“Well, aren’t we feisty?” he smirks.
“You nearly killed me!”
His eyebrows raise, “How?”
“I-I could have fallen off the bed or my heart could have popped out of my chest or something like that.”
He pulls me down and tugs me close to him, arms gripping me tightly, “Sounds like that could have actually happened,” he says sarcastically.
“It could have.”
He nudges my head to the side with his own and starts to kiss my neck. His warm lips pecked all over and I lost all thoughts in my head.
“S-so I guess I’m sleeping here then?”
I felt his mouth curve up into a smile, “Well I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch. And you’ve slept in Luke’s bed so why not mine?”
I didn’t realize my eyes were closed until I opened them when he said this. “How do you know about that?”
He looks at me, pushing his hair out of his eyes, “Luke told me.”
“Of course he did.”
“Nothing happened though, right?” he looks at me a little nervously. Something I wasn’t used to seeing in his usually cocky expression.
I shake my head.
He smiles, “Good.”
He continues to kiss my neck and my eyes close tightly again. After a few more seconds of this, he breaks contact, making me groan and open my eyes.
“Upset much?” he asks. I stare at him as leans in close, brushing my lips with his.
“Eh.” I reply. He smiles and decreases the space between us again, kissing me again.
Chapter 20: Add It To The List
I awake to the large snore escaping Hayden’s lips. The clock shined 6:30 and I groaned, remembering it was the middle of the week. Hayden snores loudly again. I try to get out of the bed, but his grip around my waist is too strong.
“Hayden,” I say quietly. He doesn’t even stir. “Hayden,” I plead a little louder. Still nothing. I kick him in the hip.
“Hey!” he says annoyed.
“Let go of me, I have to get ready for school.” He pulls me in closer so my back is to his chest. His chin nuzzles in between my neck and shoulder, “Let’s ditch.”
I giggle, “What?”
“Let’s just not go. I ditch all the time.”
“Oh?” I ask. “And what would we do all day.”
“Sleep,” he says as I feel the vibrations from his throat.
“How fun,” I say sarcastically.
“Mhm,” he says and I sense the corners of his mouth curve upward.
I lie there still, under his arm, considering his idea. I don’t have to go to school. My mind flashes to my parents and I realize how mad they would be if they found out I missed school to sleep all day.
I shake my head, “I can’t; my parents will kill me.”
Hayden must not have been expecting my sudden escape because I got out of the bed without struggling.
He groans, “No, just stay. Who cares?”
“You’re a great influence on me,” I say laughing and grabbing my clothes out of my bag.
“Where are you going?” he asks as he sees me walk towards the door.
“To change.”
“You can change in here,” he says, sitting up with a smirk.
I look back at him, his hair was a mess and I found it absolutely adorable. “Eh, better not.”
I get out of his lightening red car as we pull up in his parking spot and the cool air hits my body. Goosebumps form up and down my arms. The sky is so dark that if someone told me it was 7 o’clock at night, I would have believed them. God, I hate winter.
Hayden appears at my side and entwines our fingers causing my stomach to do back flips. This is the first time someone has ever held my hand in public. Well, really the first time someone has ever held my hand at all.
I looked up at Hayden and watch his jaw move as he speaks. His green eyes move quickly as he watches where we are walking. The keys to his car jingle in his tight, blue jeans and I realize how much I like the way he dresses. His plaid shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a black t-shirt underneath, and his old, worn-out, tennis shoes gave quiet squeaks against the tiled floor. The only thing I wished was different was his hair; he was wearing a black beanie that covered his curls. I wish he hadn’t covered them up.
He catches me staring and I quickly look away, blushing. He laughs a little and continues to talk. How did I get so lucky?
“Uh-oh,” I hear Hayden say, snapping me out of my trance.
I follow his gaze to my locker and see Jessica standing there looking very pissed off. God, what happened now?
“Hey,” I say awkwardly. Jessica’s eyes glance down and out of embarrassment, I instinctively let go of Hayden's hand. “What happened?”
“The little weasel admitted everything!” she yelled.
“Everything?” I glance at Hayden and he shrugs at me.
“Yeah, how he bid on you at the second auction! He said he was doing it for the charity. Please, if he was doing it for the charity, he could just donate $2,500 to school on any normal day! Not use it to buy my best friend so she lives at his house for a week! What a load of bullshit.”
I feel some relief as I hear that he didn’t tell her about kissing me. At least Lance’s not a complete idiot. “What did you say to him?”
“I told him to go rot in Hell.”
Hayden starts to chuckle which sends me into a fit of giggles. Jessica looks at us weirdly.
“Was that not good enough?” she asks sensitively.
Hayden and I shake our heads, “No, no it was good.”
She nods, “I just can’t believe he did that to me! I feel so betrayed.”
“Have you talked to Daisy?” I ask.
Jessica shakes her head, “Not yet. I don’t want to hear her judgmental tone right now.”
I nod, understandingly. Daisy would not let this go by without a long lecture with the words “I knew this would happen” involved.
“Well, be happy you didn’t sleep with him,” I say jokingly.
The only response I get from Jessica is a guilty look.
“You didn’t, right?” I say more of a statement than a question.
Another guilty look.
“Jessica, did you sleep with him?” I ask urgently.
“Yes,” she whispers.
I groan loudly.
“How could you?” I yell at her.
“I-.”
“Well that’s why he bid on Jenna,” Hayden interrupts.
“What?” Jessica and I ask in unison.
“It’s all just a game to him. You have to get him out of his head and make him realize that it’s not just a game and that there is more to a relationship than sex before you sleep with him.”
I feel my heart fall to my stomach as Hayden explains this. Maybe this was all just a game.
Jessica still looks surprised, “What? Why?”
“Lance has never been in a real relationship. All his ‘relationships’ were just emotionless. Then he would get bored and move on to another girl.”
I see tears start to form in her eyes, “Oh, and you know so much about relationships right, Hayden? From what I’ve heard, you’ve had more than your share.”
Hayden’s eyes widen a bit and my heart drops even more.
“Those weren’t real,” he grabs my hand and I want to tug away but I can’t. “This one is though.”
My heart lifts halfway, almost back to its normal spot. Almost.
“Well, isn’t that adorable,” Jessica says. She turns on her heel and storms out of the hallway. I want to chase after her and comfort her after everything that has happened, but I remember what she told me before: “I don’t need anyone feeling sorry for me.”
I turn to Hayden, “What was she talking about you and those many other relationships?” I ask, trying to sound causal.
The bell rings and Hayden looks relieved. “I’ll tell you later, babe,” he kisses me head. “I have to get to class.”
“Says the one who wanted to ditch today.”
He rolls his eyes and smiles at me, “I’ll see you at lunch.”
I watch after him as he walks down the hall, faster than usual. Every step he takes is just another beat to the rhythm of my heart.
“Hey, babe,” Hayden slides over, making room for me at the table.
I plop down next to him, my mood feeling better than it did this morning, and kiss his cheek, “Hello.”
I look across the table at Zac, Luke, Nolan and Daisy who was next to me. “Hey guys.”
I get a hello from Nolan, but Zac and Luke just nod in my direction.
“Hi!” Daisy says, much too happy for a teenager in the middle of a school day.
“Why are you so happy?”
“I know I shouldn’t be, but I am. Lance and Jessica broke up, Jessica is no longer living in my house, nothing could be better.”
There were many emotions I thought Daisy would show as a reaction to this news, and extreme happiness was definitely not one of them.
“So, I take it you have talked to her?” I ask.
“Yeah. And she’s not too happy about my joyful reaction so I’m not surprised that she isn’t here right now.”
I groan.
“Don’t worry, she’ll be back as soon as she remembers who eats in the library at lunch,” she reassures.
Sure enough, Jessica bursts into the cafeteria and angrily throws herself down on the bench next to Daisy.
“I’m only here,” she explains, “because I refuse to eat with those losers in the library.”
The boys laugh loudly and Daisy and I try to cover ours, only making Jessica angrier.
I quickly change the subject, “So Nolan, you actually decided to eat with us today?”
“Yeah,” he nods, swallowing a mouthful of chips. “Kelsey’s sick.”
I nod and open my mouth, about to ask him how his relationship is going, when Jessica interrupts me.
“Why did he do it? Just tell me why?” she asks, looking at Nolan.
“It’s just Lance’s competitive nature,” he states. “I mean he kissed Jenna, this couldn’t be that big of a shock.
My body stiffens and the entire table except me and Hayden ask, “What?”
Nolan’s face goes pale, “Was that a piece of information I was supposed to keep to myself?”
Everyone’s gaze falls on me as I look straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. Hayden squeezes my hand.
“When?” Jessica asks.
“How?” Daisy’s voice comes in my left ear.
“How come I didn’t know about this? Did you know Luke?” Zac’s deep voice sounds.
“Not at all,” Luke lies.
I look up at him confused and he nods slowly. He’s keeping his promise.
“It happened that day I hung out with you guys after school last week. Daisy and Jessica were talking in Daisy’s room and Lance just sort of did it. I tried to pull away but he trapped me.”
“You mean, it happened while we were dating?” Jessica asks, almost inaudible due to her quiet volume.
I nod.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Daisy asks.
“I didn’t want anyone to know. I didn’t want to cause a big fight.”
“Did you know, Hayden?” Luke asks.
I look at him confused once again, but he ignores my eye contact and stares at Hayden, intently waiting for an answer.
Hayden nods, “Yeah.”
“And you aren’t bothered at all?” This time Luke looks at me when he asks.
“Well, yeah a little bit. But it was before we were dating and I know it wasn’t anything serious.”
Luke continues to look at me his expression a little pleased with himself.
“Jenna, I’m sorry. I didn’t know-,” Nolan says, reaching across the table to grab my hand.
I pull it away feeling the tears sting my eyes.
“Jenna,” Zac starts.
I stand up slowly. The stress of everything that has happened today is finally getting to me. “I’m fine. I just need to go to the bathroom.”
I walk away, throwing my lunch in the trash, I lost my appetite.
My mind is racing when I walk down the hallway towards Hayden’s car at the end of the day. I could barely focus in fifth period. I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened today. I kept going over it again and again so I won’t forget anything.
1.) Lance and Jessica broke up, Daisy is happy about this.
2.) Jessica and Lance slept together.
3.) Hayden said it was all a game to Lance, making me think that maybe it was a game to him as well.
4.) Jessica mentioned all of these relationships Hayden has had, he looked nervous about talking about them, he said they weren’t real relationships and he said ours was.
5.) Everyone found out about Lance kissing me thanks to Nolan, Daisy seemed upset that I didn’t tell her, Jessica was sad, Zac was surprised, Luke lied to keep the promise he made earlier.
6.) Luke seemed to get Hayden to say that he didn’t care much about Lance kissing me, and this bugs me a lot more than it should.
“Pst.”
I stop mid step to look around at the sound. I look at the brown door of the classroom I was walking by as it slowly opened. A hand comes from behind it and grabs my wrist, pulling me in the room.
“What the-.”
I feel soft, plump lips press against mine. They weren’t familiar to me at all. Finally, my mind processes who had pulled me in here: Zac.
I muster enough strength to push his chest away from me.
“Zac, what the hell?”
He smirks at me, “Sorry.”
“Sorry?” I ask, angrily. “Why did you do that?”
“I just-.” He stops himself and then sighs. “I’ve been seeing you with Hayden all day and it just made me really jealous. You know how I feel about you. I told you when we were hanging out at my house. I tried to kiss you and you backed away and I was really hurt by that. And then you go and kiss Hayden a few days later! Why would you kiss him and not me?”
I start to stutter because I am so caught off guard, “I-I like us as friends, Zac.”
“Of course,” he rolls his eyes. “I’m always the friend, never the boyfriend.”
“Zac, I’m sorry-.”
“You kissed Lance.”
“I didn’t kiss Lance!” I exclaim. “He kissed me and trapped me on his bed! He forced me, which is exactly like what you are doing to me now.”
Zac’s eyes fill with sorrow, “I’m not forcing you to do anything, Jenna.”
“Listen, Zac.” I plead. “Please don’t complicate this. Everything is so messed up right now. I need a friend who is there for me. Please be that friend.”
He stares at me for a little before nodding slowly, “Okay. You’re right, I’m sorry. That was so stupid of me.”
“Thank you,” I wrap my arms around his waist to hug him. “I have to go, Hayden is…” I cut myself off.
Zac smiles lightly, “I get it. Go.”
I smile and open the door. He grabs my wrist again, “Please don’t tell him what I did. Hayden would kill me.”
I nod and walk into the hall.
Just another number to add to my list of things that have happened today. Another secret.
Chapter 21: More and More Drama
“Sorry about this morning,” Hayden says as he entwines our fingers.
“Don’t be sorry! It was hilarious,” I laugh, recalling how Hayden’s mom had barged into the room at 6:30 this morning, blasting some upbeat hip-hop music. She sang along with the lyrics, screaming at the top of her lungs and jumping around the room.
“It was embarrassing,” Hayden whines. “I swear, I don’t know why she gets the urge to do stuff like this sometimes.”
I laugh again and squeeze his hand, “Sorry, baby Hayden.”
Hayden turns his head to look at me and I feel my stomach do a back flip as I get lost in his emerald
eyes. He smirks a little and then breaks the eye contact.
“Remember how you said that you didn’t know if Jessica was mad at you or not last night?” he asks me.
“Yeah, why?”
He points over to the freshmen lockers with his free hand, “Here’s your chance to find out.”
I watch as Jessica takes out her books. My stomach does another back flip and for the first time, I am nervous to talk to my best friend.
Hayden can sense my hesitation, “Don’t be scared, just talk to her.”
I nod and he kisses me on the cheek. Separating our hands, he disappears into the crowded hallway towards the courtyard.
I take a deep breath and walk up to her. I plaster a big smile on my face, “Hey.”
She looks at me for a second, slams her locker and gives me a cold, “Hey.”
I sigh, “Are you mad at me?”
“Not at all,” she says sarcastically, turning to walk towards the exit.
“Jessica, please,” I say, running to her side. “Please understand that I didn’t do anything. I tried to get away but he-.”
“You could have told me,” she says stopping, causing people behind us to have to walk around. The bell rang for class, people scattered to their class rooms.
“What?”
“You could have told me what happened, instead of letting me continue to date a complete asshole,” Jessica crosses her arms.
“I know. But you know you still would have found a way to be mad at me even if I had told you earlier,” I point out.
“Well, yeah. But it would have been harder to stay mad. You could have saved me from making the stupidest mistake of my life!” her bag slides off her shoulder and lands around her forearm. Tears spring to her eyes and her bangs fall messily in front of her left eye.
I can’t help but feel terrible. Standing here in the now almost deserted hallway, she looked so vulnerable and destroyed. I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m sorry,” I say, feeling some of her tears fall onto my shirt. “Can you forgive me?”
“I guess.”
I pull away from her, “Do you want to eat lunch in the library today?”
“Hell no.”
The Last Girl Page 10