YOU ARE THE ONLY EXCEPTION , justin

[harlow lorraine golightly]

harlow pulled up to the stables in her red 1967 mustang. she brought the car to a stop, ceasing the engine before sliding out of the car. it was an odd hour to be pulling up at the stables, and she was fairly sure that no one else would be there. hence the basis of its appeals. it was rather late, to say the least. the middle of the night, really. while barn rules suggested that no one should be here at this hour, she headed inside anyways. following rules had never really been her thing. her thoughts had driven her crazy lately, and work wasn't really the place to think about it, nor was sitting at home. the barn, however, taking revelry for a ride, seemed like a prime place to get her thoughts in order and relax a bit. she quietly slid through the barn doors, walking silently, even though she knew that there was really no one to disturb other than a couple of sleeping horses. she flicked on the lights, before walking down the aisle heading to revelry's stall.

the bay colored stallion had spotted his owner as she headed into the barn, for his head was already sticking out of the stall, emitting snorts in her direction. "hey rev," harlow whispered to the horse, rubbing his nose. he nuzzled her softly as she pulled an apple from her jacket pocket, holding it out for him to eat. "hungry?" she watched as rev devoured the apple, nuzzling her arm once again, hoping for another. she chuckled lightly, patting his nose before walking off to the tack room to retrieve her brushes, as well as his saddle and bridle, placing them down outside the stall as she returned. she then opened the stall door, hooking the lead rope to rev's halter, holding on tightly as she moved close to the horse, beginning to brush his silky coat. "sorry, i haven't been around lately," she muttered softly to the horse while brushing him thoroughly. while she probably looked a little crazy explaining things to a horse, she found it rather relaxing. with all that had been on her mind lately, it was nice to get it out. "i haven't really been avoiding you, just justin," she explained softly. it really was more of her accepting things herself, it was much easier to say it all out loud than to keep it all locked up in her head. in fact, keeping it all to herself had been driving her a little insane. the last couple weeks that she had spent dong whatever it was that she and justin had done had been perfect. it had been too perfect. her feelings for him had scared her into pushing him away. she had warned him up front that she wasn't wanting anything serious, but after thinking about it, she was pretty sure that's not really what he had been looking for either. what she had done, though, wasn't really the most commendable. she had left while he was sleeping, leaving nothing but a note saying, i'm sorry."i do miss him, a little." she concluded, finally, as she finished brushing the horse.

she then stepped out of the stall, picking up the white saddle pad and her pessoa saddle before placing it on the horses back. she tightened the girth with a bit of resistance from rev. she then slid the halter from revelry's head, rubbing his ears a little before sliding on the bridle, gripping tightly to the reins. she smiled lightly, resting against the horse's neck a moment before taking the reins and leading him out of the stall and towards the indoor arena. "ready rev?" she chuckled, looking to the horse as she brought him to a halt inside the arena. she tightened the girth once more and let down the stirrups before climbing onto his back, holding tight to the reins to keep him from moving as she did so. once she had positioned herself balanced and correctly, she squeezed lightly at the horse's sides urging him into a walk. the silence that fell over the arena was pleasant. aside from the hoofbeats along with their own breathing, it was quiet. not the nervous kind, but the relaxing kind. the kind that gave harlow peace at mind. within the good twenty minutes of warming up revelry, harlow had forgotten just about everything that was on her mind and she was focused on what she was doing, remaining calm and collected and working out rev. she brought him down to a trot, glancing over the arena a moment, taking a good look at what jumps had been left standing. she knew both she and revelry could use the practice, not to mention, there was no pressure of anyone else being there to bother them or put them in the spotlight.

she and revelry took a few practice jumps and circled the arena various times before she decided to take them over the 3'6" course. she kept her legs strong against the horse's sides as they flew over the jumps, attempting to keep her position good, despite being a little out of shape. after the nerves of the first few, she took all the rest with confidence and was actually enjoying herself. afterall, jumping always had been harlow's favorite equestrian sport. it had been awhile since she had done anything of this level, but it felt good to be back with it, plus it kept her mind off of everything else that was going on. it did, however, keep her from noticing the one silent figure who was now standing near the gate watching.

[justin grant woodsen]

it was stupid of him to like her like he did. she didn't want a real relationship. she was just hoping for a good time, pretty much. but did that stop him from keeping the feelings, not trying to shoo them away? not at all. justin was out for a ride at the stables, and had been since around six o'clock that morning. as he always was lately. ever since the night that harlow had left the "i'm sorry" note. that had hurt him bad, because just hours before they had been fighting, and then they had make up sex.. yeah. that's how bad the two were. it seemed they couldn't be in the same room together without wanting to kiss or hold hands or touch each other. but lately, he had been trying to contact her. hurt as justin was, he couldn't live without harlow. it was just a fact that maybe it was more than a little crush, a little like. maybe justin woodsen was in love. "you think i am, boy? you think i'm in love with harlow golightly?" he mumbled, sitting up slightly from his slouched pose. aristocrat snorted, bobbing his head. "i really don't want to think that i am. it doesn't make sense anymore.. never been in love. never liked, let alone loved," he chuckled slightly, shaking his head as he kept saying the word, "as much as i do harlow." he'd been taking care of almost all the horses lately, not by himself, but mostly. marissa's, harlow's, brynne's, his, and many more. he had to feed, brush, muck stalls. no one was ever around when it got close to christmas time.

deciding it was getting a little late to be out on the trails, justin turned aristocrat around, humming softly as they cantered back toward the barn. approaching, he slowed into a walk, glancing around. there was almost no one here, maybe one stable hand or two in an office or mucking a stall. biting his lip, he dismounted and brought ari back into the stable, untacking him and brushing him, before putting the tack away and sitting down in the tack room. he was missing her, and bad. flipping out his wallet, he glanced at the picture of him and her he had taken. shaking his head, he pushed it back into his bag. hearing the rumble of an engine, he frowned slightly, looking up at the clock. people never came by this late. it was usually a rule that unless it was important, you shouldn't be at the stables at this time. walking to the window that overlooked the lot, he bit his lip as he spied harlow's red mustang. shaking his head, justin turned right away, walking over to ari's stall, sliding down to sit inside, closing his eyes. it had been a week or two since the last time he had seen that car, and seeing it now made his stomach twist. hearing the barn door slide open, he peeked over the top of ari's stall door. seeing her brought back memories of every time they had spent together. looking her over for a second, he slid back down, trying to remain quiet.

when she walked past him to go outside, he had his eyes closed. justin had been trying to listen in on what she had been saying to rev, but all he could hear were muffled sighs and gibberish. it was stupid of him to just hide like this, but he felt the need to. standing up and looking out ari's small window, he watched as harlow and rev went over to the outdoor arena. sighing softly, he kissed ari's nose and started outside, trying to remain hidden. it seemed he was doing a pretty good job so far. he went to stand near the fence, behind a post, but he still had a pretty clear view of revelry and harlow. as she took the big jumps, he shook his head. justin had never seen her jump like this. and she was absolutely amazing. as she circled past him one more time, he decided to reveal himself. climbing up onto the top of the fence, he crossed his arms, sitting there a moment. and then he spoke out, soft, but loud enough for her to hear, he knew. "long time no see, beautiful girl.." smiling slightly, which he couldn't help but do, he slid off the fence as harlow and rev halted. the look on her face was pretty intimidating to him, but he decided to come closer. crossing his arms, he walked slowly, but still cleared the space in a small amount of time. "i've missed you, har.. a lot."

[harlow lorraine golightly]

there was something about riding that kept her focused. whether it was the calm horse breathing below her, or the simplicity of just having alone time, it was enough to keep her fully relaxed and completely clear the thoughts from her mind. it also kept her rather oblivious to her surroundings, as she hadn't noticed anyone watching the entire time. her gaze was focused forward, or occasionally down at revelry, paying all attention to herself and the horse. she took a deep breath as she urged revelry into the course of jumps once more. jumping had always felt like flying to her. one small moment of holding her breath, looking forward and feeling what she considered to be a short moment of flight. sure, like everything with gravity, what goes up must come down, but there was that one utter moment of weightlessness that was unbeatable in all senses. her eyes closed for a moment as they cleared the final jump. she once again took a deep breath before puling gently at the reins, bringing revelry down to a trot, posting with his stride. she circled the arena a couple of times before pulling him down to a walk, taking another breath, relaxing her shoulders and loosening her grip on the reins allowing revelry to stretch out his neck.

she patted his neck softly, letting the fingertips of her other hand twirl in his mane. she was completely out of it, really. nothing else was really in focus except her and revelry. in fact, when she heard his voice, she nearly jumped out of her skin, flinching a little and tightening her grip on the reins. even revelry perked up his ears, jolting forward a few steps spooked by the sudden break of silence. long time no see, beautiful girl.. harlow turned her head quickly, although she didn't really need to look to tell who it was. she was just a little surprised to see him there at this hour, a little spooked that she hadn't noticed him. she tugged lightly at the reins, pulling revelry to a halt. she remained silent a moment, her voice not really communicating with her head. her gaze turned down towards him, watching him as he walked closer. her stomach churned at the sight of him walking towards her. while it was nice to see him, and frankly, she had been dying to see him, she had absolutely no idea what to say to him. there weren't really any words that could possibly explain or excuse what had happened. actually, there weren't really any good reasoning that governed her actions, they were just her thoughts and feelings battling it out against each other in a war of contradictions.

"justin..." she muttered rather breathlessly, trailing off and looking down at him. she wanted something better to say. she wanted to give him some good reason. she wanted to apologize. she wanted to kick at revelry's sides and run away. hell, she wanted to kiss him. but with all those desires, and rather lack of decision or ability to process a clear thought, she sat there quietly, looking him over as he spoke once again. "i've missed you, har.. a lot." the butterflies in her stomach were now running rampant at these words. while she was dying to just hop off her horse and kiss him in a passionate moment, her head was telling her otherwise. of course, she missed him. he had been all that she had thought about for the past two weeks, despite her constant pushing him from her mind. but telling him that she had missed him? what was that? that would just encourage his feelings. encourage him to keep it up, encourage him to reel her back in. pushing him away wouldn't really work if she told him how she was really feeling, now would it? it would only continue them in the direction of the things she feared the most, relationships, love. she knew, no matter how much she did like him and no matter how much they liked each other, it would eventually end in heartbreak. it would end in one of them getting hurt, it always did. if she didn't make that clear now, she'd just get herself dragged back in and she was not about to sign herself up for hurt. you could see it in her eyes, though, she was dying to say it. she was dying to tell him that she missed him, dying to tell him that he had been on her mind nonstop, but that was not what she had planned. her voice, this time however, decided to disobey her brain, acting merely on the feelings fluttering at the pit of her stomach. "i've missed you too, " she mumbled softly, looking at him with a soft expression. she quickly went back to thinking logically though, and corrected her mistake. "but, it's been for the best, you know?" she said, knowing it sounded sort of stupid, but she really had no better excuses for her actions.

she then slipped her tall boots from the stirrups, letting her long legs dangle there for a moment. contemplating, before sliding off of revelry, landing softly on the ground and clinging tightly to his reins to keep him from moving as she did so. she then walked around to the side where justin was, now standing at his level. "i really am sorry, though." she said after a moment of looking at him. she looked up at him, although not that much shorter than him. she licked her lips lightly, glancing back down at the ground, feeling nervous once again. something about standing with him, face to face, was so much harder than she thought it would be. maybe, it was because they were alone, but mainly, because she wasn't sure if she could handle it. she was sure he could make her cave eventually, but she wasn't about to let that happen. she wasn't going to let herself fall easily.

[justin grant woodsen]

she was quiet for what seemed like forever, and justin was scared that maybe she'd just walk away without talking to him. just staring at him, harlow looked a little bit.. guilty? scared.. she looked like she didn't know what to do. looking over her face, justin bit his lip. what would she do? he couldn't help but think about his little sister marissa during that small moment of silence. rissa had been invited over to her english teacher's dorm, and he had given her drinks, and then practically raped her. she was pretty much scarred for life. whenever justin wasn't at the stable, he was spending time with rissa, trying to make her feel better and all that. he mostly used it as a distraction. "justin..." even in the awkward moment, he couldn't help but smile as she spoke, even if it was barely audible. harlow's voice was just like he remembered. he loved that voice. nodding slightly, he looked up at her, eyes some what wide. he watched her as she seemed to talk to herself, debate in her head what to do. and then finally, she spoke once more. "i've missed you too." that put another smile on his face. she had actually missed him. looking over her face, justin noticed the soft expression she had put on. seemed pretty real to him, but could he be sure he wasn't being played? no. but it was worth the risk. before he could speak again, harlow said the words he didn't really want to hear. "but, it's been for the best, you know?" shaking his head, he continued to look up at her. an excuse. what was she trying to hide?

"i.. don't really believe that is was for the best, no," he said gently, glancing down at his shoes. "but uh.. if you say so." looking back up at her, he bit his lip once again. justin watched harlow's every movement. as she slipped her boots from her stirrups, he stepped back just slightly. she disappeared almost completely when she dropped off revelry, but walked around to his side. they were almost the same height, him being slightly taller, but not by much. that was one of the things he really liked about harlow, how she was completely okay with how she looked whenever. she seemed to not care about how people looked, how people were. she mostly saw the good. "i really am sorry, though." he couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. she was sorry, just as the note said. did sorry fix things? not really, no. but it was good to hear the apology none the less. nodding, he closed his eyes for a second, and then looked her over, trying to keep it subtle. "i'm sorry, too.. this.. wouldn't have happened if i had just went with what you wanted. no strings. sorta hard when i like you as much as i do." he had to talk slowly to make sure he said 'like' instead of 'love'. he really wanted her to know, but he'd scare her away once again. she didn't like commitment. she went from one guy to the next. it was just her.

when she looked to the ground, justin could tell she was nervous. as was he, and he was trying not to show it, but having a hard time. he wanted to stay strong, but he felt like he could cry. and he never cried, never. watching her, he shook his head, holding his arms stiff at his sides. it was hard for him right now. he wanted to reach out, stroke her cheek, play with her beautiful hair. wanted his arms to be around her, holding her close, hugging her softly, humming for her. he wanted his lips to be on hers, wanted to kiss her until he was forced to stop. right now he wanted harlow, and that's all he ever would want. and with that thought, he stepped right forward, wrapping his arms around her back, pulling her close to him and closing his eyes. this was what he needed. but was it what she wanted?