Halftime

chapter 3

I was in a rush. The subway was about to leave and I was sprinting to make it, otherwise I'd be waiting around for another 12 minutes.

Law school had been extra rough today. I was pretty wiped out from my late night study yesterday, and also taking care of Harley, Ophelia and Jess when they'd stumbled back into the apartment at three in the morning completely wasted.

Why they thought it would be a good idea to go out drinking on a Monday night, before we had classes the next day, was beyond me.

Normally I would have let them struggle by themselves, locking myself in my room to sleep, but I was obligated by my own guilt at ditching them on Friday night. They were still mad enough at me by Monday night that they hadn't bothered to tell me their plans until they were leaving at ten o'clock that night.

All in all, I'd ended up getting a measly four hours of sleep and spending most of my night holding their hair back and making sure no one vomited on the floor.

Add that on top of classes, more revision for my upcoming exams, and we have a tired and exhausted Violet. I was already close to screaming or punching a wall and if I missed this train I just might. I'd already stayed at NYU for way longer than I'd anticipated and was again leaving hours after my classes had finished.

I reached the platform and made a beeline for the doors just as they started to close.

I dashed through the doors and slammed right into a solid wall. Or at least what felt like a solid wall, until I felt two hands steady me before I lost balance. I glanced up to mutter my apology, or more like gush it since that was extremely embarrassing and I was currently searching for a hole to die in, and my jaw dropped.

It was Hayden.

And yes. I did remember his name. And also his entire face and body and probably most of the intricate designs tracing his arm. That included the annoyingly cocky smile that he flashed down at me as he recognised who I was.

"It's my mystery girl," he grinned, "we have to stop meeting like this."

I managed to snap my mouth shut, "not your mystery girl and trust me. I'd love it if we stopped meeting."

He placed a hand over his heart and took a step back, "ouch. Way to rip my heart out."

I rolled my eyes and started searching for a seat. I managed to find a spare seat with no one around and snagged it before anyone else could.

I was about to plug my headphones in when Hayden slid into the free seat next to me, immediately taking up an excess amount of room.

"So what's your major?" he asked, placing his bag between our legs. It was the same bag as last time, only this time I noticed exactly how large it was. And I also noticed the lacrosse stick attached to it.

Curiosity filled me but I glanced back at his face and glared, "I thought I said to leave me alone."

He raised a brow, "actually you said that you want us to stop meeting. Not to leave you alone. Besides, I like talking to you."

"You don't even know me," I sighed, already knowing there was no getting rid of him now.

"You're right. So what's your name again?"

"Nice try but you're still a stranger."

He laughed, "I'll get it one day."

"If we even meet again," I mumbled.

"So what's your major?" Hayden asked again.

I hesitated but decided on answering anyway, "I study law."