Never in my life had I ever taken so long to send a text message.

I chewed on my lip as I typed out another message before deleting it for the fifth time in a row, no one ever told me that texting someone you liked would be so hard. I was worried that maybe she'd lost interest and asked someone else or maybe changed her mind, but something told me I had to try. So, I took a deep breath and decided to do what they did in the stone ages- I called her, and with every ring, my anxiety only seemed to worsen, until...

"Hello?" She murmured with a deeper voice, sounding half asleep and I had to swallow before I answered.

"Hey Haydn, am I calling at a bad time?" I asked as I worriedly bit my lip.

"Cristina? No, not at all, I was getting up from a nap." She explained and I couldn't help but feel like she was lying for my sake, which made me smile. "What's up? Are you okay?" She asked and I was immediately reminded of the reason why I was calling.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just thought I should tell you that fate seems to be on your side today. I'm free on Saturday night if you still wanna hang out or are you busy?" I asked nervously and instead of an answer I heard a quiet thump before an "oh fuck". "Haydn?"

"I'm still here." She reassured me and I smiled. "You seem to be my good luck charm." She said murmured and I blushed at her words. "And of course, I still want to hang out, I'll meet you at your house at seven." She said and I grinned, a wave of relief washing over me.

"Anything else I should know?" I asked as the stress of finding an outfit crept at the back of my mind.

"Yeah, don't wear anything too hot." She said and I couldn't help sigh.

"So, you're not going to tell me where we're going?" I groaned and I heard her laugh.

"Nope, it's a surprise." She said and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"I'm not a fan of surprises," I muttered, I really did not like surprises- the unknown and unpredictable made me nervous but something told me I could trust her.

"You're going to like this one." She reassured me and I sighed.

"Okay, I'll see you at seven on Saturday," I promised.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck on the test tomorrow." She said and I bit my lip.

"Wait," I murmured as I gathered up the courage to ask her my next question.

"Yes, Cristina." She replied in the same tone that shot tingles down my spine, I think I loved when she said my name in her voice, in my ear.

"Um, is this a date?" I asked carefully as I played with the blanket on my lap and as soon as the words left my lips, I wished I could take them back because she suddenly got quiet, really quiet and my heart sank. "Oh shit, it's not a date and you probably have a girlfriend anyway and I'm so sorry, I'm just going go-" I rambled as my heart started to beat faster and my palms started to sweat.

"No! No! No!" She called out quickly and I groaned silently, I'd rather not be embarrassed and ashamed. "I was just surprised you asked, I thought you didn't-" She started but stopped suddenly before taking a deep breath. "I want it to be a date." She murmured and I couldn't help the smile on my face or the elation that bubbled in my chest.

"I want it to be a date too," I whispered as I bit my lip and waited for a reply.

"Really?!" She said in a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that."

"Okay, cool." I grinned. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course, goodnight, Cristina." She said and I smiled.

"Goodnight, Haydn," I whispered before she ended the call and I laid back on my bed and took a few deep breaths.

I couldn't believe I was going to go on a date with Haydn.

Talking on the phone always made me feel a little anxious but talking to Haydn made me feel excited, especially since her voice was doing that sexy "just woke up" thing. After our call, I knew I should've told my friends what Haydn said but I decided to tell them the next day. I was serious about not allowing people to influence my decisions anymore, especially when it came to love and Haydn was special, I had to keep her safe for as long as possible.

I studied for a few hours before passing out and when I woke up, I wasted no time on my appearance as I got dressed in blue jeans, a white Frank Ocean shirt and white Air Forces with gold jewelry. As I walked down my stairs to the kitchen, I tied my curls into a bun and smiled as I saw my mama, chopping up strawberries for the granola and yoghurt on the table. There has not been a day that had gone by where I couldn't remember seeing my mama wake before me- my papa, on the other hand, was still fast asleep upstairs.

"Morning mama." I greeted as I sat down at the breakfast bar, and she smiled.

"Morning sweetheart." She smiled as she dropped the strawberries on the yoghurt and granola before pushing it in front of me and I smiled at the gesture, my mama was the sweetest soul. "You need to eat before your big test today." She said sternly and I knew not to argue.

"Thank you, mama." I smiled as she placed a cup of chamomile tea next to me.

I started to eat as my mama told me all about her work and the kids in her classes- she bragged about them all the time, she was incredibly proud of them and loved them like her own kids. She loved to tell me about their scholarship offers, performances and their perseverance in the studio but she has never made me feel bad about not following in her footsteps.

Unfortunately, my time with my mama had to be cut short as I jumped into my car and made my way to school while the melodic sounds of Doja Cat flooded my speakers and distracted me from my anxiety. I knew I'd been studying really hard, and I'd been working with Haydn, but I couldn't help but feel like I was going to fail, however, I knew that was my anxiety talking, my therapist had helped me to identify what thoughts were mine and which stemmed from my anxious thoughts.

As I drove into the lot and parked, I didn't look for Haydn or any of my friends as I walked into school. I was positive I had woken up early enough to come to school and avoid people, but, after the breakfast with my mama, I was running a bit behind schedule so when I arrived, I saw my friends standing around their lockers. Logan came in early to get some tumbling practice done while Roxanne had an appointment with a teacher and Blanca's lift always dropped her off early so, she normally danced or practiced skills with Logan, she was a brilliant dancer and when they saw me approach them their eyes lit up.

"So, what did she say?" Blanca asked as soon as I was in earshot, and I couldn't help the grin that made its way into my face.

"Did who say what?" I asked, playing dumb as I walked to my locker and they followed me, Blanca even throwing her arm around my shoulders.

I was almost dying of excitement to tell them about my date, but I couldn't help but make them suffer just a little.

"Come ooon Cris, we're dying over here." Logan groaned as I opened my locker and I laughed before I put in the books I wouldn't need.

"She's meeting me at my house at seven on Saturday night for our date." I smiled and they all grinned at me as they asked for details, and I managed to tell them most of the conversation but as we were talking about possible outfit ideas the bell rang and we parted ways- Blanca and I heading over to biology to write our test.

We walked into the classroom as I reminded myself to take deep breaths and calm my nerves, I was thankful my mama made me that chamomile tea. I took my seat and got out two pens as I waited but, in the midst of focusing to stay calm, I didn't pay attention to my surroundings. Just as I felt as though I was fighting a losing battle with my anxiety, I felt a hand gently squeeze my shoulder and when I looked up, I was relieved to see Haydn.

"Don't stress, you'll be okay." She whispered lowly so that only I could hear her before she moved to her seat. I know it sounded crazy but that little reassurance from her was enough to calm my overwhelming anxiety because the fact that the person who was tutoring me in the subject told me I'd be okay was enough to remind me that I'd been working too hard to fail- I knew what I was supposed to do.

"Good morning students. Please settle down and keep your eyes forward, I will be handing out the tests shortly and only once I say so may you turn them over." Mr. Patel commanded as soon as he walked through the doors, causing the whole class to fall silent before he started to walk around, handing out the paper's upside down.

The test took forty-five minutes to complete, and I managed to answer every question on the test with more understanding than the surprise quiz. After I handed in my test, a little earlier than the others, I walked out of the classroom with a smile on my face. At that point, I didn't even care what mark I got, I was just glad to finally be done with the stress of it all- although I didn't miss the way my heart sunk in my chest at the thought of no longer seeing Haydn, even if it was to study.

"So how did you find the test?" Blanca asked and I smiled.

"It was fine," I answered honestly. "I'm just glad it's over."

"Yeah, now you've got time to focus on a certain lady lover." She said wiggling her eyebrows and I rolled my eyes as I gently bumped her shoulder with mine.

"Oh my god, you are so annoying." I laughed and she smirked.

"You know I'm right." She sang as we walked to our lockers to get the books for our next class.

"Well, I didn't say you were wrong," I smirked at her just as Haydn and her friend Jamal appeared in front of us. Jamal was also a senior but tended to stay to himself, he stood around 6'2 and was quite muscular as he played on the school's basketball team. He also always had a clean fade and gold chain and as a result many girls, and guys, fell at his feet and from what I heard he loved them both.

We stan a bi king.

"How did it go?" Haydn asked me and my attention turned to her as I smiled gently.

"Pretty good, thanks to my pretty amazing tutor I think I passed," I said a little flirtatiously and she smiled.

"You see, I was right- like always." She smirked playfully as she shrugged, and I rolled my eyes.

"In your dreams Haydn, you're definitely still wrong about pineapple on pizza and Murder House being the best season of American Horror Story when we all know it's Coven." I pointed out and she pushed me gently.

"Hey, you said this was a safe space." She laughed as she gestured between us and as I was about to reply, Jamal, cleared his throat.

It was at that moment that I remembered that we were in fact not alone and I blushed.

"Oh shit," Haydn said with a slight blush and I was glad to know I wasn't the only one. "Cristina, Blanca this is my friend Jamal, Jamal this is Cristina and her friend Blanca."

"Hello, ladies." He smirked at us and although he was incredibly hot, he couldn't hold a candle to Haydn. "It's nice to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you." He said to me specifically before Haydn hit him upside his head.

"You have?!" I exclaimed a little shocked as I looked at Haydn curiously while she turned red.

"Yeah, my friend over here seems to like you a lot." He said and I didn't even pay attention to Haydn's reaction as his words circled in my head and I felt like my feet couldn't touch the ground- Haydn fucking liked me.

"Well, Cristina literally brings Haydn up every day if it makes you feel better." Blanca snickered and suddenly I came back down to earth.

"Blanca!" I exclaimed with wide eyes at the same time Haydn spoke.

"You do?" She asked with an almost hopeful tone in her voice, you could barely hear it, but it was there.

Her question made me turn to her, her golden eyes, framed by those incredibly long lashes, looking into my brown owns and I felt like I couldn't speak, even though I desperately wanted to. Although, it seemed like I had shit luck (or good luck, depending on how you look at it) because at that moment the bell rang.

"We have to go," I said to her apologetically as I started to push Blanca as students started rushing out. "It was nice meeting you, Jamal," I said to him before turning back to Haydn. "I'll talk to you later," I promised before Blanca and I rushed off to our classes on the other side of the building, and I swore her off as she laughed.

On the plus side, I passed biology with a B+.

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Hi everyone 💓

I'm so sorry for the delay, I was battling writers block 😬 But it's okay, we move.

Don't forget to vote, comment and stream Amala by Doja Cat 🥰

xoxo

nonamenights