Catch Me

Chapter Twenty-Seven: You Gotta Believe Me...

Chapter Twenty-Seven: You Gotta Believe Me...

Angry, Haleigh glared at her roommate, Sam was doing everything she could to avoid eye contact. Haleigh could feel that her face was a bright shade of red as her anger threatened to bubble over. Clueless, Charles was blabbing away about one of the freshmen Kappa Sigma pledges who had been getting on his nerves. Haleigh sighed, leaned her right elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand as she gazed out the window. She wanted to be anywhere but there. She could feel Zander's eyes on her, making her uncomfortable.

Panic was starting to set in. Haleigh didn't know what to do. She was stuck.

"So..." Haleigh flinched at the sound of Zander's voice. All she could think about was the night that she had seen the picture of Alyssa and Zander. She thought of before any of that drama had occurred. She was day dreaming of his chiseled chest as he kissed and nibbled up and down her jaw line as his hips moved against her's. She thought of his soft lips on her breasts, and his hands as they explored her naked body. "How have you been, Haleigh?" Zander's voice brought Haleigh back into reality. She placed her hands in her lap as she looked in Zander's direction with a blank expression on her face.

"Excuse me please." She grabbed her phone and her purse and gestured for Zander to get up so she could slip out of the booth. He didn't move.

"But-" He began, but was cut off by Haleigh.

"I said, 'excuse me please.'" She repeated herself. Months ago she would have never had the courage to speak to someone like this. Months ago she would have sat awkwardly through this dinner, and tried to make small talk. Months ago she would have let Zander back into her life as if nothing had happened.

Zander sighed and obliged, standing up from the table. Silence fell over the group as Haleigh slid herself out of the table. "I'll meet you back at the dorm." Haleigh spoke to Sam with little emotion, Sam nodded in response. Haleigh pulled her coat tightly around her torso and headed in the direction of the exit.

The evening December air was blistering cold on Haleigh's face. The wind whipped through the night, causing Haleigh's hair to fly in different directions. She found her old '98 Subaru and unlocked the door.

"Hales, wait up." She looked up to find Zander jogging toward her. She sighed deeply.

"Take a hint Zander." She was trying desperately not have any emotion.

"Can you please just listen to me?" He begged. Their eyes met for the second time that night and Haleigh couldn't help the flutter of her heart.

"I haven't wanted to listen to you in weeks. What makes you think something has changed?" She could feel the harshness of her words as they left her tongue, but she really didn't care.

"Just listen!" Zander raised his voice trying to make Haleigh understand. She stayed silent now as she waited for what Zander had to say.

***

TWO WEEKS AGO- FRIDAY NIGHT:

Zander made his way toward the Kappa Sigma house. He wanted nothing more than to stay in his apartment with Haleigh. He wanted to be able to be there for her, and to comfort her. She had been through way too much this evening. Yet he had known about this gig for over a month now, there was no getting out of it.

Someone already had music blaring from somewhere in the house, and most of the campus had already shown up. The Wailing Donkeyz were becoming more and more famous with each performance, which was causing more and more people to show up for their gigs.

The frat house was jammed packed with people, and Zander could hear the voices from outside. A tall, feminine figure emerged from the shadows of the Kappa Sigma porch. She stepped into the light of the moon, revealing her identity to Zander. Alyssa.

She was a beautiful girl who Zander had been working with at the Burlington Bagel Factory for almost a year. The two had had a past not long ago. There had been a time when Alyssa would spend the night in Zander's bed when she wanted to sleep in in the mornings, since Zander lived right above their workplace. It was during this time that she and Zander had been intimate on more than one separate occasions.

Zander sighed, Alyssa was a fun girl, but they had both agreed to see other people months ago. Alyssa had been having a difficult time with this. With thoughts of Haleigh in his head, Zander moved passed Alyssa without saying a word. She smiled at him and he nodded his head as he made his way into the Kappa Sigma house to set up for the band's gig.

All of Zander's band mates had already arrived. Jackson was in the kitchen talking to his boyfriend, was his name Toby? Tommy? Zander couldn't remember. He knew Haleigh was friends with him. Alex was tapping lightly at his drums with his drumsticks, making sure everything was in working condition, and Cody, the lead guitarist was leaning on the railing of the staircase flirting with some sorority girl. Zander's mind fluttered to Haleigh as he pulled his bass out of its case. He strummed a few cords to make sure it had stayed in tune and leant it up against the wall, waiting for the rest of the band to start playing.

Zander's gaze fell to Alyssa who was leaning up against the far wall of the living room, watching Zander's every move. He felt a chill run down his spine. He really wished Haleigh would have come, especially now that he knew Alyssa was up to no good. He could feel the mischievous vibes radiating off of her.

Zander pushed this thought from his mind as he focused his attention on finding Jackson. He made his way in the direction of the kitchen when he felt a small hand grab his arm, stopping him in his place. He turned to find Alyssa, smiling up at him.

"What's up Lyss?" He sighed, he would have liked to be in the company of anyone but this girl right now.

"Where've you been?" Alyssa's smile was growing more and more seductive as she ran her hand up and down Zander's arm.

"Um, I was helping a friend." He could feel himself growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Want to hang out after this?" She grinned widely, expecting Zander to say yes.

"Lyss, you're a sweet girl, but we've been over this." Zander began, he pried Alyssa's hands off his arm. "It's not going to happen between us." He hated being so cold toward Alyssa, especially since they worked together, but he had tried to make it work on so many occasions, there had never been any chemistry between the two. She just wasn't getting it. 

"Come on Zan. You know there is a spark between us." Zander sighed deeply. Was this girl nuts?

"Lyss seriously, it's not going to happen." He insisted once more. Alyssa was growing angry now as Zander rejected her over and over again.

"Tell you what, Zan," Alyssa spat out the nickname she had given Zander in a snarky tone. Zander hated that nickname. "If you can kiss me right now, then look me in the eyes and tell me you don't feel anything then I'll leave you alone. We go back to just co-workers. We don't even have to be friends." Zander contemplated this for a moment. He didn't want to do it. He didn't even want to be here. He wanted to be in his bed with Haleigh's head on his chest as they drifted off to sleep together. However, the promise of being left alone by Alyssa was too good of a deal to pass up. In one swift motion Zander pushed Alyssa up against the nearest wall, his hand rested on the wall above her head as he leaned in. He placed a kiss on her lips. The spark he had thought he had once felt when the two had first gotten together had completely vanished. It was as if he was kissing his mother right now.

Zander didn't know it at the time, but across the room Sam had taken out her cell phone and quickly snapped a picture of Zander's lips on Alyssa's. She would have to show Haleigh this ASAP.

Zander pulled away and quickly wiped his lips clean of Alyssa's spit. He then looked her right in the eye, and with a dead serious face said:

"It's not going to happen, Alyssa." He whispered in her ear with as much of a snarky tone as he could muster.

****

"You gotta believe me Hales." Zander finished his story. Haleigh stood outside the door of her Subaru, looking at her feet. The snow had started to fall harder now, and flakes covered the top of Haleigh's head, dampening her hair. "It didn't mean anything..."