"Hayley, stop!" I come to a stand still as Carson yells for the hundredth time. I pant heavily, only now realizing how tired I really am. He takes a few steps closer to me and I move forward. I hear him sigh in defeat as he begins to speak. "Please turn around?" He pleads with exhaustion, his body inching closer. I release a shaky breath and turn around to face him. His usually bright blue orbs look sunken with sadness, dark circles create a shadow around his eye sockets, making him look less youthful. He offers a sad smile to which I don't respond to. My shoulders shrug as I swallow the hard lump in my throat, hoping it will disappear.

I'm immediately engulfed into a bone crushing hug but don't pull away. One arm rubs my back comfortingly while the other stays in place. I deeply inhale Carson's familiar scent seeking closure I didn't think I needed until now. I feel a repetitive pang in my chest as I play back what I had whitenessed. I begin to tremble even more as my sobs increase in audibility.

Silence floats around the air as my chocked sobs turn into silent hiccups. I pull away from the hug and stare at the ground, not wanting to face any judgement or questioning looks from Carson. "I'm sorry Hayley... I- I didn't mean to hurt you the way I did." He stutters, his eyes drenched in guilt as they struggle to meet mine. I mutter a simple it's fine under my breath, not in the mood to deal with any more conflict. It's bad enough I've already lost Christopher. I don't want to loose anyone else I care about.

"Are you okay?" Carson speaks up when I finally make eye contact. I nod and wrap my arms around myself, feeling the slight chill of the approaching night time begin to settle in. He gives me a wary look but chooses not to question my dishonesty. He rests one arm on my shoulder and squeezes it comfortingly. I smile slightly and shove him off in a friendly manner.

***

Reagan, Claire , Tiffany and Carson burst out laughing when Parker snorts out soda through his nose. My face scrunches in disgust but slightly chuckle when is face turns red in embarrassment. The mixture of everyone's horrible laughter mixes together, creating quite the sound. Let's just say it could put yelling gorillas to shame.

Parker throws a pillow at Carson which he misses but ends up knocking Claire right on the head. All laughter comes to a stand still as everyone watches Claire actions carefully, afraid of what her next move will be. Her eyes shoot to Parker's immediately as she smiles evilly. Oh boy, this is not gonna end well. I sigh internally and mentally prepare myself for the wrath of Claire.

The doorbell suddenly rings, just as Claire is about to strike. A feeling of relief washes over me, knowing I've escaped having to clean up a huge mess. "I'll get it. Must be the pizza." I announce and leave Tiffany's room. Earlier on after Carson and I made it back home, the girls decided to have a sleep over, in order to help me get over what happened today. In other words, the whole school pretty much knows what happened with Christopher and Monica. According to them, I'm the innocent little girl that fell for Christopher's trap. I roll my eyes as the hallway that leads to the main door comes into view.

I'm met by a very unfamiliar scent once the door opens. Before me stands a very petite, and undeniably adorable girl. She stands a few inches below me, meaning she's quite small, coincidering the fact that I'm quite short myself. She looks about my age with her voluminous dirty blonde curls that hang loosely all the way to her waist. Her red uniform cap blocks my view of her eyes but I must say, she is gorgeous. "Here you go." She hands me the four large boxes of pizza, along with the receipt. Glancing at the bill, I mind link Reagan, asking him to bring five extra dollars, seeing as the amount of money I carried isn't enough. I hear Reagan's heavy foot steps descend down the stairs but all his movement comes to a stop once he looks at the pizza delivery girl. He clears his throat and rubs the back of his head in an uncomfortable manner. Wait a minute, neck rubbing, throat clearing, avoiding eye contact... Reagan has a crush! My brows raise in amusement as a smile tugs on my lips. I put the boxes in Reagan's arms and take the extra five dollars, handing them to the girl that's sparked my little brother's interest. She looks up at me and then at Reagan, her body frozen in place as she stares at him. I feel him stiffen beside me, his mouth hangs slightly open as he struggles to form words. Adorable. I watch the two, my eyes moving back and forth between the two of them. I must admit, they would look good together; her greenish grey eyes deeply contrast with his hazel ones, his tall six foot two frame towering over her roughly five foot three frame.

I reach my hand out for her to shake and introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Hayley and this is my twin brother Reagan." She takes my hand shakes it, her eyes never looking away from my brother's. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Anna." She has a soft and almost inaudible voice but I'm guessing the lack of volume to it is because of nervousness. "Well, I'm going to head upstairs. You two get to know each other." I playfully wink at Ree, (Hayley's nickname for Reagan) "I'll see you around?" I ask Anna with a friendly smile. She returns it and nods at me. I hear Reagan's sharp intake of air as she smiles. Oh he is definitely whipped. I turn back and skip all the way back to Tiffany's room, feeling happy that my brother has developed a crush. Although, I did not expect to see what just happened once the bedroom door opened.

insert childish cheerssigh 🙁 ✌🏾️💕