Strings | ✔️

-22-

Hailey woke up at Ben's, she was about to hug him but he wasn't in bed. She looked around the room, the windows were closed and the smell of food reached her nose. She guessed Ben was in the kitchen, and decided to mess with him a little. She liked when he got startled, he screamed like a girl.

As she came down the stairs, Hailey felt like a little ninja. She made no noise and Ben was deep in cooking. Lucky for him, and her too, there were no knives nearby.

"Ben watch out!!" She shouted quickly and grabbed him from the back, which made him jump and shriek. He turned around with half a tomato in his hand, raised like something he was willing to fight with.

"You're crazy." Ben held his chest. "You could've killed me."

"What are you making?" She sat on the marble and took a peek at the frying pan.

"Just fried egg." He smiled. "And I also have a surprise." He murmured and looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"What?!" Hailey's eyes lit up and she stared at him. She's a very curious person, who couldn't avoid ruining surprises.

"If I tell you it won't be a surprise," Ben threw a few cut mushrooms to the frying pan. "Do you want an egg too?"

"I want you to tell me what's the surprise."

"Then you don't want? Too bad, I think it's gonna be good."

"Ben!"

"What?" He held back a laugh and pinched her cheek. "Cutie."

She tried to think how he could possibly surprise her. "Tell me..." She smeared all over his back while he waited for the food to be ready.

"You have extra clothes here right?" He asked and Hailey looked at herself. "Not that I mind your pajamas, but I guess you'd want to leave with something else."

"Where are we going?!" He smiled and raised his eyebrows and turned back to the gas. "Come on, tell me! I won't talk to you!!" Hailey jumped around him, pulling his shirt and hair.

"Okay, you tick!" He turned off the gas and took out a plate. "I thought it's a bummer that we always hide home, isn't it? Going out together doesn't mean we're dating, even though we are, but... you got it." He laughed a little.

"I thought about it too," she said, taking a bite of his fried egg. "After all. It's a father and daughter fun day." That made him laugh.

"Long story short," he took a bite and smiled at her. "We're going to the beach."

Hailey was excited about the idea. Not only she loved the beach, the fact she was going with Ben made it special. "Fun!!"

After Ben got ready, they had to make a stop at Hailey's. Ben stopped in front of the building and waited for her. He laughed when she came back out, wearing a sundress and sunglasses, running in small steps and waving a straw bag at him all excited.

"I brought us some goodies." She hopped to the passenger seat with a smile.

"Look who's here." Hailey heard two people near them while they looked for a spot to settle. Some people stopped him for a selfie, he smiled and went with it.

"Can we take a picture? Excuse me, can you take a picture of us?" a teen around 15 years old asked Hailey and pushed the phone in her hands without waiting for an answer.

"I.. guess." Hailey looked at her surprised and took the photo.

"Wait, aren't you gonna be on a new show together? I could swear I saw your picture somewhere on Instagram about it." Someone from the other direction told me. "Well, to be honest I don't know you. But I want a selfie just in case." He kept talking and Hailey was just overwhelmed by the whole situation. Strangers never just stopped to talk to her, unless they needed donations or asked for directions. Ben was nice to everyone, and spoke like they already knew each other.

The moment they started to let go, Hailey grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him gently out of there. "What was that?" She laughed a little.

"You better get used to it." He said and they finally found a comfortable spot. Hailey laid under the warm sun and closed her eyes with a smile. She felt Ben lying next to her too.

He looked at her, doing nothing, just letting the sun absorb her with warmth. And he enjoyed every minute.

"I love the beach." She smiled, her eyes still closed. Ben took out his phone and took some pictures of Hailey. He couldn't resist, she looked like a magazine cover without even trying. She heard the clicks and instantly opened one eye in his direction. When she saw the phone, she sat. "Let me see!" She said and snatched the phone from his hands. "Oh, I look terrible.." Her smile fell.

"Are you serious?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "You look beautiful! That's the reason I took those."

"If beautiful to you means looking like a monkey that just got out of a garbage can, then yes, I look very beautiful."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Hailey, you don't have ugly pics. You're stunning."

She laughed. "Have I told you you're perfect?"

"Not enough."

After some more time of sun bathing, they decided to get in the water. Hailey let the waves wash her and looked at Ben with a smile. He knew she was about to push him, but he couldn't do anything else but look at her, spreading her hands and letting the water crash her. She splashed him a little with her gentle arms, he laughed. "I want to kiss you so bad."

Her smile faded and she looked back. "But not here.."

Ben felt disappointed. Wasn't she sick of this? Because he sure was. He really didn't care what people would have to say about this relationship, he knew their close circle was okay with them and that's all that mattered.

On the other hand, he couldn't be selfish. He knew how to ignore social media, Hailey didn't. "Why not?" He asked her eventually. "Everyone you know and love knows about us."

She thought for a moment. "What if people will judge me like Jenny did at first..."

They started walking along the shore. "People will always have something to say about everything you do. That's how you wanna live? Scared from that? You think people won't talk and wonder what we did together at the beach? Who cares?"

She knew he was right. Maybe it was better to just let go. She held his hand, they both looked at their fingers intertwined. Hailey looked up to him cautiously, and realized he was already looking at her.

Don't think. She told herself in her thoughts as she stopped walking and turned to him, resting her hands on his shoulders. He moved her hair behind her ears with both hands and held her cheeks.

"This is what I want." She smiled at him, not daring to look aside, just like a stuntman not daring to look down. "You're right. I should be proud of you, you're better than anything I could dream of."

He kissed her, one hand stayed on her cheek and the other rested on the back of her head. As if he was enveloping her and protecting her from all of her fears.

They held hands and smiled at each other. They both knew this moment wasn't obvious, every little step they went through could cancel everything. But they were here, under the glowing sun and the sound of the waves.

They won.  

                      The End.

Author note in another part ❤️