Forever Could Be Ours

Chapter 05. | The Beanbags

ALEXANDER

There could have been a million other places I'd rather spend my Friday night than being stuck on a beanbag at Annandale High Library with the biggest migraine I've met in a human form.

Hayleigh Blakely is the feeling of a migraine and an erection at the same time - the worst cocktail you could offer a man on his weakest days. She is 5 feet short of pure stubbornness and with a temper so effective, that your brain slowly melts out of your ears.

I never pictured myself to be the stern, strict teacher with a solid frown printed on my face but the second she confronted me in the parking lot like a cross-examination at Judge Judy I had to create distance. A long fucking distance from her, her accusations and her big hazel orbs staring into me, nearly forcing every truth out of my mouth.

I recognized her the second I crashed the door against her shoulder, then at the cafeteria for the introduction, and when she confronted me at the parking lot. Each time I had to put on a face that said I had never met her before when, in fact, her face is the most memorable part that repeats in my mind.

Light olive skin, high cheekbones, and long lashes curled in front of her deer-looking hazel eyes. I remember how her wavy ombre hair fell in strands in front of her eyes in frustration when I left without answering her desired question.

The more I lied, the more she freaked.

Just the tiny chance of people finding out I'm the reason Dylan shitface Williams walks around with a broken nose, my internship is gone before I get my first paycheck. What are the odds of jogging around the neighborhood on a Friday night and interfering in a commotion between two who later appear to be students at the same high school where the internship takes place? Slim.

I'm grateful I'm only stuck with Hayleigh in Advanced Math. If I had to interact with both three times a week, Dylan would sooner or later realize I was the one in the grey hoodie.

I have never been fond of violence but how could I not interfere? He was cornering her like a hungry bear. That could be someone's daughter, sister-in-law, best friend or relative. I couldn't stand there and do nothing.

Hayleigh might think she can verbally defend herself, and to an extent, she can. But the football-obsessed idiot towered over her like a skyscraper and he struggled to understand a decent rejection. I had no idea what happened in the seconds of adrenaline but when he was knocked out, I saw that as my queue to leave.

Tristan didn't believe a word coming out of my mouth. His chocolate brown eyes grew even wider when I picked him up after my first day as an intern explaining the girl I saved is in my math class.

As my student.

I did as Tristan advised. Keep denying and if it didn't work out - lie. But let's be honest here. I'm a terrible liar and Hayleigh knows. Her eyes work like a laser. Like she can magically force a screen hovering above my head with the word LIAR. The more she pushes, the more I take a step back and that might be what frustrates her to the point of hating me.

She makes me want to throw her off a cliff, and then rush to the bottom to catch her.

But as last night progressed I finally got the chance to see the real side of her. Peeling her down layer by layer reveals a bundle of sweetness. Talking with her on a normal level shows just how glowy her hazel eyes are when she speaks. They hold the sweetness of honey and the softness of pastures after a heavy rainfall.

Admitting the secret was probably the most relieving thing that came out of being trapped inside a library.

But getting some sleep? I was in for a real challenge. Knowing my insomnia, it wouldn't play by my rules. Not even for a little bit of pity.