The Upside of Heartbreak

The Darkness in You

Ugh... Full confession guys... I know most of you won't agree with me on this, but I am NOT a Heat Baby! As the temperature climbs over 30C and into 40C, my motivation drops to nil. It's not bad if I could spend the entire day at the beach, but when you have to work outside in it, it fucking sucks! Give me Spring, Fall, or even Winter any day. Of course, it doesn't help that my entire Province (BC, Canada) is on fire right now. Seriously, don't even fart in the woods out here...

Anyways, this one took far too long. Partly because of the heatwave, and partly because it is just really heavy. Fair warning. Hopefully you guys enjoy it. And hopefully I'll see you much sooner for the next chapter. Thanks for sticking with me! Love ya :)

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Astrid would be lying if she said that Thursday afternoon hadn't been awkward. What with the deceptively kind looking snitch perched primly in her little chair at the back of class. Sporting a hideous peach pantsuit and watching Astrid and Hayden's every move as she scribbled endless notes on her little clipboard. Astrid couldn't even fathom what the woman was writing about. The entire class, the two of them had been as cordial as any other teacher and student. Maybe even a little less so. It was enough to make anyone want to scream!

Honestly, it wasn't just Mrs. Cooper's unnecessary presence that was chapping Astrid's backside. The whole week at school had been more than a little uncomfortable. Ever since Monday morning, the glares and whispers had followed her around. Only growing more persistent with Professor Haddock's continued absence. Astrid was determined not to let it get to her, but she couldn't pretend that it didn't suck. Still, she kept her chin up and carried on as if she couldn't hear what people were saying. The rude speculations that she had only used Hayden for some sort of personal gain.

It was all absurd anyways. Did they all think that Astrid had a crystal ball at home or something? Some magical insight into the fact that Hayden Haddock, the 'newly single' billionaire playboy, was about to become the teacher of the only class that Astrid was falling behind in? Did they think she had performed some sort of voodoo ritual that made Hayden show up to that particular house party and take her home? Like it was anything more than coincidence and circumstance that had allowed her to succeed where others had tried and failed.

Now that everyone knew it had been Hayden at that party, the stories started leaking out. Mostly from the gossipy jocks that had remembered seeing Hayden, or his sexy car, but not put two and two together until now. Astrid couldn't help wondering whether or not Scott was aware that his precious little girlfriend had tried to pick up Hayden that night too. Apparently in between moments of hanging all over Scott, Sabrina was also one of many girls that had been shamelessly flirting with Hayden and Eret. Too drunk to know who either guy was at the time, but still sober enough to recognize a meal-ticket when she saw one.

Unfortunately for Sabrina, Hayden had rebuffed her advances that night in August, and he was even more unlikely to jump into bed with her now. That thought cheered Astrid up greatly. Making it easier to see Sabrina around the school without punching her lights out. By now Astrid had a pretty good hunch that Sabrina, or at least one of her friends, had been the source of the rumours. Hayden was right though. Sloppy really wasn't worth getting expelled over, so Astrid resisted the urge to confront the bitch and simply shot her overly bright smiles and waves instead.

Still, Astrid was in a pretty good mood by Thursday evening - all things considered. Her and the girls opting to order in tonight rather than cooking. Working on their homework at the table as they gorged themselves on warm pita bread and hummus from a Greek restaurant a few blocks away. Astrid's mind more on Hayden than her English essay. Wondering idly what the rest of his day had been like.