Love, Anonymous

Chapter Twenty

Quick update ;)

Chapter Twenty

Swirling my straw around my cherry limeade, I wait for Chloe to finish chewing her mozzarella sticks so that she can continue telling me all about her relationship with Cole.

"He just kind of came up to me in the parking lot last week." She explains. "You can imagine my absolute shock when he asked me to come with him." She says with a small laugh.

I raise a brow, "You mean all he did was say hey and then asked you to come with him?"

She nods with a laugh. "I had an idea of what was going on, but I didn't just go with him. I asked him why the hell he was there. He told me that it's been too long and that he wanted to fix things between us. I stared at him for a while before I decided why the hell not." She says, throwing another cheese stick into her mouth.

I shake my head and smile, "I can't believe it! What did he say?"

She tries to bite back a smile. "Well, he took me to a spot we used to always go as kids. It was some park back at our old houses, and then we started reminiscing about when we were friends. He suddenly opened up to me, explained why he pushed me away." She sighs, a faraway look in her eye.

"Why did he?" I ask, cocking my head. I've been wondering that since she first told me about Cole.

"He was in a bad place and didn't want to keep bringing me down." She says, "He explained it better, and I understood. He didn't want to hurt me, and he says that he wishes he had done it all different because he lost more than just his mother when she passed. He lost one of the best things that ever happened to him- he lost me." She says with a gentle smile. "His words, not mine." She adds.

I smile widely and shove her in excitement. "Chloe! This is so exciting!" I exclaim.

After Hayden went home early this morning, before my parents got home, Chloe called me and asked to hang out. It was about time I heard all about Cole and what happened there.

"It is very exciting," she agrees. "But enough about me, what's going on with you and Hayden? Any news?"

I decided early this morning when Hayden left, before my parents got home, to keep last night to myself. I don't need Chloe pestering me about it every second of every day.

"I'm starting to value him as a close friend." I admit.

"Oh god don't tell me you friend zoned him..." She says, eyes wide with horror.

I chuckle at her drama and roll my eyes. "No I didn't friend zone him." Then I think about last night and grimace. "At least I think I didn't?"

I literally told him he's such a good friend.

Wait- why does it matter?

"So you agree that you were wrong to judge him so badly before you met him?" Chloe asks with a smirk.

I scowl at her, "Yeah, Chloe. There's just something about him... I get this weird feeling around him." I say.

My mind goes to last night and when we shared our stories with one another. Sure I don't have much of a story, but Hayden listened patiently and offered to be there for me whenever I need him. Then he opened up to me and showed me a part of him I wasn't prepared for.

The fact he even stayed the night to keep me feeling safe without me having to ask is monumental in itself.

And then there's my suspicion of my dream about my dad tucking me in and kissing my forehead was actually Hayden. I know he at least put me in my own bed, which was a really sweet gesture.

He's nothing like I thought he would be. At the start of this year, I hated him. I thought he was the most arrogant and cockiest person to ever set foot on earth and I wanted nothing to do with him. Now everything is different.

Yes, his ego is so big I don't know how he can stand himself, but I've seen his softer and more playful side. He may be cocky, but I feel like it's all in good fun.

Getting to know him, joking with him, laughing with him, admitting things to him... My feelings towards him have completely shifted and I find that I actually like being around him. I want to be around him.

Shit I really need to make sure I didn't friend zone him.

Chloe snaps me from my thoughts with a smirk bigger than life.

"You know you're smiling, right?" She asks.

I look at her and shake my head with a disbelieving laugh.

"I have a crush on Hayden..."

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