Chapter 23

Hayden waited until Saturday morning before braving her conversation with Liz. Hayden figured the easiest way was to wait until they were at hockey. Then Liz would be somewhat distracted and maybe wouldn’t have a bad reaction. Hayden didn’t really know what to expect from Liz. She wasn’t overly dramatic like Jessica, but she was going to have a reaction. Anyone would. Hayden knew to expect something. Liz didn’t ask why she wanted to tag along. She seemed happy to have the female companionship. Hockey was something her dad and brother did. She only went along because she had nothing better to do and wanted to know more about her brother’s hobby. That’s when she started talking to Brent. Liz told Hayden all about their first awkward conversation. They already knew each other, so it was hard to transition from strangers to friends to a relationship in less than a week.

Hayden wondered if normal relationships were easier to manage. Even though she didn’t know much, she had a feeling her relationship with Rob wasn’t exactly average. There were too many layers to their dynamic. It wasn’t as simple as Brent and Liz. They started talking and decided to give a relationship a chance. That was it. There wasn’t much thought. Hayden had to decide whether or not getting involved in a relationship was worth the risk of their friendship. She wasn’t sure she had made the right decision, but she hoped she’d feel better after talking to Liz.

“You’ve been awfully quiet today.” She observed, nudging Hayden’s shoulder with hers.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind.” Hayden tried to dismiss. Liz nodded.

“Well, I’m here if you want to talk. You know you can tell me anything. I won’t judge you.” She assured. Hayden took a deep breath.

“I kissed Brent.” She blurted. Liz raised her eyebrow, then laughed.

“I know. He told me already.” She assured. Hayden shook her head.

“He doesn’t know everything.” She groaned. Liz looked over, now seeming concerned.

“What are you talking about?” She asked softly. Hayden sighed again.

“I wanted to. I mean, I had thought about it before he asked.” She confessed. Liz’s eyes went wide.

“What?” She squeaked. Hayden nodded, looking down at the concrete underneath her feet.

“Do you like him?” She asked after a minute. Hayden looked over to where Brent was sitting on the bench. She slowly shook her head.

“I thought I did. For a minute.” She clarified. Liz was quiet again.

“Does he like you?” She questioned. Hayden shrugged.

“I don’t know.” She answered. Liz nodded to herself.

“We have to ask him.” She announced. Hayden’s eyes went wide.

“Are you kidding me?” She hollered. A couple people looked in their direction. Liz nodded.

“I have to know.” She insisted. Hayden stayed quiet.

“It might be good for you too.” Liz added. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“How do you figure?” She questioned. Liz sighed.

“Because if there’s a chance you liked him, there’s a chance you need closure too.” She explained. Hayden nodded, but she wasn’t sure if she agreed. She didn’t feel like she needed closure with Brent. They kissed. It wasn’t exactly magical. The story was over.

“I don’t know how to approach the subject.” Hayden admitted. Liz nodded.

“I’ll do it.” She offered. Hayden laughed.

“No. I think I have to do it myself.” She argued. Liz nodded along.

“Does Rob know?” She asked quietly. Hayden nodded.

“Yes. I told him a few weeks ago.” She confessed. Liz’s eyes went wide again.

“Weeks? I thought this was a recent thing.” She screeched. Hayden shook her head.

“I mean, I recently got it out of my system. But the thoughts have been swarming around in my head for a while.” She confessed. Liz let out a deep sigh.

“Wow.” She muttered. Hayden nodded.

“I’m sorry.” She loosely apologized. Liz shook her head.

“I guess you don’t really owe me an apology. I guess I owe you one. I stole your crush. In my defense, I thought you had a serious boyfriend.” She rambled. Hayden laughed and shook her head.

“I do. Too serious.” She clarified. Liz nodded.

“Wow. I guess I see why he was so upset with you kissing Brent then. Now I feel bad for being a jerk to him all week.” She sighed. Hayden nodded.

“He thinks I kissed Brent because of my crush. I think it was curiosity.” She defended. Liz nodded.

“I can see that. I mean, he looks exactly like your boyfriend. It’s the same thing, but different. I could see kissing Rob, just to compare.” Liz explained. Hayden looked over at her.

“Don’t you dare.” She warned. Liz laughed.

“I wouldn’t. Unless it was like, a dare or something.” She assured. Hayden nodded.

“I don’t dare you to kiss my boyfriend.” She clarified. Liz smirked.

“I didn’t dare you to kiss mine.” She teased. Hayden shook her head.

“No. I guess you didn’t.” She mumbled. Liz pushed her shoulder again.

“Relax. I’m just teasing you.” She assured. Hayden faked a smile. It didn’t matter how many times Liz reassured her, she wasn’t feeling any better. Maybe Liz was right. This feeling wasn’t going to go away unless Hayden told Brent about her crush on him.

After hockey, Hayden went home to change before meeting back up with Liz and heading down to Ritchie street. The two girls took the short walk in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Brent was already waiting outside for Liz. He ran over and threw his arms around her, like he hadn’t seen her in days. She returned the hug and they started walking hand in hand. Hayden followed along behind them. The pair headed towards the preschool playground that was behind the townhouses. It had a wooden train in the playground. Hayden and Rob would always sit on the train and talk. Hayden wasn’t surprised that was something Brent did too. He also went to the same preschool as her and Rob. He would have fond memories of playing in that very playground. Hayden didn’t follow them forward. She turned and headed to the front door, knocking lightly. It opened a minute later. Anne knew it was her, immediately heading down the hallway and leaving Hayden alone in the entrance. Hayden took off her shoes and closed the door. She waited a minute, then headed up the stairs. Rob’s door was open slightly. Hayden knocked lightly.

“Yeah?” He called over his book. Hayden smiled to herself.

“It’s me.” She identified, slowly opening the door. He folded the page in his book and put it on the table beside his bed. He sat up and motioned her into the room.

“I just wanted to invite you to come hang out with us.” She spoke softly.

“Us?” He questioned. Hayden bit the side of her lip.

“I went to practice with Liz. And before you say anything about Brent, it was to tell her the truth.” She rambled. Rob raised his eyebrow.

“The truth?” He asked softly. Hayden dropped down on the bed beside him.

“That I wanted to kiss him.” She blurted. Rob looked down at the floor. Hayden sighed.

“I know you’ve been thinking it.” She assured. Rob slowly shook his head.

“Actually, I haven’t.” He corrected. She raised her eyebrow.

“Then what have you been moping about for the last couple weeks?” She groaned. He chuckled.

“I know you feel insecure about us. I know I’m not helping. I’m just not ready to be a boyfriend I guess.” He rambled. Hayden smiled to herself.

“I don’t need you to be my boyfriend Rob. I just need you to be my friend. I’ll be happy if we do nothing more than hold hands.” She assured. He looked up.

“Really?” He asked softly. Hayden nodded.

“I like being with you. I don’t really care what we’re doing. Why do you think I agreed to go door to door. You know I hate exercise.” She joked. Rob forced a smile.

“I like being with you too.” He agreed. Hayden nodded.

“So, do you want to catch the train?” She hinted. Rob nodded. As he stood up, he held his hand out. Hayden happily accepted it and he led her towards the playground. Brent and Liz both stopped talking as the pair approached. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“Are we interrupting?” She asked. Liz started laughing.

“No. We were just talking about you.” She assured. Hayden’s eyes went wide.

“I told you not to.” She barked. Liz shrugged.

“I’m flattered, but I think of you like a sister.” Brent noted. Hayden faked a smile.

“You shouldn’t be kissing your sister.” Rob teased. Brent rolled his eyes.

“Speaking of that,” Liz started. Hayden raised her eyebrow again.

“What?” She questioned. Brent motioned towards Rob.

“We’ve decided that to be even, the two of you have to kiss.” He announced, motioning between Rob and Liz. Hayden shook her head aggressively.

“I warned you already.” She reminded her. Liz nodded.

“It’s only fair. Besides, I’m curious.” She cooed. Hayden looked up at Rob.

“You don’t have to, but if you want to, I will understand.” She assured. Rob was quiet.

“It would be fair.” He agreed. Hayden’s jaw dropped, which made Rob laugh.

“Hey, I’m curious too.” He added. Hayden pretended to pout, pulling her hand away from Rob. She stomped away dramatically, but in the direction of Liz.

“He’s mine.” She insisted. Liz laughed, shaking her head.

“It’s going to happen, you may as well give it your blessing.” She insisted. Hayden rolled her eyes.

“He can do whatever he wants.” She motioned over to Rob. He shook his head as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her backwards and held her against his chest.

“I just wanted to see your reaction.” He assured, brushing his lips against her ear. She pulled away.

“It wasn’t funny.” She barked. Rob shrugged.

“I wasn’t going to do it.” He continued. Liz shrugged.

“I was serious.” She announced. Brent nodded.

“So was I.” He agreed. Rob shook his head.

“I can’t, I’m sorry.” He apologized to Liz. She nodded.

“Fine. Then you can make it up to me with card #52.” Liz insisted, looking at Hayden.

“That’s my favorite card.” She whined. Liz nodded.

“I know.” She agreed. Hayden rolled her eyes as she jumped up on the train beside Liz.

“Fine. It’s yours.” She agreed. Liz nodded, then motioned towards Brent.

“So is he.” She added. Hayden faked a smile.

“Yeah, I think I got that.”

The four were outside for two hours before Anne yelled at the boys to get inside for dinner. Hayden hadn’t realized it was so late in the day. She was going to be in trouble if her mother didn’t know where she went. She couldn’t remember if she had seen her mother when she went in to change. Her mother could think she was still at hockey. Hayden and Liz rushed home so they wouldn’t be in trouble. Before Liz went inside, she made Hayden go get the photo card she wanted. Hayden groaned, but handed it over to Liz. It was the least Hayden could do.

Hayden couldn’t help but think about what Brent had said. It wasn’t that he thought of her as a sister, it was that he thought of her at all. Brent had always been indifferent towards her. She figured she was an after thought any time she crossed his mind. She was only around because of Rob. Hayden was surprised that Brent considered her part of the family. In a way, Anne was like a second mother to her. There was nothing wrong with her mother, but it never hurt to have more than one available. It was helpful to get different point of views growing up. Hayden had always been grateful for Rob’s family. She was flattered to know even Brent thought of her that way.