A Lot of Potential

He got out of his car and grabbed my belongings from the backseat. He grabbed my hand and led me to his front door where he fumbled his keys and let them drop.

"Fuck." he cursed, reaching down for them. I pulled my books from his hands so he could steadily place the key into the lock. "There we are." he said, pushing the door open. He let me in and shut the door behind us.

"Wow, you have a nice home." I said, examining the black leather sofas and flat screen TV that was mounted on the wall.

He shrugged and sat down on one of the sofas. "Don't tell me, tell my mother."

"Maybe I will when I meet her." I say, sitting down next to him.

"Well she's not home right now, she's at work. So is my dad." he casually said.

"What do they do?"

"Well my dad tunes guitars and pianos and he engineers speakers and shit like that. My mom works at a daycare."

"Kids?" I giggled.

"Yup," he said, popping the P. "she loses patience with me but she can work with five year olds. Fuck my life." he said sarcastically, making me laugh.

"Your dad's job sounds interesting. Way cooler than what my dad does."

"What's he do?" he asked, pulling out his calculus homework.

"He works as a grocery store manager." I sighed. "Before my mom died he was going to college and working for his business degree. After she passed his life kinda went downhill. He dropped out and went to work at the fucking dollar general and just in about two years,made his way up to store manager."

"Your mom died?" he spoke out without thinking. "I'm sorry I didn't know-"

"It's okay, it's not that big of a deal." I shrugged, looking at the floor. "After she died he just quit caring for Bella and I. She's raised me pretty much since I was four."

"How long has it been since your mom died?" he asked, running his hand down my back.

"About fifteen years." I said, trying to hold my tears back. "Can we do the calculus now?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, here." he said, handing me his homework.

"Alex I don't need to cheat. I need help."

"I don't want you to cheat, I'm showing you the examples." he laughed loudly.

"Oh." I blushed, making Alex laugh more. "Shut up."

"Here, put three in the place of X and work it out." he said, handing me a pencil.

"Where the fuck did you get three?"

"See where it says X equals three?"

"Oh my God." I sighed. "Fuck school!"

"It's easy, just substitute those numbers and work it out and you'll be done."

"Do I have to?" I frowned at him.

"Yes, we're not leaving until you do." he smirked at me, making my heart race.

I stuck my tongue out at him and quickly began to try the method. After a good ten minutes of working I finally finished. I looked up at Alex, who was looking around the room and deep in thought.

"I'm finished." I announced to him.

"And I'm hungry. Lets eat before we go to the park." he stood up, walking around the corner.

"Alex?" I called out to him, hoping he could hear me.

"I'm in the kitchen."

"Like I know where your kitchen is." I said, walking to where he was.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you've never been here before." he laughed.

"Yeah, smarty." I giggled along with him.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked, pulling open the double fridge doors.

"I don't care. You pick."

"I say Quesadillas." he said, pulling out round tortillas and cheese.

"Mexican food?" I giggled.

"Damn straight! Mexican food is the best." he said, throwing cheese on the tortilla round and folding it over. He threw them in the microwave for thirty seconds. Once they were done, he threw one on a plate for me and grabbed us forks. I watched as he stabbed the food and threw a bite into his mouth. "Ow fuck!" he screeched, spitting the food out back onto the plate. "That is fucking hot!"

"Well that sorta makes since because it just came from the microwave?" I laughed, blowing on a bite before I stuck it into my mouth.

"OH, you're funny Haley." he grimaced and narrowed his eyes.

"I know, I'm hilarious." I shrugged.

"Conceited much?" he squinted.

"Very. Now hurry the fuck up and eat. I wanna go to the park!"

"Someone's demanding." he lipped, throwing up his hands.

"And you're sassy. Now hurry up."

"I'm working on it."

"Not fast enough." I said, finishing my last bite.

I watched as he scarfed down his final bites and picked up our plates. He threw them in the dishwasher and led me back into the living room where we put my things back into my bag. He grabbed his car keys from the side table as we walked to the front door. He locked it and pulled it shut behind us before we walked to his car.

He quickly pulled out of the driveway and made a quick escape from his housing addition. He made a left turn onto the highway and drove straight for about five miles. He turned onto Baltimore's main street before we slowly entered it's outskirts. He drove us down a road off to the right that went uphill. Up at the top of the hill sat a tiny park. We parked and got out.

"I'll race you to the swings!" he shouted like a little kid, making a mad dash towards the swings. I kept up with him, hot on his heels, but he beat me.

"I won!" he smiled, sitting down into the swing next to me.

"I'm wearing a skirt. Therefore, I can't run that fast."

"Excuses, excuses. I still won." he grinned cutely at me. God I hated him for being so sweet, funny, and attractive..

"Your point?"

"I won."

"I don't care." I shrugged.

"I tell you what, lets have a tie breaker like thing. Even though I clearly won."

"What is that?" I asked, a bit nervous by his request.

"Who can jump out of the swings and make farther distance than the other wins."

I laughed hysterically and shook my head. "Alex, I'm wearing a skirt."

"I won't see a thing, I'll be too focused on my landing."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay then." I sighed, pushing my legs back and forth to get air for my jump.

"I'm gonna win this one too, just prepare yourself." he winked at me. I shook my head and prepared myself for the leap. "Ready? One, two, three, go!" he said excitedly as we both jumped from our swings.

"Ow fuck!" I cried as I made a terrible landing. I looked down at my knee to see that it was bloody and dirty. Before I knew it, Alex was by me and examining my leg.

"Are you okay?" he asked, touching my cheek with the back of his hand.

"It fucking hurts." I choked as a tear flew from my eye. He cupped my face and wiped away the tears with his two thumbs. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds and before I knew it, his face was a inch away from mine. I felt his warm breath on my lips, giving me a tingling sensation throughout my body. He inched closer, softly connecting our lips together. They moved in sync together, making me forget about about the pain in my knee. I quickly realized what was happening and pulled away. I bit my lip and looked down at my knee, pretending he wasn't there.

"Hey Haley," he whispered, poking my nose. "Nice panties." he winked, then stood up. I threw my legs down in reaction. He laughed and pulled me to my feet.

I awkwardly stood in front of him with my arms wrapped around my body. "I-uh, way to awkward out a situation, Gaskarth."

"No problem." he winked, coming closer to me again. "I didn't see them really, I just wanted to see you blush again." he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling the skin on my neck. I smacked him playfully in the chest making him laugh loudly.

"I'm glad you're amused. My knee hurts." I whined.

"Well let me clean you up." he said, walking towards his parked car.

"Ow," I yelped, trying to take steps. "I can't bend my knee because it hurts so damn bad."

"Well let me help you then." he smirked, wrapping his arm around my waist and scooping me off the ground into a bridal style carry. I sighed in frustration, not even bothering to argue with this impossible boy. He opened the passenger door and sat me in the seat. He looked closely at my knee, poking it. He reached over me and grabbed a napkin and his bottle of water in the cup holder. He wrapped my legs around his waist and poured the liquid on my bloody knee, dabbing the napkin over the cut.

"It's pretty deep, Haley. I think you may need stitches." he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm sorry, I'm so fucking stupid. I shouldn't of made you do that."

"Alex, it's fine. Don't blame yourself. Just take me to the hospital so I can get these stupid stitches then take me home before my dad gets home from work."

"Alright." he said, helping me get my legs into the car. He shut the door and quickly walked around to the driver's side and got in. Luckily the hospital was just down the hill and a block on the left. He parked near the emergency room entrance and helped me out. He ended up carrying me again until we got to the check-in desk.

"What's the problem?" the uptight nurse asked rudely.

"She fell and hurt her knee. She's got a pretty nasty cut and it's deep." Alex spoke for me.

"Okay. Here, fill out this form and you'll be seen shortly." she said, handing him a clipboard. He grabbed my waist and pulled me carefully to the nearest empty chairs. I quickly began filling out the form, putting in my personal information. Alex tapped his foot lightly on the white tile floor and stared at the ceiling.

I laid the clipboard with the completed medical papers on it on Alex's chest. He stood up and walked to the nurses' station. He smiled at me on his way back, making my heart rate pick up. He sat back down and grabbed my hand, gently playing with my fingers.

"Haley Noel Maddox, Dr. Bennett will see you now." a nurse called from a doorway. Alex stood up first and helped me to my feet. He swept me off my feet once again, following the nurse down the hallway. She put us into a tiny room with a examining table and two chairs. He sat me on the padded table and took a seat in one of the chairs.

"I feel like such a fucking dick." he sighed, rubbing his temple.

"Alex, don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"But babe I-" he started but was cut off by the doctor who walked in.

"Hello Miss Maddox." he greeted me, shaking my hand. "Sir." he nodded towards Alex and shook his hand as well. "What seems to be the problem here today?"

"We were goofing off earlier at the park and I jumped from the swing and fell." I sighed, looking at my still bloody cut.

"I see. It's pretty deep." he said. "I'm gonna need to clean it, then i'll stitch it up and send you on your way. Let me sterilize really quick and we'll get the show on the road." He walked to the sink area and began scrubbing his hands. Alex bit his lip impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.

"Okay, so now lets clean this cut." the doctor said, putting antibacterial cream on it. "It may sting."

"I know, I feel it." I laughed lightly.

"Okay, now it's time for the stitching."he said, taking a needle in his hand. He began stitching the thread-like material through my skin and up the cut. Alex had made his way to my side, holding my hand through the whole process. Once it was finished, Dr. Bennett snipped away the remaining useless threads. Alex let go of my hand and retrieved back to his seat.

"So Haley, how old are you?" Dr. Bennett asked, putting a large band-aid like material over my leg. "This'll protect the stitches."

"Seventeen." I said quietly. I watched as he moved his eyes up and down my body in a disturbing manor.

"I'm twenty-five, but I was going to see if you would like to go out to dinner sometime." he asked. I felt suddenly disgusted that a doctor who was eight years older than me was hitting on me.

Alex snorted and stood up. "She'll pass." he said harshly, flexing his jaw in anger. "You ready Haley, baby?" he asked, being a total smart ass. I nodded, and stood up, taking slow steps and hugged on to Alex's arm.

"Thanks." I whispered, as we walked to the payment desk.

"No problem. That's just wrong. Fucking asshole should know better than that.."

"You're cute when you're mad." I said without thinking. "Shit, did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes, yes you did." he smiled widely at me. He bent down and kissed my forehead. The nurse came to the window and asked me for my ID and proof of insurance. I paid her the fifty dollar copay, then turned to Alex and left. We walked to his car and he helped me in.

"Your phone is buzzing the fuck off the wall in my back pocket." he said, pulling my phone out and handing it to me. He shut the door and took his normal place in the driver's seat. I sighed and texted my sister back, explaining to her where I was. She freaked when I told her I was just at the hospital getting stitches. I was already dreading going home in the first place. Now the dread turned into total fear.

When we pulled up into the driveway, Alex helped me out of the car. He walked me to the front door to see a angry Bella waiting on us.

"Alex get your fucking hands off my sister!" she screamed at him. He didn't move his hands from their position, knowing that if he did, I would fall.

"Bella calm down." I say, holding on to his arm for support.

"Calm down? I'm not going to calm down when he hurt you!" she said, pointing at my bandaged up knee.

"He didn't fucking hurt me! I jumped out of a swing and fell, my fault." I sighed. "Alex, will you help me up the stairs to my room please?" he nodded in response as we tried to push past my sister's angry stance.

"I've got it from here." she said, grabbing my arm.

"You get your fucking hands off." I hissed. She pulled back and let us go. I never talked to my sister like that but enough was enough. She wasn't going to be rude to Alex over nothing. He pulled me up the stairs like I was a delicate piece of porcelain. He drug me to my bed and sat me down.

"Your stuff is still in my car, do you need it? I would go get it, but leaving and then reentering would just piss your sister off even more." he said, giving me a crooked smile.

"No. Just keep it there and i'll get it tomorrow."

"Okay, I will do. I'm gonna go before your father gets home and I turn into dead from hated." he said, pulling me into a warm hug. He pulled away and kissed my lips again, sending waves of bliss traveling down my spine. He pulled away and kissed my nose before whispering goodbye. I watched as he walked out of the door and disappeared down the steps.

I changed into my pajamas and threw my hair up into a messy bun and laid down on my bed. I couldn't help but think of the kiss and how amazing it felt. My lips burned for more. Would it be bad to say that I was falling for him?