"That isn't hard to believe." She smiled and I shook my head. "But that is kind of cute though." Kiera beamed and I looked over at her and away from my french fries. "It's cute that he actually remembers you considering that you were obsessed with him."
A gasp left my lips and I hit Kiera on the arm playfully. "How many times do I have to tell you that I was not obsessed with him?" I uttered but deep down I knew she was right. "Don't make this into a bigger deal than it is Kiera." I sighed looking over at Hayden across the cafeteria. Today was his first day of school and I didn't miss the looks he was getting from different girls as we walked around the school. Either he was strangely oblivious or just dumb.
Hayden was sitting at a table with Aiden, Ashlynn, and all their friends. It hurt to see Ashlynn sitting there because that used to be me once upon a time until I found out the truth.
The bell suddenly rang so Kiera and I got up, grabbed our bags and left the cafeteria.
"Hey," Kiera said softly and I looked up at her. "I'm sorry that you have to see Aiden and Ashlynn every day." She smiled at me, "If you feel any better you can come over to my house and we can watch movies all night!"
I laughed at how excited Kiera still got over binge watching movies. "Sure Kiera," I smiled sadly. "Thank you for always being there for me." I wrapped my arms around her slim body.
"Of course—" Kiera suddenly stopped talking and gently pulled away from the hug. I looked up to see what she was looking at and when I followed her gaze much to my surprise, I saw Aiden walking towards us. I had to blink a couple of times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. "Speak of the devil," Kiera uttered.
Kiera has always been the overprotective type of friend. She immediately disliked anyone who hurt me and Aiden was on the top of the list. "Come on." Kiera pulled my wrist. "Let's go before he gets too close."
"Khloe," Aiden said firmly and I turned around slowly. "I need to talk to you." I looked over at Kiera and by the look on her face, I could tell that she didn't want me to listen to whatever he had to say. "Alone please." He mumbled, eyeing Kiera.
"Kiera," I whispered gently pulling my wrist away from her grip. "I'll meet you after class."
Kiera was disappointed but she gave me a small smile and nodded her head anyway. "Okay, text me if you need anything." She hesitated but I gave her a reassuring smile and she walked away slowly.
I turned around to look at Aiden and he looked completely different if I was going, to be honest. His dark hair was messy, sticking up in every direction, and his dark coffee like eyes looked red and puffy. "What happened to you Aiden?" I questioned because despite everything that he's done to me I was actually concerned about his health. "Did something happen?"
Aiden chuckled roughly and ran a hand through his matted hair. "I'm fine Khlo, just under a lot of pressure." He mumbled and I nodded my head slowly.
I knew that Aiden's father ran one of the most successful businesses in the state and Jeremy Pierce only wanted what was best for his son or so he says. The truth is, I've met his parents multiple times and his father only cares about money. He wants Aiden to take over the family business when he knows Aiden really only wants to play basketball. "How are you? You look good."
I cringed and looked away from him. "Aiden, please... I don't have time for this." I snapped. "How do you think I'm doing?" I questioned and his eyes widen slightly, "Every time I see Ashlynn—" I stopped myself and took a deep breath. I knew there was no point to this. "You made a decision and I had to suffer the consequence."
Aiden cupped his face with his hands and took a deep breath. "Khlo I didn't—"
"Don't call me that." I hissed.
"Khloe," He started again. "that's what I've been trying to tell you, I didn't—" Aiden immediately stopped talking and spun around when he heard the sound of Ashlynn's high pitched voice.
"Why do you let her control you like that?" I questioned but he just looked away from me in shame.
"What are you doing talking to her babe?" Ashlynn questioned.
I could see my vision become blurry and I turned around quickly and walked away in the other direction because I didn't want them to see me cry. That means they win and I was weak. I viciously wiped away the tears that had fallen onto my cheeks, because there was no point in crying over Aiden or Ashlynn anymore.
I was barely looking at where the hell I was going so when I felt strong hands grab my shoulders I looked up in shock. "Khloe?" Hayden questioned and I let out a heavy sigh. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I'm fine," I said firmly stepping away from his grip. "Are you okay? Do you need me to help you with anything?" I asked only because I didn't want Hayden to question me about Aiden or Ashlynn.
"What?" Hayden questioned with a puzzled look on his face. "I'm fine, but are you okay? I saw what happened."
I wiped the remaining tears on my cheeks and forced a smile onto my lips. "Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled turning away from him slowly. "I have to go." I walked away before Hayden even had a chance to speak and I immediately texted Kiera to meet me at the front of the school.
Minutes later Kiera came rushing through the doors and wrapped her arms around me. "What did he say to you?" Kiera asked and I sighed looking away.
"He looked really stressed out honestly," I told Kiera and she rolled her eyes. "So I asked him what was wrong and he..." I trailed off and Kiera's eyes nudged me to keep talking. "He said that I looked good and he also asked how I was doing."
"That asshole!" Kiera screamed and my eyes widened. "Who does he think he is?" She questioned walking in circles. "How does he think you feel when you have to look at him and Ashlynn walking around together in the halls?"
"I know," I mumbled focusing my gaze on the ground as I paused for a second. "It seemed like he wanted to tell me something important before Ashlynn came and that's when I knew I needed to leave. The worst part about it is that I bumped into Hayden and he said that he saw everything. It seems like he wants to know what happened between Aiden and I, but the weird thing about it is... I'm sure he already knows." I sighed, "The whole school seems to already love him. If Aiden didn't tell Hayden when he realized that I was his mentor, I'm sure Ashlynn's big mouth would have told him."
Kiera gave me a sympathetic smile and pulled me into yet another hug. "Everything will be okay, Khloe."
✼ ✼ ✼
Kiera and I came to the realization that we should probably go back to class because there was only one more period left, and I knew mom would have a talk with me about skipping class again.
"Hey Khloe," I heard a soft voice and I looked up to see Yasmin Assad. Kiera had introduced us years ago when I first came to this school. Of course, Yasmin and I weren't as close as I was with Kiera but she was a really nice person. "Where have you been?" She asked as she put her bag down on the table and took a seat beside me.
Yasmin and I had last period photography together and this was by far my favourite class. "I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever." She laughed flipping her black hair over her shoulders. Yasmin Assad was beautiful. She had that Egyptian beauty that most girls were envious of.
I laughed rolling my eyes at her. "I literally talked to you yesterday, Yas," I said and she shrugged her shoulders with a smile playing on her lips.
"Whatever," Yasmin beamed. "I miss you." Her head snapped up when she saw Hayden walk pass us. He threw a smile my way and I looked down in embarrassment. I still can't believe he saw me cry.
Mrs. Richardson must really hate me because I had not only one but two classes with Hayden. "Did you see that?" Yasmin's eyes widen. "So... he's the new hot guy everyone has been talking about?" She tilted her head towards me and I looked away from her.
"Yeah..." I said slowly, "I signed up for this stupid mentoring program and he happens to be the person I'm mentoring. He also happened to be my neighbour three years ago." I said and Yasmin burst out laughing. "I know—"
"Okay class, everyone be quiet." Said Mrs. Peterson and the class slowly stopped talking. "As most of you know you will be starting a project in partners."
"Wannabe partners?" Yasmin whispered and I nodded my head.
"For this project, you will have a partner and you will both take pictures of each other that tell a story. Basically you will have to have a series of photos that tell an interesting story." Mrs. Peterson paused for a second. "Don't get too excited because I will be picking your partners!" She stated and the whole class groaned. "Let's begin!"
I sat there patiently waiting for my name to be called but it never did. Everyone else seemed to be teaming up with their partners so I looked around the room and saw that Hayden and I were the only other people in the class that weren't moving to sit with their partner.
This must be a mistake.
I got up quickly and walked over towards Mrs. Peterson's desk where she was busy typing on her laptop. "Mrs. Peterson," I cleared my throat and she looked up at me with a small smile on her thin lips.
"How can I help you Khloe?" She questioned pushing her glasses further up her nose.
Mrs. Peterson was a nice woman don't get me wrong, she just made a mistake. "You didn't call my name." I laughed, "Who is my partner for this project?"
Mrs. Peterson looked surprised. "I thought you already knew, Khloe." She said scrambling through the many papers on her desk. "Mrs. Richardson informed me that you are Hayden's mentor, correct?"
"Yes but—"
"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do." She handed me a sheet of paper and I looked down at it. "Because you're Hayden's mentor you automatically have to be partnered with him." She explained and my jaw was hung open. "We like to keep our mentors and transfer students close." She smiled, "It helps the transfer students feel more comfortable."
There was nothing else I could say to her especially because everyone else already had a partner and I knew Hayden was watching me so I just smiled and said, "Right... I'm sorry I forgot." Mrs. Peterson nodded her head. "I'll go tell Hayden," I mumbled before I walked away from her desk and towards Hayden.
I pulled my bag behind me and took a seat next to Hayden. "Well," I looked up at him and he already had a smirk playing on his lips. "It looks like we're partners."
"Damn Khloe," Hayden put his hand to his heart. "I have to say it kind of hurts that you don't want to be my partner."
I shook my head quickly. "No, I do."
Hayden hummed. "Then why were you complaining to Mrs. Peterson? Actions speak louder—"
"Can we just start?" I interrupted him and I instantly felt bad for being so rude. "Look," I took a breath. "I'm usually not this mean... I promise! And I'm sorry that you had to see that earlier in the hallway."
"It's all good mentor girl," Hayden said with a chuckle.
"Stop calling me that." I laughed, "Let's just start this then."