The Definition Of Love (Book 1) [Gxg]

Chapter 12

After Linda's tears had evaporated from her t-shirt and her thoughts, Haley's mind was occupied with wisps of anticipation. Where was Juan going to take her? This question clouded her head and prevented her from functioning during most of her periods. She kept shooting questioning glances at Juan during art and english but he waved her off, pretending to absorb every word that their teachers were saying. And between classes Juan would escape lithely before she could engage in any sort of conversation with him, but not before shooting her a playful smile and winking with his sparkling green eye.

When the last bell of the day resounded, Haley heaved a sigh of relief. She shoved her binder into her bag and tossed her pen in next. She poked her pencil into her messy bun and set out to her locker. It took every inch of her will to keep herself from sprinting. Her fingers fumbled with the combination. When she'd finally finished disposing all her junk into her locker, she set out to the cafeteria.

"Hello Chica," she felt a hand catch her wrist as she was speed-walking as fast as she could without looking like a complete weirdo. The green eye must be in power. How'd she known that? Well that was the only plausible explanation for the million waves of fire flowing up her arm.

"Hola señor."

"I'm not that old Chica," he said said chuckling.

"Did I mention that I suck at Spanish?" Haley replied grinning.

"So where are you going to take me?"

"A place."

"Should've known you would use my words against me."

"Words are the greatest tools of a poet señorita."

"Why do you use tools as weapons pretty boy?"

She turned around and raised one of her eyebrows. He held her hips loosely, and she swatted his hands away, smirking. As she walked backwards she tripped over a loose tile and Juan caught her hand, pulling her up.

"If you'd let me hold your hips this wouldn't have happened," he said and she was positive that his green eye had glinted.

"If I'd let you do that then we wouldn't have moved from that place for a long time," she muttered softly. He grinned. She shook her hand from his grasp, got onto her tiptoes and messed up his hair, her hand came into slight contact with his cheek, resulting in an immediate rush of pink on his skin and an uncertain flash in his blue eye. The corners of her pink lips tilted up a bit. And she swiftly turned around.

The sight that awaited her... was not something that she was prepared for. She didn't know why it made her feel like that but it did. It was Linda, Linda and Jamie. They were kissing.

Haley felt bitter sweet. She didn't understand the bitter part though. Her heart stopped beating for a second. She stopped inhaling. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She felt uncomfortable. For the first time since she'd met her five years ago, she felt uncomfortable around Linda.

She looked down, caught Juan's fingers in hers and walked out of the school.

"You okay Chica?"

"Yeah i'm fine, let's go," she said, a little too perky.

...

"So... here we are."

"The beach?"

"Yeah."

"Yay okay!"

"Umm I need your permission for something."

"Tell me what it is after you get me two scoops of ice cream, one vanilla, the other nutella, in a cone."

"Yes ma'am," he saluted jokingly and headed off, sprinting to the ice cream place. It was not as good as the one that Haley and Linda usually went to but Haley just went with it.

After she'd gotten her cone of deliciousness Haley confirmed the fact that now she was willing to listen to his request.

"I need to take photos for my photography class. The topic is, 'One of the wonders of the world.' I wanted to take pictures of you with the beach as the background. It'll look so perfect."

"Aww, okay. Sure. I will be your model."

"Thanks!"

"Right here's perfect."

"I honestly don't understand photography."

"Haha, just a bit to the right."

"Here?"

"Perfecto," he purred and adjusted his camera's angle.

...

They sat on the edge of a cliff staring at the sun, still quite high above the horizon. The rays danced on the surface of the water, bringing light to the deep blue.

"I feel crazy," Juan said.

"Care to explain why? Well other than the fact that you are YOU."

"Haha," he said sarcastically but still smiling, "I feel crazy because I want to tell you something I have never told anyone before. And I met you like a week ago"

"Okay, if it helps let's go over the basics.

I'm Haley Moores.

I'm 14 years old.

I'm a sophomore.

I'll turn 15 on the 16th of November.

And I love all the colours, and I would hate to discriminate some, but my favourite has to be teal.

Your turn."

Juan raised one of his eyebrows but started talking anyways,

"I'm Juan.

I'm also 14 years old.

I'm a sophomore at Maple High.

My birthday is on the 8th of October.

And my favourite colour is black."

"Well okay. Now you shouldn't feel too crazy, I mean like now we know each other more so..."

"Well yeah I don't feel tooooo crazy anymore."

"Yay, so tell me."

"Well here goes. I lost my dad when I was 5 years old. He left my mom, my brother and I, for some other woman. So my mother raised me by herself. My brother was 14 at the time. He had too many responsibilities when he was just 14. He'd gotten two jobs and he'd transferred out of the rich school he used to go to. Soon all the pressure got to his head. He started hating my mother and I. My mother, herself, had two jobs and had to do the house chores and she was trying her best to alleviate the pressure of my brother's shoulders, but he sunk into a sort of depression. Not clinical or anything. About 4 years later, my mother died in a car accident. We were walking down the street and I ran across the road, she pushed me out of the way before it was too late for me, only to realize that it was too late for her. The person in the car had sped off, she/he didn't even turn back to look at the person they'd just brutally killed. I don't remember how, because everything after that was a blur, but all the evidence said that it was my brother who'd run my mother over. And he was sent to jail, as it was considered murder, even though it was an accident and I'm positive my brother didn't do it. I haven't seen him since. After that I was moved around foster homes until this nice couple decided to officially adopt me. And here I am now, under the custody of Julian and Cassidy Hallows."

Haley gulped. She had not been expecting this. Hopefully he did not want her to open up in return. Because even she didn't know what unknown secrets hid in the deep folds of her mind and memory. She let her right hand fall into his left, and his head to be on her shoulder. She gently brushed the tears off his face and allowed him to shed off this one layer of grief he'd carried with him since he was young. She watched as his blue and green eye, for once mirroring each other, drowned in salty water.

Definition #12: The importance of secrets seems to dissipate when you love someone. You want to tell them everything, and you want them to accept you for who you are.