Highmore Manor

After my rejection down at the beach, Ryan and I became firm friends. Or at least that's what I thought was happening. We got on amazingly well, but as it turned out Ryan didn't take well to be rejected and he became increasingly annoying, jokingly bringing up that we should go out or finding some way to embarrass me in front of the others by flirting obviously with me or saying crude comments.

For the most part I played along as a way of keeping it from effecting me, but secretly it was annoying the heck out of me.

Alex and Callie thought it was hilarious.

One person, however, who didn't seem very happy that I was putting all my attention on Ryan, was Jesse. Whenever Ryan was in talking with me Jesse would shoot us looks or roll his eyes. It was completely ironic of how he had been about me in start. Now that Ryan and I were 'bestest buddies' I had started completely ignoring Jesse, I had altogether given up on trying to talk to him and, actually, I had entirely forgotten that I wanted to talk him at all.

And he didn't seem too happy about that.
He was such a stupid moody teenage boy, worthy of my forgetfulness.

My feelings for Ryan were wearing a little thin though as time wore on; I almost felt that if I went out with him everything would be whole lot easier. I wouldn't have to deal anymore with the embarrassment of him announcing to everyone in the vicinity that everything he did, he did for me. But also I didn't want to go out with him because I was falling into my typical routine where a boy likes me and then we get too close and he becomes more of a brother to me.

No matter how much you might be thinking we could be perfect together.

I was nearly at the point of giving up on boys.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

The teacher stood in front of the class, the whiteboard marker squeaking against the shiny white surface. I was sitting at my desk, slumped forward on my arms. I had found that no matter where you go in the world, no matter what kind of fancy school you go to, Math is still just as boring. The only good thing about it was that I no longer learned things I had already learned when I was 8 but I was actually learning new things. I couldn't believe how thick people back in my old school had been compared to the students at Highmore Manor.

The teacher glanced up at the clock, almost as if she was bored and wanted to get out of the class too.

The Manor doesn't have a bell system so it's up to the teacher to dismiss us on time to get to our next class.

"Alright, class. Remember your homework, and I'll see you after the weekend," the teacher said putting the marker down on the sideboard. Everyone stood up, collected their books and walked out of the room. I met up with Callie just outside the doorway and we walked up to our room together.

"So what's happening with you and Ryan?" Callie asked as we walked.

"I don't know, he's getting a little annoying," I admitted with a shrug.

"I can tell, you always seem different when he's around now," Callie nodded in agreement. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"He's just going too far. I liked him when I rejected him and I thought that maybe once we'd gotten to know each other I would like him even more and maybe I'd be ready to go out with him. But now he's just being a pain and trying to make me like him more, he's too noisy and loud," I groaned staring at my feet. I heard Callie laugh.

"Well he's not normally like this, I think he really likes you," she giggled.

"I don't think he's my kind of guy though," I said.

"What? Like Jesse is?" Callie asked, suddenly serious. I glanced at her in surprise. She looked angry.

"No, I don't think Jesse's my kind of guy either, he's too quiet and stubborn," I said coolly. She gave me a withering look. "What was that look for?" I asked.

"You never seem happy with a guy. You told me you didn't want to be with Ricky back in New Zealand, and now you don't want to be with Ryan or Jesse. You fall for guys easily, Hayley, but you don't seem to give the ones who might like you a chance," Callie said.

"But I did like Ryan, and I might like Jesse," I protested.

"And are you going to go out with either of them. No, because Ryan's too noisy and loud and Jesse's too quiet and stubborn. So I'm guessing the guy you have to be with has to be perfect, or will you find him and he'll be too perfect?" she said angrily. I stared at her, the anger rising in me.

"Just because everything's perfect with you and Alex doesn't mean everything has to perfect with the guys I like," I snapped. I noticed we had stopped walking and people were looking at us a little weirdly.

"Well, stop acting like a little child then and tell Ryan you don't want to be with him at all, you're leading him on," Callie said, her brown eyes darkening.

"I'm not leading him on! I told him I don't want to be with him, he should get the message and stop trying to impress me," I said.

"He still thinks you like him," Callie said

"And how do you know that? Have you two been having meetings to talk about me or something?" I asked.

"He talks about you all the time Hayley!" Callie exclaimed. "If you don't like him then tell him."

"But what if I still might like him?" I asked. Callie threw her hands up in the air in defeat.
"You are so confusing and stupid," she groaned.

"Well I'm sorry," I snapped back. Callie glared at me and then stalked off down the hallway.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

I have never really had a real fight with anyone in my whole entire life.

Apart from the little disagreements with Jesse, which hardly counted anyway because he was like that with everyone, and some little sisterly fights over small things, I had never gotten angry and not wanted to talk to someone ever.

And it felt bad.

Callie was apparently very good at being angry. When she walked past me in the hallways or we ran into each other in our room she would look at me with the most withering looks I had ever seen. If looks could kill I would be dead about 10 times by now. I wanted to apologize for everything I had said just to stop her shooting me those looks but I couldn't.

"She's the least likely person to get angry in the world," Alex commented on the recent fight, we sat alone at a table in an almost empty cafeteria.

"I know, which is why I feel so bad for getting angry at her. She's always been so nice to me, but I was annoyed with what she said," I said scratching the plastic layer off the grey-blue table.

"What exactly happened?" Alex asked, Callie or I both hadn't explained the fight to any of our friends and the tension in our group was dampening the excited mood of the party later on that night. I sighed and just shook my head at Alex. "Maybe you guys would be able to sort it out with the help of one of us," Alex offered.

"It's up to her to tell you, she's your girlfriend," I said pathetically.

"And you're my friend, you have a right to tell me as well," he said giving me a really cute, exasperated look. I could see why most of the female population in the whole of Highmore had fallen for him.

"Yeah but…" I started.

"Just tell me, Hayls, I want to know," he interrupted sounding almost like a whining toddler. I laughed at him and then raised my hands in mock defeat.

"Fine. But if Callie gets angry I blame you," I said, he nodded with a smile. I quickly told him our conversation and he looked understanding when I'd finished.

"Her and Ryan were close before I even came into the picture so they've probably talked about you," Alex said nodding slowly.

"Great," I sighed.

"But I know why she reacted that way when you said our relationship was perfect," he said quietly. I looked up at him.

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked, catching his eye, he looked sad.

"Well for a start it's pretty hard to be perfect," he said with a laugh and I nodded and smiled in agreement. "But she's been getting fed up about all the girls that seem to flock around me. I told her that she didn't need to worry because I love her and not any of those other girls. I don't know if she's jealous or what but she just got kind of angry. I think she's scared of us splitting up I think. She doesn't realize that not talking to me will only mean we might break up sooner," Alex said with a small, sad smile.

I felt real bad all of a sudden; I hadn't realized things weren't going so good with my two new best friends.

"Wow. Now I feel bad for getting angry at her," I said.

"Don't. If she didn't tell you then you can't have known something was wrong," Alex said smiling; I smiled back at him then his expression went sad. "It's Callie and my one year anniversary today," he informed me staring at the table.

"Have you talked to her today?" I asked.

"She's avoiding me so no," he said. I caught his eye again and was shocked to see tears welling in the corner of his eyes.

"Hey, don't cry. Everything will work out soon. Find a way to talk to her and everything will sort itself out," I said and he nodded wiping his eyes quickly.

"Don't tell the others I cried," he laughed still wiping his eyes. I laughed at him and promised him I wouldn't. "Well I'd better go," Alex said standing up.

"Yeah, I've got a class in a few minutes. And don't worry Alex, she loves you," I said getting up from the table too. Alex nodded and smiled at me. I gave him a quick hug and then turned to walk out of the cafeteria.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

I stared at my feet as I walked down the deserted corridor; it was after classes so mostly everyone was in their rooms or in the cafeteria so I was all alone. I didn't know where I was walking I just let my feet take me wherever they went, something I had done back home and had got me in trouble a few times as I had gotten lost on numerous occasions. But it was a good chance for me to think, and I had a lot of thinking to do.

I must have been wandering aimlessly around the school for about half an hour when I finally looked up to see where I was.

I was in the left wing, one of the areas of the Manor that I hadn't been in before. Callie had told me that the rooms on the left wing of the school belonged to the Principal and his family, although some people thought he didn't have one because no one ever saw his wife and he didn't seem to have any kids.

I wasn't technically supposed to be in that part of the school, but I decided to look around, in a brief moment of stupidity - or bravery - I don't know. I walked down the corridor and admired the pictures on the walls.

The corridor had been kept in its original state with modernized chandeliers every few feet, big windows looking out onto the courtyard and lawn below and big wooden doors set into little alcoves. But after looking into one of the rooms I found that everything else was modern just like all the students' rooms. I suddenly heard music spilling out of the room I had just walked past; I retraced my steps and pressed my ear against the door. There were no sounds of movement or talking so I guessed someone had left a CD on or something, I slowly opened the door, deciding that if someone was in there I would say I was a maid and run away before they had time to see me.

The door creaked slightly as I opened it and there was still no noise from inside apart from the music. I stepped slowly into the room and looked around. It was a bedroom with an amazingly comfortable looking bed and bookcases around the edges of the room, a CD player in the corner was playing the music and a topless boy with a towel around his waist was coming out of the en suite bathroom. He froze in the doorway to the bathroom and stared at me.

"Do you mind?" he asked. I ducked my head quickly and went to run out of the room but I recognized the guy at the last second and dashed back in.

"Jesse?" I gasped with wide eyes.

"I'm a little busy right now, Hayley," he said going over to his drawers and pulling out a shirt and trousers.

"Oh right," I said and ran back out of the room, shutting the door behind me. I stared at the door in shock until it was opened a few seconds later.

"What are you doing here?" Jesse asked with an exasperated sigh, leaning on the door frame. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a white shirt unbuttoned a few holes down on underneath the jacket.

"I could ask you the same thing," I said accusingly jabbing a finger at him.

"I'm supposed to be here, you're not," he retaliated. I stared at him for a few seconds.

"So what? You live with the principal?" I asked, unsure. He stared straight at me. I slowly remembered what Callie had said on the first day, as Jesse and I stared at each other. She had been explaining the school to me and about Principal Reed and also that there was a rule that the principal could only have his family and very close friends stay in his suites. "No way," I gasped in realization. "You're Principal Reed's son." Jesse just carried on staring at me and then sighed.

"No one's supposed to know," he groaned suddenly and ducked back inside his room, I followed him.

"Don't you think it's a bit obvious that you don't share a room with any of the students?" I asked as he went over to a couch and collapsed on it, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and forefinger.

"They all think I'm a dangerous sleepwalker or something," he said dismissively. I stared at him and then slowly started giggling.

"A dangerous sleepwalker?" I laughed, he glanced up at me with the oddest expression, it looked like he was almost in pain but I realized he was just trying not to laugh. "That's ridiculous."

"But technically true, there are records of dangerous sleepwalkers in history," Jesse responded with the smallest hint of a smile. I calmed down enough to say 'if you say so' before laughing again.

"I'm deadly serious, there was this guy who would wake up in the middle of the night and start raking up leaves and then one night his wife caught him and accidentally startled him. He stabbed her to death with the rake," Jesse said with more of a smile.

"Eww that's sick, I hope that sort of thing doesn't normally entertain you," I grinned. Suddenly I realized what was happening, the smile slowly falling off my face: Jesse was actually talking and having just a little bit of fun. I must of looked pretty odd standing in front of him with my mouth hanging open a bit because Jesse stopped smiling and cocked his head to the side in the most adorable way and asked:
"What's wrong?"

"Your smiling and talking to me," I said slowly. Jesse stared at me again, not uncomfortably just a little strangely. "You don't even seem to care that I'm in your room, an out of bounds room at that and you seem to be enjoying my company at least a little bit." A grin slowly spreading across my face, smugly.

Jesse sighed, looked down at his lap and muttered something I think I heard as, "You seem to have that effect on me." My smug grin faded. We sat in silence for a second until Jesse looked up at me suddenly.

"But you can't be here," he said.

"I know, I know, out of bounds," I said rolling my eyes.

"No not just that, my father has pretty strict rules about girls in boys bedrooms and vice versa," Jesse said with his own roll of the eyes.

"Oh," I said plainly and then chuckled softly. "What, does he think you're going to sleep with one of them?" Jesse just stared at me. "Does that look mean you wouldn't exactly not sleep with one of them?" I asked curiously narrowing my eyes.

"I don't know," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why am I talking to you about this?" he asked suddenly, standing up. "You shouldn't be in here and I am going to get into so much trouble if…" he was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

"Jesse," a deep voice asked. "Can I come in?"

"This is exactly what I was about to say. My father is about to come in and find you in my room," he whispered furiously glaring at me and pointing at the door.