Oh, Baby! #Wattys2020

Chapter Fourteen

Hale walks into his apartment around one in the morning. Gran is sitting on the couch, sleeping with the TV on. He had told her to go to bed and not wait up for him. But she won't be told anything. He smiles as he toes off his shoes and hooks his keys on the hook. The jingling of his keys wake up his grandma and he flinches.

"How was it?" She questions drowsily. Hale runs his hand through his hair.

Remembering Bella's lips on his makes him smile. "It was amazing."

Then he thinks of Jinx and Omar, momentarily feeling guilty for having such a good night while his friends broke each other's hearts. He thinks back to how broken Omar sounded after Jinx left and how tired Jinx was when he walked away. But there was nothing he could do for them, it was obvious they had problems that were part of their private lives.

Gran eyes him suspiciously. "You've been smiling more lately."

"Have I?" He questions, tugging open the fridge. The first thing he sees is a slice of cherry pie, a little note on the plate beside it.

It reads, in his grandma's fancy cursive, I'm proud of you.

A warm feeling spreads in his chest as he pulls it out, turning to his Gran.

She smiles, her wrinkled gace scrunching up. "I like this side of you."

Hale sets his plate down on the counter, pulling his grandma into his arms. Her small frame seems fragile in his arms. He finds himself not wanting to let go once he's in her motherly embrace. She pats his back.

"It's good to have this part of you back. You smile more, you laugh more and you're not such a moody pre-teen girl." Gran pulls away from him, she grins mischeviously.

Hale rolls his eyes, replying wryly, "Thanks, way to boost my confidence."

"Well, your head is big enough as is." Gran shrugs, chuckling. Hale pretends to glare. "I want to meet that girl you've been seeing."

Hale sighs, grabbing a fork from the drawer near the sink. Any time he has been around his grandma or mom they have brought Bella up. Not that it was a bad thing, he just wasn't ready to share her just yet. Especially after they just kissed. But he figures now that he's kissed her, he should ask her out on a date if he wants to do that more often. And he does. The idea of dating Bella made his stomach flip in a nervously excited way.

"Soon, Gran. I haven't even asked her on a date yet." Hale flinches when she slaps his arm.

She puts her hands on her hips and narrows her eyes at him. "Hale Love Nathan, you better ask that girl on a date."

"Alright, Gran. Go to bed." He mumbles through his pie, savoring the tart taste of cherries with the sweet pie crust.

Gran dismisses him with a wave of her hand, but goes to bed anyway, grumbling about how tired she is. Hale pulls the wade of cash out of his pocket from the gig tonight. He takes a small amount for gas and chump change before sliding the majority of it into his grandma's wallet. He makes a mental note to tell her to have a nice day out in the morning before he leaves.

If he did so as he was leaving, she couldn't force him to take the money back. Besides, she deserves a little shopping spree. And she definitely doesn't want him buying her clothes. She hates his taste im fashion. She would dress him in a suit and tie every day if she had it her way.

He finishes his pie in silence, the events of tonight replaying in his head. He felt like he was on cloud nine. For the first time in a long time he felt good instead of numb to everything or angry. It was thrilling to feel again and normally he would be scared. He was, deep down, but he wrote it off as worth it if he got hurt. Bella was worth it. He knew the minute he met her eyes weeks ago that he would give his heart to her. She would be his first love, as cheesy as that sounds. And hopefully she's his last.