I Will Never Let You Go

Chapter 3: Hello Again?

       Monday

      Morgan hated Mondays, she hates school in general. She  has to go and listen to the endless talk from the teachers, while her concentration lies on her spiraling thoughts about Cayden. All weekend her mind repeatedly drifted over to him. Her bus route was long and stressful, a sneaking feeling of regret passed over her when she looks at the textless number labeled 'Cayden'. The brakes jerked her forwards back into the present as they squeaked to a halt and the bus door opened with a release of pressure. She stayed seated absentmindedly watching the other kids push each other to rush out of the bus.

       "Hey guys look it's the new kid, talk about freak am I right?" Dakota snorted turning the group of guys attention over to Morgan.

       "Yeah, shes a stupid nerd," Cole chuckled hitting Cayden's arm so that he looked over, where he met Morgans gaze. She frowns slightly and turns to walk away, with her pace steadily increasing with each step. 

     Cayden watched her leave, still shocked that she was there. He ignored the obnoxious laughs of his friends and felt a rising guilt fill his gut. Without taking a second glance back at his friends he immediately started after Morgan, taking a few jogging steps here and there. He noticed Morgan take the smallest glance back and immediately her steady jog transformed into a full on sprint. 

    'Just please slow down' Cayden thought breathing heavily, he was the schools best male athlete but running was never his forte. 'I don't know how much longer I can keep this speed up' Cayden thought digging his heels into the floor to make a sharp turn to keep up with Morgan. He recovered from the turn to see the library door close in front of him and he was skidding to a stop only to be brought into a sudden halt by the door. He took a self conscious glance around, sighing in relief that he wouldn't become the life of the latest gossip at school. 

    Cayden brushed off his shirt clearing his throat and he opened the library door glancing around the room stopping on a familiar face. Sitting on a small cushioned chair sat Morgan earbuds in and a hurt expression covered her face. She sighed taking out her phone to scroll through her playlist and look for the next song she wanted to listen to. 

  "Hey," Cayden smiled slightly but it quickly faded when she didn't acknowledge his presence, or even that he was there. He walked around in front of her pulling up his own chair and he sat down leaning forward to be closer to her. "Can we talk? Please?" He asked a pleading sound in his voice and a guilty conscience in his eyes. 

   He frowns a little gazing down at the ground when she continues to ignore him, he clasps his hands together and taps his toe a little bit. "I don't know if you can hear me or if you even want to, but I'm going to say it anyway. Those guys are stupid and ignorant and you shouldn't let anything they say bother you. You know they don't know anything about what it's like to have mental health issues. They don't know I go to this group thing and they don't know that I struggle with these things. I need someone who understands me, who can relate and offer helpful advice. You are like that person to me and I can't help but want to be closer to you." Cayden takes a break to breathe and relax again before continuing. "If I had known that they were talking about you I never would've let happen" He notices a slight change in Morgans posture and he knows she's listening. 

   "I'm sorry that those guys said those things about you, but they aren't true you are not a freak. They are, for saying those things I don't even know why I'm friends with them, I guess I thought that they'd be there for me, but they are just jerks."

  Morgan takes out her earbuds and places them along with her phone half under her right leg and she looks Cayden in the eyes.  After a bit of hesitation she takes a deep breath and then speaks, "thank you, for chasing after me and telling me all of that." She smiles encouraging him to join her, he takes a couple seconds before giving in and smiling back at her. Instinctively Cayden reaches out a hand to rest it on hers, she flinches slightly at first but doesn't pull away. 

   "We should probably get to class?" Cayden says ending their special moment only for it to lead to another. They stand up in sync and he pulls her into a tight comforting hug and she in turn wraps her arms around him. They pulled away after a good minute and smiled at each other, blush creeping up on both of them and they smiled brighter. Together they started walking to the advanced maths classroom where Cayden hesitates at the door. 

    "Are you not coming in?" Morgan turns around once he stops by the open doorway.

     "This is advanced maths... I'm not in advanced." Cayden explains a little embarrassed. "I have Chemistry right now, so yeah... I'll meet you here when class is over." Cayden parts with a smile and a wave then walks down the hall. Morgan watches him leave then turns to enter her class, a smile hidden on her face, but evident in her eyes.