By the time Monday rolled around, my back was feeling better. It was still sore, but not nearly as bad as it had been on Saturday. Biology went by quickly and after the bell rang, I once again started down the hall with Blake. We were halfway too his class when I heard my name being called. I stopped and looked behind me. Rachel was hurrying towards me and I turned my head to Blake. “Hey, Rachel is behind us. Mind if we wait for her to catch up?”
He grumbled a bit, but agreed. “Just don’t expect me to be friendly,” he said.
“Why would I expect that? You’d shock me if you were friendly,” I replied.
Rachel reached us at that moment. “Hey Hailey! How was your weekend?”
“It wasn’t too bad. How was your party?”
“So much fun! I still wish you had come though.”
“Sorry, parties really just aren’t my kind of thing. Maybe we can get together this weekend though. Maybe go shopping or something.”
Her eyes lit up. “Yeah! That sounds like fun.” She turned her attention to Blake. “Hi, I’m Rachel.”
He didn’t respond, so I elbowed him in the side. “Ouch!” he said with a scowl. “What the hell was that for?”
“You don’t have to be friendly to just say hi back,” I told him.
He muttered something unintelligible before turning in Rachel’s direction. “Hi,” he said grudgingly.
I grinned. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“You are such a pain in the ass,” he stated.
“I know. But you have to admit that I’m growing on you.”
He sighed. “Think whatever you want.”
I turned back to Rachel. “Don’t mind him, he’s always cranky. I’m going to walk with him to his class and then I’ll see you in math.”
She grinned at me. “Okay, I’ll see you there.”
I tugged on Blake’s arm and we started down the hallway once again. When we got to his classroom, I shifted so that I was in front of him and he followed me to his seat. Once he was sitting, I looked down at him. “If you’re not busy after school, I’ll be at the park with Tonto. You could bring Abby so they could play if you want too. I’ll be there by about four/”
“I’ll think about it,” he replied.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t sound so enthusiastic,” I said dryly.
“You can leave now,” he said.
“Well, that was rude. This is the thanks I get for taking the time out of my busy schedule to walk with you?”
I saw one of his eyebrows raise. “Busy schedule?”
“Yeah. I could be doing other things, you know. Like, sitting in my math class, twiddling my thumbs. Or acting like a girl and making sure my makeup is perfect. Or-”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Thank you for walking with me.”
I smirked. “You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
I shook my head as I walked away. That boy could be so stubborn sometimes. But luckily, I was even more stubborn. I think he was finally figuring that out.
After school, I went directly home. Liam was sitting in the kitchen when I entered the house and he looked up at me. “Hey, how was school?”
“Pretty good I guess. Classes are boring, but at least I’m making some friends.”
“How are things going with that boy?”
I looked at him in surprise. “How’d you know about that?”
“You’re my niece, so I try and keep up with your life.” When I looked at him funny, he grinned. “By that I mean, Jared told me.”
“Ah, that makes sense. Well, Blake is stubborn and ornery, but I’m slowly wearing him down. I think he’s realized that I won’t let him push me away with his attitude.”
“Well, you are definitely stubborn, so I feel sorry for the poor boy. He doesn’t stand a chance against you.”
I gave him a cheeky smile. “You’re probably right. I’m going to take Tonto to the park. Blake said he might be there, so I don’t know when I’ll be home. I’ll have my phone on me if you need to get in touch with me.”
Liam nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll get Grace to leave you a plate so you can have it when you get home if you’re hungry. I have to leave tomorrow for a conference, so I’ll be gone for a couple of days. Jared should be around, but if not, try not to burn the house down, okay?”
I walked over to him and kissed his cheek. “No promises. Have fun at your conference. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“No parties while I’m gone,” he called as I left the room.
I chuckled as I walked to my room to drop off my bag. My uncle knew very well that I hated parties, so he knew that I wouldn’t be throwing one while he was away.
After I had deposited my bag, I whistled for Tonto. He came racing around the corner and skidded to a stop in front of me. I scratched his head affectionately. “Want to go for a walk boy?”
Tonto started dancing in place, so I took that as a yes. I walked back to the front door with him on my heels and I grabbed his leash. As I was fastening it too his collar, the door opened and Jared came in.
He stopped when he saw me. “Hey Hales. Going somewhere?”
“Yeah, Tonto and I are going to the park. He needs the exercise because of all the extra cookies my uncle has been giving him.”
Jared nodded. “I think you’re right. He is getting a little chunky. When do you think you’ll be back?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Depends on if Blake actually shows up or not.”
He smiled at me. “You wearing him down?”
“Slowly but surely,” I replied. “Are you home for the night?”
He shook his head. “No, I have another date tonight.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Same girl?”
“Yeah, she seems really nice. We’re going out to a movie tonight.”
“Do I get to meet her soon?”
He rolled his eyes. “Let me get to know her a bit before you scare her away, okay?”
I snorted. “If she lets me scare her away, then she isn’t worth your time. You get two more dates after this one and then I want to meet her.”
He sighed. “Fine, but if you scare her off, you don’t get to meet any of my dates at all.”
I waved my hand in dismissal. “Yeah right. I’m going to head out now. I’ll see later.”
The walk to the park was peaceful and I enjoyed the fresh air. When we got to the park, I went directly to the benches where I’d seen Blake last time. A huge smile spread across my face when I saw that he was already there. I sat down beside him. “I knew you couldn’t resist my charm.”
“I just wanted Abby to be able to play with her friend,” he responded.
“You keep thinking that,” I said smugly. I unclipped Tonto’s leash and gave him the release command. Blake unattached Abby’s harness and did the same. I watched as the two dogs raced off. “It’s nice that they have someone to hang out with,” I said with a smile.
Blake turned to face me. “Is there supposed to be a double meaning to that?”
“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.
He shook his head. “Never mind, I don’t want to get into it.”
I sighed. “Is it so hard for you to admit that it’s nice having me as a friend?”
He was silent for a moment. “I guess it is nice to have someone to talk to,” he admitted grudgingly. “Even if you are really annoying.”
“Your words are like music to my ears,” I gushed with fake sweetness. “They just warm my heart.”
He chuckled, and I nearly fell off the bench as I stared at him in shock. “Did- did you just laugh?”
He sobered immediately. “No.”
“You did too! Holy crap, I made you laugh! I deserve an award or something.”
“You are such a weirdo,” he grumbled.
I grinned excitedly. “Yeah, but I still made you laugh! That’s gotta be some kind of record, right?”
He raised one hand and rubbed his face. “Next time I won’t laugh if you’re going to make such a big deal of it.”
“Sorry, I’ll stop talking about it now. But I’m still proud of myself.” We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before I suddenly got an idea. I stood up and looked down at him. “Give me your hand.”
He tilted his head up. “Why?”
“Because we’re going to do something. Arguing with me won’t get you anywhere, so it’ll just be easier if you do as I ask.”
He mumbled something incoherent, but reluctantly held out his hand. I grabbed it and pulled lightly until he got to his feet. I led him over to the swings and turned him around. Taking the hand I still held, I placed it on one of the chains. “Sit,” I ordered.
He raised his eyebrows. “A swing? You want me to sit on the swing?”
“No, I want you to propose to it,” I replied sarcastically. “Of course I want you to sit on it.”
He stood for another moment before slowly lowering himself onto it. I sat on the one next to him and pushed off with my legs. I looked over at Blake and saw that he was just sitting there, unmoving. I let out a breath of exasperation. “Come one Blake, it won’t kill you to have a little fun. When’s the last time you were on a swing.”
“I can’t remember,” he muttered.
“Exactly. Let’s have a little fun. What’s the point in being alive if you can’t act like a kid sometimes?”
He deliberated for another moment before pushing off with his legs. We started swinging leisurely side by side and I watched as the tension that always seemed to be in him seemed to flow away.
I don’t know how long we stayed on the swings, but it was fun and Blake was smiling fully by the time we finally stopped. We both got off of the swings and our dogs came up to us. Blake turned to me and smiled slightly. “Thanks. It’s been awhile since I’ve done anything like that.”
“No problem. I’m going to head home now before it gets dark. See you at school tomorrow?”
“Sure. Have a good night.”
I waited until he had Abby’s harness back on before clipping the leash back onto Tonto’s collar. “Bye,” I said as I headed back to the house.
When I got back, I was in a really good mood so I went to the music room. I sat down at the piano and ran my fingers over the keys lightly, debating on what to play. A smile crossed my lips as a melody formed in my head.
I'm going up
It's 'bout as bad as it could be
Seems everybody's buggin' me
Like nothing wants to go my way yeah
It just ain't been my day
Nothin's coming easily
Even my skin is actin' weird
I wish that I could grow a beard
Then I could cover up my spots
Not play connect the dots
I just wanna disappear
Up, up, up
Can only go up from here
Up, up, up
Up where the clouds gonna clear
Up, up, up
There’s no way but up from here
Even something as simple as
Forgettin' to fill up on gas
There ain't no explanation why
Things like that can make you cry
Just gotta learn to have a laugh
Up, up, up
Can only go up from here
Up, up, up
Up where the clouds gonna clear
Up, up, up
There’s no way but up from here
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
When everything is goin' wrong
Don't worry it won't last for long
Yeah it's all gonna come around
Don't let it get you down
You gotta keep holdin' on
It's 'bout as bad as it could be
Seems everybody's buggin' me
Like nothin' wants to go my way
It just ain't been my day
Nothin's comin' easily
Up, up, up
Can only go up from here
Up, up, up
Up where the clouds gonna clear
Up, up, up
There’s no way but up from here
Up, up, up, up oh
I'm going up I'm going up I'm going up
I'm going up I'm going up I'm going up
I'm going up I'm going up oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
I was still smiling when I finished singing the song. It had been awhile since I’d played that song and it brought back good memories.
I stood up and turned towards the door. I nearly screamed when I saw Jared standing there. I put a hand over my heart. “Jesus Jared, you are going to give me a heart attack one of these days!”
He smiled as he leaned against the doorjamb. “Sorry. I was getting ready to head out and I heard you playing. It’s been awhile since you’ve played anything that happy.”
“Yeah, I know. But I had a bit of a breakthrough with Blake, and it made me want to sing something happier than usual.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear you playing something like that. I’m leaving now, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good night Jared.” After he left, I walked out of the music room and went to my room. I sat on my bed and leaned against the headboard with a smile still on my face. But when my phone rang and I saw the Caller ID, my smile dropped and dread filled the pit of my stomach. Why the hell was he calling me?
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Sorry for the minor cliffhanger. Thanks to RuBB3rDuckie for editing the chapter for me again :-).
I'm having so much fun with Blake and Hailey. I love the sarcasm that comes from both of them. We're starting to get into one of the main parts of the story, so it should get interesting from here. Hope you guys are enjoying this story. You all rule for getting me so far up on the lists!