Because of You

Chapter 8: The Bracelet

It's been a whole month since Hayden and I officially became a couple. And it's been the best month of my entire life. I still feel like I'm living in a dream. You know in dreams how it's usually never a full story, like you just appear somewhere? That's kind of how I'm feeling right now. Like I just appeared in the most magical dream the subconscious could create. How did this even happen? How did we even get here?

I constantly feel like I'm in a daze and he's all I can see. He's everything. He's my mornings, my afternoons, and my nights. He's what I think about all day and even in my sleep. He's the first thing on my mind when I wake up, and the last thing on my mind when I fall asleep.

We spend time together outside of school almost every day. Depending on his work schedule, we either have dinner and spend some of the evening together, or we meet for coffee before school. Those days are my favorite. We meet at BrewHouse at six A.M. and start our day talking, laughing, flirting, and holding hands. And of course, a little bit of kissing when no one is looking.

He walks me to all of my classes before going to his. I know people in school are still in shock about us dating. And I honestly don't blame them. Everything happened so suddenly. I mean, we went from never talking and never being seen together, to completely glued at the hip. But we don't care what others think. We walk the halls holding hands, completely mesmerized with each other.

Sometimes Maggie will walk with us too. Hayden likes Maggie, and I want to make sure Maggie feels included. She has been so supportive of our relationship and always encourages us to have time alone. But the last thing I would want is her feeling excluded. Mom has been supportive too, even though I know she's sad that I spend less time with her now. I try to keep things balanced, but I always end up with Hayden more than her. But her being the amazing mom she is, never makes me feel guilty about it.

**

I ride with Mom to school today because Hayden had plans to workout with Marcus early this morning. So that gives us time to catch up and chat. I notice she doesn't bring up Hayden at all. She just wants to talk about schoolwork, my GPA, scholarships, and college. Nevertheless, I'm glad we had some alone time together.

"And how are you feeling about your audition piece?" She asks.

"Pretty good right now. I know I need to tighten it up quite a bit. And I need to work on cardio, because I feel my energy slipping towards the end."

Mom nods. "Yeah I noticed that too. But don't worry, you have time to improve that!" She says as she pats my leg gently.

**

Usually Hayden is waiting for me at school if we don't get coffee before. But today I don't see him in the halls. Feeling a little disappointed, I walk to my locker, open it up, and find the sweetest surprise. A large cup of coffee and a beautiful red rose, waiting for me. The rose has a little note tied to it. It says-

"Happy one-month anniversary, babe. -Hayden"

My heart bursts and I bite my bottom lip to keep from squealing. I take it to Mom's room to show her. "Mom, look! It's our one-month anniversary! He left this in my locker," I say with excitement.

She's heading to go make copies, and she quickly glances at me as she's walking out the door.

"Aww," she says with no emotion. She barely even looks. For a second, I let it bother me. But I guess she's just busy and needs to get stuff done before the bell rings.

I hear Maggie and Hayden talking in the hall, and they walk into my mom's room. "Your mom seems crabby," Maggie says a little too loudly.

I laugh, then I give Hayden a hug and quick kiss. "Thank you for the coffee and rose," I blush. "Happy one-month to you too."