As I walked into school the next day, I was feeling a lot better after the talk with my mom, and it couldn't have come at a better time since her and my dad were flying away for business for a few days. Well, my dad was going on business and my mom was going to run a dance workshop at one of the studios there.

I made sure to plug in my AirPods and ignore the stares as I headed to my locker to leave my bag and books. I was happy and relieved that Haydn didn't believe any of the bullshit rumors going around because I was still figuring out to approach her in a "more than friends", "I want to date you" kind of way.

"Hey, Cristina?" A voice behind asked and I jumped a little as I turned around, taking out my Airpods. "Oh shit, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, sorry." Haydn apologized as I begged my mind to pay attention to what she was saying and not how fucking hot she looked.

Haydn was dressed in a white long sleeve shirt and a black, Frankenstein print Hawaiian styled shirt, black jeans and black vans. Her hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and for some reason, she decided to wear mascara today which only made her golden eyes stand out more.

I was almost speechless, but thankfully I managed to pull myself together before I made a fool of myself.

"It's okay, I just didn't see you." I blushed and I couldn't help but smile at her. "What's up?" I asked and I felt my heartbeat increase when I saw her smirk.

"Well since the test is at the beginning of next week I just wanted to know if you'd like to have a longer study session at my house later after your cheer practice?" She asked as she bit her bottom lip and I nodded in acceptance, I knew that practice today was going to be longer than normal, and I was grateful for the offer.

"I'd like that, thanks." I smiled, blushing a little as she grinned.

"Okay cool, I'll text you the address." She nodded before the bell rang and we reluctantly parted ways to our different classes.

I walked alone to math class and took my seat but as Miss Adams droned on about numbers and integrals, I found myself daydreaming out the window and, like many days before, my mind drifted to Haydn.

She looked different today, she was undeniably attractive, and she looked good every day but today was different, she looked hot, especially when she bit her bottom lip or when she winked at me, and I felt that heartbeat in my stomach. Haydn had really nice lips when I actually thought about it, they were full and pink with a small cupid's bow- they looked soft too. I wondered what it would be like to kiss her, would she be a soft and slow kisser or a passionate and aggressive one- she probably tasted really go-

"Miss Vasiliev! Would you mind paying attention in my class?" Miss Adams chastised me suddenly, bringing me back to reality and I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks as the class snickered. I silently groaned as I sheepishly turned my attention back to Miss Adams and started to take down the notes from the board.

I just knew Roxanne was going to give me shit for it later, she found it hilarious whenever I got into trouble in class, and I didn't even blame her. I probably looked like an idiot staring out the window, thinking about a girl who probably didn't even see me the same way- and I was right.

"Oh my god, guys you should've seen her face." Roxanne cracked up as the rest of the girls on the bleachers gathered around to hear my unfortunate luck in math. "She looked like she was caught in the middle of a sex flashback." She explained further and I groaned as I felt myself turn red from embarrassment.

I had managed to avoid everyone for majority of the day, and most of the cheer practice, which was easy cause Logan made us work really hard since it was our last practice of the week but now, sitting on the bleachers, it was fair game.

"It wasn't even like that, guys." I tried to explain but it was obvious they weren't listening.

"So, Cris, who were you thinking of?" Amanda teased me and I thought about setting them straight and telling the truth, but I didn't want to deal with the stress of it all because I already knew what they were going to think. It wouldn't bother them that Haydn was a girl, but it would bother them that she wasn't as popular or conventionally attractive, they'd probably say she was too masculine or uncool or something equally ridiculous- so I decided to stay quiet and play along.

"I just got distracted thinking about Michael B. Jordan." I explained and the group erupted into a chorus of understanding "aah's".

While the girls started discussing the Greek god that was Michael B. Jordan, I turned my attention to my chiming phone, and I smiled as I saw whose name lit up my screen because along with the address to her house, I got another text.

are you allergic to anything?

Nope

Why?

i just wanted to know because i'm gonna order thai food for us jn

I smiled at her offer but the last thing I wanted to do was impose, I mean I was already going to her house I didn't want to force her to get food as well.

Oh no, don't worry about it- I can go get something to eat before I come over

🙄

i'm not asking so don't even try arguing

I laughed at how well she knew me in such a short space of time and instead of arguing with her I decided just to give in, especially since I couldn't say not to pretty girls.

okay fine 🙄

I don't eat red meat but other than that I'm cool w anything

I hit send before saying goodbye to the girls and heading to the locker rooms to take a shower, I had been sweating the whole afternoon and the last thing I wanted to do was pitch up to Haydn house smelling of grass and sweat- gross. I took a slightly longer than normal shower as I massaged my muscles in hopes to avoid them aching the next day. Logan really put us through one of the most intense practices ever, especially since it would be Saturday tomorrow and we'd have enough time to recover. I climbed out the shower, dried off and moisturized before I got dressed into some clean clothes and I decided to get going.

Haydn didn't live too far away so the drive wasn't too bad and soon I found myself parking outside a modest two-story stone house with a neat green lawn and a long cobblestone pathway to the porch. I took a deep breath before I grabbed my tote bag and cell phone and made my way to the front door and, wiping my hands on my pants, I knocked on the wooden door.

However, when Haydn opened, I had to do everything in my power to stop my jaw from hitting the ground. She stood at the door in a white tank top that hugged her toned figure, grey sweatpants that hung low on her hips and white socks. I was able to see more of her tattoos which only added to her bad girl aesthetic but what struck me the most was the fact that her hair, which was normally tied up, now flowed down to the middle of her back in slight waves. For second I found myself wishing to run my fingers through it.

"Hey, Cristina." She smiled as she held the door open. "I'm glad you came, come in." She said as she opened the door and I stepped into their tastefully decorated house, lots of greys, whites, and greens around.

"Thank you so much for tonight, Haydn, I really need the help." I smiled gently as she led us further into the house.

"It's nothing." She reassured me and we stopped as we were passing the living room. "Oh, Cristina this is Luis, my father, and Daniel, his son. Luis, Daniel, this is Cristina, we're studying biology." She explained and I found it weird that she called her dad by his first name and Daniel "his son" and not her "brother" but I knew not to pry and didn't ask any questions as I greeted them.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Moreno." I smiled politely.

"Hello Cristina, it's nice to meet you too." Luis smiled, a slight Mexican-Spanish accent in his voice, while Daniel's eyes stayed glued to the cartoons playing on tv. "You can call me Luis." He assured me.

As soon as I saw Luis, I knew he was Haydn's dad, they had the same sharp bone structure, ebony hair- although Luis's was greying a little- and judging from his long frame on the sofa I was guessing he was responsible for her height too. Overall, Luis was a handsome, muscular man with a tattoo sleeve and kind eyes- I decided I didn't mind him, but Haydn's cool attitude made me cautious. Daniel, on the other hand, was Luis's spitting image, well in what looked to be a ten-year-old version.

"We're gonna go study in my room," Haydn stated and motioned with her head for me to follow her.

Haydn led us up the stairs and down the hall to what I was assuming was her room at the end. As I followed her through the slightly ajar door, I didn't miss seeing her shoulders deflate when she heard the door click closed and I felt my heart break for her- no one should feel like that in their own home.

Her room was on the larger side with a light grey carpet and a neatly made double bed with grey bedding against a wall while a white desk sat under her window on the opposite wall, and she had enough closet space for Africa as white closest lined the other wall. It was tastefully decorated with touches of green and a bare full-length mirror in the corner but that was it, there was nothing to even tell you this was Haydn's room and that was the most surprising part. After my few weeks of knowing her, even I knew that this room definitely did not reflect who she was as a person.

Hell, this looked more like a hotel room than a bedroom.

"This is your room?" I questioned, just to make sure and she nodded as she chewed on her thumb, a nervous tick of hers that I'd noticed during our study sessions.

"Yeah." She murmured and I nodded.

"It's really nice, it's just that I don't see much of you in it," I explained, and she shrugged.

"I guess I just didn't think I would be here this long." She explained and I left it at that, I wasn't about to overstep any boundaries.

"Well, I'm glad you are," I said as I turned to face her, moving my hair behind my ear, but I didn't realize how close she was because as I did, I found myself looking into her eyes, which were only a few inches away from mine and I felt my breath hitch.

If I just leaned a little forward, I could kiss her, and fuck, I wanted to kiss her so badly.

"Girls! Your food is here!" A feminine voice called up to us and that was the exact time my stomach decided to betray me as it growled. I turned bright red as Haydn smiled down at me and even though I was embarrassed, I was also relieved that she didn't look so down anymore.

"Come on, let's go and get some food in you before you starve." She laughed and she opened the door.

"I guess I timed my arrival perfectly then." I joked and Haydn smiled as she gently grabbed my hand and led to me down the hall.

I noticed she was starting to do that more often around me, smiling that is- whether it a small smile or a full-on grin I was always ecstatic that I could get that reaction out of her. I was just glad that she felt comfortable enough around me to let her guard down and that had to mean something, right?

Fuck I hoped so.