Previously: Tessa said she was going to break up with her boyfriend and Hardin was like ew no.
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Marines: Tessa is showered and composed by the time Steph gets back from the movies. She kind of wants to tell Steph about what happened (meaning the rubbing and kissing), but she also kind of doesn’t want anyone to know. She makes a joke about how Hardin was his usual charming self and Steph looks at her real concerned. (S: Keep being concerned, girl.) The (brilliant as always) comments from last week got into how awful it would be to have a boyfriend who was an asshole to everyone but you. That is so damn true. I mean, why would you even want to be with someone who treated literfeally everyone like trash? Also, even with it being no one’s business, you would have to always field these looks of concern because all anyone knows is that you are dating human garbage. Also, in the fictional cases we’ve seen, it isn’t even that the walking rubbish bin is even nice to our protagonist. He’s just occasionally not awful enough that the spineless jellyfish can convince herself that he is nice. It looks nice in the difference between VERY AWFUL and LESS AWFUL. Wow, that kind of got away from me. I guess the point is: DATE NICE PEOPLE. IT’S GREAT. (S: YAY NICE PEOPLE!!!!!)
Steph tells Tessa to be careful because she’s too nice for someone like Hardin. I mean, Tessa is awful, but this is still true, so that’s where we are. Again, Tessa wants to confide in Steph, but decides not to and just changes the subject to the movie. Steph says she’s really starting to like Tristan, and Tessa gets gaggy but only because she’s jealous that Steph is dating an actually decent person. Tessa renews her determination to Stay Away From Hardin™. I feel we should’ve been counting how many times this happens, but instead I made it a trademark.
Samantha: With the royalties we could fund an organization to WRITE BETTER BOOKS STOP WRITING THIS PROBLEMATIC GARBAGE.
Mari: Our calling.
The next morning, Tessa wakes up with puffy, post-crying eyes so she helps herself to Steph’s makeup bag. That’s kind of rude, especially because I don’t get the feeling these two are super tight. Please see previous scene where Tessa was like, “oh someone is being nice to you? Gag gag gag.”
Tessa uses the makeup and wears her *tight jeans* and *tank top*. She feels real naked in her sinner tank, so she grabs a cardigan. She tells us that this is the most effort she’s put into her appearance since picture day. It’s a stupid offhanded comment that I can’t help but imagine comes from this idea that no one likes a woman that’s a try hard. (See: Hilary Clinton?) (S: See: My heartbreak and bitter attitude.)
On the way to class, after grabbing coffee, some cute frat boy stops Tessa and asks if she’s going to be partying this weekend. She laughs and replies that she won’t be. He tells her she was fun and I mostly think he means she was drunk.
Just as Tessa is starting to have a pleasant day, it’s time for Literature. Hardin is in his usual seat and Tessa sits next to him. He tries to talk to her, but she tells him Very Firmly not to speak to her. He snaps back that fine and they ignore each other for a week. I wish we knew more about this week. I wish this week lasted forever.
Samantha: A week?! I just… wow nothing really does matter unless Hardin is around. The world does revolve around him. The horror.
Mari: Plus the added horror for the author of having to think about subplots or things that would happen without a boy around. We expect too much.
Tessa tells us that it’s easier not to think about Hardin the more they don’t talk and also she thinks about Hardin a lot because she has the room to herself, now that Steph is hanging out with Tristan. I’m sure this all makes sense… to Tessa. She also tells us that she’s been wearing a little more makeup BUT still her baggy and conservative clothes. It was only one orgasm, after all.
By Friday, Tessa is so totally over Hardin, except people keep talking about the party at “the frat house.” Apparently there is only one frat house on this campus. That seems about as likely as Tessa being so totally over Hardin by Friday.
Like 10 people ask Tessa if she’ll be at the party so she does the only thing she knows will be a guaranteed cock-block: she calls her boyfriend. Tessa asks Noah to come visit her right now, even though it’s like lunch time and he’s in high school. She begs a lot and Noah agrees. “Well, that settles that,” she thinks. “Any chance that I might have ended up at that party is now gone.” 0% actually interested in seeing Noah, in case you were wondering. (S: I don’t like Noah but… gross.)
Tessa is, again, feeling v good about life, right up until she walks into Literature. Hardin is leaning over Landon’s desk, growling at him to never say something again. Landon tries to stand, but Tessa gets worried because even though he is muscular, he is Too Nice to punch people, I guess. Tessa grabs Hardin’s arm and he automatically lifts his hand to, I don’t know, punch whoever touched him even though it could be THE PROFESSOR.
Samantha:
Mari: When he realizes that it’s Tessa, he drops his hand and tells her to mind her own business. He does go back to his desk.
Tessa leans over to Landon and asks WTF that was about. Landon says basically Hardin is an asshole and they giggle over that. Hardin is literally RIGHT THERE and I approve of this mightily. Tessa gets an idea and decides to loudly announce that Noah is coming to visit her. She claps her hands and everything. It is a little much, but at least Hardin doesn’t talk to her for the rest of class. (S: Remember when he said he didn’t care about Noah? I think that was a lie. Just a hunch.)
Afterward, Tessa touches up her makeup before Noah gets there.
“I laugh at myself a little while doing my makeup. Since when am I the type of girl who has to “touch up her makeup” before her boyfriend comes? I sense that it’s since that day at the stream with Hardin, an experience that changed me, though the way he hurt me after changed me even more.”
I WAS JOKING ABOUT THE ORGASM BRINGING HER A NEW OUTLOOK ON MAKEUP OH SWEET JESUS.
Samantha: Hahahahaha, jokes are dead.
Mari: Noah finally arrives and he’s wearing another cardigan and he gives Tessa a sweet kiss and compliments her new outlook on makeup.
Steph is out for the night, so Tessa and Noah pick a romantic comedy on Neflix, turn off the lights and start (clothes-on) cuddling. “This is me,” Tessa thinks. “Not some wild girl swimming in a punk boy’s T-shirt.” IDK girl. You are wearing makeup now.
Five minutes into the movie, Hardin bursts into the room like a dick. Tessa gets all embarrassed and flustered because she’s sure Hardin is here to rat on her. Not quite, but he is here to burst into her room without permission LIKE A DICK. Hardin lies about meeting Steph, but Tessa tells him she’s probably already at the frat party. Hardin asks if they are going to the party, but then Noah grabs Tessa’s hand and that makes Hardin upset enough that he leaves, but not before getting a sick burn in on Noah’s sweet cardigan. It’s not actually a sick burn. He actually just says “that’s a nice cardigan you are wearing.”
Samantha: I cannot even handle how he busts into her room. It is so INCREDIBLY violating. I’d be scared all the time.
Mari: As Tess well should be.
Next time on After: Can Noah make Tessa feel things in her down there? Find out in Chapter 28.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
I'm a 28 year old graduated English major and almost librarian. I can often be found singing too loudly (poorly) in the car or spending some time (hours) on Tumblr. I am a lover of Harry Potter, the Spice Girls, and too many other things.