31 Days of December

December 26th

"Sammy, my body hurts," I whined. Sam, Ryan, and I were currently out to lunch while running some errands. However, today was the first day of my period, and I was dying from cramps. So instead of being curled up in a ball at home, I am out with my siblings.

"I'm sorry," Sam said.

Ryan looked at us, confused, and asked, "Why does your body hurt?"

"Because I'm a girl."

"Oh," He said before shutting up. Ah, to be naive to the pain that is period cramps. I was currently waiting for drugs to kick in. The tragic news was that I accidentally left my hot pad at school, so going to bed would be a bitch. I was going to be miserable.

I laid my head on the table. Disgusting, I know, but my cramps were killing me, and I didn't know how long it would be before the ibuprofen finally kicked in or how much longer we would be out. The comfort of my bed was calling to me, but I couldn't answer it. So instead, I rested on a table that I had no idea was the last time it was wiped down properly. All the gross germs from people I didn't know.

Once our food finally arrived, I barely ate any of my food. I wasn't handling it very well with the cramps and how greasy my food was. This was a common occurrence around my period. My body decides that food is disgusting and makes it hard to eat. I was at least able to eat my fries without any issues. So I considered that a win.

Ethan: What are you doing today?

Hailey: Dying. Running errands with my siblings.

Ethan: No dying. Do you have time to talk to me? I miss you

Hailey: Depending on how long it takes to run our errands and how much I hate myself.

"Sammy," I whined. I only call her Sammy when I'm on my period. It was a nickname that Ryan and I grew out of. Plus, she prefers Sam. She really hates being called Samantha even though it's her name.

"I know it hurts, Hails," She said. We were back in the car. I was curled up in a ball in the backseat. Ryan was in shotgun, and Sam was driving. "But I can't do anything about it. You will just have to wait until the ibuprofen kicks in."

I groaned, "But it hurts now."

"Maybe you shouldn't have been born a girl," Ryan said.

"Shut up, Ryan," I snapped. There was Cranky Hailey. She usually pops out when Dad yells at me for taking too much ibuprofen.

"Enough, you two. Ryan, leave Hailey alone," Sam said. We both shut up as Sam drove us home.

After we got home, I went straight to my room. I curled up on my bed and plugged my phone in. It wasn't long until I got a notification that Ethan wanted to video chat with me. I sighed but answered it anyway. He was going to blow up my phone otherwise.

"Hailey," he said with the biggest smile. "How was your Christmas?"

I groaned, "Too many questions."

"It was only one question."

"Still too many."

"Just answer them."

"Christmas was good. My brother got me a two-foot-tall penguin, my sister got me a plushie dinosaur, and my parents got me more winter gear," I said as I showed him the penguin. His name was Philip. "How was yours?"

"It was good. I got more hockey gear."

"Of course you did. What else would you get for Christmas? Why can't you get normal presents like a video game or something?"

"Shut up. Hockey gear is a very acceptable gift.," Ethan teased.

"Whatever you say, Jock."

We were lying on our beds, miles apart, talking about the most random things. It didn't seem like we were separated. It felt like he was right next to me. It felt like it was Ethan, Philip, and I against the world.

I let out a groan which caused Ethan to ask, "Are you okay there, Hailey?"

"Sir, I'm currently bleeding out approximately 2 to 3 tablespoons of blood for the next couple of days and feel like I'm being stabbed over and over again," I answered. I tightened up the ball form I was in. "So, no, I'm not okay."

"Did you take painkillers or something?"

"Ibuprofen only works for about four hours or so since taking, and I don't have my heating pad with me. I accidentally left it at school, which has caused me to be in more pain tonight than I would normally be."

"That sucks that you have to go through that every month. Is there something that could make it more bearable?"

"Birth control, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet," I answered.

"Don't plan on sleeping with anyone anytime soon?"

"Who was your first crush?" Ethan asked.

I groaned, "Why would you ask that? Are you trying to embarrass me?" My face was buried into Philip.

"Come on, Hailey."

"Fine," I said. He was going to make fun of me. "Prince Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender."

"Seriously?"

"Did you not watch the beach episode from Book Three? The scene where he takes off his top to play volleyball had seven-year-old Hailey swooning," I admitted. Ethan burst out laughing at my response.

"Nick Jonas. Prince Zuko. Is there anyone else?" He asked in between his laughter.

"Tom Hiddleston," I said. Ethan gasped." More specifically, I fell in love with his version of Loki, which eventually caused me to fall in love with Tom Hiddleston as a person. Ironically, it's because Tom Hiddleston as an actual person seems to be the sweetest person ever, which is a major contrast to Loki."

"I keep getting more competition the longer we talk."

"It's fine. As long as you accept that I adore them and don't do anything to interfere with my admiration, you'll be fine. I'm sure you have your own celebrity and fictional crushes."

"I mean, I do, but I'm not sure if I want to tell you."

"Lame. I told you mine, and I swear I don't have anymore. At least not at the moment."

"Fine. My celebrity crush has always been Emma Watson. My fictional crush was Raven from Teen Titans." I wasn't going to admit it to Ethan, but Raven is a solid choice.

I looked at the time and said, "Hey, Ethan. It's getting late, and I'm getting tired. I'm going to bed."

"Night, Hailey," Ethan said.

"Night," I whispered before hanging up and going to sleep.