Chapter 5

The next morning, Rob was there bright and early. He had a bright smile on his face like nothing had happened. Hayden dragged him into the tree house in the back. No one was up there. She motioned for him to sit down on one of the pillows.

“What the hell?” She barked. Rob raised his eyebrow.

“What?” He asked, a slight chuckle leaving his parted lips. Hayden’s jaw dropped.

“Are we going to pretend that nothing happened yesterday?” She asked. Rob nodded.

“Unless you want me to kill him.” He threatened. Hayden shook her head.

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.” She screeched. Rob looked down at the floor.

“Why did you kiss me?” She asked bluntly. Rob looked up at her and smirked.

“Why did you kiss me?” He countered. She went to answer, but her mouth hung open in silence.

“I don’t know.” She answered. She sat down beside him, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time.” He answered quietly. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“What?” She stuttered. Rob shook his head.

“I don’t know how to explain it.” He defended. She shook her head.

“You have a girlfriend. My best friend.” She exhaled. Rob raised his eyebrow.

“I thought Liz was your best friend.” He corrected. She rolled her eyes.

“She’s still my friend Rob.” She ignored. He nodded.

“I know. It’s messed up. I’d explain it if I understood. But all I know is being with her makes me miserable and I’m happy when I’m with you.” He reasoned. She shook her head.

“You’ve put me in such an awkward position.” She covered her face with her hands.

“I’m sorry.” He attempted to apologize. Hayden kept shaking her head.

“How am I supposed to face her?” She stuttered. Rob was quiet.

“I’ll break up with her before she finds out. I’ll go over there right now.” He announced, jumping to his feet. Hayden shook her head and motioned for him to sit back down.

“She’s not going to let you off the hook easily. You’re going to have to make her want to leave you.” She schemed. Rob nodded, leaning forward.

“I don’t want her to know.” He mumbled. Hayden shook her head.

“No, I’m going to recruit one of the girls from the drama department. Leave it to me. You’ll be single and rid of Jessica by next weekend!” She exclaimed loudly.

Hayden was laying in bed thinking about Rob. She was trying to come up with a plan to help him, but her thoughts kept straying. She found herself thinking inappropriate thoughts about him. About how different the night could have gone. How much better it could have been. She groaned loudly to vent her internal frustration. She sat up and looked at the clock. It was just after 11pm. She was exhausted and knew she had to be up early. She grabbed her journal and started writing about the night before, chronicling it in painful detail. She almost started crying as she wrote down what happened with Wayne. When she started writing about the part with Rob, she could feel herself start smiling. She wondered if she was sick or something.

She had known Rob her entire life. She had never thought about him as more than a friend. She noticed how soft and plump his lips were. She would stare at them when he was talking sometimes. They felt every bit as soft as they looked. She wanted to feel them again. She wanted to feel them in other places. If Rob had done what Wayne was doing, she would have been into it. It wouldn’t occur to her until later that she had been with her friends’ boyfriend, in her own bed. Those thoughts couldn’t cross her mind because it was racing too fast for anything to safely cross. She hoped writing would help her understand the way she was feeling. Instead, she just found herself trailing off about Rob. At least that was nothing new. Her journals were filled with his name. He was there for so many of her experiences. They were best friends, after all. He was a constant lingering presence in her life. Why was she feeling this way about him suddenly?

Hayden wasn’t sure how she was going to help Rob. She was determined to figure something out. He didn’t deserve to be stuck with a girlfriend who treated him like that. There was nothing she could do until Monday at lunch. She sat down at the drama table.

“I need help.” She started. Hayden already knew most of the people from the earlier grades. She wasn’t popular, but she got along with everyone.

“With what?” Sandra asked, resting her chin on her hands and her elbows on the table.

“I want Jessica away from Rob.” She answered. Sandra raised her eyebrow.

“Do you want to be with him?” She asked quietly. Hayden quickly shook her head.

“No! But he’s absolutely miserable.” She whined. Sandra raised her eyebrow and motioned to where her was sitting with Brent and his friends. He had a big smile on his face. Jessica was no where to be seen. She was probably still nursing a hangover from Saturday night. Hayden looked back at Sandra.

“Yeah he’s happy and she’s not around. Coincidence?” She asked sarcastically. Sandra laughed.

“Does he know?” She pried.

“I told him I’d take care of it.” Hayden shrugged. Sandra nodded. They were both quiet.

“Did you go to the party on Saturday?” Hayden asked. Sandra nodded again.

“I had to leave early though.” She added. Hayden’s eyes lit up.

“That’s it!” She screeched. Sandra raised her eyebrow.

“What?” She was not following. Hayden clapped her hands together.

“Rob left early too. You can pretend you left together!” She exclaimed. Sandra shrugged.

“How do you know he left early?” She asked after a few seconds. Hayden shrugged.

“I saw him leaving.” She assured. Sandra nodded.

“Alone?” She pried. Hayden’s jaw dropped.

“Of course. Who else would he be with?” She screeched. Sandra shrugged again.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” She finally agreed. Hayden clapped as she started bouncing in her seat.

“Really?” Her voice cracked. Sandra nodded.

“Yeah, Jessica could use being knocked down a few.” She grunted. Hayden shrugged. She wasn’t eager to see Jessica hurt, she just wanted Jessica to stop hurting Rob. He needed to be with someone that made him smile the way he was smiling. Hayden smiled as she watched him in conversation with Danny. Sandra coughed from across the table.

“Are you sure you don’t want him?” She repeated. Hayden directed her attention back to Sandra.

“We’re just friends.” She insisted. Sandra nodded.

“Yeah. Sure.”

“What is she going to do?” Rob asked nervously. Hayden kicked a rock in front of him.

“She didn’t tell me the plan. She wants it to be an authentic reaction, from both of us.” She explained. Rob kicked the rock back to Hayden. She accidentally kicked it into the road.

“Oops.” She laughed. Rob shrugged.

“Is this going to work?” He sighed. Hayden shrugged.

“I don’t know, but I really hope so. Sandra was so good in the last school play. Did you see it?” She gushed. Rob laughed, nodding his head.

“Yeah.” He agreed absentmindedly. Hayden grabbed his wrist.

“Hey, what’s with you today?” She asked. Rob smiled, shaking his head.

“I’m fine.” He insisted. Hayden nodded.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. What’s with that?” She asked sharply. He raised his eyebrow.

“You want me to be bummed?” He questioned. She shook her head.

“No. But I’m getting used to your grumpy face.” She confessed. Rob shook his head.

“I can’t help it. I’m elated.” He exhaled dreamily. She laughed as she pushed his shoulder.

“She’s not out of the picture yet.” She argued. Rob looked confused, then shook his head again.

“Oh, Jessica, yeah.” He mumbled. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“What else would you be smiling like a maniac about?” She crossed her arms. Rob shrugged.

“I’m just happy.” He answered dismissively. Hayden shook her head.

“Well, I did miss your smile.” She offered. Rob looked up and smiled wide. He caught her eyes as he did. She felt intensely uncomfortable all of a sudden. She broke eye contact, immediately looking down at the pavement. Rob reached forward and grabbed her wrist.

“I’m sorry I let that happen to you.” He spoke softly. She shook her head.

“We’re both guilty.” She assured. Rob shook his head, softly squeezing her hand.

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” He clarified. She nodded.

“I’m not ready to process that yet.” She mumbled. Rob let out a deep sigh.

“It seems like a bigger priority than a drunken kiss.” He observed. Hayden shrugged.

“So my priorities are a little off. You’re a total mess.” She accused. He nodded. They were both quiet.

“Why?” She finally broke the silence. Rob shook his head slowly.

“I told you, I wanted to.” He sighed. She raised her eyebrow.

“But why?” She pried. Rob shrugged.

“I want to tell you, but I don’t know how.” He confessed. She sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Fine.” She groaned. Rob laughed.

“Come over tomorrow after school. My parents aren’t home and Brent has hockey. I’ll tell you everything, I promise.” He assured. Hayden was quiet, then nodded.

“Fine, but you’d better follow through.”

Sandra made her move during the lunch hour. She waited until she saw Jessica sit down with Rob. She strolled over to the pair and dropped down across from them.

“Hey Rob. It’s Sandra. Now that I’m finally sober, I wanted to thank you for taking me home the other night.” She started. Jessica immediately raised her eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” She barked. Sandra ignored her completely.

“I’m sorry if I came on a little strong, but, hey, you weren’t exactly pushing me away.” She continued. Rob looked down at the table to hide the smirk on his face. Jessica hit his shoulder.

“Did you cheat on me?” She screeched. Rob shrugged.

“You don’t remember the party?” Sandra asked, looking in Jessica’s direction. She shook her head.

“Shame. Maybe you had too much to drink.” Sandra hinted. Jessica faked a smile.

“If you’re done with him, can I have him? He’s such a gentleman.” Sandra cooed, reaching her arm across the table to caress Rob’s shoulder. Jessica slapped her hand away.

“Will you forgive me?” Rob asked under his breath. Jessica pushed up dramatically from the table.

“Go fuck yourself.” She spit, storming out of the cafeteria. When Rob finally looked up, he had a huge smile on his face.

Since Hayden and Jessica had third period together, Hayden had to listen to a rant about how terrible Rob was. Jessica went as far as telling Hayden she shouldn’t be his friend anymore. Hayden just nodded as she rambled. She wasn’t really there. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Rob was going to tell her. Was there anything that would justify that kiss? Hayden tuned back into the conversation when Jessica mentioned Wayne’s name.

“What?” She stuttered. Jessica rolled her eyes.

“You weren’t listening. Oh my God.” She groaned. Hayden shook her head.

“I must have trailed off, I’m so sorry.” She quickly apologized. Jessica huffed.

“I asked how your night went with Wayne.” She repeated. Hayden faked a smile and nodded.

“It was alright.” She dismissed. Jessica nodded.

“Did you guys, you know?” She pried. Hayden raised her eyebrow.

“What?” She genuinely questioned. Jessica shook her head.

“You didn’t. That’s okay. I don’t think you’re his type.” She concluded for herself. Hayden raised her eyebrow. There were times she wished she understood social cues. There were other times she was glad she missed them completely. She wasn’t sure what Jessica was implying, but she didn’t like it. Hayden thought that she could make a comment to Jessica about how she could have Rob. She was a bit more classy than that. It wasn’t that she cared about her friendship with Jessica. They were only friends because they lived so close to each other and met at a park one day. Hayden had outgrown Jessica a long time ago. Jessica got older, but never really matured. Hayden had too much respect for Rob to do something so petty and immature involving him. If Hayden ever found something else she could taunt Jessica for, she might. Jessica was always taunting the other girls. It would be nice to see her on the receiving end of the torment for a change…