Playing His Confidante

A strained smile greets Charlie as she stays rooted to the floor. With slow and steady steps, Hayden trudges up to her, his face lacking the vibrant colors it often held. "What are you doing here?" He doesn't sound hostile or flustered; in fact he sounds very much like his usual self. His behavior does not resemble someone who has just been in a fight either, which has Charlie questioning if what she had just witnessed was real or simply a figment of her imagination. She glances through the big windows and spots Cecilia with her nose buried in a mountain of textbooks. So it really did happen.

She takes a deep breath and gathers her thoughts in order to form a coherent excuse. "I was heading to my locker," she lies. He nods and she takes this chance to make her escape. "See you in class then." Charlie has no intention of sticking around for the waterworks that might ensue and is prepared to get as far away as she possibly can from the guy. Who knows what he could do in this kind of emotional state. He might even do something as crazy as confide in her and being somebody's diary is not what Charlie wants to do with her life. She's got other plans in mind.

Besides, she'd be putting herself in an extremely uncomfortable position if she stays here any longer. In case you haven't noticed, Charlie isn't the most empathetic soul out there which means her consoling skills suck. She couldn't help Hayden out even if she tried. It'd just be downright awkward and super weird. She wouldn't even know what to say or where to start. Therefore, the best thing she could do for both of their sakes is to get out while she still has the chance.

Freedom is at the tips of her fingers. It is so close that she could almost taste it on her tongue. The keyword being almost. "Hey Charlie. Do you have a minute? I really need a friend right now," Hayden admits timidly. Yes, Charlie could be a complete bitch and pretend like she hadn't heard him but the stutter in her step gives her away.

Against her better judgment, she swivels around and walks back towards him. She'd consider this as her punishment for eavesdropping when she shouldn't have been. "Baseball field?" she suggests.

"Baseball field."

The two of them are sitting in the dugout, hiding from the harmful, cancerous rays of the sun. Hayden hasn't spoken a word since they left the building and Charlie has the urge to get up and leave. She doesn't know how much more silence she can endure before she finally cracks. Is this what comforting someone looks like or is she doing it wrong? "You heard everything, didn't you?" He remarks at last.

"What?" Charlie coughs, startled by his question.

"Back inside," he specifies, not sparing her a glance. "You heard the fight I had with Cecilia, right?"

Great. Hayden caught her red-handed which means there is no point in trying to deny it. She has to come clean now; she doesn't have much of a choice. "I didn't mean to," she says, kicking the dirt beneath her feet. "You guys just started talking before I could leave."

Hayden nods again and stares out into the open field. "I'm just glad it was you and not some stranger."

This time Charlie looks at him with her head tilted at a slight angle. "What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it. If someone else had overheard us, the news would have gotten out to half of the school already. We'd have to break up right on the spot," he explains with a heavy heart.

His adamant faith in her is absolutely stagnating and Charlie shakes her head in response. They haven't had a decent conversation in years and if they did talk (which was rare), it was usually unpleasant, at least on Charlie's behalf it was. So how could he trust her so easily even after she treated him the way she did? "How do you know I won't tell anyone?" she queries.

Hayden smiles softly and turns to her. "Because it's you, Charlie. You wouldn't talk about people so carelessly."

"That's not necessarily true," she disagrees. "I've talked a lot of shit about people. I still do," she declares proudly.

"Okay," he chuckles before correcting himself. "What I meant to say was that you wouldn't gossip about your friends. It's not who you are." There is a moment of silence. Charlie doesn't know what to do. The fact that Hayden still considers them friends baffles her because, frankly speaking, she doesn't feel the same.

Hayden has become more like an acquaintance to her; a person from her past that she'd occasionally exchange a few words with. Nothing more, nothing less. However, although she does not want to acknowledge it, Charlie knows that he is right. She wouldn't have uttered a single word regarding what she had stumbled upon outside of the library but that doesn't mean anything. No longer wanting to have a mental debate with herself about the status of their relationship, Charlie redirects the subject. "So how long have you been seeing each other?"

"Since May."

"Her parents are against dating I presume?" If her hearing didn't go bad on her, she's certain they're the reason for the argument.

Any trace of happiness has vanquished as the boy climbs to his feet and leans up against the fence. The thought of losing such an incredible girl like Cecilia Isles scares him to death. Charlie could tell from the perplexed expression painted on his face that Hayden doesn't know what to do. "Yeah. It's her senior year and they want her to focus on college and finishing the year up strong." He understands that his girlfriend's future is important. He wants nothing more than to watch her succeed in life. However, the feeling of being neglected isn't pleasant. Like everyone else in the world he can be hurt as well. Plus, how could he pretend like he doesn't know Cecilia? How could he act like he isn't smitten with the girl when she's all he could think about? It's practically impossible.

Even Tom Cruise wouldn't be able to complete this kind of mission.

"Well, it makes sense. You can't blame them. They're doing what they think is best for her." Charlie reasons. If one of her brother's was the one going through this, she would have told them to grow a pair and deal with it but since it's Hayden, she couldn't. Thankfully this is all common sense or else she wouldn't have anything to say to him.

"I know that. It just blows because I want to spend time with her and help relieve her stress. That's what boyfriends are supposed to do, but recently it seems like I'm doing the opposite and it's frustrating. It's getting harder and harder for me to lie to my parents about her, too. You know how they are. They wouldn't want me to be involved with a girl whose parents don't approve of our relationship.

They'd ground me in a heartbeat and forbid me from ever seeing her again if they found out we were sneaking around. And don't even get me started on the girls at our school. I politely decline their advances all the time but they keep coming back to me. Am I not speaking English or something? Even if I told them I already have a girlfriend, they wouldn't believe me unless I had proof and without Cecilia's permission, I can't do much."

Just be as generic as possible. That's what Charlie's brilliant plan is as she voices her unoriginal thoughts. "Hey, nobody said relationships were easy. I don't really know what else to say other than if you really like this girl then you should respect her decision and wait. That's all you can do." Suddenly her phone reverberates in her pocket and she pulls it out to discover a message from Jillian.

Jill: Where are you and why aren't you in class yet?

Charlie types back her reply and stands up. "Now that your chest feels lighter, we should go to class. If the teacher asks where we were, we'll say that I had a stomachache and being the good guy you are, you brought me to the nurse." She would have switched the roles but nobody would have believed that she, out of all people, willingly escorted Hayden anywhere.

Hell, even she wouldn't believe it! She doesn't wait for him to agree and starts walking away on her own.

"Charlie." She stops and peers over her shoulder at the sound of his voice. "Thank you for listening to me," Hayden gratifies before he runs up and falls into step next to her. "It means a lot."

"No problem." She wants to tell him that this doesn't change anything between them but doesn't follow through with the idea once they arrive at the door they had propped open with a rock. Just for the remainder of today she'll remain friends with Hayden Knight only because he doesn't have anyone else he could confide in.

* * *

"Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to march down the street and confront Hayden? Because I will do it." School has been over for about an hour ago now and the two girls are up in Charlie's room. Jillian has been pestering her nonstop about how she winded up returning to class with Hayden out of all people. Although Charlie remains tight-lipped, refusing to provide her with a sufficient answer, she is determined to find out the truth.

As soon as the two of them had wandered into class, Jillian was already suspicious. Unlike their teacher and the rest of the students in the class she didn't buy the whole stomachache story. For as long as they have been friends, never once did Charlie ever come down with a stomachache from eating something bad and she ate plenty of bad things. So of course Jillian was skeptical.

"Go ahead. He's going to tell you the same thing," Charlie states as she flips to the next page of the comic book she's currently immersed in.

"I can't believe you're really not going to tell me. Whatever, I have to go pick my sister up from practice. I'll talk to you later." It's obvious that Jillian is upset. Her expression, tone and gestures say so. Charlie doesn't like keeping secrets from her but there is nothing she can do. Her hands are ties. She doesn't have the right to disclose Hayden's personal business to other people, even if it's her own best friend. Sometimes there are certain boundaries that should never be violated. Even Charlie knows that much. But why did it have to be her?

"I'll walk you out." She follows Jillian all the way to the front door. Just before she leaves, Charlie calls out to her, "Drive safe, Jill."

"I know," her friend quips. The car engine chokes and sputters before it roars to life and she takes off.

Charlie is about to head back inside when she hears a dog barking in the distance. Curiosity gets the best of her and she finds herself out on the sidewalk. A few yards away from her she spots the giddy creature. The Golden Retriever sees her too and charges towards the girl. His tongue is flapping in the wind and without hesitation Charlie crouches down and welcomes the dog with open arms. Her mood is instantly lifted as the fur tickles her skin, making her laugh.

"Where did you come from?" She scratches his ears and he howls in satisfaction. Charlie then realizes that he doesn't have a leash, only a collar. "Maxwell," she reads from the silver bone-shaped tag. A loud whistle echoes through the air causing Maxwell to look back and dash to his owner.

Charlie straightens up and is shocked to see Ethan Morindozo raking his fingers through the dog's fur. He looks up and their gazes connect. She couldn't believe this. Is this what he meant when he said he'd get revenge on her for socking him? How creepy! How did he find out where she lived anyways? "Are you stalking me?" she accuses, distraught.

"No," he replies flatly, sounding disinterested. Ethan may be a lot of things but a stalker's not one of them.

"Then what are you doing in front of my house?" Charlie pushes.

"Walking my dog. You don't own the street, do you?" he scoffs as he attaches the leash in his hand to Maxwell's collar.

"But why are you walking your dog in my neighborhood?" She frowns.

"Because I live here."

Charlie's jaw drops. "Since when?"

"Since yesterday." Ethan takes three long strides with his dog trailing behind and gets rid of the space separating them without much of an effort. Next, he bends down a little so that they are at eye-level and smirks. "Oh that's right. You were too busy to notice. It's nice meeting you, too, neighbor. I guess we'll be seeing each other frequently from now on."

Charlie's mind is boggled as she stares into the familiar pair of eyes that appears to be more blue than the last time she saw them. Her lips, in contrast to Ethan's, are pressed in a thin line. She doesn't know how to react. Should she punch him again or walk away? Maxwell, the lovable retriever, sits down in between them, panting as his eyes shift between the two.

The world is undoubtedly plotting Charlie's demise. That is the only explanation she has.

---

Author's Thoughts: Awww poor Hayden! Can you guys guess where this is going? Please do share what you think :)