Accidentally Yours

The lights turned on, and Raven quickly turned to Kat as if he hadn’t said anything at all. “That was a great show. Thanks for inviting me.” Turning back to face me, he smiled, “Did you enjoy the show?”

I didn’t utter a word, just looked at him. Just looked at him like an idiot.

“Whoah, she’s completely speechless,” Kat grinned. “Was it that great, Hayley? I’m happy you enjoyed it! It feels like I’ve done something right for the first time! Oh, Hayley! Your face! Your face is red!”

I blinked several times, averted my eyes here and there, and then finally said, “Is not!”

“Yeah, it really is!” Raven teased overdramatically, like he wasn’t at fault. “Is your heart racing for me now?”

That did it.

“You—you conceited—“ I snapped, blood rushing into my face. “—you conceited piece of shi—crap!”

He whistled amusedly and grinned. “This girl can’t curse a damn.”

If steam could come out of my ears like in cartoons, then the entire place would be filled with hot smoke. “You!”

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Kat smiled irately, her words coming out like boiling water. “People are looking at us now, you idiots! Now let’s go—next stop is the movie theater!”



I hung on to my seat, feeling the suspense climb up my spine. The main character, Peter Nashville, was running away and into the Forest of Nightmares. There are two paths—one was bright and the other was dark.

“Hurry up and choose, dammit!” I muttered under my breath, my heart racing. The thing chasing after him was close, and if he didn’t move now, he would die!

I heard Raven suppress a laugh, but I ignored him and kept my focus on the movie.

Several seconds later, Peter ran towards the darker path—the stupid idiot!—and hurried on his way.

“I don’t get it,” I said dubiously.

“Don’t get what?”

“I don’t get it. Why did the guy choose the dark, creepy, thorny road, when he could have chosen to follow the safer, easier and brighter path? I don’t get it.”

It took a moment for Raven to answer. “Even if he didn’t choose the dark path and went on with the other, he wouldn’t arrive at the place he should be. The safer road wouldn’t lead him home.”

“How do you know?”

“If you think about it, easy escapes don’t really exist, do they? There are no easy ways out of anything in life. What is at the end of the hard road is always worth the long travel.”

“You say pretty smart things sometimes.”

“Sometimes? I say smart things all the time.”



Early Monday morning, I saw him. Again. Waiting for Aly with his back against the wall and his backpack hanging loose from his shoulder. Then our eyes met—a direct electric shock to every nerve in my body. He smiled awkwardly, and I smiled back. As if what happened in the library was nothing more than a dream.

I approached him wearily, just because I was a stupid, stupid girl. “Rob.”

“About what happened last Friday. I didn’t know why I did that,” he cut in. “I just…Give me some time to think clearly and fix things.”

“Fix what?”

“What I said back there? I meant them—every word.”

My heart pulsated wildly, and for every beat, it ached and stung. “Please, stop it, Rob.”

He leaned in, “I can’t lie to myself or to anyone anymore. I’m through hurting you. I never meant to hurt you in the first place, Hayley. Never.”

“Rob?” Aly called from behind, her voice breaking. Abruptly, I pushed Rob away and turned to look at Aly. Her mascara and eyeliner were messed up as tears vehemently streamed down her cheeks. Her lips quivered and her fingers shook. “Rob,” she repeated weakly. Turning to me she said, “Hayley…how could you…”

“Listen to me—“ I began, trying to explain.

“This is all your fault!” she yelled angrily. “You shouldn’t have come to my party wearing slutty clothes—you…you whore!”

Eyes turned to watch us, prying into whatever was happening. Gasps, murmurs, gossips. Rob rushed to Aly’s side, asking her to calm down.

“Calm down?” she scoffed. “You want me to calm down? This bitch is trying to seduce you!”

The beautiful Aly I once knew and the Aly that stood right in front of me—they were one and the same no matter what happened. My best friend whom I held dear. My best friend whom I used to watch Princess movies every weekend night. My best friend whom I used to share lunch with. My best friend whom I used to hide at the basement with. My best friend whom I used to hold hands with.

Aly sank to her knees, not caring about the people watching her. My best friend was crying in front of me, because of me. Because I hurt her.

I looked at Rob, pleading him to leave it to me. He nodded shortly and backed off.

“Aly,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m sorry. I won’t get in the way now.”



That lunch, all hell—or in other words, Kat—broke loose.

“You promised what?” Kat exclaimed disbelievingly.

“Calm down.”

She stared me down, obviously irritated. “Look here, sweetie. That girl thinks you’re seducing his hottie boyfriend? Ugh, puh-lease! Her boyfriend’s not even worth a second look!“

I raised a brow.

“Okay, maybe he is a teeny wee bit—oh shut up, Kat!—but the point here is, you’re not at fault. You don’t have to be a martyr, Hayley. Rob’s the one who sexually harasses you everytime you meet!”

“Ahem,” Raven cut in. I glanced sideways at him, surprised that he had already slid next to my seat. “What did I miss?”

“She is absolutely insane,” Kat declared, sighing.

Raven looked at me and smirked. “I knew that from the very beginning.”

I glared at him. “Shut up or I will mentally kill you.”

“I believe you’ve killed me a million times with your brain.”

I just rolled my eyes and turned to Kat. “So, what do you want me to do now, exactly?”

“Nothing! Just move on with your life. Stop living in the past. And if Rob even attempts to sexually—“

“Stop saying the word sexually. It’s kind of awkward to hear,” Raven commented as he drank down his soda. “Especially when you’re telling it to Little-Miss-Innocent here.”

“—harasses you, I will send him to his personal hell myself. Are you satisfied now, soon-to-be-a-daddy?” Kat retorted with an ice cold voice.

Oh, God, I’m getting a headache just by being with these two—but I’m sure that without them, I would be worse than what I am now.