The Upside of Heartbreak

I Hate You For It

I did it! I somehow managed to get another whopping chapter written in time for Saturday! Honestly, this chapter was already forming in my mind as I was typing up the last one, so it wasn't that big of a stretch. Sometimes the words just flow from brain to page with effortless ease. Other times I can sit in front of the computer for hours and barely even type 10 words... Human brains are strange machines.

The title for this chapter, and a fair bit of the inspiration, is from one of my fave songs by an awesome Canadian artist. It's 'I Hate You For It - Chad Brownlee'. It's such a great song, and also so perfectly fits to this situation. Anyways, Hope you guys like it :)

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Hayden wasn't sure what made him say it. It was all kinds of wrong. Not that its wrongness made the words any less true though. When he had heard the young guy with the grey shirt and the undercut asking to buy Astrid's coffee, it had twisted his stomach up in knots. Would she say yes? Would the two of them start talking, or even worse, dating?

Astrid looked so absolutely divine right now. Leaning over the edge of the counter as her painted on jeans hugged every perfect curve of her fine ass. The 3" heels on her shoes accentuating the toned muscles in those impossibly long legs. Her smock top just loose enough to look elegant, while still emphasizing the swell of her chest and the dip of her tiny waist. The exposed skin of her neck and shoulders just begging to be tasted. It was no wonder almost every single guy in this cafe was staring at her. In fact, it was more surprising that skater boy actually even had the guts to come over and talk to this living Aphrodite.

Half of Hayden had wanted to turn right back around and walk back to the love seat, sans coffee. The more dominant half of him needed to hear what she said. Telling himself that it was a good thing if she started dating other people. That he would be a happy and supportive friend for her. That is all he could be. So what if it made him sick to think of watching someone else kiss her or touch her. He would just have to deal with that.

When she turned the boy down though, Hayden felt a wave of treacherous relief flood through him. Watching as she followed the retreating form with a shine of mild exasperation in those ocean blue eyes. Taking advantage of her moment of distraction, Hayden had closed the rest of the distance to the counter before speaking. Astrid's answering smile when she turned and saw him lighting up her whole face and cutting right through all of his carefully constructed defences.

He hadn't meant to casually flirt with her. It just came so easy when he was talking to Astrid. Hayden had never thought of himself as particularly charming or smart with girls. He just listened. He was also honest, and tended to speak his thoughts without worrying if they would sound stupid or weak. It didn't take a genius to make a girl feel good about herself, after all. Besides, after being bullied for most of his childhood, Hayden had learned the true value of a compliment.

He had also learned to read people quite well. That will happen when you spend a lot of your time alone and people watching as a child. It's easier to notice small tells when you aren't directly involved in the conversation. Unlike people, body language doesn't lie. So it was that when Astrid tossed out the casual comment about Cope's looks, Hayden could see that she was just as torn up as he was. So he decided to offer her a boon, when he should have just left well enough alone instead.

Turns out, that may not have been the right choice. Now Hayden was back on the drooping love seat. Sipping at the last of his coffee and trying to pretend that he was invested in the conversation around him. Astrid had looked so startled at his words. Wide blue eyes over bright and cheeks flushed a delicate pink. Then when she had taken off to the bathroom, it made him worried that he had truly upset her by putting her in such an uncomfortable situation.