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Popular Ch. 01

By: Gryffindor



Welcome to Serenity, the beautiful town where the main campus of Reynolds University is located. You're about to enter the lives of four college students, where life is anything but easy.

Leo Warner, Lexie Covington, and Noah Radcliff have been best friends since grade school, and they are three of the most popular people on campus, even if they are only sophmores. Their familes are some of the richest and most powerful people in the country. Are the bonds of friendship strong enough to weather the rough waters their lives are about to enter?

Hayden Taylor has traveled to Reynolds in search of one thing, a life of freedom and an escape from a painful past. He expected his freshman year to be quiet and relaxing, but a chance encounter will change his life forever. Is he prepared to let go of his fears and embrace his new college life?

Fate has an interesting way of working, and life will never be the same for the four Reynolds students. A wager will test the bonds of friendship, secrets and lies are revealed, and dark times are head on the Reynolds Campus. Life, love, and friendships could change, find out as their stories unfold as a new semester starts. Life is never easy, especially when you're Popular.

Popular Chapter One By: Michael Philips (aka Gryffindor)

The sun shone down on the beautiful courtyard that sat in the center of the Reynolds University Campus. There were small groves of trees and benches spread out over the lush green lawn. A large fountain sat at the courtyard's epicenter, and the wind blew a refreshing spray of mist over anyone sitting close enough. The last rays of summer heralded many changes on the campus because the fall semester would be starting soon, and the possibility of a harsh New England winter in Serenity, Connecticut loomed in the distance. These thoughts were far from the minds of the students that lounged around the massive courtyard though. 

Hayden Taylor emerged on one of the many paths that crisscrossed the courtyard carrying a few suitcases. Hayden's shaggy chocolate brown hair was caught in the power of the summer breeze. Strands of hair blew unceremoniously around his face and were getting caught in his glasses. A pair of ice blue eyes gazed through the glasses at the beauty that filled the campus. The buildings were renovated back in the late Seventies and looked very majestic rising above the many trees that were scattered throughout the campus.

Hayden shuffled along at an easy pace and didn't gain the attention of any of the other students that filled the courtyard. His appearance gave the distinct impression that money was hard to come by in his family because his clothes were obviously hand me downs from the way they hung on his body. His sweatshirt was at least two sizes too big and his pants were so large it appeared they would fall off if the wind caught them right. His clothes were so large and worn it made him appear shorter than his actual six-foot height.

Hayden stopped to check some paperwork in his pocket to ensure he was headed towards the registration office. He had only been stopped for a moment before he was knocked to the ground by some unseen force. It took a moment for him to clear his head as he glanced over to see a guy lying next to him on the ground with a Frisbee in his hand. 

"Sorry, man. We didn't even see you there." The guy stood up and offered his hand out to help him up. He was obviously referring to the guy and girl that were standing on the lawn about fifty feet from them yelling jokes about him running people down. "I'm Leo Warner by the way." 

"No problem, Leo. I'm Hayden Taylor." He offered a small smile to his accidental attacker. "Am I going in the right direction to get to the registration office?"

"You sure are, buddy. Keep going across the Court and past the fountain. The registration office is in the Student Affairs building. You'll see the sign for it as you get closer." Leo answered and pointed out one of the buildings that rose above the treetops.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it." Hayden replied with a smile.

"No big. Welcome to Reynolds." Leo smiled in return and headed back over to his friends to continue their Frisbee match.

It only took Hayden a few minutes to finish crossing the Court, as Leo had called it, and he found the Student Affairs building right away. He entered the building and was grateful as he felt the air-conditioning swirl around his tired body. Hayden checked the directory located in the foyer and rode the elevator to the fifth floor. He was thankful that there were signs pointing out the direction to the correct office. It had been a long trip from sunny California and he just wanted to get his room information and crash. 

ľ 

Leo Warner watched as Hayden retrieved his dropped suitcases and headed off across the Court. He felt bad for knocking the poor guy down and wanted to make sure he was going in the right direction. After seeing Hayden cross the Court, Leo tossed the Frisbee back to one of his best friends, Alexis Covington. Her midnight black hair floated around her shoulders as she leapt to catch it. Her five foot eleven frame easily allowed her to snatch the plastic disc out of the air.

"You better listen to me and start paying more attention to what goes on around you, Leo. Otherwise you're really going to hurt someone one of these days." Her melodic voice sounded scolding, but Leo knew she was just teasing him.

"It's not like he knocked over anyone important, Alexis." The other guy standing with them added with a snicker. "Did you see what he was wearing?"

"Leave it to you, Noah Radcliff, to play the stereotypical spoiled rich brat." Leo said to his other best friend with a smile. "Lexie, remind me once again why you date this jerk?"

Leo smiled at his best friends as Lexie laughed and Noah tried to look pissed off. Whoever said that opposites attract must have had those two in mind when they said it. With her trim body and natural beauty, Lexie reminded him of the classic girl next door. She had a laugh that made her emerald eyes sparkle with mischief. Lexie probably had more money in her family than Noah did, but you would never know it. She had a laid back, relaxed attitude and always took everything in stride. 

Noah, on the other hand, was her complete opposite. He was actually an inch shorter than his girlfriend, but his perfect posture and overwhelming air of superiority made him seem taller. His blonde hair was always perfectly in place and cut in the newest style. Noah had more clothes than Lexie and Leo put together, and he refused to shop at any store that wasn't name brand or exclusive. His amber colored eyes were like a hawk and were always trained on everything around him.

Leo stood watching his friends and chuckled. His six foot-one frame wasn't overly muscular, but he had a nice firm body. His thick black hair hung almost to his shoulders and had a slight curl to it. His forest green eyes sparkled in amusement as he listened to Lexie and Noah fight with each other. Leo's appearance was heavily influenced by his mother's Italian heritage. He always had a perpetual tan and his chest was covered in thick, soft black hair. 

Many people mistook Leo and Lexie as twins because of how similar they looked, and the fact that they were the same age just added to that. Their friendship had evolved over the years from best friends to a very tight sibling type bond. Leo and Lexie didn't have any siblings and had quickly turned to each other. The fact that their names were so similar only added fuel to the twin theory.

"I've been stuck with him ever since I saved his butt on the playground back in kindergarten." Lexie gave Noah a kiss on the cheek. "Though it's a move I regret from time to time."

Leo laughed as Noah's face turned red from the mention of that fateful day many years ago. All three of them came from well-to-do families and first met each other back in kindergarten. Leo had bonded with Lexie, who was then known as Alexis, instantly, and they were the best of friends. Noah was brought into their friendship after the other kids were picking on him, and Lexie and Leo stepped in to help him.

"I don't blame you for that, twin." Leo smiled as he used his term of endearment for Lexie. "I would probably be regretting that myself. It's not everyday you hear of a boyfriend taking longer than his girlfriend to get ready to go out."

"It is not my fault that the two of you don't seem to understand the importance that people in our positions have." Noah's voice sounded weary as he lectured his friends. "I keep telling you that people look up to us because of our money and our looks, and we have to lead them. We need to show them what they need to strive to be¡K"

Leo and Lexie ignored Noah and began tossing the Frisbee back and forth again. They had heard that lecture a thousand times over the past few years, and they expected to be hearing it long into the future. Leo and Lexie just weren't as concerned about the material things in life. A lot of that had to do with their families because neither one of them were spoiled in any way. Anything they got in life they had to earn and were made to realize that hard work was an important part of life. So much in fact, they each bought their own cars in high school from money that was earned from summer jobs. 

Noah's family on the other hand felt that their money made them better than everyone else, and that line of thinking had obviously been instilled into their son. Leo and Lexie's attitude helped to ground Noah from time to time, but he still had his moments. They were thankful that Noah wasn't so high and mighty all the time. That only seemed to happen after he was visiting with his parents, and he did just return from a two-week vacation with them.

"¡Kso you both can see my reasoning I hope." Noah finally stopped his tirade, but it took him a moment to realize that his friends were not paying attention. "Do you realize how rude it is to ignore somebody?"

"It's almost as rude as harping and lecturing on the same subject for over five years." Lexie said to her boyfriend with a wink. "Of course we heard you, sweetie, but we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. Money and popularity don't mean everything."

"Remind me why I'm dating you again?" Noah asked with a weary sigh.

"That's simple." Leo replied as he winked at Lexie. "No one else would have you."

Noah grumbled under his breath as Leo and Lexie continued to enjoy the sunny afternoon. His eyes roamed over Lexie's taut, muscular body, and he grinned silently to himself. Noah felt lucky to have such a beautiful woman as his girlfriend, and it certainly didn't hurt that she came from a lot of money. Noah continued to watch his two best friends throw the Frisbee back and forth. He couldn't understand their thinking, but was definitely thankful for having two popular, wealthy, good-looking people as his friends.

ľ 

Hayden's arms felt like they were going to rip off at any second. He had been carrying his suitcases all over campus and was happy to see Wilsher Hall, his dorm, in front of him. It had taken over an hour to get all of the paperwork and class scheduling information taken care of. He would be happy to finally see a nice comfortable bed to collapse into after his cross-country trip. Hayden had over four layovers and ended up spending countless hours in different airports. 

He could have stayed overnight a few times, but it would have taken longer for him to get to school. Hayden was ready for a new chapter in his life to begin, and the sooner he was able to get to Reynolds, the better. He entered Wilsher Hall and was thankful that he was placed on the first floor. He was also thankful as he felt the cold rush of air-conditioning wrap around his weary body. 

Hayden made his way down the hallway until he found room 112. He unlocked the door and dropped his suitcases inside the room. There were moving boxes scattered in neat piles around the room and this caused Hayden's eyes to widen. He didn't think his things would be shipped here so soon but quickly realized that his parents would have it no other way. Hayden was happy to see the one single bed in the room. He was grateful that he wouldn't have to deal with having a roommate.

It wasn't that Hayden didn't want to interact with people, but he wanted to make a smooth, easy transition into his new life. Hayden took his time going through the boxes and making sure everything had arrived safely. He unpacked and set up his computer on the desk that was provided. Besides the bed and the desk, there was also a small stand for a television and a decent sized closet. There were shelves located in the bottom of the closet since there wasn't a dresser.

Hayden opened up his suitcase and began to put his clothes away. He noticed there was a box that he hadn't packed and he eyed it curiously. Hayden opened the box and sighed when he saw more clothes inside; clothes he had told his parents that he wouldn't need. He quickly packed them into his empty suitcases and stored them under the bed. Hayden placed his bag of toiletries in one of his desk drawers, and then he placed his small television with a built in DVD player on the small stand.

He pulled a chair over to one of the two windows and sat down finally. Hayden cracked the window and removed a pack of Marlboros. He knew it was a bad habit, and it was one he was trying to break, but he needed something to calm his nerves. Being that he was only nineteen years old, he wasn't able to drink, and he wasn't going to turn to drugs. Hayden took a slow drag off of his cigarette, and listened to the silence that surrounded him as he blew the smoke out the window. He had been looking forward to this silence for over three years. 

Hayden stretched his long legs and rested his feet on the windowsill. He looked forward to a new year and the fresh start that he had planned. Hayden hoped to put the past behind him and keep it there. He wasn't sure what his major would be or what he wanted to do with his future, but he was certainly excited about going to school. 

His mind traveled back to what happened on the Court earlier that day. Leo was definitely good looking, and Hayden definitely felt the attraction. He shook his head to clear those thoughts. Hayden knew that he couldn't let anyone know about his sexuality. What happened in the past couldn't happen again; Hayden wouldn't allow it.

Hayden took a final drag off of his cigarette and tossed it out the window. He removed a long carrying case from the closet, unzipped it, and removed a keyboard and stand from the case. He plugged the keyboard into the wall outlet and set it up on the stand that he had removed from the case. Hayden sat on the edge of his bed and put on the headphones that were attached to the keyboard. He turned on the machine and his fingers flew nimbly over the keys.

The headphones were filled with an electric range of music from Classical to Pop, and even Rock, as he played. Music had always been something that soothed and calmed him down. He had been playing since the age of five, but it was a talent that no one except his family knew about. Hayden played for only one reason, his own pleasure. He didn't feel it necessary for everyone to know because that would run the risk that people would want him to play all the time. If that happened then it wouldn't be any fun anymore. 

Hayden's powerful baritone voice softly carried through the room as he started to play a ballad. He made sure not to sing too loudly; otherwise he would attract the attention of anyone else on the floor. The music and singing had the desired effect on his body as his muscles relaxed and the tension slowly left his body. As one last long note slid from his throat, Hayden glanced at the clock on his desk. Over an hour had passed since he had begun playing and that didn't surprise him. Hayden knew how quickly time passed when he played. 

His mind argued over whether to get something to eat or succumb to the weariness that still ran through his body. The decision was settled as a long yawn erupted from his mouth as he stretched. Hayden removed his shoes and placed them at the foot of his bed. Order and cleanliness was an obsession for him. Hayden was thankful that he had made up the bed earlier when he was unpacking everything. 

It was only late in the afternoon, but the jetlag seemed to finally catch up with Hayden. Sleep overtook his exhausted body almost the moment his head hit the pillow. He hadn't even changed clothes or turned the bed down. Hayden stretched out on the bed and with one final, large yawn he fell into a peaceful sleep, the first he had in months.

ľ 

Leo, Lexie, and Noah were walking towards their late afternoon class, and the other students in the hallway seemed to subconsciously move and make way for them. It was something none of them even realized happened anymore. There were always cliques and groups at school, and the fact that it was college was certainly no different. Between the sororities, fraternities, sports teams, and clubs, there were many levels of cliques. 

"My parents invited everyone to Colorado again this year for Christmas break." Noah's smile literally lit up the hallway. "Another two fun weeks of skiing and partying on the slopes."

"I think we will definitely have a blast." Lexie gave Leo a wicked look. "As long as someone doesn't have too much to drink again, that is." 

"If we are going to start digging up embarrassing stories, oh funny one, then I think we should talk about that ski instructor that kept trying to get you in the hot tub." Leo leered back at Lexie.

"I'd love to continue this conversation, boys, but this is my stop." Lexie's huge grin made her eyes sparkle with mischief. The group hadn't even realized they had already gotten to the choir room. She gave Noah a quick kiss and stuck her tongue out at Leo. "I'll see you two after class¡Kand behave for once. Otherwise Professor Mitchell will have your asses in a sling, and not in an enjoyable way either."

Lexie walked into her class before Leo or Noah could reply. The guys laughed at her sling remark. It still surprised Noah that his girlfriend could look so sweet and innocent, but still have the mind of a porn director. Leo, on the other hand, wasn't at all surprised. He was very close to Lexie and knew Noah would blush if he heard even half of the things Lexie said.

"Your woman has a mouth that is worse than a sailor on shore leave sometimes, Radcliff." Leo managed to say through his laughter. 

"You're just as bad as she is, Warner, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't encourage her so much." Noah sighed at his best friend. "You would think that someone with that much money wouldn't talk like that."

"When are you ever going to get a clue, Noah, that life doesn't revolve around how much money you have or how popular you are?" Leo patted Noah's shoulder. "If we look up materialistic in the dictionary, I'm sure we'd find your picture there¡Kin color. Hell, it would probably be and eight by ten glossy."

"Fuck you, Warner!" Noah hissed at his friend. "One of these days I'm going to prove to you just how wrong you are."

"I won't be holding my breath on that one, buddy." Leo's laughter echoed down the hall.

The pair continued to their psychology class and teased each other the whole time. Though Noah was the butt of most of the jokes, he at least had a good sense of humor most of the time, but he wasn't as quick tongued as Jacob. Normally he sat back and watched Leo exchange barbs with Lexie. Lexie definitely had an aggressive personality, and it secretly turned Noah on to no end.

"I wonder what torment awaits in Dr.Bitchell's class today." Leo said with a grin. "Is it just me or does that man always have a stick up his ass?"


Popular Ch. 01



"Well, we won't have to wait long to find that out." Noah replied as they walked towards the door to their psychology class.

The duo walked into the classroom and chose two seats in the middle to sit in. They learned last semester that Professor Mitchell hated it when people sat in the back of the room. Leo and Noah didn't want to sit in the hot zone either. The hot zone was the first few rows of seats, and the professor normally called on those people to answer most of his questions.

The two of them quietly chatted with each other until the professor showed up. He walked into the room with an overwhelming air of confidence and set his briefcase down on the desk. He leaned up against the front of his desk with his arms crossed over his chest and didn't even look at the students. Instead, he kept his gaze trained on the ceiling of the classroom. After a few minutes all of the students were glancing up to see what was so interesting.

"What is so interesting on the ceiling?" The professor's voice carried through the classroom.

All of the students immediately looked at him to find out that he was looking at them instead of the ceiling. Professor Mitchell paced back and forth in front of the first row and watched his students. A small smile appeared on his face when he saw the confused look that appeared on most of their faces.

"Warner." The professor said looking up at Leo.

"Yes sir?" Leo asked.

"What was your reason for looking up at the ceiling?" Professor Mitchell questioned.

"I saw that your interest was drawn there, sir, so I looked to see what captured your attention." He smoothly answered.

"Today, class, we are going to be learning about reality and perception." The professor continued without even acknowledging Leo's response. "You're going to find out that what you consider is real, possibly isn't; it's just your perception of it. You could see someone who looks totally happy, but in reality, on the inside, that person is being torn apart. Perception versus reality."

A little over an hour later Leo and Noah were heading back to meet Lexie. Dr. Mitchell had assigned a ton of homework for them and the pair bitched about their slave driver of a teacher along the way.

"He definitely has a superiority complex, that's for sure." Leo sighed. "I wonder if he's a distant cousin of yours or something, Noah."

"That man would be lucky to be the dirt that surrounds my family tree, asshole." Noah snapped back. "There's a huge difference between my family and the professor. He just thinks that he's better than everyone, whereas we actually are."

"Well, that's your perception of it at least." Leo wearily sighed as he pushed a stray strand of hair off of his chiseled face. "Doesn't it hurt your back to kiss your own ass like that, Noah?"

"Don't even get started on me, Warner." Noah glared at his friend. "You and I both know that we are of a higher class than most people. We come from wealthy families that are steeped in heritage and class. I can't help it that you can't see that."

Leo didn't even bother trying to respond to his best friend's words. It was definitely a losing battle, and it was an argument that they had time and time again. It was moments and conversations like that that really made Leo question his friendship with Noah Radcliff. Noah hadn't always been that bad though. It seemed that as they got older, Noah's family put more and more importance on their wealth and stature. 

The whole situation made Leo's head hurt most of the time. Noah had been conditioned to the point that nothing was going to change his mind. Lexie and Leo had tried time after time to do just that, and it never worked. Deep down in his heart Leo felt bad for Noah because his friend would never see their side of the argument. His parents' brainwashing skills were just too good.

"So what should we do tonight?" Leo asked with a smile hoping to change the conversation.

"You're not getting out this that easily, Leo." Noah grabbed his friend by the arm to stop him. "If people didn't think we were rich and popular then we would be nothing. How can I get that through that thick, stubborn head of yours?"

"You're not going to, Noah. That doesn't matter." Leo sighed.

"Do you care to place a wager on that, Warner?" Noah asked his friend.

"What are you talking about?" Leo cautiously asked.

"I'll wager that I can take anyone in this school and make them popular." Noah said with an evil grin. "By the time I'm done they'll be the coolest person on campus and everyone will want to be their friend. Then you can see first hand that what people think of you really does matter."

"I'm not going to play around with someone's life, Noah." Leo turned to leave, but Noah grabbed his arm again.

"If I lose, Leo, which I don't think I will, then I'll never bring up money or popularity ever again." Noah said.

"And if you win?" Leo asked.

"The fact that I'll be able to gloat about being right is more than enough incentive, my friend." Noah grinned.

"And if I don't agree to the bet?" Leo questioned as he looked at his friend.

"Then I'll keep bringing up the subject until you do agree." Noah's grin widened even more.

Leo couldn't decide what to do. He knew that they would be playing with fire with the bet. They would be interfering with someone else's life, but on the other hand, he had the opportunity to shut Noah up for good about money and popularity. Leo knew it was a decision he would most likely regret, but he couldn't stop himself from taking the opportunity.

"Fine. It's a bet." Leo held out his hand to Noah, who quickly shook it. "There is one condition though."

"What's that?" Noah's eyebrow arched in question.

"You have two weeks, Noah. That's it." Leo said.

"That's fine with me, Warner." Noah responded. "You can't tell Lexie about the bet either. Otherwise, you automatically lose. You know she'll go ballistic about this."

"Noah, do you really think we can keep this from her?" Leo asked incredulously.

"Either we do, or you lose. Agreed?" Noah demanded.

"Fine." Leo agreed. "So, who are you going to pick?"

"There are so many people to choose from." Noah tapped his finger against his chin. "I know! I pick that shabby guy you knocked down today. What was his name? Henry?"

"It was Hayden." Leo replied with a sigh.

"Hayden! That's right." Noah grinned wickedly. "He doesn't know it yet, but today is his lucky day."

*For author information check out my Literotica profile* Thank you for reading Chapter One!



Popular Ch. 02



Hayden stretched his body as his alarm clock rang out incessantly. He had placed it on his computer desk, and that meant if he wanted to turn it off then he'd have to get out of bed and walk over to it. One last groan slipped from Hayden's lips as he slid out of bed and over to the alarm. The room was filled with a comforting silence the moment his finger flicked the off button on the clock. 

Hayden walked over to his closet and opened the door. He stood for a few moments and stared at his body in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of the door. Hayden critically inspected every inch of his body, which was fairly easy to do since he slept in his underwear. After a few minutes he began to stretch in preparation for his morning workout.

His morning ritual began during his first year of high school. Hayden hadn't been very overweight when he was younger, but he had certainly been inactive. After a few months worth of teasing from fellow students in school Hayden had begun working out every morning. At first the workouts were an effort to get his schoolmates off of his back, but after a few months his self-confidence had begun to grow. Hayden had continued working out after that for his own pleasure and stopped worrying about what people thought. It was just a few years later that the harsh reality of the importance of what other people thought crashed back into his life.

After twenty minutes a light sheen of sweat covered his body, and Hayden pushed back some locks of hair that had stuck to his forehead. He pulled his robe out of the closet and grabbed his toiletries kit off of his desk. Hayden made sure to grab his room key and put it in the robe's pocket. He certainly didn't want to get locked out of his dorm room. Hayden quietly entered the dorm's hallway and moved towards the communal bathroom.

A sigh of relief passed through him as he saw that the bathroom was empty. One of his biggest fears of dorm life was having to share the bathroom facilities with a whole floor of guys. The fear was intense enough to make him clutch the oversized robe tightly around his body. Hayden forced himself to relax and started to get ready for his first real day of college. The only thing on his schedule for the day was freshman orientation. The college started their freshman classes a week later than everyone else to allow the new students an opportunity to settle in to their new lives.

The hot shower helped to ease some of Hayden's tight muscles and nervous mind. He quickly dried off and pulled his robe back on. Hayden didn't bother doing anything with his hair except for running a brush through it when he was back in his room. He just wasn't concerned about how he looked, and was comfortable for once, inside in his own skin. Hayden pulled on a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt. His clothes limply hung off of his tall frame, but Hayden wasn't concerned about it. He was comfortable, and that was all that mattered to him. Hayden checked the time as he put his watch on. He decided to skip breakfast to make sure he got to orientation on time. With his wallet and dorm key safely in his pocket Hayden headed out to start his college life. 

A few hours later Hayden's stomach was groaning loudly in protest. He hadn't realized that orientation would end up taking so long, and he regretted the fact that he skipped breakfast. Hayden had memorized the layout of the school during orientation and was heading towards the cafeteria as fast as possible. The ten-minute walk seemed to take much longer than usual to his undernourished stomach. Hayden had to show his newly acquired student I.D. card as he entered the cafeteria and was finally able to get his much needed lunch.

Hayden carried his tray, with his burger and fries on it, into the large seating area in the cafeteria. His eyes scanned the tables quickly before he moved towards the back to an empty table. Hayden didn't mind eating alone; in fact he wasn't concerned about making new friends. He planned on enjoying his newfound independence. Hayden had just taken a bite out of his burger when someone stepped up to the table.

"Do you mind if we join you?" 

Hayden nearly choked on his burger as his glanced up into a pair of beautiful dark green eyes, Leo's eyes. Hayden wondered for a moment why he remembered Leo's name, but quickly pushed the thought from his mind. He told himself that it was just his nearly photographic memory kicking in, and the fact the guy ran him down yesterday. Hayden quickly swallowed the food that was in his mouth so he could answer.

"Sure. If you really want to join me." Hayden quietly replied.

The grin that appeared on Leo's face was dazzling, if anything. Hayden recognized the other two people sitting down at the table as Leo's friends from yesterday. He was very curious as to why these three people chose to sit down at his table, especially when there were plenty of empty tables to choose from.

"In case you don't remember, I'm Leo Warner, the klutz that knocked you down yesterday." Leo said as he sat down.

"I'm sure he remembers, Leo. How many times does the world's largest pig run you down like a Mac truck?" The girl that sat down flashed Hayden a gorgeous smile. "I'm Alexis Covington by the way. I figured since Mr. Warner here forgot his manners I would just introduce myself, but you can call me Lexie."

"Thanks, Lexie." Hayden offered her a shy smile. "I'm..."

"Hayden Taylor, we know. Leo filled us in on that yesterday." Hayden's attention was pulled towards the last person at their table. He seemed a bit cocky, and his interruption of Hayden confirmed that. "I'm Noah Radcliff. If you wanted to seek any damages against Warner I could recommend a few good attorneys to you."

"Nah. I don't see any point in that. It was my own fault anyways." Hayden's deep baritone voice was soft, and it flowed over his fellow lunch mates. "I tend to zone out sometimes, ya know?"

"Seems like you found your match, Leo." Lexie's laughter was very infectious, even though Hayden wasn't sure what she was referring to. Her words implied one thing, but as Hayden looked into her eyes, well, that was a different story. "He has the attention span of a gnat, Hayden. IF he ever listened to me, and would pay attention more like I tell him all the time, then he wouldn't have knocked you flat on your back yesterday."

"If I listened to you all the time, twin, I wouldn't even be here." Leo stuck his tongue out at her. He turned back to Hayden and grinned. "She tried to tell me back in kindergarten that a bottle of glue was vanilla pudding. Thankfully the teacher overheard her."

"You really shouldn't blame me for you being gullible." Lexie's mouth turned down into a cute pout. 

"She does have a point." Hayden replied with a small smile.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?" Leo playfully glared at him.

"The side that won't be knocking me down any time soon." Hayden glared back at Leo.

Lexie was surprised when Leo had suggested sitting at Hayden's table this morning. Leo was an amazing friend, and was practically her brother, but he wasn't one to go out of his way to make new friends. Though that really isn't as bad as it may sound. Leo had that type of personality that people were just drawn to him. She had never seen him go out of his way to make friends with someone before. 

Throughout lunch Lexie watched the play in conversation between Hayden and Leo. Leo's magic was definitely working on Hayden. She could see him slowly coming out of his shell as Leo talked to him. Her best friend's charm and charisma never ceased to amaze her. She glanced over at her boyfriend and saw him watching Hayden. It was almost like Noah was cataloging him or something. She let all of this sink into her mind for later. Lexie would definitely be talking to Leo and Noah that night. Something was going on, she could practically feel it.

"We were planning on hanging out tonight. Did you want to join us, Hayden?" Leo asked with another dazzling grin.

Hayden was surprised at the invitation to say the least. He had thought they were just sharing a meal, and he hadn't thought it would go beyond that. What was more surprising to him though, was that he was actually considering it. Wasn't he just enjoying the thought of being on his own? 

Suddenly that line of thinking seemed a bit lonely. For some strange reason he couldn't help being drawn to these three people. For the first time, in a very long time, someone seemed interested in just being his friend. A friendship that wasn't based on his appearance or other complicated things in his life.

"That sounds like fun." Hayden finally replied with a smile.

Leo had been worried for a minute when Hayden didn't immediately respond. He had the feeling that Hayden was carrying around a lot of sadness, and for a moment he forgot about the bet. He was determined to make Hayden smile, really smile that night, if it was the last thing he ever did. Leo couldn't help but smile at Hayden when he agreed to go out.

"It will be lots of fun. I can guarantee that!" Leo replied with a laugh. "What dorm are you in?"

"I'm over in Wilsher Hall." Hayden replied.

"Noah and I are right next door to you in Campfield Hall." Leo said with another grin. "Lexie is across the Court in Jackson Hall."

"Why don't we all meet up at the fountain at eight?" Lexie asked. "We can decide from there what our plans for the evening are. Though I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like shaking my ass tonight." Leo opened his mouth to say something, but Lexie was too quick for him. Her hand shot out and covered his mouth before he could say anything. "You just keep your comments to yourself for once, mister."

Hayden smiled at the antics of his new friends, well if he could call them that at this point. Leo's penetrating green eyes locked with Hayden's again, and there was so much mischief in them Hayden couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped from his mouth. Almost immediately Lexie made an odd noise and yanked her hand way from Leo like it was on fire.

"I can not even believe that you just licked my hand." Lexie slowly pressed her wet palm against Leo's cheek and wiped it off. "Someone really needs to housebreak you."

The four of them headed out of the cafeteria after they finished their lunches and hung around the Court for an hour or two. They shared different stories and jokes with each other, but Leo and Lexie quickly realized that Hayden didn't offer up much information about himself at all. Whenever they tried to ask him anything he casually deflected their questions and started off on a new topic. The two of them shared a glance with each other and knew that Hayden's past couldn't have been a good one.

"It was great hanging out with everyone today." Hayden said with a yawn. "I'm still getting used to East Coast time. I think I'll grab a nap before we go out tonight."

"That sounds like a great plan actually." Lexie replied. "I think I'll do that myself. Classes were a total bitch today."

Hayden smiled at the three of them and headed back towards his dorm. He was definitely surprised at the turn of events that happened today, but if he admitted it to himself he was happy about it. Leo and Lexie seemed like really great people, and Noah wasn't too bad. He was just a bit too snobby for Hayden's taste. He had almost reached Wilsher Hall when he heard someone call out his name. 

"I'm glad I was able to catch up with you." Noah said slightly out of breath from his run. "I wanted to talk to you real quick."

"Sure. What's up?" Hayden curiously asked.

"I don't want this to come out the wrong way..." Noah paused and smiled at Hayden. "It's just that...well...our group comes from a pretty fortunate background. I just wanted to let you know that you're hanging out with what could be considered a pretty popular group of people. I thought you might want to...dress up a bit for tonight."

Hayden glanced down at what he was wearing and didn't really see anything wrong with it. It wasn't until he really looked at what Noah was wearing before reality set in on him. Noah had on a brand name polo-style top and a pair of expensive jean shorts. As Hayden glanced down and saw the three hundred dollar pair of sneakers Noah was wearing he realized how out of place he must have looked with the three of them today.

"Please don't take what I'm saying the wrong way. Leo, Lexie, and I could really care less." Noah placed his hand on Hayden's shoulder. "Not everyone on this campus can be nice, and I just didn't want anything to be said to you tonight to ruin your fun. A lot of people are jealous of us, and I wouldn't want you to be put into a position that would make you uncomfortable."

Hayden's first instinct was that Noah was just being a snob, but after hearing his explanation Hayden realized that Noah was right. God, he felt so stupid. He couldn't believe that he actually thought for even a second that Noah was putting him down. Hayden felt lucky that one of his new friends were that concerned about him. 

"Thanks, Noah. I really appreciate it." Hayden's smile was a genuine one. "I would have been uncomfortable, and I wouldn't want to embarrass any of you. I'll make sure that I'm dressed to impress tonight."

"I'm so glad that you understand, buddy." Noah patted him on the back. "Make sure you get some good rest because we are going to party hard tonight."

Hayden smiled as he watched Noah head over to his own dorm. He was relieved that Noah took the chance to catch him and talk to him. He didn't want to embarrass his new friends in any way. Hayden headed into his dorm and quickly went to his room. He pulled out the suitcases from under his bed and opened them up.

"Looks like it was a good thing that this shit got sent." Hayden said out loud as he looked down at the suitcases. 

Hayden went over to his closet and pulled everything out and placed it on the bed. Everything that was in the suitcases quickly took up the entire closet space. He put the now discarded clothing into the suitcases and slid them back under the bed. As Hayden was closing the closet door he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. After a few moments Hayden decided that a nap was definitely out of the question.

* 

The sun was just beginning to set as Lexie made her way onto the Court and started towards the fountain. She was definitely going to talk the guys into going dancing that night. Lexie had put on a deep red mid-drift top that tied around her neck and with her tight low-rise jeans it showed off her taut, toned stomach. Her stylish, but comfortable, boots made a light clicking sound that echoed in the silence as she walked along the pathway.

Lexie had called Leo earlier that evening and tried to find out what his sudden fascination in Hayden was. He had seamlessly played it off as a guilty conscience for plowing Hayden into the ground, but she knew her best friend better than she knew herself. Lexie had her suspicions about the situation, but she decided to just let Leo off the hook, at least for the moment. She had left her room about five minutes before eight knowing that gave her plenty of time to make the short walk. It would figure she would be the first one there.

Lexie sat on the benches and relaxed for a moment and enjoyed watching the sunset. That wasn't the only scenery she was enjoying looking at though. A guy she had never seen before was casually leaning up against the wall around the fountain, which was turned off this late in the evening. His very light brown hair was cut so short it almost spiked off of his head. In the fading light she could see blonde highlights running through the stud's hair. 

To a casual observer they would think the blonde in his hair was natural, but Lexie had been in enough professional beauty saloons to know that the guy had an expert highlighting going on. He had on a deep blue shirt that was left unbuttoned, and it exposed a form fitting white tank top underneath. The tank top was tight enough that it exposed every ridge and valley on the guy's muscular, defined chest. 

Her eyes wandered lower to the faded, and well filled out, pair of blue jeans the guy had on. The black shoes on his feet were casual, but could easily pass for a dress shoe. Lexie glanced back up at the guy's face, but he wasn't paying any attention to her. Her eye candy was wearing a pair of sunglasses, which would look ridiculous this late in the evening, but it was a look this guy carried off with ease.

"Do you like what you see there, twin?" 

Leo's voice made Lexie want to jump out of her skin. She glared up at him and didn't bother responding. Lexie casually glanced back at the guy by the fountain, but he was still looking away from her.

"He must be another freshman." Leo said as he sat down next to her. He was wearing a pair of black jeans. Leo had a white dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, on over a black tank top. It was a classic Leo look. "I've never seen him on campus before. You thinking about finally dumping Noah?"

"You can keep dreaming, Warner." Noah's voice cut through the air as he walked up to the bench. 

"Don't worry, Noah. I will." Leo grinned at his friend. He wasn't surprised to see Noah decked out like a model from some expensive catalog. His jeans and polo shirt looked brand new, and Leo would have been surprised if they weren't. "Looks like the gangs all here. Now we just have to wait on Hayden."

"He's probably trying to tie a garbage bag around himself or something." Noah mumbled so only Lexie and Leo could hear. "Even that would be a major improvement." Noah's eyes caught sight of the guy by the fountain finally. "If he could look even a quarter like that guy, we should be thankful."

Leo and Lexie just ignored Noah, which was normally what happened, and began chatting about classes and their schedules. Noah paced restlessly in front of the pair with the patience of an anxious cat.

"Where the hell is Hayden? He's almost ten minutes late." Noah demanded after looking at his watch for the thousandth time.

"I could say the same about both of you." Lexie grinned at them. "I was the only one that was here on time."

"Now that isn't exactly true, Lexie."

At the sound of the new voice the trio looked up to find the guy from the fountain standing in front of them. Leo and Lexie eyed the newcomer curiously, and Noah fixed the guy with a scathing look.

"Excuse me?" Lexie asked. The mystery man finally removed his sunglasses and Lexie gasped. Once the glasses were gone she totally recognized his face, and if he had only been standing closer she would have realized it sooner. "Hayden."

Hayden grinned down at the shocked look on all of their faces. He had been really uneasy when he saw what the stylist in town had done to his hair, but he figured he would just go with it. Hayden tried to pick out something to wear that would impress his new friends, but as they sat there not saying anything he began to worry.

"Can someone please say something?" Hayden's voice came out a bit more pleading than he wanted, but he couldn't help it. A few minutes had passed and the three of them still sat there gawking at him. "I think I may have made a big mistake."

Hayden turned and started to walk away from them. He had to stop himself from breaking into a dead run for his dorm. He had only taken a few steps before a strong hand on his shoulder stopped him and turned him around. Hayden came face to face with Leo.

"Don't go." This time it was Leo's voice that sounded pleading. "Look, I'm really sorry about our reaction, but...God damn, Hayden. I had no idea that all of this was hiding under those clothes and that hair." Leo's gaze swept over Hayden from head to toe. "Buddy, you are..."

"Gorgeous!" Lexie's voice broke in. She stepped up next to Leo and gave Hayden a bright reassuring, smile. "Somebody better get me an egg. I'll bet anyone a hundred bucks I could fry it on his stomach. Talk about hot!"




Popular Ch. 02



Hayden felt his body flush so intensely he knew he had to be as red as Lexie's shirt. His nerves were finally calming down when he realized that maybe he hadn't made a mistake after all. As Noah stepped up to them, and Hayden saw the huge grin on his face, he knew he hadn't made a mistake in any way.

"I'm totally impressed, Hayden. Totally amazing." Noah's smile grew even wider.

"Thanks. I just wanted to make a good impression when I was out with you guys tonight..." Hayden yelped as he felt his shirt move and a hand palm his ass. His head swerved to see Lexie standing next to him. Man could she move quietly!

"Fuck the egg! Noah give me a quarter. I bet I could bounce that sucker at least fifteen feet off of this ass..." It was Lexie's turn to yelp as Leo grabbed her arm and pulled her back next to him.

"I'm sorry, Hayden, but you're going to have to excuse her." Leo glared at his twin. "She was raised by wolves for a few years."

"Let's get over to the club." Noah took Lexie's arm and started to guide her off across the court.

"She's really something, isn't she?" Hayden asked Leo as they fell into step next to each other.

"That's a nice way of putting it, man." Leo glanced over at Hayden and studied him for a second as they walked. "You didn't have to, ya know."

"I didn't have to what?" Hayden was just a bit confused.

"You said you had to make a good impression." Leo smiled at him as he threw an arm over Hayden's shoulders. "You already did that yesterday."

Hayden felt his body flush again as he felt Leo's hand squeeze his shoulder. He appreciated the sentiment, but he wasn't comfortable with the close contact. Hayden smiled at Leo and gave him a gentle shove.

"Yeah, whatever." Hayden forced his smile a bit bigger than he felt at the moment. For a second time that night Leo's hand on his arm stopped him. 

"I'm serious, Hayden." Leo's gaze intensely burned into his. "I certainly admit that you definitely have the stud factor going on, but I want you to know that I stopped at your table in the cafeteria this morning because of the guy I bumped into yesterday. I'm not one to judge someone on how they look. I leave that up to Noah."

"Ok." Hayden replied and gave Leo a dazzling, genuine smile. At that moment Hayden definitely realized that he was extremely grateful for his new friends. "But could you define your definition of bumping for me? Because I've got a pretty big bruise that would imply it was a bit more than a bump."

Leo's breath had caught for a second when Hayden had smiled. His mission for the night had been to make the guy smile, but he hadn't expected results so quickly or a result so amazing. Hayden was an attractive guy to begin with, even if he was hiding behind his clothes and his hair, but when the guy smiled he was definitely in a class that was all his own. Leo would have loved to hook his new friend up with Lexie in a heartbeat, but there was only one problem. One major, huge, pain in the ass problem. Noah.

"Where would this supposed bruise be? I don't want to give out information without some type of concrete proof." Leo joked.

"In a place I don't plan on showing you." Hayden's grin lit up his face once again. "Why do you think I yelped when Lexie grabbed my ass?"

"If he's talking about his ass you better hold that conversation until later!" Lexie's voice called back to them.

Hayden and Leo looked at each other and began to laugh. Another blush crept up over Hayden's neck and face, and Leo noticed it immediately.

"We're gonna have to work on you blushing that easily. If Lexie notices it, then it will turn into a sport for her." Leo winked at him.

"I'm just not used to hearing compliments. I'll adjust. I hope." Hayden laughed, but it sounded nervous even to him.

Leo let his friend's comment slide for the time being, but it was easily filed away in his memory. He was going to have a talk with Lexie as soon as possible and try to figure out a way to get Hayden to open up to them. Leo couldn't explain it, but he felt really drawn to Hayden, and it wasn't something that usually happened to him. He could tell that Lexie felt the same thing because she was never that playful with new people. It seemed that they might have stumbled across something pretty special in Hayden Taylor.

"So where are we headed tonight?" Hayden asked in hopes to change the conversation.

"We're going to Downbeat, it's a club that's on the edge of campus." Leo answered. "Are you able to shake that bruised up ass?"

"Am I going to have any choice in the matter?" Hayden asked.

"If Lexie has anything to say about it, then probably not." Leo laughed in reply. "If you really don't want to, Hayden, you don't have to. Noah and I normally just hang out at a table and watch Lexie show off. She loves to dance, and the girl can move. I haven't seen a guy yet that's been able to keep up with her."

Leo and Hayden continued to chat with each other as they followed Lexie and Noah across the campus. Hayden felt himself relaxing and he was really starting to enjoy his new friend's company. That night was going to be a very interesting night, to say the least.

*For author information check out my Literotica profile* Thank you for reading Chapter Two!



Popular Ch. 03



Conclusion

A heavy dance beat pounded and pulsated through the air in Downbeat. Multi-colored lights flashed and flickered over the nearly packed dance floor as Hayden leaned against a railing watching the action. Leo hadn't been kidding earlier that night when he said that Lexie loved to dance. The minute they entered the club they secured a table that overlooked the dance floor and Lexie was off.

Lexie's body moved and flowed with the music, and she didn't miss a single beat when the songs shifted and changed. Hayden took another long swallow of his beer and glanced over at Leo and Noah. The two of them had been having a quiet conversation with each other, and it appeared like it had turned into an argument.

For the first hour or so at the club the three of them had talked about school and just bullshitted. Lexie would stop back at the table occasionally to grab something to drink, but she would always end up going back out on the dance floor. Leo and Noah had been arguing for about a half hour. He had tried to get their attention, but they were so wrapped up in whatever they were talking about they didn't even notice.  Hayden felt a bit left out, but he was still having a great time. His eyes went back towards the dance floor and tried to locate Lexie again.

"Whew! That music is really hot tonight!" Hayden turned to find Lexie standing next to their table. Leo and Noah didn't seem to notice her entrance, so she sat down next to Hayden and threw her arm over his shoulders. "They aren't being very fun are they? You should think about joining me down on the dance floor."

"I'm having just as much fun here, thanks anyways, Lexie." Hayden grinned and took another drink of his beer. It was the third beer he had that night, and he was feeling a bit buzzed. Hayden wasn't used to drinking at all. "You can certainly move though! You looked amazing out there, Lexie."

"Thanks, stud." She replied and winked at him. Lexie grabbed Leo's beer and took a long drink from it. "I've always loved music and dancing. I just seem to zone out in my own world, ya know?" Hayden grinned at her because he knew exactly what she was talking about. Lexie glanced over at Noah and Leo. "How long have they been ignoring you?"

"They haven't been ignoring me." Hayden quickly replied, but Lexie fixed a stern look at him. "They've been talking to themselves for a little over a half hour."

"Hey stripper girl, you were moving pretty seductively out there." Leo finally realized Lexie had returned to the table. "If they only had a pole out there for you to swing off of."

"Fuck off, Warner!" Noah exclaimed and punched Leo in the shoulder. "Don't be giving her any ideas."

Hayden chuckled along with the guys as they laughed at their own joke, but his chuckling stopped when he realized Lexie was glaring at the guys. She looked a bit mad at them, and Hayden hoped it wasn't because she saw them ignoring him. He was used to fading into the background, and he wasn't upset that it was happening again. Hayden was just glad to be out and having a good time, and the buzz from the alcohol certainly didn't hurt things. Lexie leaned over and grabbed Leo's shirt. 

"You are being VERY rude, Mister Warner." Lexie said into his ear as she leaned over. "I've been watching from the dance floor, and the two of you are being complete assholes to Hayden. Do you realize he's been sitting there by himself while the two of you bitch at each other?"

Leo glanced into Lexie's eyes, and he could see the anger that was burning in them. He looked over at Hayden, and as soon as their eyes met Hayden glanced away and looked a bit uncomfortable. Embarrassment flooded through Leo as he realized what had happened. He had been so wrapped up in Noah's attitude he completely forgot their new friend. Leo quickly opened his mouth to apologize, but a voice interrupted him.

"Well, if isn't the three musketeers?" Leo grimaced as he realized who was standing next to their table.

"Evening, Jerrica." Leo replied with a fake grin. Jerrica was one of the snobbiest girls on campus. She was even snobbier than Noah, and that was definitely saying something.

Hayden glanced up at the new arrival with interest. He hadn't known his new friends all that long, but all of their attitudes seemed to change suddenly. Jerrica had very long blonde hair, and a body that would make a supermodel jealous. He could see just in the way she carried herself though that Jerrica thought she was better than everyone. She seemed to look down at everyone at their table; everyone that is until her eyes reached Hayden.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your delicious new friend?" Jerrica practically purred. Hayden shifted uncomfortably under the woman's gaze.

"Hayden Taylor, this is Jerrica Barnes. Jerrica is the head cheerleader here at Reynolds." Leo said with a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Head being the operative word." Lexie mumbled only loud enough for Hayden to hear.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jerrica." Hayden said with a small smile.

"Trust me, Hayden, the pleasure is all mine." She winked at Hayden as she licked her lips. "If you ever want a tour around the campus let me know." Jerrica glanced down at Lexie. "Are you ready for the Latin Dance Off tonight, Lexie?"

"What are you talking about, Jerrica? That isn't until next weekend." Lexie gave Jerrica a questioning look.

"Didn't the judging committee call you?" Jerrica tried to look concerned, but it was obviously fake. "They are so disorganized. You won't even be able to find a partner this late. They are going to be starting in few minutes. Oh well, there's always the next dance off." Jerrica looked up at Hayden again and gave him a hungry look. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon, Hayden."

Jerrica, and her superior attitude, went swaying off into the crowd. If looks could kill then Jerrica would have been dead on impact from the look Lexie was giving her back. Lexie grabbed Leo's beer to take another drink, but it was empty and she slammed it back down on the table. Hayden offered her his nearly full bottle, and Lexie grinned thankfully at him. 

"Fuck her, Lexie." Leo leaned over and patted her on the shoulder. "I know you really wanted to kick her ass, but it looks like you're going to have wait until next time."

"She's been talking shit for weeks, Leo. Damn her!" Lexie sighed in frustration. "I'd love to stick it to that high class bitch just once."

"You relax, sweetie. Leo and I will go get some more drinks." Noah stood up and came around their side of the table and planted a quick kiss on her lips. Leo smiled at her and followed after Noah.

"I'm sorry about the dance off, Lexie." Hayden carefully put his arm around her shoulders. "I just met her, but I wouldn't mind seeing Jerrica get what's coming to her."

"I guess we'll have to wait until the next dance off for that to happen." Lexie frowned for a moment, but then smiled at Hayden. "I'm sorry that those two weren't being any fun. They can get into debates and arguments that will last days on end. I wish it wouldn't have happened tonight."

"It's not a big deal, Lexie, but thanks anyways." Hayden smiled at her. "I'm used to kinda blending in and not being noticed. I'm having a good time though, honest."

"There's no way I can see a guy like you not standing out." Lexie saw the deep blush that graced Hayden's face and couldn't help but grin. "You already know that I think you're hotter than a sidewalk in the middle of a heat wave, but I'm not referring to your looks…for once. You may be soft-spoken and a bit quiet, but you're intelligent and funny. You have a great personality, Hayden, and I'm definitely looking forward to being friends with you."

Hayden started to respond, but an announcer's voice echoed through the club announcing the start of the dance off. The guy was reading off the names of the contestants, and as Lexie's name was called a deep frown appeared on her face. Hayden could tell she had her hopes on dancing against Jerrica, but he knew it was more than that. She just loved to dance, and she was all for any reason to do it. 

"I think it may be time for some quality bonding for you and me." Hayden said with a grin.

 



Leo practically stalked towards the bar to get more drinks. His temper had been raging ever since Noah had started quietly talking to him about the bet. He had been having a really fun night and thought that Hayden might even start to open up. Hayden was definitely looking more and more relaxed as time went on. Then Noah had to mention something to Leo about how much better Hayden looked.

Leo's blood pressure continued to rise as he thought about the argument with Noah. Noah felt responsible for the change in Hayden, and he was taking full credit for the situation. Leo tried explaining to Noah that Hayden was the one that had done it. It was at that point that Noah revealed the conversation he had with Hayden earlier that day.

Leo had to control himself from lunging at his best friend and knocking the shit out of him. It was one thing to try to help Hayden, and Leo understood that there was a lot of deception involved with the bet, but he was NOT happy with the fact that Noah practically put Hayden down. He couldn't believe that Noah would even bother insinuating that Hayden wasn't good enough to hang out with them.

To top everything off, he let himself get pulled into the fight, and they practically ignored Hayden. Lexie was definitely pissed off about it, and Leo knew that he would certainly be hearing about it later. He had to find some way to make it up to Hayden. Leo felt like a complete and total asshole. He was supposed to be trying help Hayden feel better about himself, and so far all he had done was make Hayden feel more like an outsider.

Leo couldn't tell just how hurt Hayden might be about the situation, and he was afraid that their friendship might be hurt because of it. He was mentally kicking the hell out of himself. Leo made a vow to himself to not let that type of situation happen ever again, even if that meant he would have to kick Noah's ass to shut him up.

"I hope you're not being all pissed off because poor Hayden had to sit and look around for awhile." Noah's cocky voice grated on Leo's already frayed nerves. "He's a big boy, Leo, and I'm sure he can take care of himself. Besides, he's probably used to being left out."

"Fuck off, Noah." Leo growled. "He's so shy, and I'm sure being left out like that certainly didn't help his self-esteem at all. We could be the first real friends he ever had." Noah began to laugh hysterically. Leo shot him an evil glare. "What are you laughing at?" Leo demanded.

"I'm laughing at you being all noble, Warner." Noah said as they stepped up to the bar. "First real friends? You've got to be kidding me. The only reason he's hanging out with us is because of the bet. So, don't start acting all high and mighty on me."

"We're not just his friends because of the bet." Leo replied indignantly.

"Oh really?" Noah arched his eyebrow in question. "When exactly were you planning on striking up a friendship with him then? You most likely wouldn't have had any classes together since he's a freshman. Do you mean to tell me that you would have searched the campus for him?" Leo went to respond, but Noah didn't give him the chance. "You wouldn't even know he existed if you hadn't knocked the guy down. You can just keep telling yourself whatever you need to, but the only reason we are being friendly with Hayden is because of the bet. He's not really our friend. You know that as well as I do."

Noah didn't give Leo a chance to respond at all. He grabbed two of the beers and walked away from Leo. Leo stood there for a moment and let what Noah said sink into his mind. Could any of it be true? Leo decided to just ignore Noah's ramblings like he always did. The reason why he met Hayden didn't matter, and no matter what Noah Radcliff thought, Leo did consider Hayden his friend. He could only hope that after his behavior tonight Hayden would feel the same way.

He picked up the two remaining beers and headed back to the table. Leo decided that he would focus all of his energy on Hayden for the rest of the night, and he would do whatever was necessary to make up for the night's earlier events. He was surprised when he got back to table and only found Noah there.

"Where the hell did Hayden go?" Leo quickly looked around. "Lexie is probably avoiding us because she's pissed off. Damn it, I hope he didn't leave."

Leo heard the announcer ask Lexie to take the floor for the dance off. He cringed even thinking about it, and he knew that she would be even more pissed off because she missed her chance to show Jerrica up. Leo stood up and started scanning the club in hopes of seeing Hayden. Maybe he had just went to the bathroom or something.

"Maybe he had to use the bathroom. I'm going to go check." Leo said to Noah. Noah grabbed his arm and pulled him back down in his chair. "What the fuck, Noah?"

"He's not in the bathroom." Noah calmly said as he pointed at the dance floor.

A hot salsa beat filled the club, and Noah looked out to the dance floor. It had been cleared for the dance off and Lexie stood in the center of it tapping her foot to the music. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone step onto the dance floor and he realized it was Hayden. What the fuck was going on?

Leo watched in shock as Hayden crossed the floor towards Lexie because it was a Hayden he didn't recognize. This guy walked with confidence and practically exuded sexuality. His body was as graceful as a lion stalking its prey, and Leo sat transfixed as he watched Hayden slowly circle around Lexie. The air practically crackled with the tension that bounced between the two of them. 

Hayden and Lexie stood for a second practically staring each other down. Lexie finally shook her head and turned to walk off the floor. Hayden grabbed onto her hand, and she suddenly spun towards him until her body was flush up against his. Suddenly she dipped backwards to the point that her head almost touched the floor, and almost immediately she was standing in an upright position again. 

The crowd watched in silence as their bodies began to move to the hot beat of the music. Hayden had one arm wrapped around Lexie, but her arms hung motionless at her side. He pulled her closer to him, if that was even possible at that point, and quickly turned. Hayden reached down and grabbed one of Lexie's hands, and they began to work their way across the floor.

The audience was suddenly screaming and cheering the pair on. Leo sat back in shock as he watched Hayden and Lexie move across the dance floor. Lexie always could heat up the dance floor, but this was completely different. The two of them moved so fluidly and smoothly together it was almost like they were a part of each other and the music. Leo glanced at Noah and saw that he was just as shocked.

As Hayden and Lexie went through some very intricate steps and turns they suddenly parted and began dancing side by side. They were in total sync with each other, and if Leo hadn't known any better he would have thought they had danced together all their lives. They were playing up to the crowd, and the cheering intensified. 

Lexie moved behind Hayden and in one quick movement pulled his shirt right off of him. The women, and quite a few of the men, went wild over it. Hayden turned in their direction, and Leo understood what the cheering was about. From all the dancing Hayden's white tank top was drenched with sweat, and it had become nearly transparent. Leo could tell that Hayden was built before, but now it was on view for everyone to see. Hayden's firm hard nipples pushed against the wet fabric, and his six-pack abs were clearly visible. 

Hayden shook his finger at Lexie and grinned at her. The grin had sex written all over it, and it nearly made Leo gasp. He had never seen so much raw sexual energy radiate off of one person like that before. They circled each other on the dance floor again, and Lexie grinned coyly at Hayden and shrugged her shoulders acting like she had no idea what had happened. 

Hayden grabbed Lexie's hand again, and with the audience cheering them on, they started dancing across the floor again. As Lexie and Hayden danced, their hands groped and pulled at each other's bodies. They were so hot together Leo could see people in the audience practically drooling over both of them. As the music came to an end Hayden dipped Lexie again. Her body was so low she was practically horizontal with the floor. 

As the audience cheered loudly Hayden and Lexie took a quick bow. As they left the dance floor Leo notice Hayden had retrieved his shirt and quickly put it back on. It was almost like someone had flipped a switch inside of him because Leo could see that Hayden was back to normal; well he was back to acting like he had earlier in the evening at least. Lexie and Hayden returned to their table, and Lexie sat down in Noah's lap.

"Did we just kick some fucking ass or what?" She cheered. Lexie grabbed one of the beers off of the table and took a long drink. "I think Jerrica may have shit her pants over that one."

"At least we had gone last." Hayden quietly said as he sat down. "I don't think they knew what hit them."

Leo's stomach tightened when he saw that Hayden didn't bother looking towards him or Noah. He seemed to focus on Lexie as he took a drink of his beer. Guilt ran through Leo with an intensity he never experience before. He attempted to apologize to Hayden, but Lexie interrupted him.

"Where the hell did you learn to dance like that?" Lexie giggled. "It was practically sinful."

"I could ask you the same thing." Hayden flashed Lexie a huge grin. "I started taking a few dance lessons back in high school to help intensify my workouts, and you definitely get a workout when you're learning all of those hot Latin dances."

They hung out at the club for about another hour and shared a few more beers together before deciding to call it a night. Leo was still feeling pretty shitty as they made their way across the campus back to their dorms. As they entered the Court Lexie gave Hayden a huge hug and thanked him for the awesome night. Noah walked Lexie back to her dorm, and that left Leo and Hayden alone. Leo was trying to come up with the right words to apologize to Hayden when he saw him light up a cigarette.

"You smoke?" Leo asked quietly. It wasn't the best conversation starter, but it was a start at least.

"I don't smoke that often." Hayden's voice was even quieter than Leo's. "I need something to take my mind off of the somersaults my stomach is doing right now."

"I take it you're not a big beer drinker?" Leo asked.

"I'm not a big drinker period." Hayden replied with a slight blush. "This is the first time I've ever really gotten buzzed before. It was pretty fun until my stomach decided to turn into an acrobat."

Leo happened to glance over at Hayden, and he saw Hayden's face go white. Before he could ask if his friend was okay, Hayden quickly turned from him and emptied his stomach. Leo wasn't sure what to do until he saw Hayden's body sway. He quickly stepped over and wrapped his arm around Hayden to keep him steady. It took a few moments before Hayden had recovered enough to compose himself.

"Fuck! I'm so embarrassed." Hayden quietly swore. 

"It happens to everyone, buddy, and since this is your first time really drinking it was bound to happen." Leo said soothingly. He led Hayden over to one of the benches and had him sit down. "Let's just take a few minutes so you can relax."

They sat quietly as Hayden tried to get his stomach to settle down. Leo reached over and ran his hand over Hayden's back as his friend leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. Leo wished he had known it was Hayden's first time partying. He might have been able to prevent this. Leo felt like he had let Hayden down again.




Popular Ch. 03



"I'm sorry about tonight, Hayden." Leo quietly said.

"Sorry for what, Leo?" Hayden glanced at Leo. "It's not like you forced me to drink that many beers."

"If I would have known you weren't used to drinking I could have kept an eye out for you." Leo said with a smile. "That's not the only reason I'm sorry though. I'm sorry for what happened earlier tonight at the club. I hadn't meant to leave you out, but sometimes Noah can be really high maintenance. I'm so used to him just pulling me in I didn't even realize we had left you hanging."

"It's okay, Leo." Hayden smiled reassuringly at him. He hadn't really expected an apology, but was pleasantly surprised to get one. "It's not like you guys are used to me hanging around. It's pretty easy to forget that I'm around."

"Fuck that, Hayden! That's not true." Leo couldn't help the anger that came from him. It surprised him, and it obviously surprised Hayden because he looked a bit shocked. "You aren't easy to forget. I don't like hearing people putting themselves down."

"It's not putting yourself down if it's the truth." Hayden mumbled. "I'm used to people not realizing I'm around. Tonight wasn't the first time it's happened to me, and I'm sure that it won't be the last either."

"Bullshit!" Leo's anger began to burn a bit hotter.

"Look, Leo, I'm not blaming you for what happened tonight." Hayden cut him off. "You don't have to apologize for anything. I appreciate that you guys asked me to hang out tonight, and I had an awesome time, sick stomach or not."

"You sound like this was a one time thing." Leo heard it in Hayden's voice. For some reason he thought they wouldn't hang out with him again.

"The three of you have a really tight friendship, Leo. Anyone can see that." Hayden explained. "I would bet that the three of you have been friends for a really long time." Leo cringed when Hayden said the word bet, but Hayden didn't notice. "It's not easy to become part of a friendship like that. I can't expect that just because we hung out tonight that I'm going to be a part of that."

"We wouldn't have lunch with you and then ask you to hang out if we weren't interested in being your friend, Hayden." Leo said. "It wouldn't make sense for us to try to get to know you if we didn't want to be around you."

"I've had people interested in being my friend before, Leo, and trust me, the interest wears off after awhile." Hayden sadly said. 

"That's not going to happen with us, Hayden. What can I do to convince you of that?" Leo practically begged, but he didn't care. It made his chest hurt to see someone so sad and alone. No one should ever be made to feel that way.

"Look, it's something I'm used to, Leo, and something I honestly don't feel like talking about right now." Hayden pleaded.

Leo was going to say something else, but was interrupted as Hayden emptied what was left of his stomach. Leo continued to rub Hayden's back and tried to calm him down. Hayden's body shook, and after a few moments Leo realized that it wasn't from Hayden's stomach being upset. He saw silent tears slide down his friend's face, and it made his heart ache with compassion for the guy. Leo tried to comfort him, but Hayden quickly stood up.

"I'm sorry, Leo. I'm turning into a complete mess, and if you don't mind I'm going to head back to my room." Hayden quickly glanced at Leo and gave him a sad smile. "No matter how it seems I really did have a fucking amazing time tonight. It was really great to hang out with you guys. I'll see ya around."

Hayden quickly took off leaving a surprised and shocked Leo sitting on the bench. He wanted to take off after Hayden and make sure he was all right, but Leo knew that Hayden didn't want that. Leo started to understand why Hayden didn't talk about his past much. He couldn't even imagine the pain that his new friend went through.

No matter what Hayden said Leo still thought of him as his friend. He was determined to do whatever was necessary to prove to Hayden that not only was he a friend, but that Hayden's friendship was something worth having. The whole concept of the bet with Noah was completely out of his mind. Leo was focused on one thing and one thing alone, and that was to make sure Hayden realized what an amazing person he was. Leo had to talk to Lexie, and the sooner he did that, the better.

 

Hayden stumbled into his dorm room and quickly locked the door behind him. He had spent the last half hour in the bathroom being sicker than a dog. Hayden sat on his bed and pulled off of his shoes. The rest of his clothes quickly followed until he was completely naked. He booted up his computer and waited impatiently for the programs to load.

Once his computer was up and running he went into his documents and clicked on the icon that was entitled ‘journal'. Hayden had begun keeping a journal back in high school. There were many times where he went through deep depressions, and he found the only way to help make himself feel better was to write out all of his thoughts and emotions.

Anyone else may have turned to their friends or a sibling, but Hayden didn't have anything like that in his life. He knew that his parents loved him no matter what, but he just didn't feel like he could open himself up to them like that. Hayden quickly typed in the day's date and the time. He typed about what had happened that day, and he wrote about the awesome night that he had.

He hadn't meant to open himself up to Leo at all, but Hayden couldn't help it. There was just something about Leo that made Hayden's defenses come down, and that scared the daylights out of him. When that happened with anyone in his past the outcome was always the same. Hayden ended up getting hurt, and it was something that he didn't want to happen again. 

Hayden wasn't sure though that he could stop himself from opening up to these new people that appeared in his life. Something seemed different about the three of them, and that excited Hayden. More importantly though, it made him even more fearful of what could happen. Could things turn out the way they always did or could it really be different this time?

Hayden continued to type until he felt his eyes start to droop. He knew that he needed to get to bed before he fell asleep at his desk. Hayden saved the file and turned off the computer. He crawled under his covers and let out a huge yawn. Even with all the ups and downs that the night had, it was still one of the best nights of his life. Hayden hoped that things were turning around for him. So much so, it was the last thought on his mind as sleep finally overtook his exhausted body. 

Popular

By: Michael Philips

Chapter Four

"Can you please explain to me again why this couldn't wait until a decent hour in the morning?" Lexie yawned again as she looked over at Leo.

It was a little after nine o'clock in the morning, and Leo had woken her up knocking on her door nearly twenty minutes ago. She pulled her exhausted butt out of bed to find him standing there in the same clothes he had on last night. The only thing that saved him was the bag of food he carried with him. Leo had stopped at a diner on campus before her wakeup call and picked them both up breakfast.

"Lexie, I haven't even been to bed yet." Leo sighed as he forked some egg into his mouth. "If you could have seen what he was like last night, you would totally understand what I'm talking about."

"You haven't been to bed?" Lexie thought he had just slept in his clothes. She was surprised that he hadn't had any sleep. Lexie started to get worried because she had never seen Leo like this. "What the hell is going on, Leo?"

"I couldn't sleep, Lexie." Leo rambled. "You didn't see how sad he was. Hayden really believed that last night was most likely a one time thing."

"Why would he think that?" That got Lexie's attention. She was wide-awake at that point. Leo was rambling so fast she could barely understand him. "Leo, you need to slow down. I've never seen you this worked up before. Calm down, twin, and tell me what happened."

Leo gave Lexie a blow-by-blow explanation on what had happened on the Court last night. Lexie was upset that Hayden had been so obviously hurt in the past. What really surprised her was how upset Leo was. She knew that he was a compassionate person, even if it was a side of him not many people saw, but he was really getting upset about the situation. Her suspicions grew in her head, but she decided that it wasn't the right time to bring them up.

"So we need to form a game plan on how we are going to convince Hayden we are going to be his friends." Lexie said after Leo paused to eat some more of his food. 

"I knew that I could count on you, twin!" Leo finally grinned for the first time. "We need a good plan though. I don't want it to seem like we're smothering him or anything. We need to make sure that we don't make him so uncomfortable that we scare him off."

"If you don't want to scare him off, Leo, then can I suggest you going back to your room and taking a shower." Lexie wrinkled her nose at him. "You look like hell and I can smell the bar smoke and alcohol on you from here."

"I look like death warmed over don't I?" Leo grinned at Lexie after giving himself the once over. 

"You look even worse, though I admit I didn't think that was even possible." Lexie tried to look serious, but a giggle escaped from her lips. She was just cutting into a piece of sausage when she felt something hit her in the head. Lexie saw a piece of bacon fall down onto her plate. "You will pay for that, Leo, but not right now. We are NOT getting into another food fight in my dorm room. Is that understood, twin?"

"Yes, ma'am." Leo replied in a little boy's voice.

"Stop being cute, Leo. You know I can't stay mad at you when you do that." Lexie growled at him.

"If I stop being cute, Lexie, then I would cease to exist entirely." Leo looked at her with a small pout. "You wouldn't want that to happen would you?"

"Maybe you should hold onto the question until I'm done eating and I'm more awake." Lexie smirked at him and continued to eat her breakfast.

"See if I ever bring you breakfast again." Leo mumbled under his breath.

"See if I don't kill you the next time you come pounding on my door that early in the morning." She teased back at him. "You know we don't have classes today, and it's my one day to sleep in. I could have used it too after last night. Damn, that boy can move, and my body is feeling it today. I haven't moved that much in years."

"Not even last night when Noah brought you home?" Leo ribbed his twin.

"You know Noah might be a man of many talents, but he's lacking in a few." Lexie's face looked perfectly innocent.

"That was a total over share!" Leo whined. "I'm still eating my breakfast here. You shouldn't be talking about such revolting things. I do NOT need to know about my twin's sex life."

"Or lack there of." Lexie said with a sigh.

"Is he still playing all hard to get on you?" Leo's voice was filled with concern. 

"I think you hit the nail on the head when you said the word hard." Lexie was definitely frustrated with Noah. "We waited until we were out of high school before moving onto anything heavy. He'll get all excited when we make out, but when it comes time to do the deed, the wind leaves his sail so to speak."

"Do you think he's gay?" Leo cautiously asked.

It was a question that surprised Lexie. Another piece of information was filed away in her memory for later. She had considered that Noah might be gay before, but she knew that it wasn't that. Noah was definitely playing on team hetero. 

"No, though I wish it that." Lexie said with a huge sigh. "At least if he was gay I couldn't fault him for anything. I think the problem is my money."

"His family has money. Why would your family's wealth mean anything to him?" Leo asked. 

"I think Noah needs to be the one in control. I let him think that he is, but when it comes to finances and things like that, my family is ahead of him. I think he's really uncomfortable with that, and somehow it's subconsciously affecting his….performance." Lexie explained.

"You know that I would be heart broken if things didn't work out with Noah." Leo said with a grin. "I think that if you were to move on I would know the perfect person."

"Let me read your mind." Lexie said rubbing her fingers on her temples. "Hayden."

"You really should work for a psychic network!" Leo said with a wink.

"I'm not psychic, Leo. You just seem to forget we share a brain." Lexie stuck her tongue out at him. "Hayden and I wouldn't work out."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Lexie?" Leo demanded. "I watched the two of you last night at Downbeat. The two of you practically set the dance floor on FIRE! The tension between the two of you was thicker than hell."

"We were both in the moment of the whole situation, Leo." Lexie explained to her twin. "There really wasn't any tension between us at all. Besides, if Hayden is trying to adjust to the idea of having friends, what do you think the thoughts of having a girlfriend would do to him? I thought you didn't want to scare him off."

"Alright, you have a point there." Leo agreed with her. "If you are ever on the market though, don't think for a second I won't try to get the two of you together."

"We'll see about that. So what should we do about Hayden?" Lexie changed the subject on her twin. There would be time later to talk about finding someone for Hayden, and Lexie had some ideas about that. 

Leo and Lexie spent the next half hour going over ideas and plans for helping out Hayden. It was a bit surprising to both of them how quickly this quiet guy had worked his way into their lives. The amazing part of it was that Hayden wasn't even trying to. In fact, if anything, he was trying to keep them at arm's length. They finally agreed on a game plan and kept their fingers crossed hoping it would work. 

 

Hayden was munching on an apple as he sat underneath one of the large trees that lined the edge of the Court. It was a cool, shady spot, but he left his sunglasses on in an attempt to avoid eye contact with anyone. He had tried to eat lunch in the cafeteria, but it had turned into an utter disaster. Hayden had felt as if every pair of eyes there were trained on him and inspecting him. He had forgotten about his new look until then.

A sigh escaped his lips as he took another bite of his apple. Maybe the whole makeover thing had been a bad idea. He didn't want to attract attention at Reynolds, but in his attempt to impress Leo, Lexie, and Noah he had ended up doing just that. Hayden escaped the cafeteria before people tried to make conversation with him. The previous night's events were too fresh in his mind for him to really deal with anyone. 

"A penny for your thoughts."

Hayden looked up to find Lexie standing next to him. A smile appeared on his face before he could stop it. If he was going to run into anyone today, he was glad that it was Lexie. There was just something about her that put him at ease. Hayden motioned for her to sit down next to him.

"Thought you might want a sandwich." Lexie reached into the paper bag she was carrying and handed it to him after she sat down. "I hope turkey was okay."

"Why would you think I wanted a sandwich?" Hayden asked as he took the food. His stomach had been grumbling, and the apple really wasn't cutting it.

"I was walking into the Cafe as I saw you make your escape." Lexie smiled at him and then looked out at the Court. "I don't blame you though. I wouldn't want to put up with all the stares either."

"It's a bit overwhelming." Hayden quietly replied as he bit into his sandwich. "Thanks for the food, by the way."

"No big." She replied with a wave of her hand. "I know what you mean about people being overwhelming, though. You should try being a tomboy that suddenly turns into a girl."

"What?" Hayden asked curiously.

Lexie smiled and leaned back against the tree next to him. Hayden was normally uncomfortable with people being that close to him, but it was different with Lexie. There was a calmness and serenity that almost surrounded the girl.

"I met Leo and Noah in kindergarten. I didn't really have any friends at that point." Lexie began her story. "All of the girls were into playing with dolls and dressing up, and that just wasn't my thing. I wanted to run around and play on the playground. So once I met the two of them my tomboy status just kinda kicked in. All through elementary school I was just one of the guys, but that all changed the summer before high school."

"Puberty?" Hayden asked quietly, not wanting to interrupt her story.

"You know it, Hayden." She smiled at him. "Mother Nature hit me, and let me tell you, she was a force to be reckoned with. My body was growing and changing so fast my mind could barely keep up with it. By the time our freshman year of high school was over I was taller than most of the boys, and let's just say I developed other things fairly quickly."

Hayden couldn't help but chuckle as Lexie gave her breasts a glare. It was surprising to him that someone who seemed so confident and laidback had gone through a similar experience.

"It was almost like the ugly duckling that turned into a swan." Lexie giggled. "Then once my braces came off and my mother started showing me how to put on makeup it just completed the transformation. All of sudden I had gone from the tomboy to the cheerleader."

"You were a cheerleader?" Hayden grinned at her. "Were you the head cheerleader?"

Lexie laughed and punched Hayden in the arm because of his reference to Jerrica. She was really enjoying sitting there with Hayden, and she was glad to see him relax and just be himself.

"I never got that far up in the cheerleading hierarchy, but I had fun with it. I've always had too much energy, so all the jumping and cheering was a good way to release it." Lexie explained.

"And based on last night, you had taken up dancing at some point?" Hayden continued to eat his almost forgotten sandwich.

"Most cheerleading teams do dance routines, so I guess it was inevitable that I took some dance lessons. I was fortunate though since I have a pretty natural rhythm. I took to dancing like a duck to water." Lexie made a quaking noise that caused Hayden to nearly choke on his food from laughter. She leaned over and patted him on the back. "Careful now, if I killed you there would be hell to pay. Leo would kill me."

"The two of you seem pretty close with each other." Hayden was able to finally reply.

"Neither one of us have any brothers or sisters, so we kinda latched onto each other early on." Lexie smiled at the memories that flashed through her mind. "It was pretty obvious from the start that Leo and I were on the same wavelength. By the time high school came around we were finishing each other's sentences and all kind of crazy stuff. We look so similar and with our birthdays being only a few weeks apart people thought we were brother and sister, twins in fact. The scary part it is, we are practically twins." Lexie's laughter filled Hayden with warmth.

"It must be really nice to have someone that close to you." Hayden couldn't help the touch of sadness that crept into his voice.

"It's pretty wonderful actually." Lexie had noticed the sadness in Hayden's voice and decided to take a risk. "It sounds like you haven't had any close friends like that."

"I was the typical nerdy kid." Hayden said quietly. "I really didn't have many friends. I was the quiet kid, the one that people usually made fun of. So I turned to other things for friendship, like books, and things like that. So I ended up staying in my house a lot, not really going outside to play or anything."

"It sounds kinda lonely." Lexie's voice was soft and comforting. She didn't want to interrupt Hayden because she wanted him to keep talking, but she didn't want him to think she wasn't listening.




Popular Ch. 03



"Actually it wasn't, Lexie. While all the other kids were playing on the swings or playing kickball, I was exploring all kinds of fun and exciting worlds." Hayden said with a small smile. "I thought it was stupid to be rolling around in the dirt when I could be fighting pirates or exploring outer space for alien life. Of course when I got to high school all of that caught up with me. Everyone had their little cliques of friends and I was the shy, kinda overweight smart kid." Hayden's face turned down in a sad frown. "They weren't the nicest of kids, but then again kids can be cruel no matter what the situation."

"I know that all too well." Lexie added with a sad smile of her own. "I was called a thousand things in elementary school since I wasn't like all the other little girls. It's tough as hell to deal with."

"How did you deal with it?" Hayden quietly asked.

"I turned to Leo, actually. He had become my best friend, and it was because of him that I was able to deal with everything." Lexie replied. "How did you deal with it?"

"At first I just ignored it. I figured that people would get bored and would eventually leave me alone." Hayden answered as memories passed through his mind. "Of course that wasn't the case. I finally just got fed up with it and decided that I was going to change. I started working out and getting into shape. I made sure to do things though that didn't require anyone but me. I got into swimming and running. I didn't want to have to deal with anyone else."

"And you started dancing. I remember you mentioning that last night." Lexie said.

"Yeah I did, and like you, I have a pretty natural rhythm so it was fun." Hayden answered her. "By my senior year in high school I had gotten into really good shape, which meant most of my clothes didn't fit anymore. So my parents made sure to update my wardrobe the summer before my senior year. I went back to school like a brand new person. They couldn't even believe it was me."

"Was that a good thing?" Lexie asked.

"At first I thought it was." Hayden glanced at Lexie and smiled. "Suddenly everyone wanted to be my friend or to hang out with me. I had a lot of fun, at first, but then I realized that they only wanted to be my friend because of how I looked. They really didn't want to get to know me or really be my friend. They just wanted to be seen with the new hot guy."

"That's fucked up." Lexie's voice showed the anger she felt. She glanced over at Hayden and something clicked in her head. "Those clothes you were wearing...they were the clothes you had before you started working out. You had those on here because you didn't want people to see what was underneath them. You wanted to be judged on what was inside of you, not what you looked liked."

"Yeah." Hayden replied with a sigh. "That lasted all of two days."

"What made you decide to change your plan?" Lexie asked curiously. It didn't make sense to her that he would go through all of that, and then suddenly decided to change course.

"It was Noah actually." Hayden replied with a grin as he remembered their conversation. "He was nice enough to point out that the three of you are kinda like the popular clique here on campus. I didn't want to embarrass you guys or have people talk about the dorky guy that was hanging out with you."

"When did Noah talk to you? You hung out with all of us and I never heard him mention it?" Lexie contained all of her anger deep inside of her. She didn't want Hayden to know she was upset because she didn't want to him to think it was his fault.

"He caught up with me right before I got back to my dorm after I left the Court yesterday afternoon." Hayden's smile faltered a bit.

Lexie was going to kill Noah. Her mind had already begun to formulate a plan on how to do it and where to hide the body. She couldn't believe that Noah would stoop so low. She was going to have a very, very long talk with him. Lexie reached over and placed a hand on Hayden's shoulder.

"Noah can be a bit too pompous and materialistic for his own good." Lexie squeezed Hayden's shoulder and smiled at him. "I want you to know, and this is the truth, that it doesn't matter what you look like or what clothes you wear. We want to be your friend, not because of the guy that danced with me last night, but because of the sweet guy that we had lunch with yesterday. Leo and I are NOT concerned with what other people think. You could have came out with us last night in exactly what you had on earlier in the day."

"Then why did Noah come to talk to me?" Hayden was confused. 

"I don't know, buddy, but I can guarantee you that I am going to find out." Lexie was definitely going to find out. Noah had just better hope that he lives through the questioning. "Hayden, you were cute yesterday and you're still cute today. I want you to be comfortable, though. You be whoever it is you want to be, and I'm still going to be your friend."

"That's what I was getting from Leo last night." Hayden's eyes became blurry. He wasn't used to having people wanting to be his friend without there being strings attached. The fact that Leo and Lexie welcomed him just for being him was a bit much for him to handle. "I don't know what to say. This is just…just new to me."

"You're not used to friends caring about you, are you?" Lexie's voice was soft and gentle. She could easily see what Leo had been talking about that morning. Hayden had been hurt very badly. She could see the tears that threatened to spill down his face, and her heart went out to her new friend. Lexie moved over and slid her arm around Hayden's shoulders. "It'll take some time to get used to the idea, but I'm pretty sure you're gonna find out that we'll grow on ya."

Hayden tensed when he felt Lexie's arm slide around his shoulders, but he allowed himself to relax. He even slid an arm around her waist and enjoyed the company for a few moments. Maybe things could turn out all right, and maybe last night wasn't as big of a mistake as he thought.

"You make it sound like you're a fungus." Hayden said with a small chuckle.

"We can be pretty contagious." Lexie laughed along with Hayden. She thought maybe putting her arm around him was too much too fast, but he had thankfully relaxed and put his arm around her in return. "Though I like to think we put the fun in fungus."

"Ok, that just was bad." Hayden's laughter echoed through the air. 

"Well, excuse me, sir, that you don't enjoy my punny attitude." Lexie pouted at Hayden. "If you think that was bad, just wait until Leo gets on a roll."

"I'm sure it can't get any worse." Hayden grinned at Lexie.

"Oh really?" Lexie gave Hayden an evil look. She quickly moved her arm off of his shoulder and pinched his side. Hayden's body jerked and he chuckled, but he gave her a glare. Lexie's face broke out in an evil grin. "Is someone ticklish?"

"No!" Hayden wasn't very convincing.

Lexie lunged towards him and began to tickle the sides of his body. Hayden yelped and tried to back away, but Lexie had knocked him to the ground. He tried to defend himself, but her hands were just too fast. In a matter of a few seconds she had him laughing so hard he thought he was going to wet his pants.

"Say uncle!" Lexie had straddled his stomach and paused in her tickling attack. Hayden shook his head and she began to tickle him again. "Say uncle!"

In a desperate attempt to catch his breath Hayden quickly shifted his body, which caused Lexie to fall off of him. He quickly moved on top of Lexie and began to tickle her back. Her laughing and screams filled the air. Hayden quickly grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head.

"Say uncle!" He said with a grin as he looked down at her. 

"Aunt!" Lexie exclaimed with a laugh.

"That was close, but not close enough." Hayden reached down and began to tickle her again.

"What the fuck is going on here?" 

The laughter immediately stopped and Hayden and Lexie glanced up to find Noah standing beside them. The situation could have been funny, except for the fact that Noah had sounded, and definitely looked, pissed off. Hayden quickly moved off of Lexie and tried to explain.

"We were just talking, and then she started tickling me, well attacking me really and…" Hayden hadn't meant to start rambling, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want Noah to think he had been making a pass at his girlfriend.

"I guess we should have warned you about that." Noah's face broke out in a smile. He was pissed off at first, but he quickly realized it was a playful situation. This could work out to his benefit because most of the people walking around the Court had to have seen their goofing off. People would definitely know that Hayden was part of their group now. His chances of winning the bet were increasing by the minute. "I'm sorry if I sounded upset. I had just expected to find Leo here, and was surprised to find it was you, Hayden. The two of them are constantly going at it, but I'm glad to see you're having fun."

"I don't know if I'd call practically pissing my pants fun, but it was interesting to say the least." Hayden stuck his tongue out at Lexie. He was so relieved that Noah wasn't upset. "I'll be better prepared next time."

"That's what you think." Lexie grinned at him. "The next time I strike it will be when you least expect it."

"I guess I'm just going to have to constantly be on alert then." Hayden laughed. "Then again, I might be the one to strike first."

"I'm not scared of you…much." As Lexie said the last word her voice was barely able to be heard. Hayden's laughter bubbled from his throat. "I'll make sure to have Leo around next time. He'll back me up."

"What am I backing you up for this time, twin?" Leo stepped from the back of the tree. "I heard Hayden's laughter and figured I would see what so funny." He grinned at his twin. Their plan had obviously worked.

"Hayden had started tickling me, and I was left completely defenseless." Lexie pouted and glared at Hayden.

"Why do I get the feeling that that isn't right?" Leo said with a grin. "I would guess that you attacked poor, unknowing Hayden, and he was forced to defend himself."

"That's exactly what happened." Hayden said nodding his head. "I was sitting here eating an apple, minding my own business, when she leapt from behind the tree and attacked me."

Lexie's jaw dropped as she heard what Hayden said. He looked so innocent, and he made the whole thing sound very believable. Hayden glanced over at her and stuck his tongue out. This caused Lexie to start giggling uncontrollably. She was glad to see that Hayden was warming up to them. Noah reached out his hand to her and helped her to her feet.

Leo was enjoying watching the banter between Hayden and Lexie. It made him feel really good inside to see Hayden opening up and having a good time. He reached out his hand to help Hayden up from the ground. Hayden grasped the offered hand and little bolts of electricity shot up Leo's arm. 

Leo stepped forward to help pull Hayden up from the ground, but his foot got caught on one of the tree roots. His body suddenly pitched forward as he lost his balance. Leo fell forward and wasn't able to move fast enough, and his body crashed into Hayden knocking him back onto the ground. The air rushed out of off both of their bodies from the impact.

It took a moment for Leo to clear his head, and when he finally did the reality of the situation hit him full force. Hayden was laid out on the ground underneath of him. Leo's body covered Hayden's and he could feel not only the heat coming off of the body underneath of him, but he felt every muscle and curve of Hayden's body. Every nerve ending in Leo's body shook as the feeling rushed through him. His face was inches away from Hayden's, and Leo found himself staring into the sharpest, bluest eyes he had ever seen.

"We really need to stop meeting like this, Leo." Hayden's amused voice echoed in his ear.

Leo's mind finally betrayed some of his inner feelings as one single thought echoed through his head. What if he didn't want it to stop?

Chapter Five

"Leo, earth to Leo." Hayden said with a chuckle.

Leo could feel Hayden's warm breath wash over his face, and it took a moment for him to regain his senses. He realized that he was still laying on Hayden, and the poor guy couldn't get up. A deep blush covered Leo's face as he quickly stood up and successfully helped Hayden up.

"I'm sorry, Hayden." Leo said with an embarrassed smile. "My mind was gone there for a second. I think it took a second for it to realize that I was on the ground."

"For future reference, Leo, you don't need to knock me to the ground to get my attention. You're attention grabbing on your own without the tackles." Hayden said with a bright smile.

"Do NOT encourage him, Hayden." Noah said with a laugh. "We don't need his head swelling up any more than it already is."

Leo turned his face away from the group for a moment so they wouldn't see the second blush that rushed to his face. If they only knew what which head was swelling from the close contact with Hayden. If Leo had been paying more attention, then he would have realized that Lexie wasn't missing a thing.

"So what's on everyone's game plan today?" Hayden asked as he brushed himself off.

"You two guys are on your own today. I want some alone time with my man." Lexie said with a grin. Leo instantly knew that she was faking the smile, and he was worried about what had Lexie upset. Lexie looped her arm through one of Noah's and began to walk away. "We'll catch up with you two later. Leo, play nice and don't knock Hayden down anymore." She called over her shoulder.

Leo couldn't help but smile at his twin. He was also smiling because Hayden had taken the initiative to ask them what they were up to. Leo was hoping that Hayden was interested in hanging out, and the fact that Lexie gave them some time to hang out without Noah was brilliant.

"I don't have any classes today. So my day is pretty much open." Leo smiled at Hayden. "What about you, buddy?"

"I don't start classes until next week. So my day is totally free." Hayden replied with a smile of his own. It was the type of smile that made Leo's stomach do flip-flops. "Did you want to hang out?" 

Hayden hadn't been able to stop the words before they left his mouth. He had planned on just hanging out by himself that day and relaxing. After the question had left his mouth Hayden realized that he did want to hang out with Leo. His talk with Lexie made him very curious about Leo, and Hayden definitely wanted to get to know him better.

"Sure!" Leo was surprised, and certainly pleased, at the invitation. "They set up a climbing wall over at the rec center on campus. Ever do any mountain climbing?"

"I can't say that I have." Hayden chuckled at Leo's enthusiasm. He was like a little kid on Christmas morning. "There's a first time for everything right?"

"That's the spirit, bro! Let's go see how fast you can climb." Leo saw Hayden turn and pick something off the ground. "Whatcha got there?"

"It's the rest of my apple and the sandwich Lexie brought me. I can't just leave it there. I don't want anyone saying I'm a litterbug." Hayden said with a chuckle.

"Sexy and environment conscious. Tell me why you're single, Hayden." Leo threw his arm over his friend's shoulder as they walked.

"Because I'm waiting for Lexie to wake up and leave Noah." Hayden answered with a laugh.

Leo laughed along with Hayden's joke, but he couldn't help the way his stomach clenched at the words. Leo didn't expect Hayden to be interested in guys, but actually finding it out that he wasn't, was difficult. Without really knowing, there was the hope that Leo had a chance, but that was gone. Besides Hayden wouldn't be ready for a relationship anyways. Lexie was right during their talk that morning. Hayden needed friends right now, not worrying about a relationship. Leo would just have to be content in supplying the friendship. 

The two of them chatted and joked with each other as they headed across the campus. It didn't take long for Leo to realize just how special Hayden was. Once he started to let his guard down his personality was able to shine through. Hayden had the ability to make anyone feel comfortable and important. Whether it was the way he looked at someone or if just a casual touch, he made it clear that he was listening and giving his complete attention.

They headed into the rec center and made their way over to the climbing wall. The center was filled with every type of activity imaginable. From the pool tables, swimming pool, and workout rooms, the rec center had a ton of things to do. Leo and Hayden showed their student IDs to the guy working at that station and waited their turn to climb.

"Have you ever done this before?" Hayden asked Leo as he glanced up at the wall. It was definitely a bit intimidating.

"I've never been on this wall before, though I have been on a few climbing walls before." Leo replied with a grin. "Ya scared?"

"I'm a bit nervous." Hayden chuckled. "I just don't want to look stupid."

"I don't think that's possible." Leo mumbled.

"What did ya say, Leo? I didn't catch it." Hayden asked.

"I said you're going to be fine." Leo said with a quick grin. He hadn't planned on saying that out loud, damn it. Engage brain, then activate mouth!

It was finally their turn and the two of started to get into their safety equipment. Leo glanced over and saw how the harness Hayden was wearing accentuated the guy's firm ass. It practically put his ass on display, and Leo had to shake his head slightly to concentrate. 

"Some time today would be nice, Leo." Hayden's voice called over to him. 

Before Leo could respond something hit his head and covered his face. He pulled the offending item off and realized it was Hayden's shirt. Leo couldn't help how fast his head turned to look at Hayden. His breath caught in his throat, and his heart was racing a million miles per hour.

Hayden's body had practically been on display at the club when his shirt got soaked in sweat, but that was totally different from seeing his actual naked flesh. Hayden was standing almost fifteen feet away from Leo with his hands on hips, and a smile was on his face. The pose seemed to accentuate his chest and stomach muscles. 

"Last one to the top buys dinner." As soon as the words left his mouth, Hayden took off towards the wall.

It took a moment for Leo's brain to register what was said because he was too busy watching Hayden's ass muscles flex. He quickly took off towards his side of the wall and started climbing. Hayden might have had a head start, but Leo was used to climbing walls. By the time they reached the midway point they were tied.

Leo had taken a slight lead, and would have won if he hadn't glanced over to see how far Hayden was. Leo could see the sweat that beaded and rolled down his friend's chest. The sight was hot enough for him to lose his grip and slip slightly. That split second was all Hayden needed to take over the lead. Leo tried as hard as he could to race up the wall, but he wasn't able to make up the lost seconds. 

"Looks like I owe ya a dinner, Hayden." Leo said with a grin as they took off their climbing gear.

"No, you don't, Leo." Hayden said with a smile. "I had a head start, and besides, I did distract you first. So I'll buy dinner."

The pair headed outside into the warm afternoon sun. It was warm enough to go without a shirt, but Hayden still quickly pulled his shirt on. Leo was disappointed, but he was glad that the distraction was gone.

"Are you asking me out, Mr. Taylor?" Leo glanced over at Hayden and grinned.

"You should be so lucky, Mr. Warner." Hayden replied with a chuckle. "Besides, even if I was, I don't put out until at least the fifth date. So you wouldn't have gotten lucky anyways."