Hailey's POV*
"Hey Acorn!" I said as I walked into the stables. I rubbed Acorn's nose as I tacked him up. I rose him to the beach to watch the sunrise. It was around 8 when Callum called me. "What do you want Callum." I said as I glared at the sunset in front of me.
"Easy. I'm not calling to start trouble. The team needs you back at Holloway." Callum told me over the phone.
I sighed as I looked at Acorn. "I'll be back in about 15 minutes." I said as I hung up my phone and mounted Acorn and rode back to Holloway, over the ridge. I gave Acorn a sugar cube as I handed him over to the grooms and I walked into the riders lounge.
"Happy birthday!" Alex, Callum, and Gaby yelled as Gaby hugged me.
"Thank you!" I said, hugging them all. "Gaby, where's Pin?" I asked her, looking around. Gaby looked around too.
"I...don't know. He was here." Gaby said as we looked around.
"So, how does it feel? The big 1-6?" Alex asked me.
"Complicated. But I think I'm figuring it out." I told him as he nodded.
"I know you're not my biggest fan right now, but, happy birthday." Callum said, handing me a box. I took it from him and I opened it, revealing a white leather halter with brass clips.
Acorn's New Halter
I looked at Callum and I hugged him. Thank you." I said when I let go, looking at the halter. "How'd you know I wanted this?" I asked him as he looked at Gaby.
"I told him. You told me about the halter and I told Callum who bought it for you for your birthday." Gaby told me and I nodded slowly.
"Well, thank you Callum. I'll put this to good use." I said as I put the halter back in the box and closed it. "Well, I have to go. I promised Mia and Jade I'd help them with something." I said as I began to walk towards the door.
"Bright Fields?" Gaby questioned me.
"Yea. Is that a problem?" I asked, giving them a face that said 'don't mess with me'. They all shook their heads as I smiled and walked off. I quickly tacked up Acorn in his new western tack.
Acorn's Western Tack
I mounted him and quickly rode to Bright Fields. I rode into the yard and everyone was raising eyebrows when they saw me. I dismounted Acorn and tied him to the fence and I walked into the Riders Lounge, seeing Mia and Jade sitting on the couch.
"Hey guys. What's up?" I asked as I sat down next to Mia and she quickly put away what she and Jade were looking at.
Susie walked in and went to her tack locker. She stopped and looked at me. "Hailey, is Callum coming for your Sweet 16 party?" Susie asked me and I nodded.
"Callum's on my team, so yea he'll be there." I told her as she nodded and walked out of the lounge.
"Always inviting him to everything. Anyone would think you were jealous of Callum and I." Susie joked as I forced out a laugh as she walked away.
I scoffed when she left the lounge. "Jealous? As if I'd go near that rat other than practice." I said as I looked at Jade and Mia.
"Right. It's just, um..." Jade said, looking at the ground. Jade looked up at me. "Well, I didn't want to say anything, but, um, at the beach party...you basically, uh...Well...Becky and me saw you kissing that rat." Jade told me, shyly.
Mia glared at me, waiting for an explanation. "Callum kissed me. Then I slapped him. Did you not see that?" I questioned her, talking softly.
"I told Becky there must have been an explanation." Jade said, relieved.
"Wait, why haven't you told Susie yet, then?" Mia asked me.
"Mia. I know I should, but...Callum will deny it and say it was all me." I said, whispering the last part. "Susie is so into him that she might believe it." I told Mia and Jade.
"Too mad you can't go back in time, show her what happened." Jade said, obviously bummed for me.
I looked at Mia and saw a light bulb go off in her mind. "Or maybe you can." Mia said, looking at me. "How many people are coming to your party?" Mia asked me as I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Not a lot. Like 30-40 people." I told her.
"Perfect. A big crowd. Callum will then lower his defences and then you'll pounce." Mia told me, grasping the air with her hand.
"But she--" Jade said but I cut her off.
"You wanna catch a rat, you've got to set a trap." I said as Mia and I got up and walked out of the riders lounge. We were having the party of the cliffs of Holloway overlooking the beach. "Come on. I wanna show you the venue." I said to Mia as I mounted Acorn and Mia mounted Firefly and rode to Holloway to my venue for the party.
"A tent?" Mia asked me as we dismounted and walked to the tent that is being assembled.
"This is the tent for my party. I'm having this OTT super-sweet 16, so...lots of guests. I also booked the best DJ on the island. We need music for the young and the old to enjoy." I told Mia, sadlysmirking at the sight of the tent being built.
"Hailey, I'm gonna help make this the magical birthday you deserve." Mia said as she slung her arm over my shoulder as I smirked.
The two of us went to Marcus' house to get ready for the party. Mia was wearing a thigh-length baby blue dress with white collar, and I'm wearing red mock neck skater dress.
Hailey's Dress (Minus The Heels)
Mia left her hair down, but I put mine up into a messy bun. "You go ahead. I'm gonna be fashionably late." I said to Mia as she chuckled as she walked down the stairs. About 15 minutes after Mia left, I got in my truck and drove to Holloway and pulled up outside the tent. I got out of my truck and walked inside the tent, seeing everyone there. My friends from Holloway, my friends from Bright Fields, and even my friends from LA.
I walked in and looked around and everyone began to clap for me. I smiled as I looked around, looking for Pin until I found him. I smiled as I made eye contact with him. He smiled as I made my way to him and he met me halfway. "Happy birthday, Hailey." Pin said to me, smiling. "You look perfect." Pin said, looking me up and down.
I giggled as I looked up at him. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." I said to Pin as I looked at him.
"Thank you." Pin said to me. I looked around and saw the last person I wanted to see. Logan Hambleton, my ex...with another girl.
Logan Hambleton (Tanner Braungardt)
"What the?" I whispered as Pin followed my gaze. "I'll be right back." I quickly as I walked away. I walked up to Sam and Colby who were standing by the entrance.
"Happy birthday!" Colby said, hugging me as I quickly thanked him.
"Thanks. Why is Logan here?" I asked the two boys. Sam raised and eyebrow and looked around until he saw Logan.
"That's a good question." Sam said, glaring at Logan.
"I'm gonna go talk to him. Can you two back me up?" I asked as Sam and Colby nodded. I walked up to Logan and grabbed his arm. "We need to talk." I growled as I dragged him outside the tent with Sam and Colby watching from the entrance.
"I'll be right back." Logan quickly said to the girl before following me outside the tent.
"Well, isn't this familiar? You showing up with an evil date." I said, crossing my arms and glaring at Logan.
"Your mom invited me and said I had a plus 1." Logan told me, smugly as I rolled my eyes. "Happy birthday, Hailey." Logan said after a few moments of silence.
"Wow. You're being nice after you cheated on me." I said to him as he let out a heartless laugh.
"I would hardly call it cheating." Logan told me, also crossing his arms.
I let out a laugh as I looked at Logan. "Yea. Sleeping with another girl is soo not cheating." I said sarcastically.
Logan rolled his eyes at me. "Not in my book." Logan told me. "This isn't in my book either." Logan said as he grabbed my wrist and kissed me. I instantly pushed him back and slapped him hard across the face.
"Don't you ever do that again." I said loudly, pointing a finger at his chest.
"You ever touch Hailey again, I will beat you up. So will all of her roommates." Colby threatened as he and Sam walked to my side. Sam, Colby, and I walked back in the tent and the three of us stood near the entrance.
"Don't you have a plan to put in motion about Callum?" Sam asked me as I nodded.
"That I do." I said as I made eye contact with Mia. I nodded and he and Jade stood up as the three of us walked out of the tent. We got in position near Holloway. I'm in the grotto and Mia and Jade are hidden in the trees, recording everything. We waited there for about 5 minutes when I saw Callum walk by. "Hey!" I shouted getting his attention.
Callum stopped and looked at me. He looked around before walking into grotto. "Hey yourself. Still mad at me?" Callum asked, walking up to me.
I sighed as I looked at the ground and back to Callum "I wasn't mad at you. I was...surprised, that's all. And...more than a little flattered." I said, walking up to him. "The truth is Callum, I've always had a little bit of a crush on you, even after I met Pin." I said, chuckling. "Callum, I haven't been able to stop thinking about what you said." I said to him. By now, the two of us are face to face. "I'd love to hear it again, all those things about me and Susie." I said, flashing a smile at him as he smirked at me before looking into the trees.
"Nice try." Callum said, smirking at me as he walked away, chuckling.
Mia and Jade came out of the trees and walking up to me. "I'm sorry." Jade told me, camera in hand. I sighed as the three of us made our way back to the party.
"Did it work?" Sam asked as he and Colby walked up to us.
"No. He saw me." Jade said, hanging her head in disappointment.
"You'll get him next time." Colby said to her.
"Get what next time." Aaron asked, walking up to us. I sighed as I quietly explained that happened at the beach party and what we're trying to do. He blinked a few times. "Damn. Callum seems like an ass." Aaron told me.
"What's even worse is that he's my teammate." I said as I sighed as I saw Logan run out of the tent, followed by Pin. "What? I'll be right back." I said as I ran out of the tent, leaving the other confused as I ran after Pin and Logan. I followed the two down to the beach and Pin pushed Logan over into the water. "Stop it! What are you doing?" I asked Pin, separating him from Logan.
"You kissed my girlfriend!" Pin yelled, pointing a finger at Logan.
"I bet she liked it more than when she kisses you." Logan said, smugly. Pin ran up to Logan and tackled him to the ground before I could do anything.
"Stop!" I yelled as I pushed Pin off of Logan. "This is stupid!" I yelled at the two boys. "Why don't you have a race to see who's manliest and be done with it." I said sarcastically.
"Fine." Logan said, looking at the water and standing up.
"You guys can't be serious." I said as both boys ran towards the ocean. "Guys, I was kidding!" I yelled after them. "Don't do this." I said but Pin and Logan didn't hear me. "Pin! God so help me, if you do this, I'll move back to America!" I yelled. That got his attention. He stopped and looked at me and I was glaring at both boys as Logan was already in the water and Pin was just standing there looking at me. I scoffed as I walked away back to the party as a tear was rolling down my cheek.
"Hailey?" Jake asked as he and the guys saw me walk back in the tent with tears running down my face. "Hailey, what's wrong?" Jake asked, stopping me and putting his hands on my arms as I looked up at him.
"Boys being boys." I said, sniffling. "I can't do this." I said, looking at the ground. "Guys? Can I come home for a few days?" I asked them and all the boys grinned at me.
"Of course you can! Our home is still your home." Corey said as I smiled at them all.
"Thanks guys." I said as we all laughed.
"Leave me alone!" Susie shouted, pushing Callum away and running into the cake in Jade's hands, knocking it on the ground.
"Susie, wait!" Callum yelled, running after her with Mia with her arms crossed standing there, looking triumphant.
"Hailey, we can't keep going on like this." Pin said as I turned around and found Pin and Logan standing at the entrance of the tent, soaking wet. "You need to decide." Pin told me.
"Like between you two?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Once and for all." Logan said.
"I don't know what that was, but it had nothing to do with me, This party has nothing to do with me." I said as I looked around before walking out of the tent and getting in my truck and driving to the stables. I ran to Acorn's stall and sat down, leaning back against the wall and a few tears slipped down my face. Acorn nuzzled my face as I laughed as I pet his nose. Acorn laid down next to me and put his head on my lap. "Oh God. Acorn, your head is heavy." I said, laughing as Acorn moved his head and stood up as I stood up as well. I laughed as I clipped on a lead rope and led him out of his stall. I rode him bareback to the tent to find everyone gone. I dismounted, not bothering to tie up Acorn and I went to the dance floor where I saw that the cake was still there.
I heard footsteps and I looked up to see Becky walk up to me and sit down next to me with two forks in her hands. "My aunt has a saying: floor cake, still cake." Becky said, handing me a fork as I laughed and took it.
"You can't go wrong with cake." I said as Becky and I began to dig into the cake. "Am I a horrible person?" I asked Becky after taking a bite of cake.
"We all knew this wasn't the day you wanted." Becky told me.
"What I want to be be home in LA exploring an abandoned building with my roommates, or being at the skatepark in San Diego with Tanner and Maverick." I said as I laid down on the floor.
"Everyone has their own needs. You just...kind of got lost." Becky told me as I looked at her from my spot on the ground.
"But still...pretty ungrateful for freaking out like that, huh?" I said as I sat up and looked at Becky. "One was my boyfriend and the other was my ex, my first love." I told her.
"It's not wrong to want things a certain way. You need to be true to yourself. And if you know something is real, never stop believing." Becky told me as she ate another bite of cake. "Happy birthday, Hailey." Becky said as she stood up and left, leaving me there. When Becky left, my phone began to buzz. I saw that it was Gaby, so I answered it.
[ME]
Hello?
GABY]
Well your party was a complete disaster.
[ME]
Yea. Thanks for that.
[GABY]
Cheer up. Your training's on track. You should do well at the friendlies at Holloway. Which is why Meredith will be there. She wants to see how you and Acorn are doing.
[ME]
Then she better be prepared to have her mind blown.
[GABY]
Good. You're doing great. If you stick to the program and methods, you'll get to keep that horse Oh, and, uh...happy birthday.
At that, Gaby hung up on me. I sighed as I stood up and mounted Acorn and ran over the ridge back to Holloway. I put Acorn back myself and went to my shared room with Pin to see him not there at the moment. I put on my tan breeches and a t-shirt and my riding boots and I want back to the stables. I led Acorn out of the stables and mounted him bareback. We rode out of the stables and to the meadow where Pin took me for our first date. I dismounted and Acorn began to graze on the grasses as I walked inside the gazebo and looked out, watching Acorn graze on the grass as the sun went down.
Ok guys, I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while! Please forgive me! The next two chapters will be when Hailey goes back to LA and San Diego. Chapter 15 will be with Colby Brock and the Trap House, and Chapter 16 will be with Tanner Fox and his friends. Anyway, please comment and vote!
StarWarrior...signing off!!