Morning came way too soon as I looked up at the ceiling from where I ended up laying on my bed. Blinking and turned my head, I realized I must've fallen asleep crying because I was still fully dressed in my dark red hoodie, gray t-shirt, and black jeans I'd worn home from practice yesterday. Sitting up slowly, I realized I'd left my window open and was suddenly grateful I'd fallen asleep in my hoodie and jeans. Getting up, I went over to the window and closed it, glancing at Haydens’ window as I did. Seeing no sign of Hayden or Amy, I stepped back and closed my curtains before turning to look at the clock on my desk which read 11:45 am in its red neon light. Realizing I had just enough time to shower and change before I had to make my way across the park I quickly gathered my clean clothes consisting of a new pair of black jeans and a band t-shirt I'd gotten at a festival Hayden and I had gone to a few years ago, and headed to the bathroom to shower. Feeling clean and refreshed after my hot shower, I quickly dressed. Before leaving the bathroom, I grabbed a clean towel and wash cloth and headed back to my room to finish getting ready.
As I entered my room, I grabbed my gym bag from the floor and removed the wet and dirty clothes placing them in the hamper. I then placed the clean towel and wash cloth inside the gym bag and gathered up clean workout gear preparing my bag for practice later. Setting it aside, I went over to my dresser and removed a clean pair of socks then moved back to the bed to lace on my combat boots. With that finished I stood and walked back over to the top of my dressed to brush my hair back into its usual half ponytail. With that done I was ready to head out on my date grabbing my phone, wallet, and house keys from the desk as I passed. Putting them in my pockets as I walked, I quickly made my way to the front door and made my escape locking the door behind me. As I made it to my front gate, I noticed Amy standing just inside the gate to her house.
“Hey what's wrong?” I said as I got closer to her seeing her worried expression.
“Hayden, left without saying a word and he didn't take his phone. I'm really worried Cam” she said almost panicking.
“I have a little time. I'll see if I can find him. Give me his phone in case I do so I can give it to him and have him call you” I said calmly but starting to feel a bit anxious as I wondered why Hayden would've run off like that. Handing me Hayden' phone, Amy said “please find him Cam.”
“I'll do my best, Amy. I'll call you if I come up with anything” I said putting it in my pocket and headed towards the park. Pulling out my phone as I walked, I called Jonathan.
“Hey, where are you?” Jonathan said as he picked up the phone.
“I just entered the park, Amy was waiting for me as I left. Apparently, Hayden left without a word and didn't take his phone. She's terrified and asked me to help look for him. Would it be okay if we post pone our date for now until we know he's safe?” I asked as I kept moving.
“Yeah, we can do that. I'd rather know he was safe too and I know you wouldn't be able to focus on us if we didn't. Any ideas where he'd be?” Jonathan asked.
“I have a few. He could've gone to the pancake shop just down the street, the Do Jo to hit something, the school pool to do some laps, or the school roof since that's where we've been going since the beginning of freshman year to relax” I said starting to worry.
“Okay how about we split up? I'll go to the pancake shop and you take the Do Jo then we'll head to the school together” Jonathan said as he came into view through the trees.
“Yeah, okay. Let's go find him” I said as I took the last steps out of the park. Turning, Jonathan took up a position on my left as we made our way into the shopping district. As we neared the pancake shop I said, “if he's there, he'll be at a booth in the back left corner.”
“Okay, I'll go have a look. I'll meet you outside the tattoo parlor in ten minutes if he isn't inside” Jonathan said breaking off towards the pancake shop. I picked up my speed trying as hard as I could not to panic as I made my way to the Do Jo. As I made it to the doors, sensei came walking out.
“Sensei,” I called, “did you see Hayden in there by any chance?”
“No, should I have? Practice isn't until later tonight” Sensei said confused.
“Okay, he probably won't be at practice tonight. Something happened and he's not acting like himself. Amy is actually freaked out and has me searching for him. If you see him will you let me know please” I asked in a rush.
“Yeah, let me know if you find him,” Sensei said as I turned and bolted back the way I'd come. As I got to the front of the tattoo parlor, I saw Jonathan standing outside waiting for me.
“Not at the pancake shop Jon?” I asked as I got closer.
“No, and I take it he wasn't at the Do Jo either. That leaves the school.” Jonathan said matching pace with me we ran towards the school. As we entered the front gates of the school, Jonathan said “I'll take the pool, you head to the roof.”
“Thanks, Jon. I really don't think I could handle the inevitable panic attack of having to go through the locker room on top of all this” I replied and bolted towards the stairs to the upper levels. Taking the stairs two at a time, I ran all the way up until I stood just inside the door to the roof. Pausing to catch my breath and say a quick prayer that Hayden was up there, I opened the door. Looking around, I didn't see anyone at first but then I heard it, a soft whimpering sound that could only be the sound of someone crying. Gently closing the door, I slowly made my way to the corner of the building. Peering around it cautiously, in case it wasn't Hayden I was hearing. Seeing no one there, I looked around in a wider arch only to realize I must've looked at the wrong side of the building. Turning around, I went to the other corner of the building and cautiously peered around it to find Hayden curled into a ball in the far corner. Pulling out my phone, I backed back towards the door and called Jonathan. “Hey, anything?” Jonathan asked as he answered the phone sounding winded.
“Yeah, he's up here. Can you wait for Amy down at the main entrance. I'm gonna call her to meet us here to take him home since I'm sure seeing me is only gonna make this worse for him” I said feeling hurt and angry.
“Okay, try not to be hard on him though. I know this is upsetting you too but you're gonna have to treat him with kid gloves if it's that bad. Are you sure you can?” Jonathan asked genuinely concerned.
“Yeah, I can handle him” I said and hung up. Stealing myself for the worried sound of Amy's voice, I dialed her cellphone.
“Did you find him?” she asked tears evident in her worried voice.
“Yeah, can you come to the schools main entrance? Jon will be there waiting for you. I think we're gonna need your help to get him home. I can handle getting him down from the roof but he may not be happy about it afterwards” I asked.
“Yeah, give me ten minutes and then start trying to coax him down. And I know I shouldn't have to ask this but please don't hurt him or ask him too many questions” Amy said still sounding worried.
“You know I'd never hurt him, outside of sparing at the Do Jo but even that is strictly controlled. And I didn't plan on asking anything other than why he came here of all places” I said with a frown then added “ten minutes and then I'll go talk to him” then hung up the phone. Putting my phone back into my pocket, I moved back to wear I could keep an eye on Hayden from the corner of the building as I waited the ten minutes Amy had requested, and then opened and closed the roof top door so Hayden wouldn't know I'd been there the entire time. I shuffled my feet around as if searching and then rounded the corner on the side Hayden was sitting on. Moving to squat in front of him, I touched Haydens' arm prompting him to look at me.
“Amy sent you to find me?” he asked looking away almost immediately.
“Yeah, why'd you come here?” I asked not missing the fact that Hayden wouldn't look me in the eyes like a wounded animal.
“I don't know. It felt safe probably” Hayden said as he buried his head back into his elbow.
“It felt safe? Do you not feel safe at home?” I asked.
“It's not that. I just wanted to be completely alone. I meant to bring my phone but I forgot it” he said, “Amy must be really freaked out.”
“Yeah, oh and that reminds me,” I said reaching into my pocket and pulling out his phone. Handing it too him, I continued “I know you aren't okay. I don't know why but I'm sorry if it's my fault. Either way I'm here to talk whenever you're ready, even if it takes you an entire year and a half to finally tell me” I said with my hand still on his arm.
“Okay,” he replied without looking up.
“Let's go. Amy is waiting downstairs with Jonathan” I said standing up and extending my hand to Hayden.
“What's he doing here?” he asked as he took my hand to allow me to pull him up.
“He helped me look for you when I told him you'd disappeared” I explained once Hayden was on his feet. Moving towards the door, I inhaled and then exhaled a breath of relief at having found him. Looking over my shoulder at Hayden I said, “please don't ever do that again. I don't know if my heart can handle it and I know Amy's can't.”
“I'll try not to. I'm sorry I really didn't mean to worry you” Hayden said looking at the ground. Leaving the roof, they made their way down to the main level. As we left the last few stairs behind, Amy came running towards us followed by Jonathan who was walking at his normal pace. Amy immediately wrapped Hayden in a hug causing him to stop where he was, as I kept moving to stand next to Jonathan who had stopped a few feet back before turning to look at the twins.
“I'm glad we found him,” Jonathan said as I stood next to him staring at the twins.
“Yeah, me too. I don't know what I would've done if we didn't find him. Which reminds me I need to let Sensei know we've found him” I said and pulled out my phone to make the call. As I dialed, I lowered my voice and said “thanks for helping me look, Jon. And thanks for taking the locker rooms for me.” Before Jonathan could answer, I hit send and put the phone to my ear.
“Any news?” Sensei said as he answered the phone.
“Yes sensei, We've found him. I'm sorry we worried you” I said into my phone as I watched Hayden and Amy hugging and talking a few feet away.
“Alright at least he's safe. Will you be at practice tonight?” Sensei asked.
“Yes sir. I will be there” I confirmed just then noticing that Hayden had been looking directly at me until I tried to meet his eyes.
“Alright see you tonight” Sensei said and hung up. Pulling my phone from my ear, I hit the end button and in a hushed voice said “this is so odd. He's never acted this... submissive... before.”
Confused, Jonathan asked “what do you mean submissive?”
“I mean you know how he normally acts. Now watch what happens when I try to meet his eyes” I said and intentionally tried to meet Haydens’ eyes who immediately looked anywhere but at me.
“See that, I don't get this. Why is he acting like a scared puppy around me?” I asked getting even more irritated. Turning my back to Hayden and Amy, I said “I don't know if we'll have time for our movie after all this. So, once we make sure they get home we'll go shopping and to dinner. Then maybe you can walk me to practice and we can find somewhere to make out on the way” I said in hushed voice not wanting my words to carry farther than Jonathan's ears.
“Okay, let's get dinner first then” Jonathan said.
“Okay,” I said as I watched them pass where we were standing before adding
“Hey Amy, we'll walk you guys back just in case you need us. Okay?”
“Okay, hopefully we don't but it'll be nice to have the company” she replied as they kept walking. As we walked, Jonathan and I widened the gap between our group so we could talk while we walked without worrying that we were adding to Haydens' stress.
“When we get to the houses, I'm gonna run in and get my gym bag so we can spend as much time together as possible before I have to go to practice, okay?” I asked to Jonathan as we got to the park.
“Okay, where should we have dinner then?” Jonathan asked.
“hmm I don't know. How about you chose Jon” I said wanting to take his hand but not wanting to upset Hayden further. When we finally made it back to our front doors, I turned to Amy and Hayden.
“If you guys need anything shoot me a text and I'll see what I can do okay. That includes just wanting to talk about anything” I said looking at Hayden who still refused to meet my eyes. Turning to face Jon, I added “okay, just let me run in and get my bag and we can leave okay” as I turned to go through my gate and to the front door. As I unlocked it I could hear Amy talking to Jon, “thanks for your help today and it was really nice to meet you” she was saying as I opened the door. Closing it behind me, I ran up to my room and grabbed my gym bag off the desk. I ran back down the stairs and opened the door to see Hayden and Amy still standing with Jon. Confused, I went out the door closing and locking it behind me. As I approached they suddenly got quiet, telling me that whatever they were talking about had to do with me.
“Is everything okay?” I asked as I close my front gate.
“Yeah, I just wanted to wait and thank you for your help since you ran off so quick” Amy said.
“Oh, you know you didn't have to do that. You know I'd do anything for the two of you” I said as we stood there.
“Anyway, we should be off” Jon said speaking for the first time since I came back out.
“Yeah, we don't have much time left before practice” I said waving at the others as we turned to leave. Glancing back, I caught the hurt look that crossed Haydens’ face before he quickly hid it and looked away.
“So, what were you guys talking about when I came out?” I asked as I turned back.
“Stuff. I don't know if it's my place to tell you what I figured out today” Jon said looking at me before looking back to see where he was going.
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