CHAPTER THIRTEEN
❝ almost there ❞
HAYDEN TAKES A seat on Emmett's bed, kicking off her shoes and making herself comfortable as she sits indian-style. She takes her time while looking around his room, expecting for him to say something. But all he does is embrace the silence, and sit down in front of her. While she examines every detail, he finds himself staring at her wandering eyes. They were beautiful, and he wished that his eyes could meet hers so he could stare a bit longer and get lost in them.
"You're not much on decorating, huh?" She asks, her gaze finally catching on a family photo on his dresser. "Your family is gorgeous, by the way. Every one of you oddly resemble angels, and I kind of wonder about that sometimes."
"That was random," Emmett snorts, before giving her a smirk. "But I knew my good looks would charm you eventually. Everyone falls for me at some point, whether they admit it or not."
"Your giant ego is making my head hurt," Hayden groans, planting her face in her hands. "When will it go away?"
"When will your curiosity die out?" Emmett raises an eyebrow. "Every time we have a simple conversation, you have at least twenty questions."
"Without curiosity, how would we have electricity? Or phones? Or anything, for that matter?" Hayden clicks her tongue, shooting him a grin. "Asking questions is a sign of progress and intelligence. I'll be an Einstein one day, you'll see."
"You probably need to work on your handwriting, in that case," the boy laughs, getting up to open the window across from them.
"I hate you," she rolls her eyes. "And your stupid handwriting. When will the teasing stop? Must I throw you out the window to gain your silence?"
"I mean, you can try," the raven-haired boy shrugs, standing up straighter and tightening his muscles. "But it'll take a lot to get me down."
Hayden narrows her eyes, getting up off of the bed before cracking her knuckles and tilting her head to the side. "We'll see about that. Game on."
With a battle cry, Hayden rushes forward and slams into Emmett's chest with all her might. When he doesn't seem to budge at the impact, she begins to grow frustrated, she places her arms on his shoulders and shoves with every ounce of strength in her body. Yet he still doesn't move. The boy chuckles at her weak attempts, shaking his head in disappointment.
"You have no muscle whatsoever," Emmett teases her as she grunts and continues to push him. "I promise you won't make me fall out of this window, Hayden. You're going to hurt yourself."
Hayden ignores his comment, determined to prove him wrong. She was not weak, and she would certainly remove his body from the room, even if she had to throw a chair to get him outside. Emmett grabs her wrists, holding them steady to stop her from pushing him.
"I lost," Hayden grumbles, her eyes finding the floor. "Fine, whatever. You win, you big brute. Happy now?"
"You aren't weak," Emmett states, looking down into her eyes. "You just aren't as strong as me, cupcake."
"Don't call me that," she pulls her wrists from his hands, puckering out her bottom lip in a pout. "I'm not a child, I swear."
In the light of the moment, Emmett moves past his barriers, and moves his hand to her face. His thumb caresses her cheek, gaining her undivided attention. As he looks into her eyes, his unbeating heart began to feel complete. Here, in this moment, he could feel the perfection between them. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, and she knew it too. Hayden could feel the fire in her veins and the fireworks in the air just as much as he could.
"You're so beautiful, Hayden," he murmers, his face inches from hers. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
The wind roams through the trees outside, sending a faint whistle in the air. It was music to Hayden's ears, and Emmett's cold touch sent a shiver up her spine. Her hand slips over his, keeping it there. A flood of warmth overwhelms her heart before Hayden swallows through the tightness in her throat, wanting nothing more than to have his lips on hers. She leans closer, ready to close the gap between them.
But there came a knock on Emmett's bedroom door, and Hayden stopped in her place.
"Dinner is ready!" Esme announces in a cheerful manner. "We'll be downstairs whenever you're ready."
Hayden no longer meets Emmett's eyes, her gaze falling on the open window that lets in a faint breeze, then to the floor. "We should go."
As much as Emmett hated to admit it, he knew she was right. He removes his hand from her face, nodding as he leads her to the door. Hayden follows the boy down the staircase, touching her lips as she remembers how close they were to touching his. She was going to kiss Emmett Cullen. And the brunette knew that if she had, she wouldn't have had a single ounce of regret in her body.
As Emmett made his way down the long hallway to the kitchen entrance, he wondered why Esme had ruined the moment. Everyone in the house could hear the two, and likely knew what was going to happen. So why interrupt? Why take the chance away from him? Alice probably knew something he didn't.
"Took you guys long enough," Rosalie comments, snickering as she takes a seat at the table.
"We came down as soon as Esme called," Emmett rolls his eyes at her antics, taking an empty seat. Hayden sits between Jasper and Edward, facing Emmett. Bella‒ from Edward's other side‒ gives her a small smile, before a nonchalant wink.
Alice places a full plate down in front of Hayden, then continuing down the table. Staring at the steak, baked potato, roll, and salad on the table, the brunette raises an eyebrow. "Who cooked this?"
"Esme did," Carlisle replies, chuckling at her reaction.
"This looks absolutely amazing," Hayden says, looking to the small woman. "Have you considered being a chef? I guarantee you'd make some good money."
"Maybe one day," she shakes her head with a laugh. "So, where are you from, Hayden?"
"Georgia," the girl responds, gaining the attention of everyone at the table. "My parents lived here before I was born, but moved to Georgia to be close to my grandparents when my mother got pregnant."
"I heard your parents work with a national company," Carlisle chimes into the conversation.
"They work with a small part of the government," she nods, finishing a piece of her steak before continuing. "I don't really get any inside information about what they do, but they're constantly working. I don't see them that often. Business trips and office hours take over personal time."
"That's unfortunate," Esme frowns. "How do they manage to make time for you when they're rarely home?"
"They don't," Hayden murmers, her face falling for a moment. But she recollects herself, not wanting the family to feel sorry for her. She didn't need her parents to be happy, her friends were enough. "But it doesn't matter. I've met so many new people since I've been here, and I rarely have free time on my own."
"Well, Emmett certainly talks about you a lot," Joseph grunts. "He's a friend you won't be able to get rid of anytime soon."
"I hear that more than you'd think," Hayden giggles, meeting Emmett's amused eyes. "I mean, I know I'm great, but do you really have to rant to everyone about me? I'm sure it eventually gets old and annoys people."
"Yeah," he guffaws. "You're fantastic."
"Well, personally, I think Hayden is pretty amazing," Bella shoots a look to Emmett. "I hope you agree, and aren't just being sarcastic for attention."
"I'm not as attention-seeking as you think." Emmett states, pointing an accusing finger at the girl in return. "So don't even try to judge me."
"I'm judging you," Hayden speaks up again.
"I always knew you acted out for a reason," Alice sighs. "I guess I finally found the answers I was looking for."
"I don't seek attention!" Emmett seems exasperated, throwing his hands up from all the teasing. "None of you people understand me."
"Oh, I understand you perfectly," Hayden breaks into laughter. "You have a flamboyant personality, and that's completely okay. We're okay with that kind of thing in today's society."
"When have I ever acted out?" He asks incredulously. "Selectively speaking, I've almost never tried to impress you or gain your attention by doing something over the top."
"You constantly focus on how my handwriting looks, especially while we're around other people."
"Okay, well, there's that, but‒"
"That's all the recognition I needed," Hayden smiles, sticking her nose in the air. "You are attention seeking."
"Good lord, you people are psychotic," Emmett mutters, placing his face in his hands.
"Yeah," Bella murmers to Edward, laying her head on his shoulder. "And Hayden doesn't even know the half of it."
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