Fight For You

trust.

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Ariana had come up with approximately twelve worst-case-scenarios regarding Hayden and Liam's weird dynamic, and ten conspiracies regarding Siobhan's continued absence. She had also completely forgotten to take any notes during English class.

She was halfway down the corridor towards her locker, the irritation only growing as she passed Liam's locker and noticed him mid-discussion with Hayden without even seeming to notice her. She moved past the two of them quickly, not even bothering to try and interrupt them. If Liam wanted to talk to Hayden he was more than welcome. Ariana wasn't going to stop him. She was just going to be silent and bitter about it instead.

Ariana was only a few feet away when she heard the slam of a locker door, followed by a voice calling out from behind her.

"Ariana?" Whipping her head around, Ariana held back a scowl as she spotted Hayden hurrying to catch up with her.

As Hayden caught up to her, she offered a tentative smile. "It's Ariana right?" she asked uncertainly.

Ariana nodded stiffly, hugging her books to her chest as she prepared for the worst. After the way her brain had spiralled out of control this morning, it seemed only right for Hayden to confront her. She was probably about to attack Ariana and claim Liam for herself, or maybe she was about to reveal that she'd been dating Liam this whole time already. The thought made Ariana feel oddly queasy, her body tensing as she waited for her heart to sink.

"So...Okay so I heard that apparently you're really smart and really good at Chemistry?" Hayden trailed off briefly, adjusting her books in her arms as she weaved around a crowd of junior boys taking up too much space in the corridor. "So I'm kind of terrified about starting a new school and Chemistry was my weakest subject back at Devenford so I was wondering if you could help me out?" She finished rambling, her eyes hopeful.

Ariana stared back, dumbfounded for a moment. That was far from what she had been expecting. "You want my help?" she asked, blinking as she struggled to throw off her assumptions of Hayden.

Hayden nodded quickly, dark brown hair bouncing across her shoulders. "Yeah, I mean I know this might be weird since you seem to know Liam and he's probably already said the worst about me-"

"Actually he hasn't mentioned you at all," Ariana interrupted, doing her best not to come across as too rude as she offered up a shrug. Judging by the way she'd seen them talking just moments ago, there was clearly something going on between them but at least Hayden didn't seem to be staking her claim just yet.

Hayden let out a breath of air, nodding her head awkwardly. "I mean that's probably for the best," she said, pursing her lips. "But can you help me at all? I really don't want to be that dumb new girl."

Ariana inhaled slowly, her eyes flickering up the hallway to Liam at his locker with Mason, the two of them having their own hushed conversation. She'd been overreacting in her fears about Hayden apparently, although she couldn't shake the vision of Liam's longing gaze towards Hayden. But that was an issue with Liam, not the girl standing in front of her, waiting hopefully.

"Sure," Ariana said finally. "I'll bring a copy of my notes for you tomorrow. Just don't tell anyone because my notes are already in high demand," she remarked as she reached into her locker to reorganise a few misplaced textbooks. It was true, she'd already had Liam and Mason asking for help before classes had even begun, and she knew Genevieve would add herself to the list the moment she got overwhelmed. At least this was a nice distraction from everything else on Ariana's mind.

Hayden seemed pleased, flashing an appreciative grin towards Ariana. "Great! You're a lifesaver," she said, her eyes shining with relief. Waving a friendly hand goodbye, she hurried off around the corner.