"Why are you ignoring me?" Justin repeated for what seemed to be the millionth time. I tapped my foot impatiently against the wall, avoiding his eyes.
"Maybe because you're being a needy asshole." I snapped. He grabbed my wrist before I could pull away and stalk into the Gym.
"Han, what the hell is wrong with you?" I could hear anger finally beginning to edge its way into his voice.
"With me? Why don't you ask Hailey? She's obviously the one you're so concerned about." I tried to break his grip, but a small part of me didn't want to. I wanted to hear his response.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Did you forget you share English with Hailey and Sophia? Do you think my best friend isn't going to tell me if she hears you saying shit?" He blinked a few times, either taken back by my response or trying to remember Sophia in the back of the classroom.
"Han, that wasn't-"
"It wasn't what? Why are you so concerned with my sister's life?" I ripped my arm from his grip.
"I was just curious, Han. It's not that big of a deal, don't make it one." I started to back away, catching the sight of Dad stepping out into the hallway just as the words left my mouth.
"You're a dick."
*
"Ouch! What the hell are you doing?" Hailey groaned, swatting my hand away as the bathroom door swung shut behind us.
"I need your help." I whispered, walking along the wall and checking to make sure we were alone.
"You could have just sent me a text. Why did you grab me by my ear?" She asked.
"Because you were too busy daydreaming over Mason to answer me." She mocked me for a moment before sighing and waiting for me to go on.
"Do you remember when we were in seventh grade and we decided to switch places for a week for a school project?" She nodded, her eyes slowly becoming narrow.
"Yeah."
"I want to do it again." She frowned.
"Why?"
"Sophia told me what Justin kept asking you. I. . .I want to see how he reacts when I'm you, you know what I mean?" I saw her flinch slightly.
"And I can help you move things along with Mason." I continued, "Please, Hails. I. . . I thought everything was okay with Justin, but if he's so obsessed with you and what you're doing, then maybe it's over." She sighed, her body slouching in defeat.
"What's your next class?" I squealed like a ten year old at a toy store and threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly.
"Bio." I smirked, "And we're going to need to switch clothes."
*
I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear as I took my seat beside Mason. He flashed me a crooked grin, which made a smile stretch across my face.
He thought I was Hailey. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised since we were identical and nobody would be able to tell the difference unless they knew us inside and out.
"What's up with the earrings, Hails? I thought you hated green." I felt my face flush at his words, my fingers clenching and unclenching on my lap.
"Hannah talked me into wearing them." I whispered. He quirked an eyebrow in my direction, his lips parting and then smacking back shut when the teacher walked in.
I felt his eyes fall on me every few minutes throughout class. Part of me wanted to just confirm his suspicions and tell him that it was Hannah, but the other part was sure that he didn't know and wanted to tell me something else.
My suspicions were put to the test when he leaned over and pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes.
"So, about the whole getting laid thing. . . have you found a girl yet?" Something in his eyes made me feel the need to say no, as if he were prompting me too.
"Not yet, Mason. Not a lot of girls in this school want to sleep with you." I teased. He shrugged, his lips parting as he prepared himself to ask another question.
Say it, my mind shouted, tell Hailey you want it to be her.
"Well, you're now my personal matchmaker. We'll find the unlucky chick sooner or later." I couldn't stop a laugh from leaving me and disrupting Ms. Nichols at the front of the classroom. After a moment of silence, Mason wrote on a piece of paper and passed it over. We went back and forth like that for the rest of class. And for the first time in my life, I realized that maybe Mason Banks wasn't all that bad.
*
I found Justin against his locker when the last bell of the day rang, his eyes on his phone clenched in his hands. I could feel my phone vibrating in my bra, but reached up and turned it off as I approached his hunched over figure.
"Hannah still pissed at you?" I questioned, stepping into his line of vision. He shrugged, his eyes everywhere but me.
"What'd you do that was that bad, Pretty Boy? I thought you were perfect." He snorted, finally lifted his eyes up to meet mine.
"Sophia told her about the harmless bullshit I was doing with you in English. She's acting like a child." He snapped, anger flashing through his normally beautiful and soft brown eyes.
"You're her boyfriend, Justin." I cleared my throat, "You shouldn't be flirting with other girls, especially her sister, if you love her as much as she loves you." He recoiled back against his locker.
"I know. I'm a dumbshit." He grumbled, "And it's funny because she's the only girl on this planet that can still love me even after knowing all my faults." He huffed out another sigh and pushed himself off the locker.
"What the fuck did I do, Hails? Did I ruin everything?" I stared at him, my lips parted in surprise.
This hadn't been the answer I was expecting from him. I had expected him to make a move or another joke on Hailey. Or even ask her about another personal thing in her life.
He looked as if he were about to turn into that guy in a cheesy rom-com that is going to go find the girl and confess his feelings to her. This was the Justin I knew, my Justin.
"It's funny." Justin laughed, "Hannah gets that look in her eyes sometimes, where the gold flecks in them reflect. And sometimes she bites her lip a little too." He stepped forward and touched my cheek gently.
"Han?" I shook my head, trying to pull back.
"It's Hailey." I lied, but I knew it was too late. He raised his eyebrows, a knowing look in his eyes.
"Okay, Hailey. I'm going to see the remastered version of Titanic at the theatre on Formount, let Hannah know she'll be missed." He started to walk away, but I could tell by the slowness of his light footsteps that he was waiting for me to go after him.
I stared after him, my hand clenching at my side. He had just tempted me with my biggest desire, and little by little, every step he took, I wanted to cave and run after him.
But something stopped me. I didn't want to be played for a fool. If he had known it was me the entire time and had said everything just to make me feel better, then I would be forgiving him without really knowing if it was the truth or not, he'd think he could walk all over me, or behind me for that matter, and that was the last thing I wanted.
"Hails!" Mason draped his arms over my shoulder, laughing obnoxiously in my ear.
"Hey." I turned, forcing a grin as I turned to face him. I could see his basketball peeking out from his unzipped backpack, which meant that he was probably headed out to the court. And I, Hailey, would be dragged along with him.
"Wanna watch me play ball? 'Cause I know how much you love watching me run around without a shirt." I rolled my eyes at the cockiness of his words but nodded, sure that Hailey would thank me for this later. I knew how much she hated basketball, especially watching it.
He went on about the jock, Johnny Carson I believe his name was, who had shouted some ass remark at my sister yesterday. It was cute, listening to him get some defensive and over protective. It made me question how dense my sister really was.
It was obvious he loved her, as more than a friend. It was in his kind brown eyes, the way he would smile and then try to hide it whenever he said said something he was afraid he'd get hassled for.
"Can I play?" I asked, then threw my hand over my mouth seconds later. Why the hell would I ask that? Hailey had absolutely no hand-eye coordination and couldn't play any sport for the life of her. So asking if I could play would give me away in a heartbeat.
"Hailey Jacobs, did you just as me if you could play basketball with me?" He gasped, dropping his backpack beside me. "Marry me?" I laughed, careful not to allow myself to start snorting.
"In your dreams, Banks." I shot back. He gestured for me to follow him across the court, his bicep flexing as he tossed the ball back and forth between his hands.
"You want me to teach you how to play?" I waved him off, stealing the ball from his hands and dribbling it across the court before he could stop me.
"Nah! Hannah already taught me how to play." He chased after me and caught me around the waist, sending me flying right into his hard chest.
As we played for the next couple hours, I didn't care if he realized it was me and not Hailey. I was having fun, forgetting about Dad and his ridiculous Sex talks, Justin. It was all gone and I hope it stayed away for a while.
***AN***
Hope you guys enjoyed!
Let me know what you thought!
~ChasingMadness24