Catch Me

Chapter Six: High School Dreamin'

Chapter Six: High School Dreamin'

Haleigh: How did you get this number?
Zander: Toby gave it to me.

Haleigh: Oh...

Zander: I really am sorry about tonight.

Haleigh: Its fine.

Haleigh plugged her phone in to its charging cable and set it down on her night stand. Before she knew it she had drifted off to sleep. She let her dreams take over her mind, filling her with a temporary peace. She dreamt of high school days; the time Shane and Haleigh had gone down to the river behind her house. Her dad had been extremely drunk and had been yelling cusses at her all day, telling her that she was a waste of space. Shane had come over to save her from her angry drunk father. Haleigh loved her father with all of her heart. He was an amazing dad, especially when he was sober. Every once in a while, however, he indulged in one too many Bud Lights. Normally he would just pass out on the sofa, but there were times when he would lash out at Haleigh. He would tell Haleigh that she was the reason her mother had left when she was just two years old. That didn't sting as much as when he insisted that she was a waste of space, and that he wished she would have never been born.

Haleigh was grateful for Shane. He always knew how to take her mind off of things when they were really bad. Shane and Haleigh had just sat on the banks of the river that day and gossiped about boys, while dreaming about where they would be in ten years. Shane was determined to marry a rich man and move to LA where he would design websites for businesses like Ralph Lauren and Gucci. Haleigh on the other hand was convinced she was going to either be a best selling author or the next Monet. She planned to follow her best friend and his new husband to LA where she would write, and paint. She would sell her art to a local art gallery and publish a book that would make it on The New York Bestsellers list.

Haleigh awoke around four o'clock in the morning when she heard Sam stumble into their dorm room. Obviously drunk. This wouldn't have bothered Haleigh as much if Sam had been by herself, but when moans and grunts started to come from the other side of the room, Haleigh knew she had to get out of there. She grabbed her phone and favorite jean jacket, slipped on a pair of leggings and her converse and headed out the door, desperate to get away from the sex noises.

The cool night air stung her cheeks, but she was sure that if she walked around campus a couple times that her roommate would be done hooking up with her boyfriend by then... She hoped.

The campus was quiet, the only noise came from cars in the far away distance as they passed by the school. Soon Haleigh came to a stone wall that she was sure was about halfway between her dorm building and the Kappa Sigma house. Exhausted, Haleigh took a seat on top of the stone wall, breathing in the cool night air. She took her phone out of her jacket pocket and realized she had a few missed texts.

Shane: What happened?

Shane: Tell me everything!

Shane: R U ok?

Haleigh smiled at her crazy best friend's texts. She wanted to reply to him but knew he would get crabby with her if she woke him up. She would wait until the morning. Haleigh felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She looked down to see a text from Zander.

Zander: You shouldn't be out so late...

Startled, Haleigh began to scan her surroundings. What was wrong with this dude? Was he following her? Haleigh could hear footsteps in the gravel. Someone was walking toward her. Her heart rate started to quicken as the footsteps grew louder and louder. Suddenly Zander came into view. He was still wearing his ripped jeans, and leather jacket. Having Zander in plain view seemed to calm Haleigh down a little bit. He wasn't in the shadows anymore, and she didn't have to guess what his next move was going to be. But seriously, what the heck was this guy's deal?

"Following me?" Haleigh wasn't sure where this new found courage had come from. Zander chuckled at this question.

"Nah, we just finished packing up our gear." He motioned toward Kappa Sigma. It was then that Haleigh noticed the bass case that he was carrying in his right hand. "I saw you sitting out here... it's kind of late isn't it?" Zander set the butt of the guitar case down on the ground, holding it steady at the top with one hand.

"My roommate has her boy friend over." Haleigh explained with a small shrug.

"Gotcha..." He trailed off, sighing deeply. "Listen, about earlier..."

"It's really okay." She reassured him, not wanting to relive the moment. "I overreacted."

"No, I was stupid. I was trying to be all macho and manly. It was dumb." Haleigh could hear the regret in Zander's voice. Silence fell over the both of them as neither knew how to respond.

"Well, I have to go open the bagel shop now. It's supposed to be open at five." Haleigh glanced at her phone to check the time. It was 4:30. "Can I treat you to a bagel?" Zander's offer was sweet, although Haleigh's last encounter with this guy didn't go so well. She was almost ninety percent sure this guy was a psycho path.

"I probably shouldn't." Haleigh responded, and she watched Zander's face fall.

"Oh, okay no problem then... Can I at least walk you back to your dorm?"