Beside You

Niagara Falls

The ride feels like it takes forever. I spend the drive with Arya playing with the stereo, changing songs constantly; and through it all Maddi and Max just talk happily, as if the horrible music doesn't affect them. 

 When I finally turn in to the hotel parking lot behind my mother's car it's a huge relief. I don't know how much longer I would have been able to handle Arya's music. We all grab our stuff from the cars and pile in to the lobby. 

 My mom checks us in and gives us our room keys. I give our extra one to Arya. Mom tells us to meet back in the lobby in an hour so we can go out to supper. 

 We head over to the elevators and get in. I check our room number before choosing our floor, the 14th. We step off the elevator a few moments later and head down the hall to our room. When we get there the boys are just opening their door, across the hall from ours. My mom continues down the hall to her room. 

 The room is nice, with two double beds. Maddi and Arya tell me that I can have that I can have my own bed since "I'm the birthday girl." I'm happy to accept their offer. We get changed for dinner and watch the hotel room TV.

 Eventually it's time for us to head down to the lobby to meet the others. Everyone else is already there by the time we arrive."Finally," Grayson grumbles, let's go. I'm starving."

 ~*~ 

 Ryder

Last night we had supper at a small Italian restaurant that was within walking distance from the hotel. The food was really good and Mrs. Dryden payed for all of us, which was awesome of her. After dinner we went back to the hotel and crashed for the night. 

 This morning after having breakfast in the hotel restaurant we head up to the girls' room to watch a movie, since it's rainy out. Towards the end of the movie we're all starting to get restless, especially Hadley.

 Mitchell suggests going to the hotel's pool. Grayson, Maddi, Arya and Max agree instantly, but Hadley seems hesitant. 

 "You guys go ahead, I'm going to stay here. I'll read or something."

 "Are you sure?" Maddi asks her. 

 "Yeah, it's fine. Go have some fun."

 "Well I'm going to go back to our room, can't really swim." I point to the cast on my arm. I get up and head back across the hall. Max, Mitchell and Grayson follow me. They grab their swimming stuff before leaving again, on their way to the pool.

 I decide to have a shower while they're gone, and set out to wrap plastic around my cast. After finishing my shower and getting dressed I leave the bathroom and hear a knock on the door. I rush over to open it, and find Hadley standing there.

 This is only the second we've been alone together since the night that we kissed, and I still dont know what to do. Should I act like nothing happened? Or should we talk about it? I honestly have no idea what to do. Then, to add to my confusion I saw her talking to my mom at the soccer game on Monday, which couldn't possibly be good.

 "Hey, I got bored and thought I'd see if you wanted to do something." she explains. 

 "Yeah, sure. Come in." I step aside to let her into the room. 

"Sorry that it's a bit messy."

 "I think you're forgetting that these are my brothers you're staying with." she sits down on one of the hotel room chairs. "Hey, so I was thinking you know how we're staying on the 14th floor? Well that's really bad because like hotels never have a 13th floor since that's bad luck, but without a 13th floor the 14th floor is the 13th floor. That means that technically we're on the unlucky floor." she rambles.

 "Riiiight... are you okay?" I ask, trying to hide my smile.

 "Yeah, just restless. Do you need help with that?" she indicates my cast, which I'm struggling to unwrap. 

 "Yeah, sure." I hold my arm out to her. "So, if you're so restless why don't we go for a walk? It's not rainy anymore, the sun is even out."

 She finishes unwrapping my cast and looks up at me. "On one condition."

 "What's that?" 

 "Can I sign your cast?" 

 I smile. "Sure."

 ~*~ 

 About 15 minutes later we leave the hotel. Hadley took a while trying to find a marker so that she could sign my cast, and then she had to tell her mom where she was going and grab her camera. I look down at my cast to where she signed her name, with a heart next to it. It's the way she always signs her name, but it still makes me smile.

 We take a bus down to the falls. Hadley takes a bunch of pictures of the falls, and the sights around. She asks another tourist to take a picture of us in front of the falls. 

 "I want to make sure I have a picture of me from this weekend. I always get so many pictures of other people, and never myself." She explains. 

 She takes her camera back while I nod, and then we continue to walk. 

 "So, why didn't you want to go swimming with everyone else?" 

 "Swimming just isn't really my thing." she shrugs. 

 I nod. We go to a nearby cafe and get some hot drinks. We walk towards the shops, and I think of something. 

 "Hey Hads, want to go to Queen Victoria Park?" 

 Her eyes light up. "Yeah!" She pulls me across the street as soon as the light changes. 

 We walk along the paths, Hadley taking pictures along the way. Eventually we come across a bench and sit down to finish our drinks. 

 "So, why did you want to come to this park?" she asks. 

 "Well.. I've only been to Niagara Falls once before, with my family. It was seven years ago, when I was nine. We were here for my aunt's wedding. My mom took my sister and I here one day and I remember loving it. It's one of the happier memories from my childhood."

 "Well, it really is beautiful." She tells me.

 I need to change the subject, like now. I say the first thing that comes to my mind. "So, are you going to prom on Saturday?"

 She looks down at her hands, and her auburn hair falls in front of her face. "Probably not. I don't exactly have a good track record when it comes to dances." 

"Well, do you even want to go?" I ask her. 

 "I don't know, maybe if I could go with someone who wouldn't make a big deal out of it. Like a friend or something, you know?" 

 I think about what she said. I'm very hesitant to ask her myself. As much as I want to, I don't want her to make a big deal out of it like last time, before the spring dance. Just be brave, I think to myself.

 "Well, I know it didn't go over so well last time, but if you want we can go together. If you want, I mean you don't have to of course, I was just thinking-" I realize that I'm rambling and stop.

 I turn and look at her to see that she's clearly thinking about it, she's biting her cheek. "Okay, on one condition."

 "Why are there always conditions with you?" I ask, only half joking. "Anyway, what's the condition?"

 "Well, I ran into your mom on Monday, and.." she pauses.

 I gulp, "And what?" I prompt.

 "And she told me that when you were younger you went through a really hard time."

 I look away. "Yeah. That's true." 

 "Well do you want to talk about it?"

 I shake my head. "No."

 "Come on, please. When you didn't show up to school last week I was really, really worried. We're friends, right?" Yeah, dig that knife in deeper, I think. "So I want to know. Please, please tell me." 

 I sigh. "Fine, but it's a long story." 

She shrugs. "I have time."