When We Write the Stars

Chapter 12: Hayden

"No, I like you very much. Just as you are." – Bridget Jones Diary

     I'd come to the terrible conclusion that I didn't completely hate Cassie Bennet after all. I by no means liked her, but I didn't hate her either. I hadn't expected to see her again, after whatever happened over the weekend, but then on Monday morning on my way to the weight room I looked into one of the studios and there she was.

     She'd looked more intense than I'd ever seen her, which was saying something because nobody was as intense as Cassie, but there was something different about her. She was kickboxing with Alyssa, the roommate who didn't like me. And Cassie was better than I thought.

     Sure, I'd seen her in action and knew she could throw a punch, but seeing her throw this many in a row, consistently switching from her left to her right, then throwing in kicks, it was kind of amazing.

     Unluckily for me, however, Coleman caught me staring, "West what're you," he called out. Quickly followed by, "Oh."

     "Shut up," I said grabbing his arm and dragging him away.

     "I didn't say anything."

     "You didn't have to, I know what you're going to say, and you're wrong."

     "So you don't have a thing for a certain project partner," he asks menacingly.

     "No."

     "Then why were you staring at her," he asks, raising an eyebrow.

     "I wasn't staring, I was just walking by and happened to see her, and did a double take."

     "Yo, Coleman, West," Payne calls out as we walk into the room, clearly having heard the tail end of our conversation, "Loverboy over here still staring when you walked by?"

     "I was not," I start to say, but get cut off.

     "You saw it too," Coleman practically shouts with glee, "Oh man, you're done now West. Payne's clearly been here for a bit. You were staring. You like her."

     I feel my face begin to flush, "I might have been staring, but it was because I didn't know she could hit like that, it has nothing to do with me liking her."

     "So you do like her then," Payne asks, grinning.

      "I don't. End of discussion, or maybe I'll suggest to Coach that the team could use some extra time running the track this week."

     They both rush to change the subject, and I smile. The biggest perk of being captain is I have the power to get any of them to shut up just like that. Okay, that might not be the biggest perk, but it's definitely up there. Some things don't need to be discussed and my love life, or lack thereof is one of them.

     On Tuesday, when I got to class and saw her for the first time, officially, since everything I decided to invite her to our game this weekend. It was our first home game of the season, and we wanted to pack the stands. That's why I invited her, no other reason. I wasn't constantly thinking about whether or not she'd actually come or not.

     I didn't intend to tell the guys I invited her, I knew they'd give me shit for it, but I was thinking about it so much throughout the day that on our drive back from practice I mumbled, "So I invited Cassie to the game on Saturday, do you think she'll come?"

     "I thought you didn't like her," Gibbs asked from the driver's seat, clearly exchanging a look with Coleman who was up there next to him.

     "I don't I just," I trailed off, not entirely sure how to finish.