For A Change

For A Change

Chapter 4

"- so I'm really sorry. I'm just the biggest klutz. This always happens to me. God, I feel so embarrassed. Oh, I'm babbling. Sorry about that. Uhm... Hello? Are you okay?"

Hayley knew the girl was talking to her, but she just wasn't paying attention. She had the most mesmerizing eyes. Looking into them gave Hayley a feeling of calmness, as they reminded her of the deep blue ocean. She was brought back to reality by a hand on her arm.

"Hey, miss, are you all right?" asked the girl. Hayley stared at her for a few more seconds before turning her gaze to the hand on her arm. She wasn't sure what to say. She was speechless. She was sure she looked really stupid gawking like that. Another squeeze finally got her vocal cords working.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I spaced out there. Yeah, I'm okay. Are you? You fell pretty hard," said Hayley, giving the other girl a small smile. The girl smiled back and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Well, anyway, thanks for helping me up. See you around," the girl said, starting to walk away. Hayley frowned a bit, a little disappointed. She knew what she wanted to do. She just wasn't sure if she should. She needed to know the girl's name. She was caught by her the moment their eyes met.

"Hey, wait! Uhm..." she called back, fumbling with words. The girl turned around to look at her. Again, those eyes took her in.

"Well, I, uhh... Your name?" she said, blushing and embarrassed. She looked down to her feet, afraid to look anywhere else. Although she couldn't see it, the girl was smiling. Hayley looked up when she heard a soft giggle, a confused expression on her face. She didn't get what was so funny.

"You're kinda cute, you know. I'm Via. Well, it's Victoria, but everyone calls me by my nickname," said the girl, with her blue eyes sparkling as she smiled. Hayley just replied with a goofy smile, those eyes again capuring her.

"Uhm, what about you?" asked Via. Hayley snapped back to reality and again apologized for her spacing out.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Hayley," she said and the Via nodded.

"Well, Hayley, I'll see you around, I guess. Maybe we should exchange numbers so we can meet up sometime, if you like," said Via, giving another one of her cute little smiles. Hayley was a bit surprised. She had wanted to get Via's number, but was unsure how to do it. It was as if the girl could read her mind. Hayley nodded and smiled back at her.

As if on cue, Katie arrived just after Via left. Hayley still had a goofy look on her face and so her friend looked at her slightly confused.

"Uhh, are you okay? I thought you were crying moments ago," said Katie, walking up to her friend. Hayley just shook her head, a faint smile still on her lips. She walked back towards their table where her other friends were waiting. Katie only bugged her about her sudden change in demeanor, which she avoided to answer. Once she got back to the table, Carmen also wondered what was up. As much as she hated her friend upset or sad, she was surprised to see her in a pretty good mood.

"What's up with her?" asked Peter. Carmen eyed her friend, while Hayley simply avoided her gaze. Carmen did not give up until she got an answer. Eventually, Hayley gave in and grinned without saying a word. Jonathan, Peter and Katie did not get it, but Carmen sure did. She grinned back and laughed a bit. She knew that look on her friend's face.

"You met someone!" she said, giggling a little and eliciting a gasp from the others. Hayley continued to grin, but didn't say anything. After a few moments, she composed herself and got the giddy look off her face. Carmen was bombarding her with questions about who she was, while Katie was still a bit confused about the sudden change of mood. The boys were still pretty confused with what was going on and decided to shrug it off and start a new conversation.

It didn't take long for the waiter to return to them with the receipt and their change. After making sure they didn't leave anything, they left the restaurant and decided to walk around the mall and go window shopping for a while before getting back to school.