CHAPTER 18

Hope yawned as she rubbed her eyes, trying to drive off the sleep roaming her eyes. She leaned back into the seat as she struggled to keep herself from falling into her mug. Harley and Penelope spent the entire night talking lecturing and asking her about the entire situation, hardly giving her some room to breathe and some time to sleep. "You must be dying from the inside." Layton chuckled as he noticed her daughter's exhausted state. She was bound to pass out sooner or later. Her eyes were slightly red from the sleep and her under eyes were slightly dark from lack of sleep. She looked overly awful in short. "Did you enjoy the feast that much Hope?" "I wasn't there." Hope sighed out as she leaned onto table and yawned a bit more. "I was with Harley and Penelope all night. They kept talking so much and they just wouldn't shut up no matter how hard I tried to stop them. They wouldn't even let me sleep peacefully without waking me up and talking some more." She hissed out and glared towards Penelope who smiled and winked at her. Penelope on the other hand didn't seem tired compared to Hope. She seemed rather radiant and full of energy, just like Harley who had decided to stay the night but sleep in the guest rooms. He too didn't seem exhausted from it. "How are you two not tired as I am?" Hope asked in annoyance as she glanced from Harley to Penelope. "You seem perfectly fine." "Unlike you, the moment my head hits the pillow I instantly turn off." Harley explained as he scooped himself some scrambled eggs onto his plate. "While you take a whole hour just to get yourself to sleep." "Well it took me an hour and a half this time because I was just too tired to sleep." Hope groaned out as she smacked her cheeks to stop dozing. "Why does.... Why do you always have trouble falling asleep?" Harley asked with furrowed brows as he pointed his fork at her. "That really doesn't make any sense. How can you get too tired to sleep?" "It happens you know." Hope bit back before taking large sips of her highly concentrated coffee, hoping it would give her some energy for the day. "People get too tired to fall asleep, that moment where your eyes get so heavy that even when you shut them, you can still feel the heaviness in your eyes." "Then why not just simply fall asleep?" Harley raised his eyes with a smirk on his face. "That's like telling a claustrophobic to simply just stop being afraid of small spaces." Hope explained, only to get confused stares from everyone around the table, even her mother and father. "That makes perfect sense!" "No it doesn't." Harley shook his head, as always, trying to start a fight with her. Somehow he simply loved the thought of biting back with Hope, that's just how their friendship worked. By fighting most of the time. "Why do you always assume what I say doesn't make sense all the time it was supposed to be a funny joke." Hope glared towards Harley who chuckled out. "That was a joke!?" Harley asked out in shock and so did her family. All wondering if it really was supposed to be a joke. "That didn't sound like a joke, Hope, gosh are you that awful at telling jokes?" He laughed out as her parents muffled their laughter while Penelope pinched her lips together to contain herself. The last thing she would want is for Hope to divert her anger towards her. "I always make you laugh with jokes, don't tell me you haven't gotten the hint of how to make a joke!" "Shut up!" Hope hissed as she grabbed her scone and threw it towards him to which he caught with his mouth, just to intimidate her. He smiled with a wink as he sunk his teeth into the scone and took a bite from it. "You know jokes aren't for everyone." Hope whined as she grabbed another scone threw it towards him, only to get a glare from her mother, forcing her to stop and cross her arms. "Yeah but most people should be good at it after a while spending time with someone who knows how to say them." Harley pointed out as he finished the scone and reached down for his mug of hot chocolate. A man with a very sweet tooth. He always loved sweet things, no matter what it was and still remained healthy despite all the sugar he had taken in. Which always made Lily, Hope's younger sister, jealous towards him since she was diabetic and had to really limit her sugar cravings. "Aren't I right Gabriel?" Harley asked as he glanced beside him to Gabriel who only wanted to have his breakfast in peace, hardly uttering a words to avoid being in Hope's argument. "Um..." Gabriel mumbled as he glanced down at his plate, not wanting Hope to turn her attention to him when he knew she wouldn't stop talking and he really wasn't one to talk much. "Hope's always right." "You see!" Hope grinned out as Harley chocked in surprise at the answer he had just given. "Now that's a good brother!" "He's only saying that just so you wouldn't have to attack him." Harley hissed back as Gabriel only chuckled and continued to eat. "I wouldn't attack him..." Hope pouted her lips and leaned back into the seat as she glanced at Gabriel who smiled at her before proceeding to eat. "Why do you all assume I always like attacking people?" "Because you just have the natural urge to disturb everyone's peace at some point." Harley smiled mischievously at Hope who frowned at him as she stuffed her face with her side salad of lettuce and some pieces of cheese, onions, some thin sliced cucumber and tomatoes. "It's just you, Hope." "I think you have a grudge against me Harley. You're the one that likes attacking me mostly." She sighed and glanced towards her mother who simple smiled at all of them. "Maybe I should find another best friend." "You can try." Harley scoffed as he finished his scrambled eggs and chugged down his now warm hot chocolate drink. "You know you'll never find someone like me." "I can if I tried hard enough." Hope hissed when she knew Harley was being too full of himself now.