The Confession - The Music Freaks

Hailey's Realisation

Stop blushing! Hailey commanded to herself, only resulting in the feeling of even more warmth in her cheeks. If the club found out that it was Jake who made her react this way, she would never hear the end of it. Why was she blushing like this anyway? He was just a friend, it's not like she had a crush on him or anything. Admittedly, he had changed a lot from the jerk she first thought he was, in fact, beneath all his self-confidence he had revealed to her a vulnerable, kind and sensitive side. Not to mention he had a cute smile and voice of an angel. And although she hated to admit it, he was also quite handsome.

Oh my god. I'm falling in love with him. She realised.

But wait, what about Daisy? Jake likes Daisy, she reminded herself. Hailey wasn't the type to go stealing other people's boyfriends.

As Hailey entered the music room, all eyes turned to her.

"About time," stated Zander flatly, "we've been waiting for ages, and where is that buffoon Jake? Probably busy hanging out with those monkeys again, I imagine."

"Don't call him that!" defended Hailey. "He's helping Miss Jones take some papers to the teachers' office. I thought it was quite sweet of him."

"Did you just call him 'sweet' Hailey? What's gotten into you? And why are you blushing?"

Hailey let out a sigh. It was no use lying to them, they all knew her too well for her to be able to hide anything from them, particularly her stepbrother. "I... I think I like him."

"What?"

"I said I liked him, okay. I know it's wrong. He likes Daisy. But I can't control how I feel about him. Just promise you won't tell Jake, okay?"

As Zander stood speechless trying to come up with a response, Milly cut in. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. "You two would be so cute together."

"Yeah," agreed Sean. "But you shouldn't discount yourself just because of Daisy. It's not like they're actually dating.  And besides, Daisy has a lot on her plate, so even if Jake were to ask her out, I'm not sure she has time for a boyfriend right now."

"I agree with Sean," seconded Luke, "imagine if Zander had given up on me just because he thought I liked Stacy."

Reluctantly, even Zander now seemed to also come on board. "Yeah, don't worry about Daisy. Hailey, you should tell Jake how you really feel." Then muttered under his breath, "although if it were up to me, I'd tell him that he's an arrogant ass."

Hailey rolled her eyes at Zander's last comment, but was glad to have the group's support. Maybe she even had a chance. With no need to hide her feelings anymore, she blushed like a tomato at the thought that perhaps Jake wouldn't leave the club after all, and that they could be a couple together after the competition. No, she knew it. Jake would soon realise how toxic his friends were and pick the music club instead, Jake was one of the family now. And possibly more.

Suddenly Hailey remembered something. "Hey, did any of you recieve an audio message called 'about the music freaks'?" she asked.

"Yeah, I saw others' phones going off at the same time as mine when I was in the hall," stated Zander. "They must have sent it to practically everyone in the whole school".

"Well, it will probably be a few minutes before Jake arrives, so do you mind if we play it while we wait?"

Zander put his phone in the middle of  the group and turned it on loudspeaker.

"Heck, Hailey can't even sing without me because of her stupid stage fright! And they probably wouldn't stand a chance without me! They should be grateful I joined them in the first place! They should've known from the moment I joined that I wouldn't be a music freak."

As the others gasped, Hailey's world came crashing down, and soon she was crying in Zander and Luke's arms in tears.