Chapter 23- The Big Date (Part 1)

Hayden’s POV

"I'm so sorry," she said through her laughter. I ran my hand across my chest - my bruised chest, by the way- and winced in pain.

"Zara, it's not funny. I'm standing here in pain right now," I told her. I saw her nod but cover her mouth to muffle her laughter.

"I know Hayden, I know and I'm very sorry but what I don't get is how you...how you..." she said and then busted out in laughter. I growled at her not liking her laughter one bit.

"Ok, I'm gonna stop now," she said then finally calmed down for now, "maybe you should go get a cold shower or something."

"You make it sound like I'm horny or aroused," I muttered to her, my eyes fixed on my chest. There were cuts and scrapes in the middle but they weren't anything extreme.

"You know, normal mates you help their other half," I stated as I turned around. She had a smirk on her face.

"One, when have I ever been normal and two, when have I ever been helpful?" she said, "Besides, you're a werewolf. It'll heal in no time."

"Right," I said and then walked to the bathroom. Something told me I shouldn't have looked at my hair, but when I did it looked like it was dyed multi-colored.

"Zara," I whined like a five year old child, "look what you did to my hair." She looked up at it and started laughing like a hyena...again. I growled and stormed angrily in the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

.............................................................................................

Zara's POV

An hour later...

"Why must you beat my high score?!" James yelled at me. I laughed at him and stuck out my tongue at him.

"Because I am the best!" I shouted back to him. He threw the controller on the couch furiously and glared at me.

"Do you know how hard it was to get that score and you just came and beat it with such ease," he said and James being James, he said it dramatically. I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.

"I told you I am the best yet you didn't believe me. What do they say? Actions speak louder than words," I said then got up and gave him a dramatic bow.

"It's not fair," he said then crossed his arms.

"Thank you, thank you very much," I said doing my best impression of Elvis Presley. Snickers ran through the room.

"Don't do that again honey," Jonah said.

"Whatever," I replied and gave him the finger.

"Wait, what time is it?" Lilly asked. I raised my eyebrow at her in confusion.

"Uhh...five-twenty three, why?" I asked her.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for your date?" Jenna asked me.

"Ummm...I don't think Hayden wants to do that anymore,"

"Do what?" I heard a voice behind me ask. I turned around and saw that he definitely looked like he just got out of an excellent shower. He didn't have on a shirt so that gave me an excellent opportunity to stare at his fabulous abs. I mentally moaned as I saw the way how his shorts hung of him. Metal images of us...the bed...skin on skin. Ok, let's just say those images weren't so...appropriate for you all to hear. Don't look at me like that, it's true.

"Earth to Zara..." Jonah teased. I shook my head as my cheeks flushed crimson red then turned back around and looked at the TV. I didn't have to look at Hayden to know that he was smirking.

"She was gonna ask you about the date but she got lost mentally," James taunted.

"Whatever," I said to him and stuck out my tongue at him.

"That's your signature move," Conner said. I looked at him curiously waiting for him to explain, "Anytime someone says something to either tease or taunt you, you stick your tongue out at them."

"I do not!"

"Yes you do," everyone said in union.

"Anyways," Hayden said, "oh and Zara, yes the date is still on."

 "Yes, let's get ready!" Abigale screamed along with Lilly and Jenna. Wait, Maya is still here?

"Whoa, hold up. I just said I had a date with Zara, not all you girls," Hayden stated.

"Well, doesn't she need to get ready? Duh, plus she needs to look fantastic," Lilly said.

"Alright, well..." he trailed off, "good luck Zara." Then he left the room.

"Well then, let's get you ready, shall we?" Oh great, let hell begin....

The girls refused to let me see myself, so I was sitting on a chair while Lily was straightening my hair, Abigale was doing my make-up and Maya and Jenna were too busy looking for shoes. I flinched as Abigale plucked at my eyebrow.

"Quit moving," she scolded at me.

"I can't, do you know how much that hurts," I whined.

"Almost done," she mumbled as she concentrated on my eyebrow.

"I found some excellent shoes that could go with the dress," Jenna stated.

"Can I at least see the shoes before I put them on?"

"No, because if you see them, you're not gonna want to put them back on," Lilly said. What the hell? What's wrong with it then? Wait....are these girls giving me....

"Are you girls giving me high heels to wear?!" I exclaimed.

"Now relax Zara, I know you don't like heels but---" Lilly said but the door opening cut her off.

"Hey, Zara, Hayden is---holy shit! You look hot," Jonah exclaimed as he entered the room. I turned to him and smiled a thank you. To my displeasure, they put the heels on me.

"Ok, it's finally finished," Abigale announced.

"So I can get up and look at myself now?" I asked.

"Yup," she said. I got up and walked towards the mirror and was pretty shocked with what I saw. I was wearing a sky blue Sweetheart A-line dress with rhinestones at the top with matching Christian Louboutin (very sexy shoes, if I say so myself). I had on blue eye shadow and some jewelry on my hands and around my neck. Jonah was right, I do look sexy.

"Damn," I muttered to myself.

"So, do you like it?" Abi asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" I asked still admiring myself. My curly hair was now straight with a few loose curls on the ends.

"Zara, Hayden said that you should..." Logan said as he came in the room but stopped when he saw me.

"Alright, let's not keep Hayden waiting. He isn’t a very patient person, you know," Jenna said. I nodded and walked away from the mirror.

"You're gonna need this," Lilly said then she gave me a plaid blue and brown shoulder jacket. I smiled a thank you to her, stuffed my phone in my bra then walked downstairs. I went in the living room and saw Conner and James were.

"Hey guys, where's Hayden?"

"He's waiting outside for you. Do you know how long he..." Conner started but stopped. Why is everyone stopping when they see me?

"Wow," James said as he whistled at me, "you look f*cking hot Zara!" I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

"Thanks,"

"Oh and Hayden is outside by his car," James said. I nodded and went outside after I put on my jacket. As I walked down the pathway, I saw one of Hayden's many sports cars. I shook my head and looked at his attire. He was standing there in a blue button down shirt with black jeans. When I walked up he was on his phone, probably playing a game.

"What took you so..." he was about to say but, like everyone else when they saw me, he was lost for words. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"What were you gonna say, sweetie?" I asked and I saw him take in my dress. He gulped and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You look...damn," he muttered while he put this head in the crook of my neck. He started trailing hot kisses up my shoulder to my cheek, working his way up to my lips. He pecked my lips once more then pulled apart from me to open the door.

"Shall we?" he asked. I smiled at him.

"We shall," I said and got in the car.

Hayden was still driving while I was getting restless (mostly bored but I think you know the feeling).

"Hayden..." I whined at him. He laughed and rubbed circles on my wrist with his thumb.

"Relax, we'll be there soon," he said for the millionth time.

"Urgh, you said that half an hour ago," I said as I pouted. He chuckled and brought my wrist to his lips.

"Will you just relax, you're too impatient," he had the nerve to say.

"Oh, I'm impatient?" I asked rhetorically, "and I still don't know why I can't know where we're going."

"Because I said so," he said then sent a smirk over to me. I scoffed and folded my arms.

"We're about a half an hour away, just relax," he said calmly.

"Half an hour!"

........................................................................

We turned in this empty park and Hayden drove all the way on the grass. We past a sign that said no parking beyond this area but Hayden either didn't see it or chose to ignore it.

"Uhh, Hayden, you did see the sign that said no parking, right?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he said as he spun the car around and put it in park.

"Aren't they gonna remove your car or something?"

"No, I rented out this whole area," he said then opened his car door and walked around to my side of the car. He opened the door and held out his hand.

"My lady," he said in a British accent. I giggled and took the hand.

We walked hand in hand down the dark pathway.

"Uhh, Hayden, what exactly are we suppose to be..." I said but trailed off when I saw the most beautiful thing in my life. What stood in front of me was the gazebo and it was surrounded with candles. There was soft music fitting for the mood. It was absolutely romantic. Hayden dragged me towards it and we stood in the middle.

"Is it too much?" he asked from beside me.

"No, it's really beautiful. Did you do all this?"

"Well...not the decorating but yeah, most of it," he said making me laugh. He spread out a carpet and suggested we sit. Then he got up and brought a picnic basket.

"Let's eat," he said and then we dug in. In the basket were two plates of cooked food, two glasses and a glass of Champaign.

"I have to say this is really romantic, Hayden," I said as I got out a fork to start eating.

"What, didn't know there was a romantic side of me?" he asked raising his eyebrow at me.

"To be honest, no I didn't," I said then smiled sweetly. He glared playfully at me and I stuck out my tongue at him. He laughed and started eating as well.

"Well, I can be romantic,"

"I think the pack will beg to differ,"

"Alright, let me rephrase," he said, "I'm very romantic when it comes to you." I smiled at him and got up to give him a peck on his lips.

"Alright, let's find out some stuff about teach other," Hayden said out of the blue.

"Ok, what do you wanna know?"

"What's your...favorite color?"

"Uhh, blue but mostly aqua blue. How about you?"

"I like black, blue or red," he replied.

"Favorite food?"

"Anything cooked," he said making me laugh, "how about you, what's your fav. food?"

"Don't really have one. Being a rogue makes you take anything you get," I said and I saw him frown but quickly recovered and half smiled.

"You don't have to fake smile, you know. I know you don't...enjoy me being a rogue," I said to him. He sighed and pushed his plate away and put me in his lap.

"When we were arguing in the kitchen that night and you said that you don't want to join my pack what was the reason behind it?" he asked and I looked anywhere but at him. I didn't want to have to tell him about my past, I just wanted it all to be just one huge nightmare that I am dying to wake up from. He brought my chin up to look at him.

"It's just that..." then I sighed, "I just have a nasty past and stuff like that."

"Zara, you won't join my pack because of your past?" he asked then kissed down my neck, "baby, everyone has secrets. Besides, it can't be that bad."

"It is, Hayden," I said pushing him away. He looked at me and then kissed my lips.

"Can you tell me what it is?" he mumbled against my lips, "so I can at least be aware of what's bothering you." I opened my eyes to look into his and saw that he desperately wanted to help me.

So let him help, my wolf said.

You're really not helping right now. You want to do everything with him, I thought back to her.

Yes...everything...she said then a bunch of pictures with us in the bed, skin on skin entered my mind.

 "Please, I just want to help," he begged and I sighed and begun my story.

"When I was about sixteen, there was this guy that I thought I was in love with. He was really sweet and caring...at the time but all that changed. My birth mom died in child birth when she had my sister, Tia, leaving only my dad, my brother, my sister and me. My dad fell in love with the guy's mother so they decided to get married. While I was at his house, I overheard them planning. Za---the guy planned to kill my dad because he thought that my dad was trying to replace his dad. Did what I say just make sense?" I asked and he nodded and listened keenly, "Yeah, well, his mom only wanted my dad for the power so they made a plan to get to him so they could be on top. Everything fell apart when my dad found his real mate, Christina---"

"Wait, wasn't your birth mom his mate?"

"No, but he loved her regardless. When he found her, he dropped the marriage proposal and dedicated all his time to her. Za--the guy I was in love with and his mom got angry so the plans to kill my father, along with my family, went back to place. So they came to the pack house on my seventeenth birthday and started tearing everyone from limp to limp. That's when the war started. After that, my dad was never the same. Za--the guy had killed his mate so he was lifeless. The bastard even killed my two year old sister, Tia. My dad tried to commit suicide everyday and I had to watch him go through that. Do you know how painful that is to watch?" I asked and only when Hayden's thumb stroked my cheeks did I know that I was crying.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," he said.

"Oh it doesn't just stop there. Apparently, Za--the guy wasn't satisfied with killing as many as he did so one night out of the blue, he was standing in my room. I screamed and screamed as he started touching me but no one ever came. No one cared," I finished and Hayden's body tensed up as he understood.

"He raped you?" he asked, his voice coated with anger. I looked away as I nodded.

"Yes, he did. Over and over again. When they found me, I was barely alive," I mumbled, "or so I was told by my father."

"I'm gonna fucking kill who did that to you!" Hayden shouted angrily.

"That's why I ran away and became a rogue," I said. I could feel Hayden's body shaking in rage.

"No one touches what's mine," he snarled out. I grabbed his face and kissed him to calm him down. The kiss was nothing much but the usual spark was there. When we broke apart though, I was breathless.

"You don't have to worry about it, ok," I said to him.

"I wanna tear that bastard limp from limp...twice for what he did to you,"

"I know, just calm down," I said calmly and he duck his head in my neck and breathed in and out. Once he was calm enough, he came up and pecked my lips.

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you," he said, "but let's not think about this right now. We have forty minutes to go."

"Go....go where?"

"You'll soon find out," he said then stood up, "can I have this dance?"

"Hayden, there's no music," I said smiling at his cheesiness.

"Oh, is there?" he asked and then out of nowhere, three persons came on the gazebo and started to set up musical instruments. They had their piano, guitar and violin. They started playing Suddenly by Billy Ocean.

"May I have this dance?" Hayden asked again. I rolled my eyes and took his hand. And then we danced...

I used to think that love was just a fairytale,

Until that first hello,

That first smile,

But if I had to do it all again,

I wouldn't change a thing,

'Cause this love is everlasting,

Then Hayden sang the chorus in my ear.

"Suddenly, life has new meaning to me. There's beauty up above and things take notice of. Wake up and suddenly, you're in love..." he sang. So beautifully I might add.

"You sing?" I asked him taking my head up from his shoulder.

"Yeah, it's one of my romantic traits," he said with a smirk. I shook my head and we danced some more.

..............................................

 After we danced, Hayden annoyed that we had to leave so we were on the road again...sadly. We were on a road directly south from where we were coming from so we were going further away from where we lived.

"Hayden, will you tell me where we are going?"

"Do I even have to answer that?" he answered back sarcastically. I grumbled unhappily and looked out the window.

"How much time is it this time?"

"Not much," he said, "as a matter of fact, we're here."

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 Again, I apologize for updating so late. My internet was down for those who didn't know. Hope you enjoyed the date, well the first part of it anyway. You can play the song at the side when it comes in. It fits the mood...you know, that mood :D For those who want to see the hotel, you can click the external link at the top ^

 Love you all. <3

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