hassling hayden

fuck it

the next few days you ignored tom completely. you avoided him as much as you possibly could. he tried giving you small smiles and you caught him staring at you quiet a bit, but you couldn't handle him right now.

right now you were at a coffee shop on navy pier with some of your friends. abbie, bernie, jerry, rennie, dave and tom. you were sitting by a fireplace with leather couches which you were all sitting at. you were next to bernadine who was next to abbie. (as always).

you stared at the fire for most of the time. in the past few days you've felt numb. blocked from all emotions. you were so embarrassed about admitting your feelings for tom that you didn't want to share your feelings at all. with anyone, counting yourself.

you watched as the fire lightly danced and how it cracked ever so often. it reminded you of home. reminded you of sitting by the fireplace with your mom and playing board games together. those were good times. you were younger, so you didn't have to deal with real shit yet.

you felt a nudge to your arm and shook yourself from your thoughts. "hm?" you hummed. "you okay?" bernie asked. you nodded and smiled a straight lined smile. "i think i'm gonna get some air." you mumbled. bernadine smiled and nodded. you maneuvered through your friends legs before you made your way out of the door.

the cold breeze hit you and you felt better already. you looked out over the lake and inhaled the fresh air. you leaned up against a lamppost by the shop and leaned your head back against it. you closed your eyes and let the breeze hit you for awhile. you shivered, even though you liked the breeze. you were wearing one of bernies green turtlenecks and a black skirt. it was a very unusual outfit for you, but you wanted to see how the "preppy girl" style looked on you. plus, boys found it more attractive. (tom).

"hey." a raspy voice said from beside you. you lowered your head and turned it. tom was standing in front of you with his eyebrows raised and lips pursed. you stared at him with no expression at all. you didn't really know what to do.

"i was gonna take a walk along the pier, uh care to join me?" he offered. you felt butterflies. you couldn't do this. it would make you fall for him even harder. but it was so sweet that he offered. you went with your gut feeling on this one. and sadly that meant you accepted his offer.

"sure." you mumbled. tom smiled and gestured towards the pier. you followed him to the board walk and stopped when he stopped. he leaned over the railing and looked out at the lake. you did the same.

"imagine naming a lake after a state." tom snickered. you looked up at him and blushed, giggling at his joke. he looked down at you. his smile faded. he looked down at your lips then back at your eyes. he then furrowed his brows and looked you up and down. "why are you shivering?" he asked.

you laughed. "why else would i be shivering, besides being cold." you mocked. he chuckled and shook his head. "here." he said, taking off his trench coat he wore.

"oh no, i couldnt." you mumbled. tom scoffed and handed it out to you. "i was getting hot." he smiled. you looked at you feet and held out your hand to grab the coat.

you felt it's soft fabric and slipped it on. it was warm from toms body, and smelled just like him. you popped the collar and buttoned it up. you were really cold. "thanks." you smiled. tom nodded and pursed his lips. he then started to walk down the pier. you scurried and caught up to him.

he was wearing his green sweater with a white collared shirt underneath. his jawline was so sharp that you couldn't take your eyes off of it. you noticed and shot your eyes down in embarrassment. you heard him breath out a laugh quietly. you stuck your hands in your pockets and focused your gaze on your feet.