A Winner in Disguise

Chapter 7- Hurtful Happiness

        Jaclyn got a very worried look on her face as she stepped out of the car.

        "Please excuse me...I need to use the restroom." Jaclyn ran to the bathroom and took off her wig quickly. She stuffed it in a bathroom drawer, took off her clothes and reached for her regular outfit. Only, her outfit was upstairs, in her room. The pink bath towel called to her and she grabbed it and wrapped herself up. Creak! The door opened slowly and Kaden was sitting on a living room chair, reading his Tom Sawyer book. Jaclyn tiptoed out and snuck behind the living room pillar, and slowly, slowly, leaped to the stairs. One of the plants in the living room was swaying by the motion breeze and Kaden stared at the plant, shaking his head. Once she was safely upstairs, she quickly dressed in some shorts and a tee. A dab of lip gloss, and she was taking the stairs two at a time. Kaden turned and a big smile appeared on his face.

        "Jaclyn! I missed you! I'm so glad we can hangout today." She nodded and let out a breath from the rush.

        "So how was practice sweetie?" She lightly tapped the name barrier with sweetie and Kaden seemed fine with it.

        "Great! I scored all the goals; beat the rest of the team in a practice game by at least 40 points." Kaden obviously was over exaggerating and she knew he wasn't being honest. But still she nodded and gave him a light hug. Next, they ran up to her room to do some homework together. Jaclyn and Kaden both had English together, so they could both work on their essays. Kaden was writing a report on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Jaclyn was writing one on Just Another Boyfriend. Kaden made a "hmm..." noise and raised his eyebrows.

        "So am I just another boyfriend?"  Kaden said with a wink. Jaclyn laughed and playfully hit him.

        "No Kaden, you're a special boyfriend."  She smiled. Kaden smiled back and made a modeling pose.

        "Watch out guys! Cause this guy is a special boyfriend!" They continued laughing and working until Kaden had to go home that night. Jaclyn's mom drove Kaden back to his house, according to his directions and Jaclyn walked him up to his doorstep.

        "I had a great time Kaden. Thank you."

        "No....thank you." He said in a breathy deep tone which made her heart swim. He bent down and laid a kiss on her forehead. She hugged him goodbye and headed home that night. Boy did she sleep well.

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        The next morning, in gym class, she was running hard and working up a sweat on the track. Even though the fall air was crisp, she felt hot. Daniel poked her on the neck and she turned to see his sweet smile staring down at her. They talked casually and he commented on the fact she was working so hard. He kept talking, but Jaclyn could barely concentrate on the words. His eyes were so beautiful and the way he flipped his hair was so funny and really cute. They slowed to a walk together and he pointed out the beautiful trees losing their leaves near the school. Just when they were walking close together, Daniel put his arm around her. She looked into his eyes and smiled swe-

        Kaden came out of nowhere and ran straight in between them. The track was right next to a giant hill, and Jaclyn widened her eyes in fright as she fell, tumbling down, doing multiple somersaults. Her head hit the concrete sidewalk below and she was falling unconscious as she saw Kaden yelling at Daniel, shoving his chest forcefully. Daniel pulled his arm back and slammed his fist into Kaden's head with a loud smash.

        "Kaden! Kaden..." Her voice faded as blackness engulfed her.

        The unfamiliar smell of antiseptic chemicals and plastic met Jaclyn's nose. Slowly, she opened her eyes and met Kaden's sweet stare.        

        "Are you okay Jaclyn? This is my entire fault!" His eyes were so filled with worry they were rimmed red and full of moisture.

        "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." She lied, sounding barely convincing. The truth was, she felt sick with a severe headache, had waves of nausea, and could barely see straight due to dizziness.

        "Lay back down, you're nowhere near fine!" She must have looked horrible because Kaden would not fall for it. Jaclyn closed her eyes, but suddenly bolted upright as the previous events flashed back to her. The punch to the head Kaden took, the horrible yelling Daniel had to face. She glanced at Kaden's head and noticed a big white bandage.

        "Kaden! I'm so sorry, Daniel shouldn't have punched you."

        "Don't be sorry, it's nothing I can't handle." He shrugged it off like Daniel had given him a hug.

        "I think differently." Daniel came in through some doors and acknowledged Kaden with a glare. For a while, it was silent, but then Daniel couldn't contain himself and ran over to Jaclyn. She scolded them both for fighting, and reassured them that she would be able to go back to class. The clock read 11:00 which meant she had missed gym and most of Chorus! In a panic, she swung her legs out and stepped on the tile, but swayed in a fit to balance herself. Daniel grabbed her arm and Kaden grabbed the other and together the three walked out into the hall, saying goodbye to Mrs. Mills, the nurse. Her nose was deep in a magazine as they left.

        They dropped Jaclyn off at chorus and she entered, walking very slowly to her seat. The choir director, Mr. Simpson, clearly noticed her head wound and asked no questions. He excused her from singing and she thought about Kaden and Daniel. Why would Daniel hurt Kaden? An even better question, why would Kaden be so worried about her and Daniel? Technically, it was his entire fault she was even hurt! Suddenly anger washed over her, but she pushed it away and concentrated on school.

Later that evening~~

        "I am so sorry this had to happen honey. You're positive your fine? No brain damage?" Jaclyn's mom held up fingers in front of her face and made her do simple math.

        "Mom! I'm fine! Calm down!" Jaclyn laughed hysterically, feeling better already. They had removed the bandage and the wound was no longer noticeable. In fact, her headache was fading, and only felt a little soreness in her muscles, probably from flipping down a hill.

        Overall, she felt great. But then it hit her that tomorrow was basketball practice. Would she be able to concentrate? What if she got hit in the head again? That would mean major damage, and probably tears too. Hopefully the wig would be thick enough to give some protection. Jaclyn was pondering this when her phone beeped.

        "I'm so sorry about today. Please let me know how to make it up to you. I never want to hurt you. I really....like you Jaclyn. A lot!" Kaden sent her. She smiled and texted back,

        "You don't have to do anything Kaden...and...I like you too."

        "I realized Jaclyn, that to like someone is not about what they mean to you, but what you mean..., to them."  Kaden answered quickly, and she responded after thinking about it.

        "What do I mean to you?"

        "Everything."