Rising Sun

Chapter Eleven

"What does this mean?"

Skylar waited for Hayley to give her an answer. When Hayley didn't answer, she exhaled audibly and sat back in her seat. Her mind raced, it felt like she was going a mile a minute. What have I done? She didn't even know what she wanted, how could she expect Hayley to know? Plus, Tom was still a big thing. And she definitely liked him, didn't she?

After what felt like minutes, Hayley sat forward in the passenger seat and faced the windshield. "I don't know," she said. "I know that sounds really terrible, I'm sorry. I just haven't ever really been in this situation."

"Well, neither have I." Skylar said, shrugging her shoulders. "I guess we can figure it out together."

"I guess so," Hayley smiled softly. "One thing I do know, though, is that we can't tell anyone. Not even Lindsay."

Skylar sighed, letting herself sink into her seat a little more. "I know, my dad would have my head. There's a woman who lives down the street from us that just went dyke, and it took over the entire dinner conversation the other day."

"I can't believe you just said that!" Hayley exclaimed, giving her a look that screamed she was clinically insane. "You can't say that word, Skylar."

"What, dyke? I thought that's what it was when you dated other girls." She said innocently. Her friends, parents and even her sister all used it like it was the equivalent of using 'dude' instead of 'man'.

"Oh, my God. Stop, please. That's actually the worst word you could ever say. Just say gay or lesbian, whatever, but not that word." Hayley said, trying her hardest not to laugh at her. She rubbed her hands over her eyes and chuckled. "You're so strange." When she removed her hands, she was flushed and biting her lip.

"I'm sorry," Skylar laughed lightly. "My dad said it at dinner a couple weeks ago, I didn't know it was bad." She slunked down in her seat, visibly embarrassed as she ran a hand through her hair.

"It's the worst." Hayley giggled. "But don't sweat it, really. It's just a word, albeit a gross one."

Skylar nodded and smiled up at Hayley through lazy eyes. "We should probably get back to class before we're marked as truant students, huh?"

"Probably." Hayley smiled back at her. "But first, I want to do something." She said, mischievously.

Before Skylar could ask, Hayley kissed her quickly on the cheek, leaving her lip gloss behind. She shrieked in surprise and wiped her cheek aggressively. "You're so weird." She laughed at her.

"I know!" Hayley said over her shoulder as she opened Skylar's car door and bolted toward the cafeteria entrance.

Skylar was abuzz as she entered the school behind Hayley. The redhead had taken off in the direction of her next class, leaving Skylar alone to think. She wasn't alone for long though, before she spotted Tom leaned up against the wall with another senior football player. He didn't notice her as she walked up to them, and stood next to him.

"Oh, hey, Skylar. Where did you go for lunch? I looked for you." He asked, trying not to sound too overzealous and clingy, and Skylar gave him a small grin.

"I went out to my car to finish up my statistics paper that I definitely didn't wait until the last minute to finish." She lied easily. She knew she couldn't tell anyone, but it felt wrong lying to Tom. She knew she had to wait it out a little bit, though. She didn't want to jump too quickly into anything.

"One of these days your procrastination is going to be the death of your grades." Tom chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist. "This is Nick, by the way. He's trying to recruit me for basketball."

"You should get him to join the team, Skylar. He'd be a great addition." Nick said to her.

"I'll think about it." Tom said before Skylar had a chance to answer. "See you, dude." He said, and the two boys shook hands with a clap before Nick left.

"You didn't sound too excited about basketball. I thought it was your favorite sport?" Skylar asked, furrowing her brow. "What's up, Tom Jennings?" She took his hand in hers, leading him away from the cafeteria and toward their fifth period classes.

"I don't know, it's stupid." He chuckled lightly. She could tell he was blushing by the sound of his voice and the fact that he looked straight ahead and not at her. "If I play basketball, that means my schedule gets even busier."

"Uh-huh," Skylar pried.

"Which means I'll have even less time to spend with you before I start buckling down for college next year." He admitted. Skylar squeezed his hand lightly, encouraging him to continue. "I really want to get into Bowling Green, and I know that will have to be my first priority come Winter semester."

"Oh, right. But, you love basketball - you've told me so yourself. Plus, it would give me a reason to come to the basketball games, and maybe even wear a jersey." Skylar flirted. As she talked, she felt guilty about what had happened just minutes before. She liked Tom, she really did. He was nice, patient, and the kind of guy she and her family had always wanted her to be with. Plus, he was definitely cute. She couldn't hurt him for her own selfish needs.

"I'd like that. How about you wear my jersey for the game tomorrow night?" He asked her, giving her a big grin. He was excited, and she knew she couldn't let him down.

"And I'd like that." She smiled at him and leaned up on her toes to kiss him. "But right now, I've got to get to statistics, or that homework I did just now won't be worth anything."

"Okay, I'll see you at your locker?" Tom asked, hopeful. Skylar nodded, and ducked into her class, her guilt creeping back up.

God, was she about to be in so much shit.

*****

I am sososososo sorry to everyone who's been begging me to get an update out. Life has been crazy, but I hope I get back on a regular writing schedule soon. I absolutely love this story, and the characters haunt my sleep.
Who ships Hayley and Skylar? Let me know!

xo,
v