Coral Springs Academy

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

*Trigger Warning* Unhealthy eating habits/eating disorders

Nicky's POV: Hearing about Haileigh's ED

As Haileigh explained her eating disorder and how she was close to relapsing, I wanted to hug her and never let go. It hurt me to see her in pain. I don't know what made me feel such a powerful attraction to her so quickly. It usually took me time to crush on someone, but with Haileigh, the second I saw her, I could hear angels singing.

"This can be helpful." I said as I handed her a fidget toy.

"How many of these do you have?" She asked.

"A lot. I have a collection, and now you have one too. Tell me how your call goes. I'm gonna go start a bit of my homework with the time left of study hall." I responded.

"Thank you, Nicky, seriously." She beamed as she hugged me.

"You're welcome, Haileigh. I'll be here for you anytime you need me." I chuckled lightly as I hugged her back.

I liked to hug her. The smell of her perfume, the warmth of her body. This was new and I loved this feeling. As we slowly pulled away, she was looking at me differently. I think she's about to kiss me. Ooh, my anxiety is increasing. Haileigh's going to kiss me. Oh, my gosh. I hope my breath smells fine... Wait; I don't even know how to kiss. Okay, let me just not overthink this.

Haileigh's POV: Present

I almost did it... I almost kissed him. He leaned in too, but we could both tell that we weren't ready, so we pulled away awkwardly.

"M-M-Maybe we should remind ourselves it's a bit too soon. We're both not really ready." I giggled lightly.

"I want to be ready, though." He pouted.

"Me too, but we can't rush this." I sighed.

"You're right." He replied.

"I-I-I should go call my mom anyway, with the time that's left." I stammered as I stood up.

"Good luck." He comforted.

"Thanks, I'll need it." I groaned as I rushed to my dorm.

That was embarrassing... I shouldn't have gone for it...

"Haileigh? What's up? You never call me around this time." Mom queried.

"U-Uh, w-w-well, a lot happened yesterday, a-and I-I-I'm on the verge of relapsing." I admitted.

There was a bit of silence.

"W-W-What triggered you?" She asked.

"This girl in a couple of my classes, she's always trying to bash me for not being the standard beauty type. She's really skinny, and she has a perfect body. She makes me want to hate myself." I explained.

"I'm so sorry you're dealing with this, sweetie. Have you talked to a teacher? M-M-Maybe tell them what's been going on?" She questioned.

"I can't, Mom. Everyone will talk negatively about me, and that would make everything worse." I sniffled.

She let out a sigh.

"Have you eaten today?" She asked.

"I ate, but not an actual meal. I told Nicky about what's been going on and he gave me a protein bar. I'm trying my best not to feel guilty about it, but it's hard." I sighed.

"You need to eat something else, Haileigh. Don't you have all those meals you made?" She questioned.

"Yes... but I'm scared to open the fridge. I'm scared the second that I open it, I'll end up eating everything." I groaned.