Chapter 12 (+18)

Hayden loved when Halloween landed on a Saturday. It gave her all day to get ready. She needed the extra time to mentally prepare this year. She felt like she would be walking into an ambush and she wanted her own weaponry. She could only use her words, so she kept practicing different things she could say when Jessica tried to make a scene. There was no doubt in her mind that Jessica was going to make a scene. Hayden only hoped it could be contained.

Hayden was already in her costume, she was just doing her make-up. There wasn’t a real purpose. She was only doing eyeliner and a gray eye shadow. It wasn’t anything flashy, but it was enough to say she made an attempt. She wasn’t really into make up and being girly. It was fine for the people who enjoyed it, but Hayden wasn’t one of them. The only reason she knew how to do her make-up at all was because Samantha had shown her how to do “smokey eyes”. That was all Hayden knew how to do. It always worked, no matter what the situation was.

The costume she was wearing had a fake police hat with it. She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail to fit under the hat. She carried the hat in her hand as she headed upstairs. Her mother was waiting with a stern look on her face.

“Where are you going?” She questioned. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“Me and Rob are going to a Halloween party. All the information is on the fridge.” She assured. Her mother took a few steps backwards and looked at the fridge. She nodded.

“Okay.” She agreed. Hayden shook her head.

“I know the rules mother.” She assured. Her mother laughed and continued into the living room. She was getting the kids ready for a Halloween party at the family church. Hayden wasn’t a regular attendee, but her siblings loved going to church. They enjoyed any opportunity to socialize. Hayden was a loner who usually opted to stay home by herself. She still didn’t know how Rob convinced her to be going to a Halloween party wearing something that would draw attention to them. As she waited by the door, she was starting to get impatient. Rob was late.

“We have to get going. Are you okay alone?” Her mother announced, tapping her on the shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll be leaving any minute.” She assured. Hayden stepped out of the way, letting the family exit. Her brother was dressed as a leopard and Hannah was dressed like a Sky Dancer. Neither of her parents were wearing costumes as they trailed behind the kids. Hayden closed the door and went and took a seat in the living room. After a few more restless minutes, there was a knock at the door. Hayden jumped up and ran to the door, excitedly pulling it open. On the other side was just a group of kids in costumes looking for treats. There was a bowl beside the door. Hayden grabbed a handful for each of them and they moved on to the next house. She closed the door and there was another knock immediately. She readied another handful of candy as she opened the door again. This time, it was Rob.

“Where have you been?” Hayden screeched, pulling him into the house. She dropped the candy back into the bowl and crossed her arms over her chest.

“It’s hard to walk in these.” He motioned to the fake shackles around his ankles. She laughed.

“You’re not supposed to put that part on until we get to the party.” She noted. He wasn’t paying attention to her. He was staring at her outfit. She shook her head.

“Hello?” She waved her hand in front of his face. He shook his head.

“I’m sorry. You’re just so beautiful.” He complimented. She looked away bashfully. When she looked back at him, she looked him up and down. The first thing she noticed were the authentic dirt smears on his cheeks. Then she noticed the costume was a little tight in the groin. She giggled as she pretended not to notice. Rob groaned and adjusted himself. Hayden bit the side of her lip.

“Do you want to go downstairs? No one’s home but me.” She offered. Rob smirked.

“What about the party?” He questioned. She shrugged.

“We’ll go later. We’ll skip it. It’s up to you.” She held her hand out. Rob happily accepted it and she started leading him towards the basement. He stopped.

“Hold on.” He took his hand back and took the ankle shackles off. He chuckled to himself, stumbling along behind Hayden. They headed straight into her bedroom. As soon as they were inside, she turned around and started kissing him. She pushed him backwards into the door, letting it slam closed. Rob let out a loud groan. Hayden pulled back.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized through a heavy breath. Rob shook his head and pulled her lips back to his. She grabbed the collar of his jumper and started walking backwards. She fell to the bed, pulling him down with her. She stopped kissing him and wrapped her arms around his neck. His mouth dropped to her neck. He kissed a trail down her chest. He took the zipper of the jumpsuit in his teeth and pulled it down. Hayden whimpered as she became exposed. Rob continued exploring her chest with his mouth. She loved every second of the sensation. His breath was warm against her skin. She arched into his touch. She wanted to touch him, but she refrained. She let her head press harder into the pillow, arching her back even higher. Rob took it as an invitation to pull the zipper down further. He started kissing down her stomach. He paused when he reached her underwear.

“Can I touch you?” He asked. His breathing was erratic and he spoke in a deeper voice. Hayden ran her hand through his hair and tugged his head back up. She kissed him deeply.

“Please.” She begged. He smiled wickedly as his hand moved between her legs.

Hayden had never had an orgasm before. She had to run to the bathroom because she felt like she was going to explode. She could hardly walk because her legs felt like jelly. Meanwhile, Rob sat back with a huge smile on his face. He was proud of himself and it was obvious. When Hayden got back to the room, he was laying on his back. He was lost in thought. She watched him for a few seconds. He was mindlessly rubbing himself through the costume. Hayden pushed the door closed to get his attention. He jumped, looking over at her. She smirked.

“Don’t stop because of me.” She hinted. Rob blushed and rolled onto his side.

“I’m sorry.” He stuttered out. Hayden sat beside him. She couldn’t help but lick her lips.

“Can I watch?” She asked softly. Rob shifted his hips.

“Really?” His voice cracked. Hayden nodded, propping her head on her hand.

“I’m curious.” She reminded him. He nodded.

“Okay.” He agreed, dropping onto his back. He undid the bottom of the costume and she watched him pleasuring himself. She couldn’t focus on his hand though. She was infatuated with the look on his face. He was completely lost in the moment. He was beautiful. When he was finished, he excused himself to the bathroom to get clean.

Hayden felt a warmth flowing through her that she didn’t recognize. When Rob came back into the room, she noticed the feeling was radiating the strongest in her chest. He dropped his back onto the bed. He put one of his arms underneath his head. The other pulled Hayden closer. She adjusted so that she was laying beside him, her hand flat on his chest.

“Do you even want to go to the party?” She sighed. Rob shook his head.

“No. But I need to make an appearance so Brent can say he saw me there.” He reminded her.

“That’s too bad. Because this is way more fun.” She giggled. Rob smiled.

“I would rather be with you than anywhere else.” He assured. She smiled against his chest.

“We’ll make an appearance.” She agreed, slowly pushing off of him. She fixed her costume and checked her make-up in the mirror. It was smeared. She smiled to herself, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. She wiped her hand off on the costume. Rob went to splash water on his face before the two headed out the door. The party was a few blocks away. There were still kids out everywhere. Her parents would be long out of the neighborhood. Still, they hurried their steps to get to the party. The music could be heard from down the block. There were flashing lights. People were standing inside and outside and everywhere in between. Rob took Hayden’s hand as they approached the party.

In all the excitement, Rob forgot the ankle shackles in Hayden’s bedroom. It didn’t take away from the costume. The pair made quite an impression walking in together. They were met with a chorus of howling. Some were enthusiastic. Some were in disbelief. One person yelled that she needed to get him in cuffs to keep him under wraps. At least the jokes were appropriate to the costumes. Hayden did the best she could to blend into the background. There were people in a wide age frame. Most of the crowd was a few years older than Hayden. There were a few kids younger than Hayden too. It seemed like the party was open to anyone who wandered in off the street. Though no adults seemed to be present. Hayden led Rob through the crowd, looking specifically for Brent. She didn’t see Brent, but she could see Danny across the room. She tugged at Rob and motioned for him to say hello. He waved. Danny waved back. Hayden continued through the house to get to the backyard. That was where she expect to see Brent because there was an in-ground pool. It was cold outside, but that wasn’t going to stop drunk girls from getting into the pool and abandoning their costumes. When they got outside, she noticed there were 3 older girls in the pool. She looked around, but didn’t see Brent. Rob nudged her shoulder with his. She looked over at him, confused.

“Brent’s in the kitchen.” He noted. Hayden nodded and they started walking towards the kitchen.

“Hey, Brent!” Rob called. Brent waved dismissively. Hayden nodded.

“Well, that’s done.” She observed. Rob nodded.

“Can we get out of here?” He begged. Hayden laughed.

“Yeah, let’s go.” She agreed. They weaved their way back through the crowd towards the front door. Standing between them and exit was Jessica. She was angrier than Hayden had ever seen her.

“You’re fucking joking.” She screeched. A few people turned to see what was going on. Rob stepped in front of Hayden to create a barrier between the girls.

“I knew you were lying to me. You fucking weasel.” Jessica screamed in Rob’s face. He nodded.

“I did.” He confirmed. Jessica shook her head and glared at Hayden.

“Leave her out of this.” Rob instructed. Jessica grabbed his wrist and aggressively pulled him away. He was caught off guard and tripped. Jessica immediately lunged at Hayden. She grabbed her ponytail and wrestled her down to the floor. She climbed on top of her and started slapping her repeatedly. One of Jessica’s friends was cheering her on. One of the older girls ran over and tried to pull Jessica away. Jessica kept flailing and trying to grab Hayden again as she got to her feet. Rob walked over and wrapped his arm around her waist. He motioned to the front door. Hayden started following him towards the exit. Jessica screamed from behind them and tried lunging again. She broke free from the girl who had been holding her, but one of the boys caught her before she reached Hayden. Her and Rob hurried out of the party. They could hear Jessica screaming after them.

“This isn’t over!” Hayden waved her off. Her and Rob kept walking back towards her house. When they reached the corner of Penny Drive and Michele Heights, they headed into the park. There were no streetlights in the area, but they knew it well. There was a swing set in the park that was one of Hayden’s favorites. The seats were fabric instead of leather or plastic. They were more comfortable for swinging in than the ones behind her house. Hayden sat on one of the swings and Rob leaned against the metal frame of the swing set.

“I’m sorry.” He quickly apologized. Hayden shook her head.

“It’s fine. Hopefully, that’s the worst of it.” She groaned. Rob took a deep breath.

“I should have stopped her from attacking you.” He continued. He started pacing back and fourth. Hayden got off the swing set and grabbed his hand.

“Rob.” She spoke softly. He turned to face her. She motioned to the swing beside her. He groaned as he sat down, looking over at her. She smiled softly.

“It’s okay. You tried.” She repeated. Rob nodded slowly.

“I should have tried harder.” He insisted. Hayden shook her head.

“You don’t need to protect me. I can take care of myself sometimes.” She sighed. Rob looked over.

“What do you mean?” He questioned. She dropped her head back.

“You wanted to protect me from Tommy, from Wayne, now from Jessica. You can’t protect me, Rob. There are some bad things that are supposed to happen.” She assured. Rob let out a deep breath.

“You’re right, but I can’t help it. I love you. I want to keep you safe. Is that really such a bad thing?” He rambled. Hayden smiled as she held her hand out to him.

“Not at all. Just, don’t blame yourself when you can’t.”