“You’re annoying.” He scoffs.
“Don’t talk about yourself like that, Hayden.” I chew on the pad of my thumb to hide the smile that’s fighting to break through.
“You’re not even funny. How do you have friends again?” he says, a smile threatening to come through as well, and it brings me a sense of satisfaction.
I raise a brow. “You might want to ask yourself.”
He giggles quietly, not wanting anyone to hear. But I did, and he hides his face behind the menu.
We put in our order soon after. Hayden pokes fun at me for just wanting cheese for a change, calling me boring. I nudge his shin under the table, and he hisses. The waitress gets a big kick out of us, calling us adorable under her breath before walking away.
“Do you remember that one time—” chuckles erupting from him cuts his words off while I look at him in amusement, taking a sip of my soda “—we watched that romance movie when we were really little, and that naughty scene came on? We were both equally confused and horrified, even more so when my mom walked in. The look on her face is still hilarious.” He gasps through his laughter, and I do as well, remembering that traumatizing experience.
“I felt like we had done something wrong. I profusely apologized for hours on end.” My lips curl up in nostalgia, thinking back to the good ole days. “The important thing here is: do you remember what happened after?” I rest my elbows on the table, leaning my chin in my palms.
“Yes.” He grunts, running a hand down his face in embarrassment. “That was the day we both got the talk for the first time.” He shakes his head, the left side of his lip quirking up as he leans forward as well and his eyes boring into my own. “My mom called yours to come over, and they gave us a sex ed class right there in my living room.”
I can’t help but grin at the memory of us being so innocent back then. We had both felt so sick—literally to the point of nausea—after they explained the birds and the bees to us. We were so young and open-minded at that age, just merely on the brink of exploring the educational side of things like that.
“That was a mortifying day.” I giggle lightly, moving to lean against the cushiony booth when the waitress sets our food down in front of us, shimmying away after making sure we didn’t need anything else.
“It was, but I’m glad it was you who experienced it with me.”
I turn my gaze up to find his already trained on me with an adoring smile twitching at his lips and an emotion swirling in his eyes.
We continue on like that for another hour or two while we eat, sharing old memories that have our stomach hurting from laughter. Once we are full of pizza, Hayden suggests we go to the cinema to see a horror movie, and I agree instantly.
Scary movies are my absolute favorite, and yet Hayden still complains every time that I don’t give him the outcome he’s looking for. Which is a scared shitless damsel in distress who needs someone to hold onto during the frightening scenes. It always lands us in a discussion about gender roles and how they’re useless and dumb!
Hayden insists on buying a large bag of popcorn when we get to the theater even though I feel like I’m about to explode, so much so that I have to lean on him in the ticket queue. We could have eaten a four-course meal, and he’d still be convinced that it wouldn’t be the full experience unless we bought popcorn.
***
“You could have at least pretended to be scared for my ego,” Hayden explains further as he drives pointlessly after the two-hour movie that was full of jump scares.
“Why would I do that?” I run my fingers up and down my leg that is flowing with pins and needles from sitting down for so long.
“Because you love me.” He hums almost in a duh tone, turning his head to give me a goofy smile.
More than you know.
It was a pure thing to say. He doesn’t know it caused a lump to form in my throat, or my heart to beat so fast it can very possibly bruise my ribcage.
“In no way would I ever risk damaging my tough-ass female sexuality for anyone.” I force out, mustering a small smirk to hide all of the rushing feelings inside.
It is more than relieving to joke with him again. No pressure of relationships, drama, or the fight we recently had to pile on top of our already confusing friendship; just us. I notice the glint in his eyes from today that I haven’t seen in so long. It makes me feel content like I’ve accomplished something.
Even if I’ve said the dumbest thing, making him laugh his satisfying. Being able to see that smile can brighten anyone’s day, or seeing his playful side is refreshing instead of seeing the scowl that’s placed on his face most days.
It feels good to bring back this part of him.
I hardly notice that we have turned into my neighborhood until he’s stopping the vehicle in front of my house. I twist my head to look at him with a confused expression, but he’s not meeting my eyes. A queasy feeling builds up in the pit of my stomach.
“What happened to the whole day?” I ask quietly, looking down at my lap. Every time I sound clingy and needy, I despise it, but I can’t help the disappointment caving in on my chest.
He sighs deeply when I look out the window to my house, and he finally turns a bit in his seat to peer at me. “I…” He grunts lowly, obviously thinking that any excuse he’s trying to come up with isn’t good enough. “I forgot that I made plans with Abby a couple days ago.” Hayden manages to spit out, hands tugging through his hair roughly. “I’m sorry.”
I can hear it in his voice that he’s begging me to understand, but I’m tired of understanding. The sad thing is I don’t even feel mad or sad; I don’t feel anything at all.
I undo my seatbelt and lean down to gather my belongings off the floor while he watches me with frantic eyes. The door creaks as I open it, and I ignore him as he says my name lightly. I climb out. “So am I,” I utter, walking away from him altogether.
He can always ditch me anytime for anyone but can never prioritize me.
Chapter 8
Elsie
It has been two excruciatingly long days of avoiding, ignoring, and hurting. Granted it isn’t the most mature thing I’ve ever done, and I should just face my problems and talk it out. However, Hayden and I don’t discuss things civilly; we argue.
He’s been texting and calling nonstop, but I haven’t once responded. The voicemails and messages were him simply begging me to talk to him, to hear him out, but I don’t want to.
I know that if I do cave, I’ll just end up forgiving him on the spot, and I’m not ready for that. I’m doing this for myself. I’m giving myself a break from the one person I love more than anything because he’s the one who hurts me the most.
Just a couple of days has dragged on slower than I could have imagined. I feel worn-out even though all I have done is go to school and then return home to become a couch potato with a tub of ice cream in my lap. Thankfully, I’m not alone. My mom joins me on both occasions, not asking questions, just stuffing her face with me.
When Friday arrives, I feel relieved because I finally have something to do that can take my mind off everything. Green Pine High is large enough for me to dodge Hayden with no problem, but he’s persistent and oddly tall. He sees me over the crowd with ease.
Fortunately, luck is on my side. Because of my short and petite figure, I can weave in and out the throngs of people and get lost in the sea of teens. He’s getting frustrated; I can tell, but I also don’t care.
Classes are as they always are—boring and long. Anthea comes to my house thirty minutes before the football game to pick me up, and then we are off, back to the place we spend five days out of a week at.
The elevated bleachers outside gives us the perfect view of the team as they jog out onto the green field, but they are absolutely frigid to sit on. I spot Nick instantly, smiling to myself because he’s laughing at something his teammate said.
I’m brought out of my dazed state when someone clears their throat next to me. Reluctantly, I gl
ance up with wide eyes at the sight of the green-eyed boy who is the cause of most of my problems standing right next to me, watching with hesitance.
His chest puffs out when he inhales deeply, brows low. “Can we sit?” he questions with a soft and desperate voice.
The word we shakes me out of my tunnel vision, and I finally see his hand intertwined with Abby’s. I try to swallow the sudden bile that rises in my throat, my words getting jammed so I merely nod instead.
Hayden lets out a noticeable sigh of relief, sliding into the bench next to me. My breath hitches aggressively when he sits so close that his thigh is practically on mine and the side of his arm is pressed against my own.
“Hey, Abby…” I lean over to be polite and greet her, but she only sends me a tight-lipped smile before looking away, placing her hand on Hayden’s leg to give it a squeeze.
Averting my eyes away in embarrassment, I tell myself that I’m the bigger person, and I did the right thing. Although, I don’t feel like being ignored by my best friend’s girlfriend, so I turn my attention towards Anthea who is already ignoring both of their presence with a scowl on her face to talk about the Spanish test.
“I know I failed it.” I chuckle while running my hands up and down my legs for some sort of warmth.
The tingly feeling of skin grazing mine has my eyes shooting down to find Hayden’s hand nearly covering my own, skimming his fingers over my knuckles softly. I inhale deeply, gazing up to find his eyes on the field, not paying any mind to my glare.
He’s attempting to send me a message, to tell me he’s sorry, with his fingers trying to tangle with mine.
I’m so deeply lost in his heated touch that makes my body feel like I’ve jumped headfirst into a volcano; I almost don’t see the movement out the corner of my eye that brings me some clarity. Abby moves her hand to a more comfortable position on his leg, which causes me to jerk mine away from his.
Hayden’s shoulder droops, and his jaw clenches at the rejection, but I focus on our team as the yelling in the crowd gets louder. A sudden breeze has me shivering from head to toe, and I wrap my arms around my body to pull the sweater closer.
“Are you cold?” Hayden asks, already moving to remove his jacket. Before I even have the chance to deny or accept, I’m interrupted.
“I am, babe.” Abby shines her perfectly white teeth at him as I once again redirect my attention. “Thank you.” She coos, pressing a kiss to his cheek that has me feeling sick to my stomach.
Who knew it could hurt this much?
Standing from my seat, I look down at Anthea. “I’m going to get some popcorn. Do you want anything?” She shakes her head, enthralled in the game that started minutes ago.
I make my way past Hayden and Abby, feeling his eyes burn a hole in my back the entire way down until he can no longer see me. I stroll to the concession stand, waiting my turn in line while hoping that it takes the entire game to give me my food so I don’t have to go up there and endure being so close to Hayden but so far away.
Unfortunately, it goes by within two minutes, and I’m making my way back. The other team calls timeout right when I’m walking by, and I hear my name being shouted by a familiar voice.
“Elsie!” Nick calls as he jogs over with his helmet in hand. “Good to see you, kid.” He teases, and I nudge him with a short laugh.
“You know I couldn’t miss your game, now, could I?” I cock a brow at him as he shakes his head in amusement.
“I’m glad you came.” He beams, and I mirror him.
“Myers!”
Nick and I both jump in the direction of the coach calling him with the flick of his finger, a deep-set frown on his face.
He looks back to me with a smirk, hand dipping into my bag to scoop out some popcorn. “Nick!” I scold through giggles as he backs away.
“Got to go before coach pops another blood vessel. See you later, sweet cheeks!” I receive a swift wink from him before he shoves the food in his mouth and jogging away.
“Don’t choke!” I warn, earning a halfhearted thumbs up in response.
After many, many steps, I finally return to my seat with a large huff, feeling a few pair of eyes on me, but I ignore Hayden’s and turn directly to Anthea who is gaping.
“Did I just see that correctly?” She wonders in awe, eyes wide. “Did Nick Myers just stop to talk to you and steal your popcorn?”
I roll my eyes, gasping mockingly. “Oh my God! I should have videoed it, shouldn’t I? It would have gone viral.” The sarcasm practically drips from my voice, and she isn’t having it.
“Shut up…” She groans, harshly elbowing my ribs as I giggle. Hayden isn’t staring anymore since he realized I won’t give him my attention, but he’s listening because he scoots closer. “Be serious for two seconds!” She whines, searching for answers.
“He’s a nice guy. We’ve hung out a little bit.” I shrug, wondering if having dinner with my family really counts as hanging out. Hayden tenses up next to me as Anthea wiggles her brows suggestively, eating some of my popcorn. “You said you didn’t want anything!” I protest, trying to slap her hand, but she gets away with some food.
“We’re friends. What’s yours happens to be mine too, babe!”
I make a sound of disagreement but turn to Hayden and Abby anyway. “Do you guys want some?” I thrust the paper bag towards them, and Abby shakes her head without even looking my way, but Hayden accepts.
“Thanks.” He sends me a halfhearted smile, shoving heaps of popcorn in his mouth.
I can’t help but let out a small spout of laughter, completely forgetting that I’m trying really hard to be mad at him. He seems pleased that he’s amusing me, eyes twinkling as he sends me a triumphant grin.
The rest of the game flies by with Anthea and I conversing every now and then, but Hayden and Abby remain quiet, which is odd. Our team wins by six points, Nick scoring the winning pass, and I can’t help myself from jumping up to cheer.
Anthea grabs my hand to drag us past Hayden. We race down the bleachers with the crowd, feet landing on the field in seconds. I could have sworn I heard Hayden call my name, so I turn back to see him looking at me with pleading eyes, but I don’t have a chance to smile because we’re soon deep in the crowd.
Nick is surrounded by students congratulating him, but his startling blue eyes find mine. He excuses himself from the conversation to stride over in my direction, enveloping me in a tight hug.
“You did it!” I embrace him back, pulling away to grin at him in delight.
He smiles bashfully, blushing profusely. “It was just one game, Elsie.” I roll my eyes at his coy attitude while Anthea takes the opportunity to congratulate him. “Are you guys still coming to the party?”
“Absolutely!”
“Let’s go then!” He hoots, wrapping his free arm that’s not holding a helmet around my shoulder as I grab Anthea’s hand, all of us following the crowd to the exit.
Chapter 9
Elsie
I resent myself sometimes for feeling this way; I really do. I hate that my heart is constantly pulling me towards Hayden like a magnet, but my mind is trying to tug me in a completely different direction.
It’s disgusting that I feel the tiniest bit of sadness for him. All I can think about is his face when I turn around to take one last peek at the football game. He almost looks like a pitiful child who just watched his dog get run over. Then I see Abby. Hayden is there with her; he doesn’t need me, and he’s demonstrated that plenty of times now.
***
My stomach feels a little bit queasy from the amount of alcohol I’ve consumed. I don’t doubt that my cheeks are flushed pink, and my eyes are surely droopy, not only from the vodka but from exhaustion. My limbs feel slightly numb and heavy, but I’m having too much fun to stop now.
I barely think of Hayden by my fourth shot that Nick provided me with.
However, I would be lying if I said I didn’t spend the first hour of the party looking for Hayden. I assum
ed he would be here because he normally attends every single one that’s thrown, but he isn’t anywhere in sight.
I feel almost relieved.
An obnoxious squeal spills from my lips when I throw my arms up in the air in victory, even though I’ve only landed the ping-pong ball in the red cup three times now.
“You’re cheating, Archer!” A very wasted Nick complains loudly from the other end of the table.
I sway on my feet but manage to balance myself out by grabbing onto the end of the wood. “Prove it, Myers!”
He rolls his bloodshot eyes, begrudgingly chugging the cup full of beer. I scrunch my nose as if I had done it. The stench of the cups that are close is enough to make me feel nauseous.
“You’re just jealous that she’s better at beer pong drunk than you are sober.” A jock from Nick’s team teases with a dopey and tipsy smile on his face. “The luck of the Irish is not on your side tonight, my friend.”
Nick licks the remaining liquid off his lips while shooting his friend a sharp glare. “Fuck off, Jake.” He slurs, but that boyish smile only widens, and there’s a sparkle in his blue eyes.
I stifle my giggles the best I can while being intoxicated because I find everything exceptionally funny now.
Both Jake and I share an amused look before it’s interrupted by an irritated blonde who scoffs at us. I smirk, drop eye contact with his gray ones, and glance at Anthea. She leans her body into Jake, and he wraps an arm around her shoulder.
I shoot her a suggestive look, wiggling my eyebrows to tease her like she’d done to me earlier at the game, but I’m positive I looked like a fool. She understood loud and clear, flipping me off swiftly.
“Get ready to drink, Elsie,” Nick announces confidently. He spins the ping-pong ball around in his fingers before sending it across the table. It misses every single cup; in fact, it veers off to the floor. “This game is rigged!”
“Would it make you feel better if I drank it anyway?” I coo through giggles, leaning against the table with raised brows.
He crosses his arms over his chest, jutting out his bottom lip in a pout. “Yes, it would.”
The Best Friend: A Young Adult Romance Story Page 5