I found Jaden in the parking lot after class, sitting on the curb as he waited for me. He looked up at me and smiled as I approached. I smiled back and stopped in front of him. He stood up, holding onto the straps of his backpack and teetered awkwardly on his toes.

"You came," he told me.

"Yes I did," I chuckled, "Why wouldn't I?"

He didn't answer but his smile widened slightly. He gestured for me to follow and the two of us walked out of the school parking lot onto the main street. The air was warm, seeing as summer had only ended not too long ago. We walked in silence for a while before he tilted his head at me.

"What colour would you say your eyes are?" He asked.

"I'm not going to say blue because I have a feeling that's not the answer you want," I told him with a small laugh.

He chuckled, "Good. You're a fast learner. Be as pretentious as possible."

A moment of silence passed before I chuckled. "My eyes are the colour of the ocean on a stormy night," I told him before adding, "in Hawaii."

He laughed and nodded in approval. A few cars passed by us and I recognized some people from school already. It was funny how the people in this town were so nice but there were still people like Christina who tried to keep people away from Jaden. I guessed it just proved to me that there were villains everywhere you went.

I was tempted to ask Jaden about Christina but instead I asked, "What colour are your eyes?"

They were brown, a chocolate brown. His answer cane swiftly. "They are the colour of melted milk chocolate at exactly 100°," he told me. I burst out laughing and he nudged me. "Don't laugh. I'm not the one who came up with it."

I gave him a look.

"When I went for summer camp in the seventh grade this girl had a crush on me," he began, "She was a poet, so she came to my cabin this one night and called me out. She read this poem she wrote to me and told me when she was done that it was about me."

I could hear the amusement in his tone as he told the story and I smiled at him. It seemed like everything he did was a big task, even just telling a story. He gave it his full attention. "I'm hoping you didn't leave her hanging after all her hard work," I teased.

He rolled his eyes at me. "She was my first kiss."

I mentally applauded this girl. Despite his friendliness, it wasn't hard to tell that Jaden wasn't the most open person around. Reaching that base with him must have taken a lot of work.

"Who was yours?" He asked me casually. Up ahead, I saw a diner named Carol's and knew immediately that this was where we were going. My mind went back to the question.

"His name was Jackson. It was at the school fair in ninth grade," I told him, the memory coming in a painful wave. Jackson was the first boy to ever break my heart. He'd moved away from New York a month after we had started dating and cheated a few days later. "I hate him now."

We entered the diner and he gave me a wide smile, like I'd just given him the best news ever. He picked out a booth for us and told me to wait for him to get back. He made a move to walk away before he paused and turned to me again.

"What are you allergic to and are you vegetarian?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Strawberries," I answered, sinking into my seat, "And I'm a proud, unhealthy meat eater."

Giving me a quick nod he walked away, leaving me to look around he diner. It had a bubblegum blue theme with leather booths along one wall. It was quite small but quite cozy. The waitresses wore bubblegum blue uniform and had the friendliest smiles I'd seen in this Haven town.

I pulled out my phone and flicked through Instagram again. Addison seemed to be enjoying life without me. She still hadn't replied to any of my texts. A part of me couldn't wait until I forgot about her. It was inevitable. Even as I'd left New York I had known that our friendship wouldn't last.

Jaden came back some minutes later with two milkshakes. One was vanilla and the other was chocolate. He held both of them up. "Which one?" He asked, "I picked the most basic flavours. For today. The next time we come back, we'll pick something else. And then we'll pick another thing the next next time we co-"

"I get it," I laughed, reaching for the chocolate one. He grudgingly handed it over and sat across me, placing a straw in his drink. "What if I want vanilla next time though?"

"You won't," he told me, handing me a straw from the cup full of them. "We're swapping half way."

I nodded in understanding and took a sip of my milkshake. Delicious, as expected. An old RnB song was playing from the speakers in the roof and I bobbed my head along to the song until Jaden spoke.

"You have no idea how weird that looks," he told me, obviously biting back a smile. I realised that I still had the straw in my mouth and instantly turned red. I grabbed one of the napkins from the pile on the table and threw it at him. It was thin though, so it simply stayed airborne for a second before it landed on the table, between the both of us.

Jaden laughed loudly. "Shut up,"I told him, laughing as well. It took him a few more seconds to calm down before he stared at me again, a mysterious smile on his face before he leaned on the table, cupping his chin in both hands like a kid.

"So, what exactly does Maddie do for fun apart from giving straws head?" He asked.

The answer came instantly, despite the cheekiness in the question. "I write," I told him, folding my arms over my chest. "Or atleast I used to."

Even though I doubted that it was possible, he leaned forward more, "Why did you stop?"

"My dad," I sighed. Just thinking about him hurt a little. "He makes sure I know he's against it. He always tells me that if it doesn't bring me any money it isn't worth it."

He frowned, "No offence but ummm.....has your dad ever heard of authors?"

I managed a small laugh. "He's an old school kind of guy. He wants me to be a doctor or a business woman."

I focused on my straw and began stirring my milkshake with it until he spoke again. "Well then," he rubbed his hands together, "I guess we both have daddy issues."

He held up his glass and I clinked mine against it without any hesitation. Last minute, he grabbed my drink and placed his in front of me.

"Swapsies," he said, sipping mine. Without changing the straw. I hmphed but took the milkshake. It was just as good. Probably even better. His loss.

"What about you?" I asked. "What's does Jaden do for fun? Apart from night swimming?"

He twirled one of his dreadlocks as he drank, his eyes on the roof. "Well, Jaden is a bit of a psycho," he met my gaze, waiting for a reaction. I didn't break eye contact, keeping a poker face. I knew he was purposely trying to make Christina's warning seem valid. I just didn't know why.

"I need to see it to believe it," I answered. We had our staring contest for what felt like a lifetime until he finally looked away. A waitress was approaching with a tray that had two plates. On the plates were the biggest burgers I'd seen in my life. I gulped.

"Here you go darlings," the waitress, who looked about my mom's age, said as she set the trays onto our table.

"Thanks Cheryl," Jaden said. She wasn't wearing a name tag. This town was small enough that they weren't needed, I guessed. He gestured towards me, "This is Maddie. She's new in town."

Cheryl looked at me and nodded, smiling warmly. I smiled back. "She's gorgeous too," she noted, "Nice to meet you hun. Treat him good okay?"

Cue red cheeks. I nodded nonetheless. Even Jaden looked embarrassed for the first time and that made the moment less awkward somehow.

"You don't have to treat me nicely," he said when she was out of earshot, "Cheryl thinks she's my wing woman."

I chuckled just to ease the tension. "I wasn't planning on treating you nicely," I gestured towards the giant burger in front of me. "Not when you're trying to make me obese."

"You'll love it," he told me, popping a fry into his mouth. He paused before adding, "Oh and....if you want to see the madness with your own eyes, you'll let me pick you up on Friday night."

I felt my heart jump. "What will we be doing?" I asked.

"Just say yes," he groaned, popping another chip into his mouth. I smiled back.

"I'm obviously not going to say no," I shrugged, reaching for the ketchup. I squeezed a blob onto one corner of my plate and dipped a fry in it before popping it into my mouth. He held out his hand for the ketchup and I passed it to him. He squeezed it in messy lines all over his fries before setting it down and looking at me.

"You're brave then, New York," he told me, "Let's see how long you'll last."

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this is longer than the last few chapters and I'm hoping I can add more words to each chapter I write. Tell me what you think of the story so far!

Make sure you vote, comment and share! Check out the song I've attached! It just felt appropriate ha!

Also, this chapter is dedicated to Mambwe. Don't get too excited lol. Thank you for all the support you give me daily. I really appreciate it.

Lots of love
Musawa