Dedicated to @KatyDreams for being incredibly supportive to loads of Wattpad members, including me :) 

[Edited]

"Can someone ever change..?"

~Scott~

I waved from the door as Hailey left wearing the same thing she'd worn last night. 

The guarded expression she'd worn just before we'd made love flickered once through my head once before I pushed it away with guilt. I shouldn't have touched her the way I'd done so knowing that she was still upset.
Not when I knew she was hiding something.

To distract me, my phone vibrated through my pockets the moment I shut the door. Both my parents had already left several hours ago, giving me a deathly silence to stew in although I planned on doing no such thing. "Hello?"

"Bro, where are you?" Tristan's voice rang out from the other end, loud and clear.

I relaxed. "I'm at home, why?" Maybe he'd decide to come over and distract me.

Something must've heard my prayer because the next thing he said was, "I'm coming over," before hanging up.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock at the door. Switching on the Xbox and after making sure everything was ready, I made my way up to the first floor. The moment I opened the door Tristan's strong colonge hit my nose. "Dude, too much," I said as I covered my face with my arm. 

He shrugged, obviously knowing what I meant, before stepping in past me. "I had to cover the smell of last night's after party," he explained as he held up a pack of beer before grinning. "I brought these."

"Nice." We made our way into the cellar where everything had been set up, Tristan confidently leading the way.

When we entered the room he set down the beers and rushed to the console, before starting up the game. With less energy, I followed at a slower pace and sat next to him before reaching for a console. After almost an hour of playing he gave up and threw down his own console down before glaring at me.

I stared back, surprised. "What?"

"There's something you're not telling me." The way he narrowed his eyes at me reminded me of Hailey when she was on an inquisition. I had to swallow back a bittersweet laugh.

"Nothing's wrong," I lied.

"Stop bullshitting me."

Leaning over to the coffee table, I grabbed a beer and took a heavy gulp. The sour taste somehow grounded me; keeping me in the here and now and giving me a false sense of security when I knew I had none. Why did he have to be so fucking perceptive? I seethed. Then again it was Tristan; he'd known me for years and was my best friend. I'd known deep down he would've guessed something was wrong eventually. Shrugging, I asked, "So what?"

He didn't say anything, just watched me take another giant gulp before swivelling it in my mouth. He always hated it when I did that but kept quiet about it this time round. "Spit it out then," he demaned. "You've been brooding like a fucking teenage girl for the past hour."

I almost choked on my drink at that. Almost. But I was used to his blunt attitude to the point where nothing he said really fazed me. Seeing no point in lying to him (I couldn't bullshit a bullshitter), I instead told him the truth, "I slept with Hailey last night."

I knew how much he hated Hailey so I left it at that. When I looked at him however, his expression was openly curious. "So?"

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair -- another trait he usually commented upon. Not then, he didn't. "She looked like she was hiding something," I admitted. When he didn't say anything I ploughed on, "At the meal I saw the way she kept on staring at Jenna as if she wanted to, I don't know, throttle her." There was no other word to describe it, that's what it had looked like.

Tristan laughed. The sound was loud and bounced around the room, providing a sharp contrast to how I felt. "Yeah, I noticed. Bitch looked jealous as fuck." When I gave him a death glare he raised his hands in defence. "Sorry, man," He paused.  Then, "Just calling it how it is." 

He quickly ducked, laughing as I swiped at him before falling silent shortly after. "So what's got your knickers in a twist?" If I didn't know him, I'd have thought he sounded casual but I could detect a hint of caution underneath his feigned nonchalance. 

I reached for another can and took a deep swig. "When she went to apologise to Jenna -"

"For what?" He cut in. I'd forgotten to explain that bit so I hurridely told him about what had happened in the cafeteria. Although I hadn't seen the exchange, I'd seen Hailey throwing the can at Jenna and everything from then onwards.

He gave a low whistle when I'd finished talking. "That's fucked up."

I gave him a warning stare, choosing not to respond as he held up his hands again. "She looked like shit," I told him, "Last night, I mean. At first I'd thought it was because they'd had another row, but when Jenna smiled I knew that couldn't have been the reason. I know her; Jenna would've been in a sourer mood."

He cocked his head with a thoughtful expression as he remained silent. "Did you try to talk to Hailey about it?" He eventually asked. 

I snorted. "I tried. It was like trying to get blood out of a fucking stone," Taking a final swig of the beer seemed to dim the pangs I felt in my stomach which I welcomed. "It wasn't going to happen."

Tristan sat back, focusing his clear eyes on me once more as he spoke again. "What did she say when you pressed her?"

I rolled my shoulders as my mind wandered, thinking back to the night before. "Er, she said something about her dad. I mean, I could tell that was important to her but I knew it wasn't the real reason she was upset, you know?"

We both sat still as we contemplated. Various possibilities were swirling through my head, trying to make sense of it all and none of the explanations I actually liked. 

When I couldn't take it any more I voiced my final thoughts, even as they filled me with a deep anxiety that just wouldn't settle. "As bad as it seems, I think she may have only slept with me to prove a point. I mean, she was pissed with Jenna; maybe she only slept with me because she could, and to prove to herself that I only have eyes for her." I expected him to laugh or to even brush off my remark with a snide comment but instead he did neither.

The calm expression on his face did nothing to lessen my nerves; only intensified them and what he said next caused my heart to pound.

"You may be right."

After that I couldn't concentrate on anything even though I tried. The only thing I seemed to notice was when he'd placed a hand on my shoulder after picking up the remaining beer bottles once the game had ended, and when he'd told me he would see himself out. Everything in between and after that was a blur of unfocused images and sounds. 

What exactly did I mean to Hailey? I wondered as I sat in the empty silence with my elbows leaning against my knees. Would she really stoop to that level and use sex as a means to an end?

These thoughts as well as the recent events that had occurred, made me question everything about us, even though I knew they shouldn't have.
Hailey had come a long way since I'd first met her, after all.

Her mousy brown hair had been slightly longer back then, almost reaching her waist even when it was tied into a French plait. She'd looked younger too; in more ways than one -- as if she'd had fewer cares in the world. But I wasn't delusional. Hailey could be a raging bitch a lot of the time. I'd taken it upon myself to change that about her the minute we'd begun our relationship, and I was always determined to make her a better person. Where most saw a shallow; self-conceited spoiled brat (such as Tristan), I saw Hailey for who she really was:

A young woman who was defensive and sometimes self-absorbed -- but only to protect herself from daring to think about things that mattered to her, such as her parents. It was a defence mechanism -- something I'd been sure I could change for the better.

But, I thought as I switched off the TV, maybe I'd been wrong.
Maybe she couldn't change and was unable to after all this time.

I groaned in defeat at the sickening thoughts I was succumbing to, despite not being able to help it. 

If Hailey had used me last night to serve her own purposes, she'd lied to my face about it. I also knew that if Hailey was anything, it was also manipulative; I'd lost track of the number of times I'd discovered just how many people she'd bent to suit the needs of herself.

Was I just another pawn to her game?

I sincerely hoped not, otherwise our relationship would be over faster than I could say, 'breakup.'

Picking up my empty beer bottle, I tried to take a sip. When I remembered it was empty I threw it at the coffee table, watching without feeling as the glass exploded upon impact. Suddenly becoming frustrated, I ran my hands through my hair and then brought them to shield my face as I scowled. I was being a dick, surely.

The relationship couldn't have been based on lies from the start.

I forced myself to recall Hailey's delight as we'd spun on that merry-go-round in the fun fair a couple of weeks ago, and the helpless laughter that had escaped her throat as I'd tickled her during our walk back. None of that had been a deception, I thought, it had been as real as my own happiness.

No, Hailey definitely cared for me. There was no way it had all been a lie.

*

~Hailey~

The walk back home was peaceful.

I'd watched as the sun had risen over the horizon, blessing the earth with the first rays of a golden dawn. Birds chirped high up in the trees, the sound scattering over a great distance with the help of the soft wind.
The air around me smelled of fresh earth - probably a direct result of the heavy rainfall that had fallen just hours before; I'd listened to the sound of those droplets patter and hit the ground as I'd lain in bed with Scott pressed up tightly against me.

As I strode across the field miniature twigs snapped beneath my feet, sinking into the mud-caked grass underneath my weight.

I couldn't believe I'd done it.

I'd lost my virginity to Scott the night before. I know I should've felt more than the aching numbness that was spreading across my chest and making its way down to my arms and legs, yet all I could think about was Jenna and the words she'd spoken to me.

"He sees me as his delicate little flower..."

"He would hold me and gently stroke me..."

Around and around the words went, scraping roughly against my head like sandpaper as I fought to maintain control. I tried to push them away but they retaliated, returning with more force than ever every time I thought I was able to forget them. Slowly they consumed me as I walked; belittling what strength I had left.

They mocked me with a ferocity I couldn't escape.

He'd loved her; treasured her. It was the horrible truth that failed to leave me. Maybe more so than he did me.

No!

I had to stop thinking like that. He cared for me more than he had for her. Last night was proof at that. He'd been with me the whole time, not her.

I sighed.

Thinking about it, I wish I'd allowed my first night with Scott to be more magical as now our unity would forever be tarnished by her. But that was who I was -- I was Hailey Cooper, the girl who had everything on the surface and was used to getting what she wanted. I was the girl who never pondered of the consequences of her actions because consequences were insignificant.

Troubles were supposed to be below me.

Walking across the muddy field, I felt immediate relief when I saw my house in the far distance. At least at home I could lie down, close my eyes and forget about everything that had happened to me for a while.

Although, first I needed to do something. 

It was something that I didn't really want to do.

With a shaking hand I raised my phone and dialled. 

"It's me," I spoke, licking my lips before continuing. Did I really want to do this? The answer was no, but I didn't have a choice. "Layla, we did it," I told her. The words were as empty as my heart. No gratification came from them like I'd thought I would  have. "Last night. It's done."

Silence.

"Hello?" I asked into the line.

She cleared her throat. "That's great, Hay," Her voice sounded a little bit off before returning back to normal, "I'll get the word out to her right away."

Before I had a chance to protest she hung up. Letting out a shaky breath, I allowed the arm which had been holding my phone to fall limp. The night before Finished.

It'd been over.

Yet, I'd just made my next move, as stupid as it had been. 

Jenna knew that Scott wasn't the type to sleep with anyone -- not since he'd met me. I'd changed him. I didn't know if he'd slept with her but if he hadn't then that would've been my victory, encouraging her to stay away and understand that Scott would not be easy for her to take. 

I was just sad that it I'd used Scott to get it.

---

Anyone feeling frustrated with certain characters? I know I am feeling a lot of annoyance towards Hailey. I just don't understand her sometimes. Let me know what you think in the comments. (Seriously, please do. I have no idea if people are reading this, otherwise!! And don't worry the story will get more interesting and won't just focus on Hailey and Scott). 

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