Crashing into Love

Chapter 4

Hunter's P.O.V.

It turns out that Hayden is in my biology class. As soon as he walks into the classroom, my face gets red. He walks over and takes the seat next to me that is usually empty. When he sees my face, I could've sworn I saw something in his eyes light up, but the look is gone as quickly as it came.

"Hey, Hunter. Long time no see." He says.

"Yeah, it's been, what? All of three minutes?" I say. He laughs and puts his books down.

"Good morning, class." my Biology teacher begins. "Hunter, I see you're back. Meet your new lab partner for the rest of the semester, Hayden Johnson." Lab partners? For the rest of the semester? I don't know why, but my heart begins to race.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Hayden." I say with a hint of a smile on my face.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Hunter." He says, also with a hint of a smile on his face. As our teacher drones on, I drift off.

Is it possible that I have a crush on Hayden?

Yes, it is very possible.

But, he's dating Kathleen. I have no chance in hell with him.

Then why is he smiling at me? I look over and see that he is smiling at me. When I catch his eye, he smirks and turns his head. I feel a blush rising in my cheeks.

"Okay, class. I am assigning you a project with your partner." The entire class groans. He begins explaining the project, but all I can think about is that Hayden is my partner. Which means we're going to have to meet after school together. Alone. Suddenly, I am incredibly excited for this project. After what seems like an eternity, the final bell rings and everyone jumps out of their seats to escape the classroom. As I am collecting my books, Hayden comes up to me and says,

"Do you want to come over to my house after school? So we can get started on our project?" He asks.

"Um, sure." I say nonchalantly.

"Okay. You can just come home with me, I guess. It would probably be easier." He says. My heart speeds up.

"Sure. Let me get my bag and I'll text my mom." I say nervously.

"Okay. I'll meet you in the parking lot." He says and then he struts away. I head towards my locker, open it, and retrieve my stuff. As I am about to close my locker and text my mom, Forrest and Elena come up to me.

"OMG. Why didn't you tell me about your "run-in", as Elena puts it, with Hayden?" Forrests demands.

"Calm down. I didn't really have time, and plus, it's not really a big deal."

"She's right, Forrest. Calm down." Elena says.

"Okay, whatever. So, do y'all wanna come over? We can make cookies and watch TVD." Forrest asks.

"Can't." I say.

"Why not? It's Thursday. This is, like, our night." Forrest complains.

"I have plans. I'm going over to Hayden's house." I say like it's no bid deal. But, apparently it is a big deal, because Forrest drops all his books.

"WHAT?" Elena and Forrest cry at the same time.

"Relax. We're just working on a project for biology together."

"Holy shit." Forrest says, barely above a whisper. "He likes you."

"What? No, he doesn't. He just wants to get the project over with."

"Okayyy. Whatever you say." Elena says, laughing. Forrest leans close to me and says,

"Just don't be surprised if he asks you to join him in bed." He and Elena burst out laughing. I smack his arm as hard as I can, and he moves away, clutching his hurt arm.

"Ow! I was just joking." He says. He leans close to Elena and says loud enough that I can hear, "Not really, though." I move towards him to smack him again, but he grabs Elena's arm and they run off, saying "Bye!" over their shoulders. I text my mom that I'm going home with a friend and that I will be home late, then I turn my phone off and head towards the parking lot to meet Hayden.