The Fear of Falling

Two

I dodged as many bullets as I could when it came to my parents, there was a lot of issues they didn't know about. Hiding things from them became easy when I would find myself doing it often. Dylan was one of those secrets. The one I could never tell anybody.

It was Saturday afternoon and I had no intentions on answering Dylan's messages. My phone buzzed what seemed like three times per minute. It was annoying, to say the least, but it made my heart melt. It showed me that he truly cared. Dylan wasn't a bad person, he just had a bad temper.

Curiosity rose in the pit of my stomach and I found myself scrolling through his messages. In the midst of the confusion and the hurt was the boy I had fallen for. A sweet boy who would put me before anyone else.

The need to answer his messages of 'I love you' and 'I'm sorry' with the same words was tempting. Although, I decided to text someone else because the fresh wounds from two days ago burned in reminder of what he had done.

-

Being with Hayley made me feel better but subconsciously, I felt jealous of her. She was always laughing and looking her best and was on top of everything in her life. She was beautiful, her skin had a golden glow from doing track and field, which also meant that she had a great body. She was better than me in many ways.

For example, I told Hayley to dress casual. We were just going to get coffee and lunch at a new bakery in town but she showed up dressed in jeans and a white tank top. As usual, her make up and hair was done perfectly. This would be okay if I hadn't worn the sweats from school which were designed with our logo on the side and one of my dad's baggy shirts. The only thing that stood between a deep hatred I could have for Hayley is our unbreakable friendship.

She spotted me siting in a booth and smiled so wide her eyes were crinkling. She walked towards me and plopped herself down on the seat across from me so that we could face each other. Her smile faltered when she laid her eyes on the bruise on my head.

"So sorry I'm late, my dad was being a pain and wouldn't let me leave until the dishwasher was loaded and running," her voice had a certain ring to it today, she must be happy.

"Don't even worry about it, let's just eat I'm starving!" I said excitedly as we made our way to the line of customers.

I had never been at this cafe before, it was new, but it was cute and small. The smells coming from inside the kitchen made my stomach grumble in anticipation.

The menu offered an amazing amount of foods from pasta, to sandwiches, to soups and of course sweets. To my hungry stomach, everything sounded delightful but I decided on the macaroni and cheese, with a sugar cookie for desert. Hayley settled on a BLT with a brownie to indulge in for later. It was without need to say that we would both be tasting what each other got.

As I turned to return to my seat, the cashier spoke to me again, in a hushed quiet voice.

"Excuse me, are you attending Mountain View High School?" He asked. I was first alarmed at how he knew were I went to school but I quickly remembered my sweats.

"Yes, I'm a junior there," I answered politely.

The old man smiled cheerfully. Hayley had reached our booth and gave me a look but before I could take my seat again, he spoke up.

"My son will be attending that school soon, he's still living in Sacramento with the rest of my family. They'll be coming down here as soon as the restaurant is up and running," he explained giving a short laugh.

"Well, I'll make sure to tell my friends about this place. Maybe that way you can see him sooner," I smiled at him and returned to my seat.

When I reached my spot, I decided to put my hair in a pony tail. It was a mess and tying it up was the only way I could fix it. But when I did, Hayley gasped loudly, startling me and the other customers who were surrounding us.

"What? What's wrong?" My voice was full of concern and the people around us looked in our direction. I was slightly paranoid but Hayley looked at me with disdain.

"Claire, that bruise on your head keeps getting worse," she reached across our table to touch it but I batted her hand away. She gave me a stern look as I rolled my eyes at her.

"Hayley I told you, I'm fine. Just leave it, please," I sighed.

"Did you get it looked at by a doctor?" She questioned worriedly.

"No, and I don't plan on it," I let out an airy laugh. "I put ice on it before bed every night, it'll heal before you know it."

She didn't look convinced, but she shut up for now. We ate our food in silence. It was delicious and fulling but Hayley's distressed glances made me lose my appetite.

-

When I got home, it was nearing 6 so I decided to study for my Chemistry test coming up because that class was kicking my ass.

Half an hour into balancing chemical equations, I heard a faint sound. I chose to ignore it, but it happened again. A light tap was coming from my window. I slowly got up to see what was happening, it was probably my neighbor's annoying twelve year old son. I opened the window and a pair of emerald green eyes stared back at me.

Dylan.

He smiled when he saw me which caused the butterflies in my stomach to flutter uncontrollably. I naturally beamed too because his smile had that effect on me.

"Can I come up?" He asked. Before I could answer, he was already on the side of my house climbing up the pipes that led to my room.

I watched him as he struggled to clamber up. Even though he's done this before, he still had some difficulty escalating along the skinny pipes. I backed up to give him space so that he could enter my room.

"Hey beautiful," he smirked.

"Hi," I smiled.

"I got you something," he said. My smile grew bigger as I waited excitedly for his surprise.

"What is it?" I asked eagerly. He took out a bouquet of flowers from his back pocket and held it out for me.

"Oh, um, they're a bit crushed," he said shyly looking at the bent flowers. I giggled at him and rolled my eyes playfully.

"Did you get those from my garden?" I raised an eyebrow at him as he smiled embarrassed.

"Maybe."

I laughed and shook my head walking over to him as I gave him a hug. It felt good to be in his strong arms. I buried my face in his chest inhaling his sweet cologne. Our height difference made me look small compared to him.

"I missed you," he said as he pulled away from me kissing the top of my forehead.

"I missed you too."

We stayed like that for a while just embracing each other. I loved feeling this way when I'm around him. I loved feeling like I'm the only thing that mattered to him.

"Listen," he began. "I'm sor-"

"It's okay," I cut him off. I looked up at him and smiled.

"So what are you doing right now?" He questioned. I let go of him as I walked back to my bed where my science textbook was left open.

"Studying," I acknowledged as I let out a quiet groan.

"You know, one of the perks about dating a senior is that I can help you out with your classes," Dylan grinned.

"You'd have to be smart to help me out with school stuff," I joked. He chuckled as he walked towards me laying next to me.

"Maybe I can teach you a few other things," he flirted. I giggled at him shaking my head.

The whole time I was studying, the only thing I could think about was how much I loved this boy. He was the first boy I had fallen for and the first one to hold a very special place in my heart. Knowing that he'd be off to college next year made me sad but I knew that no matter what, I'd always love him. Even if he's done some terrible things, Dylan was someone I cared for. No one could change that.

a/n

sorry for the late update!!!!
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xoxo,
a&d