So I wasn’t the biggest dork in the world after all. Good to know.

  And I hadn’t gone too far, at least I didn’t think so.

  I’d know for sure when he climbed up the ladder and saw what I’d invited him to.

  I had brought a single blanket for us to share in case it got cold, but it was a pretty big blanket…

  It wasn’t suggestive, was it?

  I hoped not. Boy, would that be embarrassing.

  I took a deep breath and made myself stop overthinking everything.

  A minute later, I heard the familiar thud on the grass as Wes landed on our side of the yard. Then he climbed the ladder and joined me.

  His mouth widened in a smile as soon as he saw Harry Potter an
d the Sorceror’s Stone ready to play on my laptop plus the bowl of popcorn and even a couple of tiny water bottles that my mom reserved for my brothers’ school lunches but which I may or may not have stolen.

  All hidden in a picnic basket under aforementioned blanket when I left the house.

  Wes sat down beside me, his eyes wide with excitement. “Don’t tell me we’re watching it?”

  I nodded with a huge grin. “Now that you’ve read the book, I deem you ready to watch the movie.”

  “Alright!” he said, pulling the blanket over our legs and settling in.

  So much for awkward.

  He glanced at the bowl of popcorn. “This is nice,” he said.

  I handed him the bowl and his water bottle. “Extra butter, easy on the salt.”

  His gaze settled on mine. “Now I’m impressed,” he said. My stomach flipped at that comment. “You know me too well.” Just when I thought things might turn awkward, he grabbed some popcorn, and I hit play.

  The familiar Harry Potter theme music filled our little space, and I tried to keep how hard I was geeking out inside under control.

  How was this real right now?

  The whole time during the movie Wes pointed out what he thought was awesome, like the scene with Harry reaching for all the Hogwarts letters flying out of the chimney (“How does he end up being the youngest Seeker ever and he can’t grab ONE LETTER?!”) to what he couldn’t believe was missing (too long to list here, but I completely agreed).

  When the part about Voldemort at the end came, Wes turned to me and said, “Okay, is he just plain creepy or what?”

  I nodded, too mesmerized by his dimpled smile to string any words together.

  We went back to watching the movie. Dumbledore awarded points to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but of course, it was Neville who won them the House Cup.

  Wes chuckled. “I like Neville,” he said.

  I glanced at him. “Me too. You’ll really like him by the end of the series.”

  Just like that, the movie ended way too soon.

  Wes sighed. “I should probably get back to studying,” he said. His locks of rich brown hair fell perfectly just over his eyes. “Thanks again for inviting me up here. It was fun.”