The Closer You Are

• chapter four

It was lunchtime for Hayden and Grey who sat in the same table they did everyday.

Hayden looked at the table, then around the courtyard.

"So where's Caitlyn?" He said, trying not to sound so curious as he made small talk.

"We broke up." Grey said, shrugging it off.

It took Hayden a moment to process his words but now had to fight off the urge to laugh. It was so typical of Grey to break up with his girlfriend when he finally got bored. Sometimes it made Hayden jealous that Grey could just separate his feelings like that and still be okay. Hayden could never imagine treating a girl the way Grey treated girls.

But I guess Grey always had it easy for him. Grey could ask any girl out and she would be jumping up and down in excitement. He just hoped this time it would last, whatever it was between them. The way Grey acted and talked around Caitlyn made him wonder if he had finally settled down.

He now knew just how wrong he was.

Grey was the juxtaposition of everything Hayden stood for.

But he was Hayden's best friend -- his only friend. And Caitlyn was nothing but a girl Grey used to date.

~

Hayden was never one to believe in miracles, but it seemed as if his prayers were being answered that afternoon in English class.

He never expected Rachel to reciprocate his feelings, or talk to him for that matter. But for some strange reason, she chose Hayden to partner up with.

Out of all the people in their class, Rachel picked Hayden. He was definitely flattered. She could have picked anyone, and they would have no idea how lucky they would be.

If Rachel was being honest, she didn't know why she picked Hayden to partner up with.

She could give the obvious answer. Hayden was the smartest kid in their class and by partnering up her chances at getting an A would increase.

But that wasn't the reason Rachel partnered with Hayden. Instead, Rachel felt drawn to him like she never had before.

All this time he was this mysterious person that was just background noise in her life until he made himself noticed.

And Rachel was definitely noticing Hayden a lot more now.

Rachel cleared her throat.

"It says here that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was arguably one of the most controversial yet impactful book written after the Civil War era. Should we argue the affirmative?" Rachel asked, trying to sound all business.

She didn't want to give him the wrong impression, at least, not yet.

Their English teacher gave Hayden and his partner a prompt to debate over small groups as a major grade. And although Hayden wasn't one for public speaking, he was exceptional at researching. He could write a killer outline for Rachel who offered to debate in front of the class.

There was no doubt in Hayden's mind that he would win Rachel's heart over right after they crush the debate together.

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New update! After like three months of unplanned hiatus lol!