No Hard Feelings

three

a / n :

I M P O R T A N T

filipino words will keep popping up every now and then throughout this story. i will post in-line comments to translate them, so you can just check those out as you read.

however, in case you don't have access to my comments (ie, you're reading offline, or on the website), you don't have to worry! the words aren't really crucial for you to understand what's happening, and i've provided some context clues in the text. still, don't hesitate to ask if anything confuses you! 

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T H R E E

WHICH IS WHY he decides to drop by for a visit later that night.

His mom and Adrian are already sleeping when he slips out of the house. He takes Adrian's motorcycle and reminds himself to use the helmet, else he'd risk having to listen to Hadley lecturing him again.

Not that it bothers him all that much: It reminds him that she cares, and Hadley makes it incredibly easy to forget that she does.

Hadley's house is normally around fifteen minutes away from his on Adrian's motorcycle, but it's only a few minutes until midnight, and the streets are nearly empty so he makes it there in ten.

He doesn't bother texting Hadley beforehand. He never does. He simply shows up and calls only when he's already there, standing on the sidewalk with the bike parked behind him, looking up at Hadley's window as he presses his phone against his ear.

He still remembers the first time he stood in this exact same spot doing the exact same thing two years ago. It had only been three weeks after he and Hadley started dating. He wasn't even sure if she was home, but he took his chances anyway, letting his impulsiveness get the better of him.

"What're you doing here?" she asked him almost as soon as she got out, wearing her coat over her onesies, hair mussed up from sleep.

"Happy birthday," he said in reply, holding out a warm cup of her favorite dark chocolate drink from Coffee Overdose.

Hadley's surprise was evident. She stared at him with a stricken look on her face, and it was such a rare expression on her that he couldn't help but grin.

"You must be out of your mind," Hadley told him when she recovered, cautiously accepting the drink from him.

"Maybe because I'm in yours?"

"It's too early for this," she said with an almost exasperated shake of her head, but there was a sheepish expression on her face when she finally lifted her eyes back to his. "Thank you."

"I just wanted to be the first one to greet you."

She let out a groan and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm dating a romantic. How'd you even get here? It's already twelve, for god's sake."

This time, it was Dexter's turn to feel sheepish. He himself had only just turned sixteen. It took three hours for him to successfully convince his mom to let him go out this late at night, then he had to strike a deal with Adrian just so he'd agree to take him there on his bike.

In fact, Adrian was waiting for him at the end of the block, where Dexter told him to stay because he didn't want him to do or even just say anything that could totally ruin the moment.