Alpha Knyte

Chapter 4 Harlow POV

"Can I open my eyes now?" I sigh, getting annoyed.

He chuckles, and let's go of my shoulders. "Go ahead than. Open your eyes, girl."

I wrinkle my nose and crinkle my forehead as I slowly open one eye. As soon as I see my best friend Jazlyn standing in front of the building, I arch my brow and turn slightly to look at my uncle.

He smiles and nods his head towards the building. "Read the sign."

Turning back around, my eyes move up to the sign above the door. My mouth drops open, and my eyes go wide as saucers. It reads 'HQ mechanic shop'. "No, way! You so did not!" I squeal excited and turn around to engulf my uncle in a hug.

He wraps his big arms around me, holding me tight as he laughs.

I let go and look up slightly at my uncle. "How in the hell did you manage to convince Jaz to keep this a secret?" I ask as I laugh.

He shrugs, smiling smugly. "No one told her til we left this morning."

I smile even bigger. "Yea, probably the best option. She can't keep a secret to save her life."

Then I turn around and run at my best friend, who catches me as I practically tackle her in a hug. We both are smiling and laughing.

"Happy birthday, love!!!" Jaz exclaims as she squeezes me a little tighter.

"Alright," I squeak out. "Can't breathe." I choke out.

"Sorry!" She quickly lets me go.

Smiling, I kiss her cheek. "Thanks, doll. Kinda need oxygen."

Jaz links her arm with mine as I turn around towards my uncle and auntie. Though she's not really related to me, I call her auntie because she's been a part of my entire life. Hell, she's my godmother.

"How?" I ask my uncle as I tilt my head toward the building.

He looks at Auntie, then back to me. "Some of us pulled some cash together and put down a couple of months' rent. We did a little clean up and whatnot, but it still needs a lot of work before you'll be up and fully running. Though, the gang is already lined up to be regulars." He chuckles.

I smile as tears blur my vision. "I love you! Thank you so much! Both of you!" I say as I hug both auntie and my uncle.

"You're very welcome, sweets. We love you too." Auntie June smiles and kisses my cheek.

Uncle Jax pats my back and says, " Go on now. Have a look around. I'll bring your bike over before heading back home."

Smiling and wiping my tears away, I say, "Alright, I'll see you later!"

Jaz lightly tugs me towards the door. "Come on, HQ, I wanna see it!"

"Okay, okay." I chuckle as I push open the door.

We look around the open concrete floor, other than a couple of work benches and shelves, there really isn't much here, but I can't help but smile ear to ear. I can see its potential. There is a garage door that is just big enough for a smaller SUV, but that's perfectly fine since I'm sure most of my customers will be the people around town. Meaning it will mostly be bikers from my uncles gang since most of the townsfolk just walk around.

Jaz is smiling almost as wide as I am as she looks around excited. "Please, please, please let me work with you! I don't actually need to be paid. At least not yet, I just know you suck when it comes to people. Even the ones around here who have known you since you got here. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love you for who you are, but you seriously have zero people skills." She smiles at me.

I shake my head at her. "I would not have it any other way, Jaz. I know I can be a mess when dealing with people I'm not close to. Why do you think I've kept you around so long?" I smirk at her as I chuckle so she knows I'm kidding.

Being the drama queen that she is, she claps both her hands on her chest and tilts her head back as she stumbles backward. "Oh, how you wound me so, love!"

Laughing and shaking my head, I say, "Alright, alright. Seriously though, I would absolutely love you being my general manager. Hell, I'll probably end up making you a co-owner considering you are family to me. Besides, you'd just end up being here as often as me anyway."

Jaz lightly bumps her shoulder into mine. "True, true. I can't seem to get rid of ya. You're like a lost puppy." She sticks her tongue out at me before darting off towards the office in the back.

"You little b***h, get back here." I half heartedly yell as I follow her.

As I lean against the doorframe and watch her busy herself with looking around, I think back to the first time we met in middle school.

-FLASHBACK-

I was sitting alone under a tree for lunch. I have never really liked being around people. I never really knew what to do or say. I just always felt out of place. Suddenly, a shadow fell over me, and I looked up in confusion. When I did, I found a pretty girl with deep blue eyes smiling down at me as she tucked her long blonde hair behind her cute little ear.

"Hi," She says shyly. "I'm Jazlyn, I just moved here, and I wanted to come over since you were by yourself." She blushes slightly as she lightly bites her bottom lip.

I open and close my mouth a few times, not really sure what to say. I look around to see if maybe this is a prank or something one of the mean girls is trying to pull on me.

"What are you looking at?" She asks as she turns around confused.

"Oh, I-I, uh," blushing, I clear my throat. "N-Nothing. Just, uh, not really sure why you'd want to talk to the weirdo gay girl who's a nerd and a loner." I slowly drop my eyes as I continue my rambling.

To my shock, she sits next to me and puts her arm over my shoulders. "Well, I guess that means there's now two weirdo gay girls here, and now, you're not a loner. As for being a nerd, I can't really change that, but oh well." She shrugs and smiles.

I just stared at her in shock until she laughed and laid her head on my shoulder. "Wait, you still want to talk to me?" I ask, unsure.

"Uh, yea. Why would I want to be friends with anyone like," she waves her hand that's not on my shoulder around the area. "All of them? Judging and gossiping like jerks. A smart person knows it's the lone wolf that is the realest person around. The one who isn't going to judge you for who you are or where you came from." She tilts her head back slightly to look up at me. "So, do you want to be friends?" She asks while smiling.

I look around and see the kids who are pointing at us. Some laugh while others scoff in disgust. Especially my ex best friend, well, I thought she was anyway. I shake my head and look back at this pretty girl who still has her head on my shoulder. "I don't think you want to be friends with me. It will just create problems for you." I look away as I clench my jaw, holding back my tears. I would honestly like to have a friend.

"Pfft. Screw them and their ugly souls. I not only don't give a damn about their opinions of me but I can take care of myself." She sits up and looks at me. "Please be my friend?" She asks.

I turn and look into her blue eyes for a moment before I sigh and whisper, "Okay."

I barely got the word out before she tackled me in a hug while laughing.

-END FLASHBACK-

I come back to reality when I'm hit in the face with a balled up paper.

"Hey, what the hell, Jaz?" I glare at her.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't zone out on me like that." She sticks her tongue out at me.

"Better be careful with that tongue, or I just might put it to good use." I state with a smirk.

"Goddamn you, Harlow!" She quickly covers her blushing face with her hands.

"What? What did I do?" I ask innocently.

She just shakes her head at me before taking a deep breath. "Nothing, nothing at all, bitch." She smirks.

I smile and chuckle as I push off the frame and walk back out to the main area. There really is a lot of work to do but I'm looking forward to it. Ever since my uncle put the idea into my head, I've wanted to have my own shop where I can fix bikes and the occasional car. I just really like working with my hands and the satisfaction I feel when I fix something.

"I hope this works out." I mumble to myself.