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Dedication: Celliem for being the first person to vote and comment on the last update! Thank you!

Recap:

I waded after him, letting the waves carry me back to shore. I watched his tanned, well-built body emerge from the water, droplets running down his skin. I stared down at my feet.

I felt like crying. He had shown me how great we could be. How much fun we could have together.

And I'm going to ruin it because I have to tell him.

When I do, I know he will want nothing to do with me.

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"What the hell are you wearing?"

"What?" Harvey asks, glancing down at his black track pants and black hoodie. "Too much?"

"You're breaking into a locker, not a bank," I laugh, rolling my eyes. "Points for trying to be stealth though."

"I did try," he huffs.

"Might be less obvious if you actually wore school uniform?" I suggest, quirking my eyebrow. "So if anyone sees you, you can say you were looking for me or something. Otherwise, they're going to think there's an intruder in the school."

"Ah," he agrees with a nod. "I didn't think of that."

"Which is why I'm the brains of this operation."

"And I'm the muscle," Harvey grins whilst tensing his biceps.

"In your dreams." I laugh, shaking my head. I glance down at my watch, realising that I'm going to be late to practise. "Crap, I gotta' go. Hang back until you hear splashing, then you can go."

"Yes sir," he remarks sarcastically.

I roll my eyes at him as I playfully shove his shoulder. I briskly walk from him and make my way to the gym.

"Late, as usual, Miss Connaway," Coach Brennon sighs as I stride into the room, where everyone is already lined up and dressed.

"Sorry, missed my flight," I sarcastically remark, walking past my team and out to the back change rooms.

I hastily slide my swimsuit over my body and grab my swim cap and goggles, before joining everyone in line.

"Ready?" he asks flatly, clearly annoyed having to wait for me.

"Yes sir."

"Good," he clips, his tone snappy before he jots something down on his clipboard. "We will work on laps today but this afternoon, we're doing a gym work out. I want you guys to keep working on those arm and leg muscles. They almost had us in the relay. I don't want a repeat, alright?"

There is a murmur throughout the group.

"Good, now get swimming."

As everyone began to trail out of the room, Hayden hung back, awarding me with his gorgeous, dimpled smile.

"Good morning," he greets.

My stomach clenches as the odd sensation of butterflies stirring in my stomach. We had such an amazing day yesterday. But when I think back to it, I get an overwhelming sensation of guilt. I could hardly sleep last night at the thought of having to tell him what I've done.

"Good morning," I reply with a smile. "How was the rest of your night?"

"Fine, yours?"

"Fine."

"Are you going to mimic everything I say?" he teases as we make our way over to the pool.

I ignore the remark with a playful smile.

"All right love birds, break it up," Ashton snaps, his eyes narrowing. "Get in the pool or you're both running laps on the oval."

We exchange an eye roll, ignoring the stares of everyone around us as Ashton called us 'love birds', before climbing onto the mounting block.

I nervously glance over my shoulder, towards the doorway of the locker room.

I hope Harvey pulls it off, otherwise, I'm dead meat.

***

"Piece of cake."

"Really?"

"Really," he confirms with a nod. "She takes a scary amount of selfies with her cat."

I snort with laughter, placing my hand over my mouth. "Does she?"

"She's going to know, you do realise that?" Harvey replies, taking a bite of his chicken roll.

"I know."

"She probably has it backed up."

"Oh shit," I mutter, suddenly losing the appetite I had. "I didn't think of that."

"It's all right because you're going to tell him anyway, right?"

"Right," I replied weakly, staring down at my pizza.

"You have to, the truth will come out anyway," he tells me, ever-so-wisely, also giving me the 'I'm right and you know it' look.

"I know."

"Not that I approve of you dating Hayden."

"We're not dating."

"He was a real dick to you."

"He kind of justified that."

"Doesn't matter if you look like his ex-girlfriend. He didn't need to be an asshole."

"That was then, this is now," I insist.

"I'm just sayin'."

"He's never been mean to you, has he?" I question, chewing at my lip softly.

"Not personally, no," he admits. "But he stood by and watched Mike do it. He doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself."

I'm relieved to hear Hayden wasn't rude or mean to Harvey, but it still concerns me that Harvey doesn't like him.

"You don't even know him."

"Yeah, neither do you," he points out, finishing off his roll and clearing the table. "I'm going to go see where Caitlyn is. You coming?"

"No," I reply with a sigh.

"Suit yourself."

I get to my feet and throw the now-cold pizza--what was left of it--into the bin, before hitching my bag onto my shoulder.

"You conniving, little, bitch," a voice snarls behind me.

I pivot, quirking my eyebrow as I stare down at the angry-looking blonde-haired girl in front of me, holding back a laugh.

"Thank you."

"You went through my phone and deleted it, really?" she snaps, blatantly ignoring my response. "I knew you were psycho, but I'm surprised you went this far."

"Save it," I reply, holding my hand up. "I only deleted it because I want Hayden to hear it from me."

"Like you expect me to believe you," she huffs, narrowing her eyes. "Do you think I'm stupid? I have other copies."

"I'm sure you do. I just needed to buy myself time to tell him."

"You're unbelievable," she growls, running her tongue across her teeth. "I warned you not to go after him."

"He doesn't want you," I exclaim in exasperation, throwing my hands in the air. "Get that through your thick skull."

"If you hurt him, Grace," she sneers, her nose scrunching up. "I swear I'll come after you."

"Like to see you try," I snarl back, stepping towards her and effectively towering over her petite frame.

The bell rings loudly overhead and she steps back, glaring at me with severe intensity.

"This isn't over."

She strides from me, her hair swishing behind her with each sep.

She's right. It isn't.

***

My chest is heaving as I wipe my towel across my forehead, removing the excess sweat.

Ashton had us doing a workout and had pushed us to our limits. Nothing could be heard except our heavy breathing in the gym as we all began our cool-down stretches. My skin is hot to touch as I stretch my arms out, my limbs aching.

"Good, could be better," Ashton rudely states and I wanted to go rip his clipboard out of his hands and smack him over the head with it. "Go home, get some rest. We're doing this again tomorrow."

A collective groan spread throughout the group. I feel he is punishing the whole team due to seeing me with Hayden. He really is a dick when he wants to be.

I used the locker room showers to rinse off, before getting dressed into my denim shorts and a loose, black t-shirt that has "bless this hot mess" written in cursive writing across the chest.

After throwing my hair into a messy ponytail, I walk out, my body aching with each step.

As I walk out of school, practically limping, I notice that Hayden's ute is still in the car park. He rests back onto it, his arms folded across his chest.

"Hey," he calls out. "Want a ride home?"

"Please," I beg, making my way over to him. "Everything hurts."

He rolls his eyes. "You need to work out more."

"We're not all freaks like you," I say to him as I crawl into the passenger seat. "And I do work out, just not as intense as that."

"You should be doing that kind of work out as a warm-up."

I scrunch my face up. "God, no."

He laughs, before starting the engine.

"How was your day?" he asks, surprising me.

"All right. Yours?"

"So-so," he says with a shrug. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm sore as hell, but I'm okay," I tell him. "Why's that?"

"You didn't eat all your lunch. You always eat all your lunch."

A wide grin spread across my face. "Stalker much?"

His cheeks redden. "I'm not a stalker."

"You watch me, don't you?" I tease, jabbing his arm with my finger.

"It's hard not to."

My eyes widen at his bluntness. Wow, he has taken a complete 180. I love it completely, but it still shocks me.

When he pulls up to my house, I am surprised to see my mother's car in the driveway.

"My mum's home," I mumble, more to myself, than Hayden. "That's random."

"She's not home much, is she?"

"Not really," I reply honestly. "Want to come in?"

He is quiet for a moment, before turning off the car and unclipping his seat belt. I climb out of the car.

"Mother," I call as I step inside, taking off my shoes.

"Kitchen," she yells back.

I wander in and set down my bag on the floor. She is reading a recipe book, leaning against the counter.

"Don't tell me you're trying to cook," I gasp in horror. 

"Oh hush," she frowns, looking up from her book, noticing Hayden beside me. "Oh, who's this?"

"Hayden, the captain of the swim team," I explain, knowing that she would definitely be impressed by that.

"Hello Hayden, I'm Vera," she smiles.

He nods at her in greeting, forcing a polite smile onto his face. I try not to laugh at his awkwardness.

"What are you kids up to?"

"I'm starving. Ashton made us do a killer work out today," I groan and both of them stare at me. I swallow uneasily when I realise I used his first name. "I mean Coach Brennon. I don't know why I said his first name."

Hayden's eyes stay on me a heartbeat longer than necessary, before walking over to the wall and leaning on it.

"Well, lucky I'm cooking you a big, nutritious meal," she smiles and I cringe.

My mother never has the time to cook, therefore, isn't very good at it.

Suddenly, Hayden's phone is ringing. He excuses himself, before walking out of the kitchen.

"He is hot," mum grins and my mouth falls open.

"Ew, don't call my friend hot."

"Friend?" she asks, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes, friend," I repeat even though we both know we're beyond that.

"Hey," Hayden says in a low voice, poking his head through the doorway. "I have to go. Mum's carer had to leave early."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll pick you up," he promises. "Nice to meet you, Vera."

"You too, Hayden."

As soon as the front door is shut, mum turned to me, smiling from ear to ear. "Does he often pick you up?"

"It's a recent development," I mutter, my cheeks growing warm. "Leave me alone."

"You're too cute," she teases. "I can tell there's something going on. Do we need to have a repeat of the safe sex talk?"

"Oh God no," I groan, sitting down at the table. Little did she know I have actually had sex before. It was one time, but it still happened. "The first three times were bad enough. And besides, we haven't even kissed, let alone gone that far."

"Well, I know you're a smart girl, but I see accidents happen all the time, Grace. I just want you to understand how serious pregnancy is."

"I get it," I beg in a pleading voice. "Just stop speaking out sex and babies please."

She laughs. "Okay, okay. Does his mum have a life-threatening disease or illness?"

"No, she's wheelchair-bound."

"Really?" she asks slowly. "What's her name?"

"Heather Cameron, why?"

Her face falls slightly. "Heather Cameron? And that's Hayden Cameron?"

"Yes...?" I say slowly. "What do you know?"

She opens her mouth, before snapping it shut again. "Nothing."

"Bullshit."

"I just know what happened, that's all."

"What happened with that?" I ask, not understanding.

"Why she is in a wheelchair," she states, as if she was carefully considering her words. "She only become wheelchair dependent last year, I think it was. I read the file at work. A friend of mine, that I met at the hospital, was the lawyer for their case."

"Lawyer? Case? What happened?" I ask, my curiosity peaking, questions upon questions piling in my mind.

"I'm not allowed to say, you know that."

"I won't tell anyone," I promise.

"A promise to not tell is not going to get me to break patient-doctor confidentiality, Grace. Especially considering you may be involved with the said patient's son."

I hate when she goes all Doctor on me.

"One, you weren't her doctor. Two, we're not involved."

"End of discussion," she replies, her tone laced with authority. "No further questions on the matter, okay?"

"Fine," I mumble, knowing that my mother's entire life is dedicated to the hospital. I know for a fact she would never leak information about a patient, even to me. She goes by the book, through and through.

"Anyway, I have two bits of exciting news."

"Do you?" I ask, picking at my nail polish, my mind still reeling at the endless possibilities and questions that are whirling in my too-active mind.

"I know what I'm going to get you for your birthday," she beams. "You're going to love it."

"Can I have a hint?"

"Definitely not. The next thing is that I got nominated for a very prestigious award. I would like you to come."

"That's great!" I smile, enjoying the fact that we were having a genuine conversation that hasn't ended with me getting pissed off. "I'm glad that your hard work is paying off."

"Me too," she breathes with a tired smile. "You can bring a friend, if you like. I realise you won't know anyone and I'll be busy, but I'd really like you there."

"Of course."

"It's a very, formal event. Formal dress and suit attire," she explains. "I'm taking a half-day off next week to go shopping. I give you permission to skip a half-day of school if you would like to come."

"Definitely. I haven't dressed up formal for ages!" I exclaim in excitement, somewhat surprised mum is willing to let a half-day of school slide. She is very adamant about education. "This is going to be fun."

"It's next Friday."

"Okay, I'll be there," I assure her.

After a little more chit-chat--the weather, since when does the fridge make that rattling sound, should she dye her hair darker to hide the grays--I leave the kitchen and make my way upstairs to my room. Collapsing onto the bed, I withdraw my phone from my pocket and dial Hayden's number.

"Hello?"

"Do you own a suit?" I ask, a smile forming on my face.

"I actually do. It's kind of old, but I have one."

"Good. We're going to an event next week."

I suddenly can't wait for Friday.

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Thoughts on Hayden and Grace attending a formal event together?

Thoughts on Mia?

Any theories, ideas and/or predictions about what happened to Heather and why she is wheelchair bound now?

What colour dress should Grace wear!? {Add suggestions here}

Thank you for reading!

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