Hartley

"Good morning! Miss Cairo is out right now, but I'm here to help! Did you order something or are you just looking around?"

"Oh! I love Jasmines! They're so beautiful and just light up the room! Did you know Jasmines symbolize love and beauty? They're the perfect gifts to give to your significant other! Unless your significant other is anything like mine, you know, I bought her Jasmines last year for her birthday, completely forgetting that she hated flowers, and she threw them to the ground and punched me!"

"Oh no, I was fine, my nose was bleeding and I was crying a little, but nothing an apology and a bandage didn't fix! Granted, her grandmother was the one who apologized and she.. just watched, but I could tell she wanted to say sorry!"

"Okay! I'll tell Miss Cairo you came by, get home safely!"

  ~

Character

Hartley resides in a single bedroom apartment, above a flower shop that he helps keep in business

When he's not working, he's with his friends or girlfriend, just chatting or helping them with whatever's bothering them

No matter who it is, Hartley is always willing to lend a hand and help, even if it means he's ignoring his own needs

Some people are quick to say that Hartley is creepily friendly and optimistic about life, without knowing just why he's like that to begin with

Having been born to an absent mother and an neglectful father, Hartley grew a dependency to anyone who grows close to him

He's afraid of letting anyone go and will have a slight panic attack whenever he fails to help someone

No truer words could be said when it comes to his girlfriend

Everyone notices but never says anything, either out of fear, or they just don't care

Hartley and Lareina are considered an odd couple, nobody knows why or how they're still together but never says anything to indicate they're not right for each other

With Hartley's dependency and Lareina's passiveness, they aren't exactly a couple that people see lasting for long

However, they've been together since they were teens, not because they love each other, but because they both don't know how to call it off

Hartley believes he loves Lareina and wants to help her, but he doesn't know how to and believes the more she hurts him, the more she loves him. Since nobody is saying anything, he has no way of telling the difference, and he's stuck to believe it's love

No matter if it's hurts

Personality

Hartley has a bright outlook on life and negative things, he's always seen with a worried smile and hardly ever smiles because he's happy

He's always willing to help people but never himself, if someone were to offer him help, he would offer to help them instead

Sometimes in conversations, he'll say something that'll allude to Lareina's abusive nature but pass it off as just a thing couples do

Certain things will make him uncomfortable but he'll laugh them off as simple fears and try to change the subject

It's hard for him to open up on his true feelings, why? If only someone knew

Backstory

Things weren't exactly easy for him, but he'd never say he had it worse then other, because that's selfish and he doesn't like having people's attention

His dad worked a dead-end job in order to provide for the family and his mom was never around enough, the times she was, she'd go on rants about things Hartley was too young to understand. But the things she'd say would stick with him and would follow him to adulthood, most, if not all of what she said, was negative

In high school, Hartley was subjected to relentless bullying, but he saw it as playful rough housing and would treat the people who bullied him as friends. As time went on, the bullies stopped because they thought it was creepy, however, they couldn't get rid of him, so they kinda accepted him as apart of their group
One day, a new girl came to town, and she caught Hartley's eye, drawing him into a trance that he could not escape from

Likes

Being Helpful
Making people smile
Working till his fingers bleed
The early hours of the morning
Seeing Lareina smile(very rare)
Odd accessories/clothing
Daydreaming
Making flower arrangements

  Dislikes

Animals(mainly cats)
His appearance
Making Lareina angry
Being unable to be around Lareina
His family life
Stupid people
Cold months

Fun Facts

• Nobody has seen him cry before
• He spends most of his time with Lareina
• Whenever he comes back from Lareine's house, he has a new bandage and or bruise to hide
• He hasn't spoken to his parents since high school
• He has a younger brother, but he has yet to meet him
• He likes wearing weird accessories
• His hair is extremely tangled and unkempt
• His favorite books involve romance and unnecessary sex scenes
• He's ashamed of his freckles
• He is terrified of the dark