Chapter Thirty Seven
Ever since I got the news that Hayden is going to prom with someone else, my desire to actually go to prom completely diminished. Cole and Chloe will be all over one another, Logan and Vicky won't be able to stay apart from one another for more than maybe two seconds, and Hayden will have his date.
Which will leave me alone.
So I decided not to go. Chloe begged me multiple times, but it didn't work. No part of me wants to sit and watch Hayden dance with another girl.
Instead, I'm sitting on my bed curled up with covers around me watching movies on my laptop. Angel and Bruce are snuggled on either side of me, snoozing their day away.
Outside, thunder and lightening shake the sky and the rain is so loud I have to turn my laptop sound to the highest setting.
"That must have sucked for prom pictures," I mutter to myself.
The fact that it's raining makes me feel a little better about not going to my senior prom. I would rather be sitting here with no makeup in my dad's baggy shirt than to be caked with makeup and stuck in a tight dress with rain pouring around me as I force smiles for pictures.
I glance at the clock and see that it's 9:30, which means prom has been going on for two hours now. I can practically picture how much fun Logan and Chloe must be having, and it makes me smile but it also makes my chest ache a little bit.
I kind of regret missing my senior prom.
Suddenly, over the sound of the thunder, rain, and my laptop, I hear knocking on my front door downstairs. I groan and throw the covers off of my body, covering up Bruce in the process. He grunts and lifts his head only for it to be stuck under the comforter and flails about until he's out from under them and able to peek at me.
"Sorry Bruce," I laugh, kissing his head.
More knocking at my door makes me rush down the steps faster, yelling out an 'I'm coming' so that I don't get a headache from the pounding.
I reach the front door and dart my arm out to quickly open it up, and see the reason I stayed home standing on my front porch.
Hayden is standing in front of me; soaking wet in his tuxedo with the tie halfway undone. His pants are disheveled and wrinkled, and his suit jacket is completely ruined.
"Hayden?" I ask, mouth wide open from pure shock. "What are you doing here?"
He stares at me as rain drips down from his hair and slides down his face. "You weren't at prom," he says over the rain.
I shake my head and look in the driveway for his car, but I can't find it anywhere and I look back at him. "Did you run all the way here?"
He ignores my question, "Why didn't you go?"
I blink at him and search for an answer. Do I lie? Do I tell the truth? Do I shut the door and act like this is all a dream?
"I couldn't go and see you with someone else."
Hayden searches my eyes for a few seconds, the rain coming down harder as it creates a waterfall of sorts down the cover on my front porch. A boom of thunder shakes the house and I jump slightly, but I don't break eye contact with Hayden who wasn't affected by it at all.
He reaches into his pockets and pulls out a soaking wet letter. "I found this in your locker." It practically falls apart in his hands and he looks down at the mush of paper, "It got a little wet."
Even with the rain damage I can still see the white envelope with the perfect heart drawn onto the seal. Suddenly my heart starts pounding harder in my chest, so prominent I can feel it in my throat. How long has it been since I've gotten a letter?
So I take it from his hand, and somehow I manage to open it without ripping the letter within. And though it's completely soaked, I can clearly make out the single sentence on the page.
It's me; it's always been me.
My eyes then trail to the bottom where it has always read, 'Love, Anonymous.'
Only this time, it's signed a bit different.
"Love,
Hayden."
My eyes snap from the letter to his face, wrinkled with vulnerability and I struggle to find my voice, but he speaks first.
"Cupcake I-"
Before he can say anything else, I step out into the rain with him, throw my arms around his neck and press my body against his soaking wet suit, and kiss him with everything I have.
I can sense his surprise from his small stumble backwards, but he quickly wraps his arms around me and picks me up as he kisses me back with all of his heart.
His lips mold into mine, hot against my own while the rest of our bodies are shivering from the rain. Lightning sparks outside and I can't help but think that's exactly how this feels- like a lightning shock of warmth spreading throughout my entire being, sending my heart into overdrive.
He lightly sets me back on my feet once we slowly pull apart and smiles at me, rain dripping down his temple. "I knew you couldn't stay away."
I laugh and shake my soaking wet head at him. "Says the one who ran two miles to my house in the pouring rain?"
He smiles and swoops his head down to kiss me again. "I'd run anywhere to get to you," he says over the rain.
I laugh and wipe away some of the wet hair stuck to his forehead, and then I realize something that has me shaking my head. "So you never broke into my locker to steal my letters?"
He grins, "I wouldn't even have known how to."
I go to chuckle, but I sneeze instead and Hayden smirks.
"So are you going to ask me to come inside or are we going to keep making out in the rain? Because trust me, I am definitely okay with that as I'm sure you can tell," he says with a small bit of sheepishness, glancing down, "but I'd rather not nurse a cold, and this suit is chaffing."
I laugh and we separate in order to step inside and out of the pouring rain. More thunder sounds, but Hayden pulls me back into his arms as soon as we step inside and keeps me from jumping.
"Towels?" I ask.
He looks at me with bright eyes and nods, "Towels."
We walk upstairs and I get the towels for us to dry off with, and I grab him a large shirt and some of my dad's sweats I stole. I wait patiently outside of my room for him to change, a million thoughts swarming my brain.
Why didn't he tell me sooner? Why am I not in there watching him change? Is he staying the night again? Why is my mom in her room and not coming out to ask what's going on?
"You can come in Cupcake, it doesn't take me 20 minutes to change," he calls from inside my room.
I blush lightly and open the door, shuffling in.
He smiles once he sees me and stands from the bed, and I ask my question.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
He looks down and sighs, "I may have a cocky exterior, but inside I was an insecure mess around you. I just figured it'd be better not to tell you and let you move on."
"Well you're an idiot then." I deadpan with a small smile.
He laughs and pulls me towards him, "I'm the idiot? You're the one who didn't get the million hints I dropped!"
I roll my eyes. "You're right," I mutter.
He smirks, "What was that?"
I fake glare at him, "I don't have to kiss you again."
His smirk stays and he shrugs, "But you will."
I stare at him for a few seconds and then crack with a small smile, "You're right. I will," I say, resting my hands on his chest as I lean up to keep that promise.
He rests his hands on my waist and pulls my body as close to him as possible, efficiently deepening the kiss. His lips mold against mine just like his hands molded perfectly against my waist.
We pull apart and he rests his forehead on mine, "I love you, Cupcake. Always have, always will."
Warmth. Affection. Love. Happiness. Serenity. Safety. Intensity.
"I love you too."
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THIS WAS NOT THE END