The Best Friend: A Young Adult Romance Story

by Ally Williams

  Hayden, of course, looks utterly adorable with flushed cheeks, wavy tendrils brushing haphazardly over his forehead, and doe eyes gazing at me with shining admiration. Also, his need to be cuddled at every second isn’t unanswered.

  We’ve been in this position for who knows how long now, but he refuses to let me go. Unless he wants another drink or I want another soda, then he’s demanding I come right back. Each and every time I try to slip out of his hold without saying anything, he whines and holds on tighter.

  I can be outgoing and talk to new people, but I’m not the best at parties. Hayden is my scapegoat for that. As long as he’s pulling me along with him, I know I’ll never have to start conversation with strangers because he’s the biggest social butterfly. Hence why everyone in our school knows his name.

  “What are you thinking about?” he slurs in the shell of my ear, brushing his lips against the skin.

  I shiver. “How cute you are…” I coo, trying to twist in his hold, but it tightens until he sees that my intention is to only brush those golden brown locks away from his face.

  “You’re patronizing me because I’m shit-faced, aren’t you?” He lethargically raises his brows, a few of those hairs out of place that makes me chuckle and smooth those out too.

  “No! You’re always cute to me, even when you’re wasted.” I admit, not afraid of honesty, because I know when the morning light comes, he won’t remember such a small detail. The lazy smile that pulls at his lips makes my heart burn with love for this boy that makes me happier than I ever could have imagined. “I have to pee again.”

  “No!” He whines, nudging his face in my neck. “Stay here with me.”

  “Hayden, I don’t think either of us wants my bladder exploding.”

  “That’s gross, El.” He scoffs, and I snicker, pulse kicking into high gear due to the nickname he hasn’t used in so long. “Plus, I think that’s a bit dramatic and irrational.”

  “If you don’t let me go, then I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  He childishly kicks his foot against the cabinet, gripping onto me tighter before he sighs and lets go. “Be back in three minutes.”

  I send him a challenging expression. “You’re very theatrical and bossy when you’re drunk.” With a pat to his knee, I step back to turn away, but he grabs my arm to haul my body back to his, pressing a sloppy kiss to my temple before letting me walk away.

  Any other night I would have blushed profusely and giggled like a school girl as I walked away, but this isn’t nearly as intimate as our time on the roof.

  I find the bathroom to be far cleaner that I expected. After doing my business and washing my hands, I walk back out of the small room to see a very tipsy guy and girl who are banging on the door, waiting very impatiently.

  With a scrunched nose, I remind myself to not drink anything else so I don’t have to use it again, not after those two very clearly horny teens.

  I make it back to see Hayden who is still in the same spot with a breathtaking smile on his face as he laughs at something one of the guys said. His eyes find me a second later, and that grin only grows when I walk back over to be pulled in the same position. I love being in his arms like this, but I’m growing bored, and if I remember correctly, he made me a promise.

  “You said you’d dance with me.” I remind him, turning to see his face a bit too close to my own, but neither of us moves.

  “You’re right, I did.” He croons, eyes dancing with amusement as he squeezes my hips to move me forward. He hops off the counter with his whole body pressing against mine, and I try to tell myself to breathe. Someone in the group asks where we’re going right before we make it out of the kitchen, and Hayden spins around to answer. “I promised my girl a dance, sorry.”

  That goofy grin is plastered on my face, and I know it isn’t going anywhere.

  When I’m led to the living room, I notice there are loads of people all around, dancing to the music that is much louder and nearly vibrating the floor. All Hayden and I end up doing are laughing and joking around while we playfully dance together.

  It ends all too soon and morphs to a slower song, which is surprising. I move to walk off, but he pulls me back, grinning from ear to ear as he wraps his arms around my waist. I snake mine around his neck, swaying with him while everyone else grinds on their partner. He giggles in my ear at everyone else, pulling me closer and closer.

  Hayden manages to persuade me to stay for a few more songs after that, and I have more fun than I have in a long time, just fumbling over him and chuckling.

  We hang around outside for some time just to get some fresh air, then we leave when I am one-hundred-percent sober. I drive us back while he begs to stay at my place with droopy eyes, and somehow, we end up in my bed. We’re snuggled up together in the dark. The only audible sounds are our steady breaths slowly lulling us to sleep.

  “I can’t wait to be in France with you,” he mumbles, slowly tugging our bodies flush together and throwing his legs over mine.

  Chapter 29

  Elsie

  As the day progresses, I come to realize how easy it is to fall back into our normal routine with everything being so drama-free. It’s been so much better having Hayden around without guilt eating me alive. My mind tricks me into thinking I’m taking him away from spending time with his girlfriend.

  There has been this unsaid pact for us to solely focus on repairing our shattered friendship. It feels so effortless and painless these days—despite that voice whispering to me that it’s only a season and Hayden’s only being accommodating because Abby is out of town.

  The sad thing is I believe it. I shouldn’t, but there’s no way I can help that logical side of my brain from wondering. After everything he’s done to me and put me through, it’s like my subconscious is already trying to protect me from the inevitable.

  I try to remind myself that before Abby left, Hayden made it important to be a much better friend. Maybe, just maybe, he’s working hard to change like he’s promised to do so many times before.

  We’ve been going down an exceptionally well path, better than anything I could have hoped for. There is still that disappointing weight taking home in my chest, sinking my heart to the pits of my stomach, leaving behind a lingering disaster that’s soon to come.

  There is that tinge of pessimism crawling its way inside to poke fun, reminding me it won’t last long, that something is going to change everything and we won’t be able to recover from it this time. We’ve been through so much, and we made it through, so what’s one more?

  The only reason we’ve made it through is that I forgive him over and over again like an idiot.

  All of the thoughts that have yet to slow down since he kissed me are on a constant loop. It makes my head pound, but once my deep brown eyes meet his warm, fir-tree ones, everything pauses for a little while.

  As far as I know, he can be the best thing that’s ever happened to me or the worst. He can be the love of my life or the one to shatter my fairytale dream.

  He can ruin me, and I’d let him.

  He knows my darkest of secrets that he can expose at any time; he knows how to hurt me, how to make me feel worthless, and he’s seen me drown my pillow in tears. Hayden also knows how to love me, to hold me, to calm my racing heart when all I want to do is fear the worse. The second he sees the tears well up, he’s there, whispering soothing words and promises. The most important thing is that he holds my heart in the palm of his hands.

  I’m the last person to know what exactly has been happening between the two of us. Who knows what the future holds? All I do know is that at this moment, he is the best thing that has happened to me. I just hope it’ll stay that way.

  ***

  Over the holiday break, I’ve had too much time to think when I lay in my bed at night, blankly staring up at the ceiling like it could give me all the answers. During the day, I distract my brain from wandering any way I could, but sometimes it isn’t enough.

&n
bsp; The day before Thanksgiving, my mother wants to take my little siblings and me out to lunch. She isn’t at all surprised when both Hayden and I trail down the stairs dressed and ready for the day. She merely rolls her eyes, muttering something about us “being attached at the hip constantly.”

  It is a nice day for an outing, and we’re enjoying each other’s company. Well, in my case, it’s more pouting because my mother and Hayden are making fun of the orange slice I ask for in my soda.

  I decide to give Hayden the silent treatment. He, of course, picks up on it within seconds, knocking his knee into mine multiple times for my attention, but I continue to hold a conversation with my mom about our art class trip in a few days.

  Giving Hayden the silent treatment never goes over well. I’ve learned over the years that ignoring him is the worst kind of torture. He’s never been fond of it, and the pet peeve only grows worse as we get older. He would pester and apologize until I’d give in.

  My mother scoops up a howling Leena, excusing herself to change the baby’s diaper. I squint at Wylie who is, as usual, too involved in his handheld video game to even know what’s going on around him. Hayden tucks his leg under him to turn in the booth, burning holes in my profile.

  “I’m sorry.” He huffs, and from what I can see out of my peripheral, there’s a clear pout. “You know I love your quirks.”

  Scooting closer, he lays his head on my shoulder, nudging his cold nose against my neck to grab my attention, but I just cross my arms over my chest, finding it too amusing. He grumbles under his breath when he doesn’t get the response he wants, fingers curling around my wrists to tug them away so I don’t look so guarded.

  “Elsie, please!” He whines, snaking his arms around my waist so he can pull me into a cuddle. “You know I hate it when you don’t talk to me.” Digging his fingertips in my hips, he earns a small squeal as I try to squirm away from the tickling.

  A grin paints my lips when I peer up to see his expression mirroring mine, knowing he broke through my angry façade.

  “You’re so mean to me.” He chuckles, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek while slipping his leg behind my back before hauling my back to sit flush against his chest.

  Luckily, the booth is big enough for me to sit comfortable in between his legs for the rest of meal, feeling at ease and all warm inside. His arms are my favorite place to be.

  ***

  Thanksgiving flickers by like it normally does.

  Gabe’s parents joined us, along with a few other scattered family members that I only ever see or speak to on birthdays or holidays. I have to quickly break up another brewing food fight that is bound to happen between my little brother and stepfather. I sit in between the two for the rest of the meal.

  Once the main course is over, I help clean everything spotless and drive myself over to Hayden’s so I can join his family for desert like I do every year. Gwen and I spend most of the time catching up. She goes into full detail of a date she went on a week back, and I mean full detail.

  Hayden clings to me, grunting about how I am not paying any attention to him. He begins to order his sister around, telling her she isn’t allowed to date anyone ever again because she already didn’t listen the first one hundred times.

  “Gwen is older than you, Hayden.” I remind him, turning my head to peek up at the wavy-haired boy that’s wrapped around me like a koala—minus the chlamydia.

  “So? I’m the man of this house, and what I say goes.” He smirks, shooting a knowing look at his sister who only scoffs and rolls her eyes.

  She and I pretty much ignore him after his overprotective-brother-senses kick in. Soon, Camil gathers us around the coffee table to play a board game while watching a holiday themed movie that has the happiest ending, unlike life.

  I almost fall asleep a few times, but Hayden would wake me up with an aggressive poke, quick to remind me that I promised him we would go black Friday shopping at an ungodly hour of the morning.

  And I regret this the second it turns midnight, and we’re standing in the mall that’s filled to the brim with people lurking for a good deal. We are going to be exhausted at the airport later to leave for France, but Hayden wants to make an all-night thing out of it.

  It’s all a mess. Hayden pulls me to a kids’ store, throwing multiple bouncy balls at my head when I am not looking. He giggles when I try to smooth down my frizzy hair. Not to mention he nearly makes me deaf from the air horn he blows next to my ear, which also gets us kicked out of the store a lot faster than I thought.

  We buy festive coffees and sip on them as we window-shop. Hayden would hold up various different Christmas sweaters that look utterly horrendous, and I would just chuckle before walking away to leave him behind. He eventually gets sick of me trying to leave him, so he holds me by the waist, tugging me back when I’d begin to step away.

  We find ourselves standing off to the side, leaning against the wall with our arms pressed together, watching two women tug back and forth on a designer sweater. They might rip it before one of them wins.

  “I think the girl in the gray turtleneck is going to win.” Hayden bends down to whisper in my ear, brushing his lips against my skin.

  I shake back the shiver threatening to run through my body. “Well, I think the girl in the sweatshirt is going to win. I mean, look at those calves. It’s all in the legs when trying to win tug of war.”

  He laughs lightly, reaching up to push some baby hairs that had fallen out of my ponytail away from my face. “Wanna bet?” A smirk falls over his lips, eyes shining with a challenge.

  “You’re on.”

  Hayden’s face lights up. “Then if I win, I get to use you as a pillow the entire flight, with no complaints.”

  I blink up at him, ready to protest because he knows I’d have a few complaints along the way. “That’s not fair!”

  “But if you win, I’ll give you foot massages for a month.” He’s quick to butt in before I can continue to object. “Also, whenever you want them.”

  I narrow my almond-shaped eyes, going over my options. “Anytime I want?” I ask, and he nods, and it seems like a pretty fair deal, on my part at least. “Deal.”

  “Yes, I won!” Hayden cheers a bit too loudly over the commotion, emerald orbs glowing in amusement and victory. “You’re officially my pillow.” He gloats while my poor foot massage offer flies right out of the window. I look over to see the girl in the turtleneck clutching the sweater happily.

  I can’t help but giggle at his excitement, pushing his body away from mine in annoyance. I turn my lips down in a frown to pretend I’m mad, even though I am quite disappointed I won’t be getting those massages.

  “I was really looking forward to those foot rubs.” I sigh, feeling Hayden’s fingers slip in mine to pull us away, but I turn back to glare at the woman in the sweatshirt. “I was rooting for you!”

  There’s a look of confusion written all over her face while my best friend just cackles, throwing his head back in laughter while still tugging me away from the scene.

  “Come on, cutie.” He snickers, burying his nose in my hair to hide his amusement.

  Chapter 30

  Elsie

  It seems that when you’re looking forward to something, the hours lag on forever.

  My eyes start to get heavy during the end of our voyage through stores, most of the commotion and excitement dying down. I start to lean against Hayden, letting him keep my body up as I trudge along.

  Neither of us buys a thing. I, for one, don’t have the money to be spending on things I don’t need—I really need to get a job—and Hayden doesn’t buy himself things, ever. He’s more of a guy that has to be forced by his mom, or me, to purchase anything. Only if he really needs something will he pick it up, but even that is rare.

  It’s one of the many reasons why I adore him so much. He refuses to splurge on himself, but when it comes to the people he cares about, he doesn’t hesitate.

  I remember our freshman year vividly
. My birthday was slowly approaching, and he’d done something with me every day of the week leading up to it. He used mostly all the money in his savings that he’d been keeping for so many years and spent it all on me. That year, he’d made me feel like the most important girl in the world.

  During our not so shopping trip, I offer to buy him a shirt he has been staring at for a solid couple of minutes, but he refuses and pulls me out of the store. He hates it when I buy him things; he claims he’d much rather spend money on me.

  The entire night goes by in a blur now that I look back on it.

  The sunrise signals us to head back home so we can gather our luggage and leave with our families. Stepping into the airport, we soon realize that it’s packed with people leaving or coming home for the holidays.

  Hayden is carrying both of our duffels, making sure to keep me close behind him as we weave in and out of the throngs of people, our parents not far behind. He throws charming looks over his shoulder with brows raised, flushed cheeks, heart-shaped lips curled up, and bright eyes wide despite the lack of sleep.

  Just the tips of my cheeks are blushing with red from his eyes being trained on me. I try to muster up a smile in return without getting trampled by the many business people rushing to security so they’ll make it to their gate in time.

  The airport has already been decorated for Christmas. A ginormous tree that’s big enough to fit five normal-sized ones stands tall in the main lobby with ornaments and lights hung haphazardly all over. Festive music plays through the speakers, hardly audible over all the hustle and bustle.

  You can smell the jolliness in the air surrounding everyone, and you can’t help but feel that small exciting twinge of bliss.

  I hardly notice when we come to a stop in a more secluded and less busy area, nearly running directly into Hayden’s back. He chuckles, tugging on my wrist to pull me around so I can see we’re in front of our terminal.