Chapter Text
Feel like dropping by?
Hayley waited in anticipation for his response. She knew he was likely busy, but still, she couldn’t help the way her knee bounced in nervousness as she sat, staring at her Louie and waiting for its chime.
She didn’t have to wait very long. Within seconds, her Louie chirped, indicating the arrival of a new message.
Miss me already?
Hayley rolled her eyes at his playfully arrogant response right as another message came in.
Nothing could keep me away.
Hayley’s lips broke out into a wide grin as she snapped her Louie shut.
If he was heading over now, it gave her about two hours to get ready. Plenty of time. She fell back on her bed, thoughts of him infiltrating her mind; all she was thinking about was what could happen when he got here; what would he say? What would he do? Her mind ran wild with the possibilities just as her Louie chimed again.
She looked down to see that this time, it was an incoming phone call from her best friend. Maintaining her grin, she put in her earpiece and accepted the call before falling back on her bed.
“Hey, you,” Hayley said with a smile.
“Hey!” Jackie responded in her ear. “Just wanted to check up on you. Make it home safe?”
“Yeah. Nothing too crazy happened. Well, not until we got back to the neighborhood. We were swarmed by so many reporters that we could barely move our car.”
“Seriously? Don’t those people have anything better to do?” Jackie responded, disgust imminent in her voice.
“Yeah, it was annoying, but I guess I kind of get it. I mean, everyone thought she was dead, and now it’s her first time being home in, like, a year?” Hayley explained. Truthfully, she was finding it hard to think negatively at all in light of recent events; she still felt like she was walking on air.
“I know, but still, doesn’t mean it’s any of their business,” Jackie snarked. “I think I’ve had enough of nosy reporters for a lifetime.”
“I’m with you there,” Hayley attempted to sympathize, recalling all of her friend’s bad experiences with reporters. She immediately moved to change the topic, not wanting to let anything damper her mood. “How’s things for you?”
“Nothing too crazy,” Jackie said. “Kind of wanted to be away from everything for a while, so I spent most of the day surfing. I’m back on campus now, though.”
“‘Everything’ being…?” Hayley probed.
“Just, you know, it was crazy for a while. Lots of police officers and agents, worried families, and reporters… I needed a break.”
“Right…” Hayley trailed off. Sensing the topic of reporters threatening to rear its head once more, Hayley once again attempted to redirect the conversation. “How’s everyone else? How’s Max?”
“Um… he’s good, I think?” Jackie said, her tone suddenly sounding kind of weird. “Why?”
“Oh, nothing,” Hayley said. “I was just wondering if you’d had the chance to talk with him since you saw him with Emma earlier.”
“Oh, well…” Jackie trailed off. “I mean, yeah, we talked a little…”
Hayley frowned through the phone. “Okay, you’re not being subtle at all. Spill. What happened?”
“Nothing happened, okay?” Jackie responded. “Like, okay, he told me… told me that he and Emma decided they were better off as friends. And… and that’s it.”
“That’s it, huh?” Hayley said, brows raised.
“That’s it,” Jackie insisted. Before Hayley could say anything more, like insinuate that now was the time for Jackie to try to court Max—Jackie's crush on the boy was pretty apparent to Hayley, even if nobody else would have a clue—Jackie spoke up. “I should probably go.”
Hayley checked her watch and then responded with a, “Yeah, me too. Gotta get ready.”
“Get ready? For what?” Jackie queried.
“Oh, someone’s coming over to see me,” Hayley explained before realizing what she’d just revealed. She cursed at herself under her breath right as Jackie responded with a, “And who would ‘someone’ be?”
“It’s no one. Nothing. Just my old friend Mer,” Hayley said, the lie coming out effortlessly.
“Right…” it was Jackie’s turn to say. “Well, stay safe, have fun, and let me know if anything happens.”
“I should say the same to you,” Hayley responded with a chuckle. “Bye.”
“Bye,” Jackie replied, removing her earpiece and sticking it, along with her Louie, into the pocket of her baggy shorts. She immediately turned the corner of the hall back to the Ravens Clubhouse and entered.
Inside, most of the Ravens were up to “the usual.” Some were working on puzzles, some reading, some playing video games. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Max on the couch, still flipping through the TV’s channels. Next to him sat Emma, her eyes glued to him as he concentrated on channel surfing.
She couldn’t help but huff; she’d been sitting right where Emma was, what, ten minutes ago? Jackie began making her way over to the pair slowly, hoping to go unnoticed in case anything happened.
And something did happen—as Max made a comment Jackie couldn’t quite hear, Emma laughed a little too hard and moved a little too close to him, even reaching to lay her hand on his shoulder. As Max turned to look at Emma, Jackie watched as she fluffed her hair a bit and gave him a smile Jackie could only describe as seductive.
Absolutely not, Jackie thought, her blood boiling. She darted over to the pair, grabbing Max’s arm and tugging him up to his feet.
“Ow! Hey!” Max said.
“Hurry up,” Jackie said fiercely, pulling him away from Emma, over to the clubhouse door, and out into the empty hallway.
Upon looking all ways to ensure the coast was clear, Jackie let go of Max’s arm. She quickly noticed the concern in his eyes. “Are you okay?” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“Earlier, you said… you told Emma that you like me. Right?” Jackie said, leaning back against a wall, kicking up one of her legs so that one of her feet rested against the wall, the other on the floor.
“Well, actually, if we’re being technical, my exact words were ‘I’m really sorry, but I’m in love with Jackie and I want to be with her.’”
Jackie could immediately feel the blush creep up onto her cheeks at his words. Again, just like earlier on the beach. He kept catching her off guard with his confident usage of the “L” word. And knowing he actually felt so strongly for her, enough to use that word—it had Jackie’s heart racing probably thrice as fast as usual.
She took a few deep breaths, pulling herself together—the point wasn’t that Max loved her. The point was if anyone else knew he loved her.
“So then, what exactly did you tell her after… y’know, after we…?”
Max frowned, clearly not quite picking up on what Jackie was referring to. It only took a few seconds, however, for his eyes to brighten as if something clicked in his mind.
“Oh! Right,” he said. “I told her I confessed my feelings to you, and you rejected me.”
“Rejected?” Jackie pouted, folding her arms across her chest. “That makes me look like a jerk.”
“Well, what else could I have said?” Max asked with a frown.
Jackie sighed. “Point taken.”
“I needed to cover our tracks,” Max continued to explain.
“I said I get it,” Jackie snapped, shutting him right up. She sighed again, leaning her head back against the wall to look at the bright ceiling lights. “So she doesn’t think we’re together.”
“Eeeexactly,” agreed Max.
“So… so that’s why she feels so okay about flirting with you in front of everyone?”
“What?” Max said, blinking hard a few times. “Flirting?”
“Max, are you seriously saying you didn’t see what she was doing back there?” Jackie said, bringing her head back down to meet his eyeline.
“No, what was she doing?”
“The girly giggling, the hair flipping, the this,” Jackie paused, pushing herself off the wall to touch his shoulder lightly before returning to her spot against the wall. Max continued standing stiffly, his eyes wide and clearly confused. “You seriously didn’t notice?” Jackie said.
“No, I didn’t,” he said genuinely. “I have absolutely zero desire to pay attention to other girls.”
Dang it, Jackie thought, feeling her cheeks prickle and knowing that meant she was blushing. Again. She wondered if this was a feeling she’d have to start getting used to.
Nonetheless, she continued, determined to finish her thought.
“Look, the point is that she was clearly coming on to you, and it bugs me,” Jackie said bluntly.
“Well… if it bothers you so much, you do know there’s a way we can ensure she knows I’m off limits,” Max said matter-of-factly, taking a small step towards her with a sweet smile written on his lips.
“I know, I know,” Jackie said, moving the foot that was against the wall back to the ground but remaining positioned with her back on the wall. “I just don’t know if I’m ready yet. People lose their minds about the ‘couple’ thing here. And I really don’t want that kind of attention right now.”
“Jackie, it’s okay, I promise,” Max said, smile growing wider as he inched a bit closer to her. “I want you to be happy, so whatever I need to do to make that happen, I’ll do.”
Jackie let a small smile tug at her own lips, reaching down to grab both of his hands and thread her fingers with his. “Thanks, Max,” she said as she moved her arms back towards the wall, pulling Max closer as a result; at this point, she now stood comfortably sandwiched between him and the hallway wall behind her.
She quickly noticed how his eyes were fixated on her lips. She wondered if he wanted to kiss her. Because she definitely wanted to kiss him. But she didn’t really know how to convey it; the two had literally shared their first kiss earlier that day.
So instead of making any further moves, she spoke again.
“…so you’re sure you didn’t notice Emma flirting with you?”
Max grinned, his eyes now back on hers.
“I really, really didn’t, Jackie,” he said confidently, “trust me. I only have eyes for you.”
“Really?” she breathed quietly.
Max responded in the most perfect way he could’ve: by releasing her hands, grabbing her shoulders, pressing her up against the wall even more, and kissing her.
Hayley wasn’t sure she’d be able to hear much over the sound of the rhythmic banging of Alex’s basketball outside, so it took her by surprise that the sound of the doorbell ringing was crystal clear.
He’s here!
Quickly, she darted over to her mirror to make sure she was still good to go: she finger-combed her hair, re-applied her lip gloss, and ran her hands over the front of her white dress to flatten it down. As she was doing so, a knock sounded on her door.
She heaved a heavy breath before reaching for the doorknob, pulling her door open.
As anticipated, there stood Daniel. The first thing she noticed was the wide grin on his face, his smiling eyes glistening in tandem. She watched as his eyes roamed over her, taking her all in, and she let herself do the same; he looked very handsome in his plaid button-up shirt and dark slacks.
“You sure clean up nice,” Daniel said, still grinning as Hayley stepped back from the door to invite him in. As soon as he was fully in the room, she shut the door behind him, turning to face him fully.
“I could say the same for you,” she remarked, once again checking him out. He gave a short chuckle before wandering further into her room, looking around.
“So this is casa de Hayley, eh?” he said, head tilting as he gazed around the room.
“Yup,” she said, “and maybe I’ll show you around later.” She took a breath before continuing. “But I didn’t invite you here to give you a room tour.”
Daniel raised his brows, turning to look at Hayley. “You didn’t, huh?”
“Nope,” she said, suddenly feeling nervous under his gaze, which was growing in intensity by the second.
Daniel stepped closer to her, tilting his head. “So why did you invite me here, exactly?”
Hayley responded by closing the distance between them and planting a kiss on his lips. Upon breaking away, she hoped the look in her eyes conveyed the question in her mind: was that okay? Daniel responded with an answer of his own—cupping her face in his hands and kissing her tenderly.
She responded to his kiss enthusiastically, allowing herself to get swept up by the moment. This. This right here was one of the things she imagined happening tonight. And the fact that it actually was happening had her giggling like an idiot on the inside.
Hayley leaned closer, attempting to deepen the kiss, but instead, Daniel took a step back, separating himself. She froze, mouth agape. Had she done something wrong?
“That was awesome,” he started, and Hayley breathed a sigh of relief. “And I’d love nothing more than to keep kissing you.”
“But…?” Hayley asked, taking a tentative step towards him.
“But I think we should take a sec and figure out where we wanna go with this,” Daniel said, flicking his finger back and forth between himself and Hayley as he finished his sentence.
“I guess that’s a good idea,” Hayley sighed, taking a seat on her bed and gesturing for Daniel to sit next to her. Upon sitting, he turned in her direction, focusing all of his attention on her.
“Look, Hayley, I really, really like you. And I don’t want this to be a casual thing. I wanna make this official. Go steady. Whatever it is the kids say nowadays.”
This elicited a chuckle from Hayley’s lips. Then she sat for a moment, letting herself truly process what Daniel had just said.
“If I didn’t know any better,” she started, “I’d think you just asked me to be your girlfriend.”
Daniel grinned a wide grin. “Maybe I did.”
Hayley beamed brightly, reaching for his hands—softer than she thought they’d be, given she’d never really held his hands like this before—and she responded with a, “I’d love to go out with you, Daniel.”
Daniel’s smile grew impossibly wider as he leaned to capture her lips with his. One of his hands released hers, moving to cup her cheek. Hayley let herself enjoy the moment for a little while longer before it was her turn to break the kiss.
Daniel squeezed her hand, a frown accompanying the dying smile on his lips. “Everything okay?” he said.
“Yeah, it’s just… now that we’re together, I’ve got a proposition for you.”
“And what’s that?” Daniel asked, brows furrowed.
“Maybe…” Hayley paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Maybe we hold off on going public for a bit.”
“Seriously?” Daniel asked, allowing his free hand to travel along her waist, sending shivers up her spine. “You’re saying I can’t let the world know I’m dating the most beautiful girl on the planet?”
Hayley let herself delight in the warmth his comment made her feel for just a moment before continuing.
“I’m just thinking it may not be the best time,” Hayley responded, squeezing his hand. “Alex would lose it, and everything with Leo is… really weird right now. And my mom like just came back to life, and we also just brought down a major crime organization, and look, I just don’t need more drama right now.”
“Wait, back up,” Daniel said. “So you’re telling me Alex has no idea I’m here?”
Hayley rolled her eyes with a smile, saying, “He’s been in the back shooting hoops all evening. No way he saw you. But it’s not just him, Daniel, it’s everything.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Daniel huffed. “So what, though, you’re saying we don’t hang out in public at all?”
“I’m not saying we go back to the way things were before, with all of the animosity and whatever… we can totally hang out. I think it’d make sense to everyone that we’re friends now, after everything we’ve been through.”
Daniel didn’t respond; instead, he sat rigidly, wearing a clear look of disappointment.
“Don’t you think it could be fun though?” Hayley tried. “You know, sneaking around… it’s kinda hot.”
“Maybe," Daniel started morosely, clearly not buying into Hayley's idea. "But we’ve been sneaking around nonstop for the past couple of weeks. I feel like I’ve had my fill.”
“I get it,” Hayley said, squeezing his hand. “Aspen was nosy, Alex was suspicious, Leo was downright intolerable. I get it. But I really need you to understand that I just can’t do this right now. Okay?”
Daniel wasted no time in retreating his hands from Hayley at her words. She attempted to mask the disappointment she felt at this, moving to rest her hands in her lap.
“What are you saying, Hayley?” Daniel asked, which came out as more of a statement than a question.
“I’m saying you can either have me in secret or not at all,” Hayley said, determined to stand her ground. “At least for now. I’m going through way too much right now for the added drama.”
“And you don’t think I’m going through a lot too?” Daniel scowled. “My mom’s in prison. I’ve pretty much just lost everything I’ve ever known.”
“I don’t want this to turn into a fight, Daniel,” Hayley responded simply, keeping her eyes glued to him. From the stories she’d heard from Alex about Brooke, Daniel called all the shots of their relationship, and he also had a tendency to make things about himself during conflict and escalate issues to full-out arguments. It wasn’t anything Hayley couldn’t handle, but she knew she would have to diffuse it before it could start.
“Listen,” she continued, “I’m not Brooke. I’m not going to let you dictate everything about our relationship. I’m going to communicate my boundaries, and you can either work with me or not. Okay?”
Daniel sat speechless, his mouth slightly agape, and he looked at her with this strange look of wonder in his eyes. Hayley watched as slowly, slowly, his lips began to curve into a smile.
“Gotta say, Hayley, you’re pretty fierce,” Daniel said. “I admire the way you stood up for yourself just now.”
“You think?” Hayley responded, completely melting from his comment and his warm gaze.
“Yeah. I may not like it, but I like you, Hayley. I really like you. So if this is what we gotta do for now so that I get to be with you, then this is what we’ll do.” As he spoke, he reached for her hand again, and she gladly took it.
“Thank you for understanding,” Hayley said, now wearing a soft smile to match Daniel’s.
“But you’ll have to help me come up with an excuse if I slip up and call you ‘babe’ in public. That’s part of my terms and conditions.”
Hayley chuckled. “Fine by me.”