Look at Me

Hayden opened his eyes and glanced down at Paige. She had fallen asleep a few minutes ago with her arm wrapped around his waist and her face snuggled into his chest. It should have been awkward-
slash-embarrassing for her to be using him as a Teddy Bear, but it wasn’t. It was comforting. She felt safe enough to fall asleep on him.
Hayden’s lips tugged into a smile as he very lightly rubbed circles on Paige’s back with his hand. She’d dozed off when he started to do it, and he hadn’t bothered to stop yet. Again, because it was comforting.
Hayden knew he would have to leave before the sun came up, (There was no way he was going to risk her getting caught with a guy in her bed) and he was having a hard time feeling tired. So he just kept rubbing Paige’s back and looking at the pale hair splayed across his borrowed T-shirt.

Hayden didn’t realize he’d drifted off. Seriously who does? One minute he was wide-awake and the next he was looking at the strange half-light of the early morning. His eyes snapped open and he almost vaulted out of bed. Then he remembered the person sleeping with him. Well, the person he was sleeping with…
Paige’s face was right next to his on the pillow they had ended up sharing. Even though there were two on the bed. Her arm had moved from his waist to pretty much around his neck and her leg had hitched up over his thigh. There was no way he could detangle himself without waking her up. So Hayden softy brushed his lips against her cheek and said her name.
“What time is it?” she mumbled burying her face in his chest to shield her eyes from the light peeking into her room.
“Don’t worry,” Hayden whispered. “It’s not time for you to get up yet.”
“Mmmkay,” she responded as her eyelids sank shut. Then as he started moving off the bed she asked, “Are you coming back?”
He leaned down and said, “I have to go now, but you’ll see me later at school.” Then he dropped a soft kiss on her forehead.
“Bye,” Paige said sleepily as she snuggled back into her pillow. “I love you.”
Hayden paused and looked down at her. He almost couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Had Paige said, ‘I love you’…?
She couldn’t have. She must have said, Love ya. People said that all the time. It didn’t mean anything. It was a common, even impersonal thing to say…
But thinking about it, Hayden knew that wasn’t what she’d said. Paige had said, I love you. She was half-asleep and probably didn’t realize it, but she had. And maybe…she might have actually meant it? Hayden could hope. He could hope that someone like her could really care for someone like him. And it was probably pointless, but as long as she didn’t tell him to leave he would be there…hoping.
He let his fingers trail across shoulder softly as he said, more to himself then to anyone else, “I love you too.”