We're Heading to a Place Where I'll Prove I'm All You Want and More

It had been a few weeks since the incident in Ian’s bedroom. Haylee and Ian hadn’t had anything happen between them since then. Haylee was a little bummed but she had expected it. Ian had said he didn’t know what it was. Well he’d said he didn’t know but never finished his sentence so he never really meant that he didn’t know what it was, just that he didn’t know.
She was at Singer’s house in the kitchen again. She’d just fed Johnson and Singer was somewhere looking for a book that Haylee wanted to borrow. Ian walked in the front door. He had a habit of just coming in because Singer’s mom didn’t care. She sort of considered him a second son.
When he walked into the kitchen he had a plan in mind. He had to get Johnson out of there though. So when he walked in he sighed as he usually used to when Haylee was in the same room he was. When Johnson wasn’t looking he gave he a little wink so she would know he was kidding.
Haylee caught on quick and made a comment about Ian that would have pissed him off usually. Ian shot something back. Johnson rolled his eyes when they started to fight. He was really tired of it.
He got up and took his food with him to find Singer and warn him. Singer was tearing apart his shelves to find that book for Haylee.
“Ian and Haylee are fighting again. We should leave them alone and maybe they’ll work something out.” Johnson said.
“Sure, I’m trying to find this book anyways.” Singer said not really paying attention.
Johnson shrugged and flipped on Singer’s TV while he ate.
In the kitchen Ian was still kind of fighting with Haylee but there was a lot more joking now that they were alone. Ian was walking closer to her and she was stepping away from him. She was eventually stuck in the corner where the two counter tops met. Ian didn’t halt his advance on her either.
Eventually Haylee got real nervous and not the kind of scared nervous but the kind of excited nervous. The feeling reached its height when his hands found her waist. She wanted to push off the counter and put her body against his but he was still moving closer so there was no need. He pulled her closer to him so they were touching how she wanted them to be.
Haylee wasn’t the only one that was nervous. Ian was about to do something that he never thought he’d ever do… again. This was different though, there was no confusion or needed comfort. This was Ian having had time to come to a realization and make the decision to follow through with it.
Haylee put her arms up around Ian’s neck. He smiled at her for the first time since walking in the house. Haylee couldn’t help but smile back.
“How are you?” Haylee asked.
“I’m quite fine today. How are you?” He put his forehead against hers.
Haylee’s heart started beating harder. Ian’s was doing the same but neither of them noticed it was happening to the other. It took a while for Haylee to say anything back to Ian.
“I’m great.” She said just a little bit too late.
“Uhm, so I was thinking…” Ian said with his nerves shaking his voice, “about what happened a few weeks ago.”
“Yea.” Haylee said, her voice shaking too.
“I don’t want you to think that I didn’t mean that. I think that I was just confused, but it was what I felt.”
“I’m not following you. You’re giving me kind of convoluted sentences.”
Ian closed his eyes and cursed himself for a moment internally for making his nerves mess him up. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Haylee. He knew that words were failing him at that moment and he had to do something.
“Hales.” He said brushing some of her hair back.
Haylee’s breath caught in her throat. Ian had rarely ever said her name and had never ever called her by the nickname that Singer’s little sister had given her. To have him call her that felt way different than when anyone else did.
After a moment of hesitation Ian tilted his head and pressed his lips to Haylee’s. She pulled Ian closer with her arms and his hand slid into her hair and made her press closer to him. Their lips meshed more than they had in the first kiss. It got harder to breathe quickly and soon Haylee was gasping for air. Ian pulled back and let her breathe for a moment.
Haylee rested her head on Ian’s shoulder and he pulled his arms around her waist. She started to giggle a little bit. Ian was confused when she did that.
“Why are you laughing?” Ian asked.
“I’m nervous.” She laughed.
“You laugh when you’re nervous?” He asked and rolled his eyes.
She smiled and hit him gently in the chest. Ian kissed her cheek.
“Well I guess I think that’s cute.”
“You could have known earlier if you weren’t such an ass.” Haylee continued to poke fun at Ian.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. I was the same way.”
“Except you would have been called a bit…”
Haylee stood up on her toes and pushed her lips to Ian’s before he could say the word bitch. He laughed at her reaction but pulled her in.
“We should stop this before someone sees us like this.” Haylee said. “They might freak out.”
“Yea, imagine Singer.”
“Mmm. One more Ian.” Haylee begged.
He sighed like it was horrible for him but kissed her with more force than before. Haylee was surprised when he answered her request this way.
In Singer’s room he and Johnson were watching TV. Singer had found the book that he was looking for. On commercial he remembered that Haylee was in the kitchen with Ian. He hadn’t heard anything from out there either.
“Hey, do you think they killed each other?” Singer asked Johnson.
“What? Oh them. I don’t know. I don’t care. As long as they don’t fight.” Johnson said shaking his head.
“We should go check on them.”
“Nah, just hang out here. If they’re dead we’ll worry about it later.” Johnson said flipping his hand in dismissal of Singer’s idea.
“True, I don’t want to clean up the mess. If my mom finds it she’ll get it.” Singer joked back.
Haylee and Ian came into Singer’s room. Singer handed Haylee the book he was looking for.
“That should answer whatever questions you have.” He said.
“Thanks.” Haylee said sitting on the bed and opening up the book.
“So what, did you guys make friends? I see you’re both in one piece.” Johnson asked.
“Nah, she verbally abused me and then physically abused me. Obviously she won because she’s a girl and I can’t hit girls.” Ian grumbled sitting on the floor away from Haylee.
Haylee smiled to herself. Singer and Johnson took it as her smiling over the victory that she’d won over Ian. They had no idea what the real meaning was behind Ian’s words.
She quickly got lost in the book while the rest of them watched the small TV in Singers room. Every once in a while Ian would make a comment about Haylee being there and most of the time she didn’t hear it. When she did she shot something back at him but other than that she was too lost in her book to notice him.
It was hours before Haylee looked up at the clock. It was five and she was halfway through the book in her lap. She was stiff from sitting the same way. She stretched out her limbs and all three guys in the room tried to watch her without being noticed. She did notice though.
“Can I take this home Singer? I have to go eat dinner.”
“Finally she leaves!” Ian sighed happily.
“Fuck you.” Haylee said. “But it’s cool right Singer?”
“Yea, sure.”
“Thanks.” She said springing up from the bed.
The blood started to trickle down her leg after being cut off for so long. She giggled and stood there.
“What is it?” Johnson asked.
“My leg. It’s asleep.” Haylee explained though giggles.
She started to walk out of Singer’s room and head for the door. It was a little challenging for her but she made it. She got to her car and sat for a moment waiting for her leg to stop tingling so much.
Ian told Singer that he had to leave a little while later. He went out of the house and was surprised to see Haylee still there. He was a little confused but he nodded to her and then got into his car. She smiled and then pulled out of the driveway just to cut Ian off before he could do it to her. He thought it was funny though.
As soon as Ian got home to his apartment he went down to his room. His roommate wasn’t home so he was alone. He knew he would be for a while too. There was this thought playing in his mind and he wasn’t sure if he should go through with it.
He wanted to call Haylee and ask her to come over, just to hang out or whatever. He just didn’t know what she would think of that and what it would mean for them. He liked her. He knew that now and there was no denying it to himself anymore.
They had exchanged numbers a few weeks ago and he knew he could call her, he just didn’t know if he was ready. He lay there for a long time thinking it over.
Haylee was eating dinner with her family. She finished and went up to her room. She was tired but she didn’t want to go to bed yet. Then her phone rang. She wondered who it was and picked it up. She never checked to see who it was; she just answered.
“What?” She asked.
“Bad time?” Ian’s voice sounded over the phone.
“No, just a little tired it all. How’s life?”
Haylee was amazed at how easily she was talking to him. It was like they had been friends for a long time.
“It’s good. I’m a little lonely. I was wondering if you would come over. You know, just to hang or whatever.” Ian said running everything together in a rush.
“Sure, I’ll be there in a moment.” Haylee said back.
“Okay.”
Haylee hung up and then got off her bed. She checked herself out in the mirror and then slipped out of the house. She told her brother where she was going and he nodded without caring.
Ian’s wasn’t that far away from her. She pulled into the parking lot and went into the apartment building. She hit the third floor button for the elevator and then waited. It seemed like forever while she was listening to the elevator music and tapping her foot in impatience. She had no idea where this was going but she was intrigued.
The doors opened and she half ran half walked to Ian’s door. She knocked and before she was even finished he had opened it. He opened it further to let her in and then closed it behind her.
“Thanks for coming over. I was so alone. I’ll be like this for a while.”
“Really? How come you didn’t just call Singer or someone? I’m sure you like them better.” Haylee said taking off her shoes.
“Nah, I wanted to hang out with you.” Ian said.
Flutters started in Haylee’s stomach and her heart skipped a beat. Ian was thinking that he sounded so stupid and that she was probably rolling her eyes at him.
“Well I came.” Haylee said looking up at him.
Ian nodded and then motioned for her to follow him into his room. She did.
Haylee was so excited to know what was going to happen and Ian wasn’t quite sure himself. All he knew was that he liked what happened in Singer’s kitchen earlier today. Then again there was that idea that he was toying around with in his head.
Ian sat on his bed and curled up in the corner where the walls of his room met. Haylee sat next to him but left space. Ian wanted her closer but didn’t know what to say to make her snuggle him. This was so weird for the both of them.
“Why are you so far away? I’m not going to bite you.” Ian said.
“I don’t know that. You’ve been pretty mean.” Haylee said scooting closer.
“Like you have room to talk.” Ian smiled putting his arms around her. “I am sorry about that though.” He added sincerely.
“I’m sorry too. I just never took the time to figure you out and then I never wanted to because we were so closed off to each other.”
Suddenly the conversation had gotten heavy. They were talking about their reasons for being mean to each other and they were starting to realize that it was all based on nothing. It was kind of scary to be leaping off this proverbial ledge, but it was a bit comforting because they were doing it together.
When they had almost run out of reasons why they fought they switched gears to start talking about what they did like and what they wanted. What they found was amazing. They wanted the same things in about the same time frame though they disagreed on some of the things the other liked. They could actually now admit that they had a good time being with each other.
Then it got down to what their families were like. Haylee could tell that Ian missed Seattle a lot, but he was having too good of a time here to leave. He added to her revelation that he was here because he knew that he liked her now. That thrilled Haylee and scared Ian that he had said it out loud. That was something he’d swore he’d never say first and now he was waiting on pins and needles to see what she had to say back.
Haylee smiled and then looked up at Ian. She told him that she liked him too and that she wanted to spend time with him. She wanted to go so far as to say that she’d always found him attractive, but she wasn’t sure this was the kind of like that they were talking about. There was some of that residual doubt in her mind left over from when they used to fight all the time.
“You seem confused.” Ian noted.
“I kind of am.” Haylee admitted.
“How so?”
“I’m not sure what kind of like we’re talking about here.”
“I’m talking about all kinds of like. I hope you are too.”
“Well yea.” She took a deep breath. “I was going to say something but I wasn’t sure what exactly what we were talking about so I held back, but now it’s all cleared up.”
“What were you holding back?” Ian asked pulling her closer.
Haylee curled her body into Ian’s and rested her head on his shoulder. As if that wasn’t enough she locked her arms around his stomach and kissed his neck. He kind of knew what she meant now but was waiting for her to say it out loud.
“I’ve kind of found you attractive since we met.” Haylee admitted.
Ian laughed. Haylee’s heart sank. She thought that he was laughing at her.
“Why are you laughing?” She asked. “I’m not joking.”
“No, I know. It’s just so funny because I’ve sort of thought the same. I tried to push that away because I find it hard to fight with pretty girls but then I started noticing it again after that Lake Mead trip. I guess you could say that was my downfall.” He chuckled.
“You make it sound like I’m destroying your life.” Haylee grumbled.
“No, but you’re destroying my ideas about you. The best part though, the new ideas are better.”
Haylee kissed his neck again and snuggled him tighter. Ian kept his arm around her back tight. His free hand ran up and down her arm.
When Haylee looked up at Ian he smiled and then kissed her. She kissed back and moved so that she was at a better angle.
For a while that was all they did. There was no talking. They just enjoyed being close in a physical way rather than their emotional way they had been working on. This was much easier for the both of them because all they had to do was move their lips and their hands.
“So does this mean that we’re dating or something crazy?” Haylee asked.
“If you’d like to be. I don’t know how bad I’ve pissed you off, but if you want me then yea.”
“Trust me, I do.” Haylee smiled.
“Then I’m yours Hales.” Ian used her nickname before kissing her again.