*.*.*.*.*.*

I don't know why I had expected to see Xavier at Nancy's party. It's not important that she invited the entire school as far as I can tell, but to me the party is a drag. Sure, I have fun. I dance with my friends, chat around and even laugh at a couple of flirty guys, but after I get home, I can easily label the party a 'waste of precious time'.

"Well, what did you want to do at home?" my dad teases me when I express my view to him, and I roll my eyes and push him out of the room before getting in bed.

I don't see Xavier after Christmas eve for the rest of the holidays. I have a strong, overwhelming urge to call him, which I don't obey, knowing Xavier isn't really the calling-texting type as far as I know. I've never seen him use his phone, except that one time when he left it at my house.

When school resumes, I'm more excited to see him than I am to get out of the house again. The entire school is bustling with activity after the ten days long break which has completely reenergized everyone. Nancy and Odette can't stop talking about the party, and I laugh along and pretend to be on their page at all times. I don't like controversy, and telling them I hated the party would only invite a dozen questions starting with 'why'.

So before class can start, I let my mind stray to irrelevant things, while on the surface pretending to be like every other person in school.

It isn't until I'm in calculus that my mood lifts instantly when I see Xavier taking his seat next to mine. What makes me glow even more is the sight of my band on his wrist, exactly where I had placed it.

Yes, I know where I placed it.

He doesn't glance my way as class begins, and leaves as soon as it ends, but his complete ignorance of my existence does nothing to dampen my uplifted mood.

"Hey," Nancy grabs my arm as soon as I'm out of class.

"Hey," I beam at her, radiating joy.

My smile falls when I see the serious look on Nancy's face.

"That wristband you got ..." she begins, watching me closely. "Who did you give it to?"

"I told you I got it for dad," I lie, hoping she isn't able to tell.

"Really? Because I just saw Xavier wearing it."

"Xavier?" I play dumb.

"Xavier Hunt, Haley, how many Xaviers do you know?"

"I don't even know one." I shrug. "Besides, maybe it was just identical. The wristband, I mean."

"The saleswoman said it was the last one."

"Yeah, but she didn't say it was the only one," I act smart, glad I have a brain that I can use when I need to. "Maybe he bought it before me."

Nancy doesn't answer, looking at my face with suspicion. It's probably my unusually joyful mood that's making her paranoid, so I put on a serious face that reveals nothing of how happy I am on the inside.

"Maybe," Nancy finally says.

"Now then that's settled, I have to get to classics," I say to her, quickly spinning around and hurrying down the hall, sighing in relief when she doesn't follow.

*.*.*.*.*.*

"Hey," I greet Xavier excitedly that night as soon as I open the door to let him in.

He's clearly confused by my enthusiasm, but doesn't say it. He passes over the threshold and I take in his appearance; the same black jeans, black shirt, black jacket, and the black wristband in place. I don't know if he does it on purpose, but the black attire and black hair definitely bring out his eyes, grey as the stormy skies.

"Xavier," dad calls from the kitchen doorway. "Come have some dinner."

Xavier looks questioningly at me and my heart lifts. Is he asking my opinion on the matter? I can't help but love it.

Trying not to smile, I shrug lightly, leading Xavier to the kitchen.

Dad is busy stirring something in a pot on the stove, hot steam rising from it. My dad loves to cook, wearing an apron, singing and dancing around as he cooks. Nobody at his work could imagine him like this, being the boring accountant that he is. Those who haven't seen him at home would call him the dullest person alive, a simple man with mediocre ambitions. He's happy with less, content with what he has.

This was what my mom said before she left him, and me in the process.

"You like pasta, Xavier?" dad asks him, pouring the contents of the pot into a dish and putting it on the table as I hand Xavier a plate.

"Um, yes, sir," Xavier says uncertainly, uncomfortable under the increased attention.

"Well, then, eat up," dad beams, taking a seat and holding the dinner out for Xavier. "Haley loves it too. She likes anything spicy actually. You know when she was a kid, she used to --"

"Okay, dad!" I exclaim, laughing loudly. "Please don't be the typical parent and start narrating my embarrassing childhood memories. I'm pretty sure Xavier does not want to hear those." I glare pointedly at dad, hoping he would get the hint and stop talking.

"Nonsense." Dad waves a hand. "I'm sure he has his own embarrassing stories his parents tell anyone who would listen. Right, Xavier?"

I glance at Xavier just in time to see him look down with a polite smile but say nothing. I like Xavier's smile, it makes him look so much gentler. And more than that, I like the fact that my dad can make him smile. Even if I so can't.

Dad resumes telling stories about how I would devour spoons of home-made chili as a child, and I don't stop him again, relishing the fact that Xavier is at ease in my house. He doesn't talk -- why do I even expect anything different? -- but at least he doesn't look like he's being forced to be here, like in class.

By the time we take our place on the living room couch with the study material, it's already nine o'clock, leaving us only one hour to study for the classics quiz we have tomorrow.

"I'm glad you like the wristband," I comment, unable to keep the smile off my face.

Xavier doesn't answer, nodding at the book he's holding.

"Why don't you talk to me in school?" I ask him, suddenly considering it.

Xavier looks up at me, surprised.

"Why don't I talk to you?" he raises his eyebrow.

"I mean, I know you don't talk to anyone but what about me? We're ... friends, right?"

I feel stupid asking it, but I have gotten more open around Xavier. I know he doesn't answer me much, but his silence isn't the kind that bothers me anymore. I've realized he just doesn't talk much, that's just the way he is.

"You could talk to me," he says.

My eyes widen at the light tone of his voice. Is he actually teasing me?

"You never stick around long enough," I point out. "You arrive after class starts and leave as soon as it ends. You're not even in school after that."

"Yes, I am," he says.

"Where?" I ask, curiosity winning over.

To my surprise, Xavier leans closer to me. "You want to know my secret hiding spot?" he whispers.

Nearly frozen in surprise, I nod slowly.

"It's kind of dangerous," he adds, his intense gaze making me nervous.

"Dancer is my middle name," I blurt out, blushing instantly. "I mean, danger. Danger is my middle name." I clear my throat.

Xavier makes me a bumbling buffoon.

He smiles, looking like he's about to laugh. He doesn't, though, thank God! But his smile is enough to make butterflies pop up in my stomach.

"Tomorrow," he says, leaning back against the couch and lowering his gaze back to the novel we're studying. "Romance, right?"

I nearly jump, my eyes about to fall out of their sockets.

Is he suggesting something?

Is he saying we'll be doing something romantic?

Is he --

"I'm talking about the book." Xavier holds up my copy of A Winter's Tale, watching me closely.

"Uh, um, yeah," I sit up straighter, mentally slapping myself.

Xavier nods, an amused glint in his eyes. He goes back to reading the preface and I grab one of the couch cushions and stuff it in my lap, wishing I could dig myself a hole, crawl in it, and never come out.

*.*.*.*.*.*

The Classics class the next day goes well, but Xavier leaves before I can follow him out. He's not in calculus like I expect him to be, and I wonder if he really meant what he said last night. Maybe he was just joking about taking me to his 'secret hiding spot'. Nonetheless, I wait for him the rest of the day, drudging through my classes and hardly paying attention to my friends. School ends but my wait doesn't.

"You want me to drop you? It's about to snow," Odette asks me.

"No, I'll walk," I say half-heartedly. "I like the cold."

"Why don't you get a car, Haley?" Nancy asks me. "We know your dad can afford one. Talk to him."

"I don't want a car," I tell them. "I prefer walking. Dad said he'd get me a car on my sixteenth birthday but I said no. That's why he got me the new laptop."

"You're weird," Nancy says as she gets into Odette's car.

"You're weirder," I call after her as Odette rolls the car out of the school parking lot.

I turn around, sighing as I begin walking. That's when my phone vibrates and I pull it out of my pocket. Opening the text message, I read.

'Turn around. X.'

I jerk to a halt, my heart beating fast as I look around the nearly deserted parking lot. When I spin around to see who's behind me, I sigh in relief. I don't even care how he got my number because that shit is creepy.

"I thought it was a stalker," I say with mock annoyance.

"I did write my initial," Xavier points out, walking towards me.

"I thought that was a hug," I pretend.

Xavier doesn't answer, walking right past me.

"That's your thing," he whispers as he passes me.

I raise a hand just in time to nudge his shoulder.

"Are we going somewhere?" I ask, jogging after him just as the first flakes of snow begin to fall.

"I'm kidnapping you," Xavier says without looking over his shoulder.

"I know karate," I lie, grinning ear-to-ear.

"No, you don't."

"You don't know me."

"You don't know me either," he says without a beat.

"I know all about you," I say, catching up to him and walking beside him. "Trust me, I have all your details."

"Like?"

I don't answer, and thankfully I'm saved the trouble when Xavier stops and turns around.

"You sure you want to come with me?" he asks seriously. "There's no turning back."

"I told you, danger is my middle name."

I see a ghost of a smile on his face. "I thought that was dancer," he teases before spinning around and entering the gym building behind school.

I follow, more excited than ever.

Xavier is taking me to his secret hideout, whatever the hell that is.

And I can't wait!

My happiness-bubble doesn't burst even when I realize we're ascending a flight of concrete stairs and stopping on the rooftop of one of the school buildings. I know this building; it's one of those under construction. The construction was halted after a student jumped off this rooftop and died. That was five years ago, before I came to this school, but rumors of the haunting still circulate around.

"You're not going to push me off from here, are you?" I ask Xavier.

He doesn't turn around until he's at the very edge of the place, stopping where walls should be but aren't. When he does turn around, his feet are perched dangerously close to the edge, making my heart beat fast.

"You shouldn't stand there," I say despite myself.

"Are you afraid I'll jump?" Xavier asks.

"Well, I ... of course."

"What would you do if I do jump?"

I stare at him, unable to read his face.

"That's not funny," I snap, walking up to Xavier, grabbing the front of his jacket and pulling him away from the edge.

Taken aback by my sudden action, Xavier's eyes widen. Thankfully he doesn't say anything though, letting me steer him two feet away from the edge.

"Why do you even come here?" I ask, my eyes scanning around the nearly deserted school premises that I can see.

"It's quiet up here," Xavier says, not at all surprising me by his logic. "There's no one around. I can just be with myself. Think."

I open my mouth to ask him what he thinks about, but he doesn't give me the chance.

"Besides, it's the perfect spot for me to keep an eye on a girl I like."

I freeze.

A girl he likes?

Xavier?

Likes a girl?

I clear my throat, trying to force my heart to shut up.

"Who?" I ask uncertainly, half afraid of what he's going to say.

"She sits ..." Xavier points a finger towards one of the cafeteria windows and I follow his indication to see an empty table. "Right there."

I struggle to see if there is anyone there, but the cafeteria is empty since school is over. Regardless of the fact that I can't see anyone there, I feel my heart sinking.

Xavier likes someone.

And that someone isn't me.

Talk about disappointing.

*.*.*.*.*.*