𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐲

TEN

——— "PLEASE DEN, PLEASE!" Mollie De Loughrey begged the instant Hayden Burke shut her locker that morning. Her hands folded together tightly as she pouted in a plead, giving Hayden the puppy dog eyes.

"Absolutely not," Hayden said strictly. She grimaced at the mere thought of her question, "who do you think I am, Molls? A slag?"

"You can be!" Mollie persuaded, though it wasn't effective. Both Hayden and Keaton exchanged looks at her enthusiasm and attempt to try and convince them. "Hockey players can be hot if you look past all that... what's the word—"

"Vain and arrogance?" Hayden shot.

"Stupidity?" Keaton added.

Mollie shot them both a bored look. "Yeah. That." She deadpanned. The girl let out a loud huff as Hayden nodded in a way as if she had proved her point, beginning to turn on her heels and walk to class. However, Mollie followed curtly behind her two best friends. "Come on guys! What ever happened to the version of us who always did everything together?"

Keaton Lewis rolled his eyes, looking back at the girl as she pleaded. "Are you really guilt tripping us right now?"

Hayden scoffed, stopping as well. She turned to her best friend with a tired look, "that version of us still exists, Molls. But that version of us also never had any interest in attending stupid loud hockey games. You get me?"

"No." Mollie frowned, "we're in high school now! It's a time to try new things!"

"We can try new things!" Hayden nodded along, forcing a smile onto her face, "but attending hockey games is not going to be one of them!"

Mollie frowned, her shoulders dropping with a huff. "But everyone who is anyone is going to be there, Hayds!" Mollie whined, "and my major FOMO is going to kill me if we don't go tonight."

Keaton scrunched up his face. "Since when have you cared, Mollie? Last time I checked, we all hated everyone here."

"Since now!" She spat before batting her eyes at them once more, "Come on, please! If it's because of Emeroy, we don't have to sit by him. Besides, varsity plays after them so it's not like you'll be around him for long..."

Hayden stared at Mollie, laughing sharply at her words. "You're funny to think I would even consider watching a varsity game."

The sound of the bell saved the blonde girl from the persuasion of her best friend, and she couldn't help but release a sigh of relief. With a last look, Hayden shrugged, giving Mollie an apologetic look, speaking once more before she went off to class, "I'm not going, Mollie. You can, but I won't."

Hayden Burke had gotten really good at avoiding people from the moment she was born. It was almost like a natural reflex. She would hide from her uncles and aunties to the point where they genuinely thought she was missing. She would hide from her parents and brothers — though it was easier with them. She didn't have to hide much when they didn't really see her in the first place.

Nonetheless, she had developed an acute ability to hide and avoid people through her fourteen years of living. It was easy to her; like second nature.

But the past week of avoiding Charlie Conway may have been one of the hardest things she's had to do in her entire life, which gave her one more reason as to why she needed to avoid him more.

She sat in history class, thinking through today and how she would manage to ignore the boy who sat in front of her. How she could possibly resist staring at him, and looking at him as he looked back at her. How she could possibly withhold herself from talking to him or cracking jokes or laughing at the things he'd say.