Chapter 45 – October 29th

"So, how did it went out between the two of you?" Amelia asks as I start getting all of the books and notebooks I need for the next class. I closed my locker and looked at her with a questioning look.

"Between the two of what?" I asked, and we start walking to our next class. The next period is Chemistry. We are 3 periods away from getting our freedom for the day. Amelia and I only have Chemistry, English, and Music on the same day every Monday.

We enter Chemistry as I place my book and notebook on the lab table, put my bag down on the floor, and bring out my Lab coat and Safety Goggles for the experiment we have to finish by Wednesday.

"You know, Cayden and you?" Amelia said, and I completely forgot to call her 2 to 3 days ago, after the Cayden-drags-me-out-to-talk incident. "You completely forgot to call me last Friday after what happened," she said.

"I know, and I'm sorry," I said, and she crosses her arms. She rolls her eyes and wears her lab coat and Safety Goggles. "Now, tell me," she said as she finishes wearing her proper attire for the experiment.

"We just went somewhere and talked, that's all," I said, and I hear her chuckle sarcastically, looking at her with a questioning look.

"Oh really? How did the campfire thing go?" She asks, and I said, "What campfire thing?". She fished inside her pocket, brings out her phone, and starts scrolling down. She put her phone in front of my face and saw the picture I posted on Instagram.

I made an 'o' shape in my mouth, "We just had smores. Nothing happened before or after that," I said even though Cayden and I almost kissed that night after we were done with the smores challenge thing.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you are using another type of chocolate syrup for this challenge," I said as I try to grab the syrup from his hand, and he completely turns his back on me.

"There are no rules about using a different type of ingredient," He says, and I stopped trying to grab the syrup as I realized what he said. I must admit, he's right. "Fine," I give in.

He gives me the smores he made, and I gave him the smores I made. We took a bite from the smores, and he says, "This type of smores is so mainstream," and my mind is completely lost and out of thoughts because of how good his smores taste like.

It's the kind of smores that is not very usual to my taste buds. Even though all of the smores in this world taste the same, but Cayden's smores aren't. I'm starting to think that he should run a business about selling smores.

"Oh, you've got a..." He says as he tries to point at my lips, and I gave him a questioning look, "Chocolate syrup," He continues and starts wiping my lips with his thumb as I look into his eyes and back down to his thumb.

I gulp down the smores, and he stops wiping my lips. He looks into my eyes and starts to lean in slowly. I start to close my eyes.

"What are you kids doing here? This is a no trespassing zone, and you exceeded the limit," A guy behind us says, pointing the flashlight into our eyes. Cayden suddenly grabs the picnic basket and grabs my hand.

We start running in the opposite direction, "Hey! Come back here, the two of you!" 

"Alright, class, you may begin your experiment," Ms. Brenda said.

***

I open my locker and put back all of my stuff, ready to head home. I'm so exhausted today, even though I skipped Arts class for no reason. I just got bored of all the Vincent Van Gogh paintings, but I'm madly in love with his masterpiece, The Starry Night.

My phone suddenly starts vibrating in my pocket. I stopped putting the books, fished in my pocket to grab my phone, and unlocked it. Seeing a message from Cayden.

Cayden <3:16 PM, Monday> Meet me outside. You know where my car is parked. ;)

I rolled my eyes and smiled, turning off my phone and placing it back in my pocket, finishing what I'm doing. Once I was finally done, I closed my locker, went outside of the school, and walked towards Cayden's car.

Seeing Cayden leaning his back against his car. He stops playing on his phone and looks up, smiling at me. "Hey," He said as he puts his phone inside his pocket, "Get in. I'm going to take you somewhere far."

And I swear I couldn't ask for more.

***

He stops driving. It's already 5:30 PM, seeing that the night is starting to approach and as the moons start to hit the sky, to light up the world. We both stepped out of the car, feeling the cold breeze of the air just like the time when we were at the beach.

I followed him as he starts hiking. I didn't know that we are supposed to hike today. I should've worn my hiking shoes, but it doesn't look fashionable enough to be worn to school, especially when it is still covered with mud from last time's hike, which is like... a year ago.

I stopped in my tracks when I suddenly felt thirsty and tired. Cayden looks back and stops in his tracks as well as he walks towards me, "We just started," He says, and I can't help but roll my eyes at him.

"Can't blame me. My body is begging to rest, too lazy to hike," I said as I grabbed the water bottle, he gave me and started gulping it down. I gave it back to him, and he accepts it.

"You're such a drama queen," Cayden says, and we both chuckled, "Tell me about it," I said as I playfully rolled my eyes, aren't all girls are? He bents down his knees, and he pats his back.

"Come on, let's go," Cayden said, and I let him carry me as we, or I mean, he starts to hike. I wrapped my arms around his chest and rest my head on his head. He smells like expensive soap or expensive fabric softener.

After what seems like 10 minutes, he stops and bends down. I stepped on the ground as he grabs my hand. We start walking as he turns on his flashlight to help him see if we are on the right path. He stopped walking and turned to me, "Close your eyes," He says.

"Isn't it unsafe to close my eyes, especially when it's super dark out here? What if I might step into something or maybe fall off? What if you push me?" I said, and I can sense that he is rolling his eyes at how I keep overthinking things.

"Seriously? I won't do that. So, close your eyes and trust me," He said, and I took a deep sigh, closing my eyes afterward. "Just hold onto my hand, okay?" He says, and I nodded my head, and we start walking.

I keep my eyes close the whole time, and I'm starting to get scared. I might trip out of nowhere because of a branch abandoned in these paths that we are walking, which would be embarrassing.

"Open your eyes," He whispers to my right ear, and I suddenly felt tickles, started chuckling as I open my eyes. I stopped laughing and just stare at the view in front of me, speechless and left in awe.

"Wow, just... wow," I feel myself say silently as I look at the city lights, at how bright it is on top of here. I looked at Cayden and smiled. He smiled back at me. "Thank you!" I said as I gave him a sincere hug in which I don't want to let go of him.

I look at him, and he smiles at me, "Oh, sorry," I said as I try to step back but failed. He put his left arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. His right hand on my chin, lifting it and leans forward to my face, and kisses me, soft and smooth.

I kiss him back and all of a sudden, the moment was broken because of my phone. It starts ringing as we both split. "Sorry," I said, as he puts both of his hands in the pocket of his jeans and just looks at the view.

I looked at the caller ID and saw my mom calling. I slide to answer, "Uh, yes?" I asked.

"Hey, Hailey. I'm here at Everest Restaurant, and Liam really wants to meet you," She said, and I could sense the tonality of her voice that she's really begging me to come.

"Mom, I'll call you later," I said, and I ended the call. I want to give that guy a chance because my mom loves him but, I still can't get over replacing my dad. I can't seem to move on, even though my mom keeps on telling me that we have to let him go.

"Mother Issues?" Cayden asks, and I looked at him, nodding my head. He pats the ground, and I sat down next to him as we look at the city. "My mom used to drag me along my mom and my sister's shopping when I was a kid,"

"They would buy lots of clothes, and I would carry their bags around like a maid but a male version of a maid. Then, I would get a free Ice cream after their shopping," He says as he chuckles and I smile at him.

"I would really want to meet your mom someday," I said, and he looks at me and smiles. "Maybe, you will, and I bet she would be really happy to meet you," He said.

He stood up and took a deep breath, "Hailey, I just want you to know that..." I look at him, he shakes his head, showing how confused he is. "I love you," he says, and I stare at him blankly.

"You are the greatest person I have ever met in my life, and I have never felt something like this towards another human until I met you," He said. So, is he saying that he's a rock or I'm a rock? "I can't stop thinking about you at 3 AM, and whenever I wake up, do my usual stuff. I keep on missing you, having you by my side."

"I have truly changed because of you. You changed the way I live, and I couldn't be happier. Maybe toying with other girls' feelings was a dick move, especially for me. Maybe I just did it because I was trying to fill in the void that has been empty since my sister and my mom died. Maybe I just did it because I was in desperate need to feel love. I hated being love, and I hated the feeling of being able to love another person, but my perspective towards love changed when you kissed me and when I kissed you,"

"Kissing you was the best thing and was the best memory that I would love to wish to replay inside my head every day." 

I look at him, he bents down his knees and looks at me in the eyes, "I love you, Hailey Jones. I love you because you are bubbly. I love you because you are not afraid to say what's in your mind. I love you because you are who you are. I love you because I just do."

I look into his eyes as my eyes start pooling with tears that are begging to fall, "and I love you too," I said. He then kisses me, and I kissed him back, closing my eyes as I felt the butterflies in my stomach.

He broke off the kiss and rests his forehead on mine. We start chuckling like we did the other day at the park. "So, does this mean I'm your girlfriend now?" I said, and he starts chuckling. "Maybe... are you?" He asks, and it's my turn to chuckle, rolling my eyes at him.

"Am I, though?" I looked at him and asked.

"Yes."