Rowan & Justin [boyxboy]

Chapter Thirteen

I went to Laurence’s.

                I don’t know why. I mean I’d only been there once, but it had been my first date with Rowan, where I’d started to really fall in love with him, where the whole series of events that had led up to this moment had begun, and to be honest, the lingering memories of Rowan’s presence made it feel like the safest place in St Peterstown to be.

                As soon as I walked through the door a dispassionate girl with blonde hair and a notepad approached me, squinting slightly. ‘Do you have a reservation?’ she asked doubtfully; in an effort at pissing Tyson and Parker off further I hadn’t exactly dressed nicely for dinner.

                ‘Um,’ I mumbled, my brattiness from earlier wearing off in the face of the trouble I was in. I had no phone and no money, and I didn’t know when Tyson was supposed to be picking me up. My only way of contacting him was through Parker and I certainly had no intention of that. ‘No.’

                The girl squinted a little more at me, tipping her head to the side. ‘Do I know you from somewhere?’ she demanded, putting one hand on her hip.

                ‘I doubt it. I’m from Verona.’

                She snapped her fingers. ‘So am I, I go to school there, I just work here part time. Do you go to Montague?’

                ‘Capulet,’ I admitted grudgingly. She was the most likely person in town to help me and she might not want to now.

                ‘Right, but I’ve seen you before... With Rowan Montgomery, maybe?’

                I bit my lip, but decided now was not the time to secrete either of us in the closet. ‘Yeah, we hang out,’ I settled for admitting.

                ‘I’m friends – well. I used to be friends with his cousin, Ben,’ she said, putting down her notepad and holding out a hand for me to shake. ‘I’m Hayley.’

                ‘Justin,’ I replied, taking her hand. ‘Look, I really hate to do this since we just met and all, but I’m kind of in trouble...’

                Quickly, I outlined the details of my situation as Hayley’s jaw became more and more pronounced with indignation.

                ‘Yeah, I know your cousin,’ she said finally, once I’d finished, leading me through the restaurant towards the back. ‘He sounds a lot like Ben Montgomery, the bastard. So arrogant and full of himself that he thinks he can do anything to anyone and they’ll still-’ she cut herself off abruptly and turned to look at me as we pushed through a set of doors into the kitchen. ‘Here,’ she said, her tone changing to a lighter one as she reached into a small cubby area and pulled out her bag. ‘This is twenty dollars, should be enough to get you a bus back to Verona. Rowan will be in the library will all the other boys; according to the Facebook grape vine they’ve pretty much all been sentenced to a few weeks of hardcore study so they can pass their exams. I’ll call Ben and get him to tell Rowan everything that’s happened. Okay?’

                I stared at her incredulously. ‘I can’t take your money...’ I argued feebly.

                ‘Oh shut up,’ she mumbled, steering me towards the back exit of the kitchen. ‘You can pay me back whenever. I’ll get in trouble if I let you hang out here and I’m certainly not comfortable with sending you back to wander St Peterstown when that Parker asshole is looking for you. You know where the bus station is right?’