It Happened Last Year

I sit down at our table in the cafeteria, trying to figure myself out. It’s been a long day. Daphne kept glancing back at me in Economics and Jana kept texting me about Watts’ cousin James, saying that he asked her to be his girlfriend. She said yes and then continued to talk about it. I’m happy for her, but how can I smile over Love if the person I love hates me?

I don’t know what Love feels like, but if it doesn’t feel like this, then it will be a disappointment.

How can I not love Daniel? He’s amazing in every way. He makes my heart race by simply thinking about him. He accepts me, every part of me, and I lost him. I let him slip through my fingers. I used to wonder if Daniel loves me, and now I’m wondering the opposite. Could he love me? I don’t know. Maybe I just fall in Love easily.

He’s angry with me, I know that.

“Hey, where’s Daniel?” Jana catches my attention as she sits down beside me with Taylor. “I saw him earlier, but he just ignored me. Did something happen Saturday night?”

“Oh, no,” I mumble. “I don’t know why he’d ignore you. Maybe he didn’t hear you or something.”

“Really? I walked right up to him and asked how you were, but he just walked away.”

“Oh, weird. I don’t know.”

“He’s probably at the track anyway,” she shrugs, “maybe you should go check on him. He seems a little off today.”

I glance up at her and smile, the feeling of it making me uneasy. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

Taylor and Jana look to each other. “Something definitely happened.”

“Nothing happened. I’m serious,” I lie, not wanting to explain to my best friend how I may be leaving in front of the entire school. Jana is sure to make a scene.

“Well, then did you guys make up?”

I run my hand through my hair, clearing the slipping strands from my face. “Uh, yeah, sure. Can we stop talking about me now? Tell me more about James.”

I sit quietly and listen to Jana gush, which brings me down but is better than talking about Daniel. I last another twenty minutes before coming up with an excuse to go see him, saying that I forgot about the test I promised to make up. I leave the cafeteria and head to my locker first, exchanging my books so I don’t have to worry about it later. Pulling out my Economics and English books, I slide them on the middle shelf and reach for my math textbook. Footsteps sound from down the hall, but I don’t think anything of it until his voice grabs me, laughing.

I stop and hide behind my locker door, praying that Harrison doesn’t notice me. Half of my head is in the locker and I squeeze my eyes shut.

“Hey, Hailey,” he says, draping his arm on my locker door. He motions for the friend he was walking with to carry on. “I’ll meet you in the cafeteria.”

My throat swells as I quickly shove my math book into my bag, zipping it up and turning to walk away, but Harrison brings his other arm across me, pressing his hand against the closed locker beside mine. I fall into the corner of my door and shelving, staring at his arm like a wall between me and safety. He’s closed me in.

“We could have worked together, but no…” he says, not fazed by my discomfort, or maybe he enjoys it. “Then you search my room during a party? Who do you think you are, Hailey?”

His hand leaves the locker and he brings it up to my face, causing me to flinch, but instead of doing as I thought, he lightly drags his finger under my chin and gets a grip. He lowers his lips to my ear. “What are you going to do, Hailey? Nothing.”

And just when my eyes begin to water and I assume he’s going to let go, he abruptly kisses my cheek then sets me free. I watch, frozen, as he walks away, waving at me before spinning around and turning the corner.

My hand immediately caresses the spot he kissed as if his lips seared me. I turn back to my locker to take a few breaths, stopping myself from breaking down. I grip the door and slam it shut, my chest rising and falling rapidly. My hands find my keys in my bag, and I grip them tightly while making my way to the closest exit. All I want is to go home. I just need to get out of here.

I push the door open and walk in the direction of the parking lot, walking past the basketball court and the track. I can’t help but glance over, and when I do, I catch Daniel rummaging through his track bag. I silently curse to myself due to our eye contact and pick up my pace. “Hailey!” He calls, and I can hear him running after me. “Hailey, where are you going?”

Hearing that he’s too close, I turn to face him. “I’m going home.”

Daniels brows furrow. “Why?”

“Aren’t you mad at me or something? You should just go back to-”

“Yeah, I’m mad at you,” he says bluntly, “so tell me why you’re leaving.”

I cross my arms and pull an ‘I can’t believe this’ face. “I don’t know… because I don’t feel well.”

“So we’re doing this again?” He asks, referencing to when he took my keys.

“No. We’re not doing anything. I’m leaving.”

“Will you stop acting like that?” He calls me out, “Stop being so defensive. Tell me what happened.”

I shake my head. “I can’t tell you.”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Really?” Daniel now crosses his arms and I let mine fall.

“Yeah, really. If I tell you, you’re going to get yourself in trouble.”

And just like that his face turns serious. “What happened? Did he do something? Hailey, did he do something to you?”

I shake my head again, hating the fact that I’m getting emotional. I’d just calmed my tears and now he’s bringing them back. “I can’t. I don’t want you to be suspended again. I don’t want you to leave.”

Daniel suddenly leads me over to the bleachers, my hand in his. He sits me down on the bench and takes the spot beside me. “Was it Harrison?”

I stay quiet.

“Hailey, please. This is serious. Come on sweetheart.”

My heart squeezes and a small smile flashes on my face. He called me sweetheart. Daniel called me sweetheart and now I want to hear him say it over and over again. “You have to promise. You have to promise that you won’t do anything.”

Daniel clenches his jaw, something he’s been doing whenever processing something or making a compromise. “Okay. I won’t do anything. Just please tell me what happened.”

“Okay,” I say carefully, letting him know that I’m serious about our deal. “I was in the hallway, at my locker, and Harrison came up to me. H-He put his arms out so I couldn’t leave, and he said that I couldn’t do… that I couldn’t do anything about it.” Daniel tenses and I wonder if I should continue. “Then he touched my face and grabbed my chin and he-he kissed my c-cheek,” it’s hard to explain without feeling embarrassed.

Immediately, he attempts to get up, but I grab his arm, holding him down. “You promised!”

“That was before I knew that.”

“Daniel, you can’t. You can’t get suspended again. Please. Please.”

“He can’t get away with this. He can’t just-just touch you like that,” he says, his whole body tensing up. “I swear to God, Hailey…”

“What do you think will happen if he knows you’re gone? He’s going to know that I have no one to protect me,” I tell him, saying whatever I have to. “He’s going to come after me again.”

This makes Daniel think for a moment. “I should have been there. I should have been with you.”

I look down to my lap. “I wish you were.”

Daniel cools down and takes me in his arms, holding me tightly in the cold. I find peace here, with him, protected by him. “I’m sorry, Hailey. I shouldn’t have left that night.”

“It’s okay,” I murmur, “it’s understandable.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, that’s all.”

I close my eyes and breathe in his boyish scent, and I want to tell him I feel the same way. I want to tell him how unsure I am about leaving, but I don’t want him to know how indecisive I am. I don’t want him to take anything I say lightly because when I tell him that I love him, he needs to know that it’s unconditionally.