Beyond the Pack’s Law: My stepsister or nobody else

Hayley’s POV

“Mum, are you sure about this?” I looked from my reflection in the mirror to the satisfied look on her face.

“Yes, you’re not a child anymore. You can wear whatever you want to wear.”

“But I can’t date whoever I want to date.” I mumbled a response

“What was that?”

“Nothing?”

She left me standing there, staring at my reflection. I had this tingling feeling she had some trick up her sleeve but maybe I was just being paranoid and this was her way of making me have fun.

I grabbed a coat, just in case I got cold later or I decided this outfit was more attention drawing than I thought.

I sped out the door and down the stairs, she didn’t stop me this time she just blew me a kiss and watched me get into the uber to meet up with the others.

By the time I got there, Mina and Mona were standing in front of the cinema with their hands crossed. Their angry eyes pierced holes through me as I approached them.

“I’m sorry, my mum held me back and made me put this on.” I lamented gesturing to my outfit.

“Wow, your mum made you wear that, that’s a first.” Mina joked and they both smiled.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Unlike me they both had dresses on, Mona’s dress gave off more of a flowery farm girl vibe while Mina had a tight black dress on.

“How long have you guys been here?”

“A while, Mina’s gotten a few compliments from a couple of pervs but it’s nothing compared to what you’re going to get in that outfit.”

I looked around and she was right, I was already getting a couple uncomfortable stares and it felt really weird.

“Let’s just get inside before I melt into a popsicle from all these looks.” I laughed at the weirdness of it and we went to take our seats in the theater.

Half way into the movie I was so bored and uninterested I had to pull my phone out, mental note, never let your mum buy you tickets to a horror movie, she’s going to pick something horrible.

I ended up on Alessa’s social media page and by the end I mean, I looked for it and found it after a little stalking. It was the same thing, a nice hot picture of Alessa.

I could notice a lot of features she had that made me feel a little insecure, the way her face seemed so perfectly proportioned and how she always had some effortless model pose even when she took a goofy picture.

That girl was the definition of a Barbie doll. I scrolled up to really old pictures and one caught my eye. It was a picture of her at the beach but she was holding hands with someone.

I kept scrolling along when I spotted one that showed the face of the person’s hand she was holding. His perfect smile and abs screaming through the phone screen. Aiden

“What are you doing?” Mona jabbed an elbow into my side.

“Ouch, what the heck was that for.” I winced in pain

Her eyes moved down to my phone and she moved closer to whisper into my ear.

“Pay attention to the movie and stop being such a creep.”

“Shush the both of you.” Mina hushed us and everyone went back to watching the low budget horror movie.

I forced myself to keep my eyes glued to the screen even when I didn’t want to, I felt a buzz on my phone from a notification and my eyes darted down.

It was a notification of a message from Alessa, the pop up disappeared and I realized why she had texted me. I accidentally liked the picture I was looking at before Mona hit me. Shit, that was cringe on so many levels.

I clicked the chat.

“Are you stalking me now?” Alessa texted with a sly smiling emoji.

“Yeah.” I texted back with a laughing emoji

“Wow, I guess I should be more careful. Anyway, what’s up? What are you up to?”

“Watching a cheap ass horror movie, you?”

“Nothing, chilling in bed?”

“You’re at home? On a Friday night??” I asked in disbelief, Alessa’s social life was at its peak, I didn’t get why she wasn’t at some club or at a party.

“Yeah, is that so unbelievable?”

“Kinda, you just seemed so social to me.”

“I guess there’s more to me than you know Hayley.”

A call from my mum flashed on my phone screen. What did she want now?. I whispered to Mina and Mona that I had to take a call and slid out of the theater.

“What’s wrong mum?”

“Hayley?” She asked

Of course it was me, who else was supposed to pick my calls.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“How’s the movie going?” She asked, sounding giddy, she was probably off on her date with Aiden’s dad.

“It’s fine, you’re not supposed to call me to ask until after the movie.” I shook my head at how old school she was acting.

“I’m just calling because your dad wanted to know.”

“Tell him I’m fine, you two have fun. I have to go, bye.” I ended the call and turned to rush back to meet Mina and Mona when I felt my forehead bump into something, or actually someone.

I heard the splash and then the cussing that came after.

“Fuck.” The owner of the chest my forehead had so violently collided with complained.

I pulled away and then I saw what made the splash sound. I had knocked over the cup of coke this stranger was holding and the contents had spilled all over his white t-shirt.

Yikes, I said in my head

“I’m really sorry.” I quickly apologized and picked up my phone that had fallen to the ground.

“It’s fine, mistakes happen I guess.” A deep manly voice said over me and my head sprung up in surprise.

It wasn’t like I recognized the stranger’s voice, it was more like how something about it sounded so… enchanting.

My eyes met his face, jet black wavy hair, a pair of soft beautiful blue eyes, and face symmetry that could pass off as a model’s.

My brain had gone rouge and my eyes wouldn’t stop roaming over his facial features.

“Do I have something in my face?” He replied shyly and scratched the back of his head. There was something playful and friendly about his demeanor.

“No, I’m so sorry. I’m also sorry about your shirt.” I snapped out of my trance and took a step back.

Get a hold of yourself, Hayley.

“My friends said it’s pretty boring walking around in a plain white tee so I guess now there’s some art to it, so you did me a favor.” He joked about the stain and I found myself laughing.

When I first heard him cuss, I figured he would be a complete jackass but I guess it was just reflex.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I caught myself sliding my hair behind my ear and I wanted to kick myself in the leg for resorting to such a cliche move.

“I’m Kayden by the way.” He smiled and extended a hand.

“Hayley.” I took his hand

“I should probably get going.” I added. For all I knew this guy could be a serial killer or a sociopath, and I wasn’t really the type to flirt with strangers at a mall.

“Oh, yeah. It was nice bumping into you though.” He stepped aside, making way for me to get through.

“Thank you.” I said nervously and walked off.

Maybe I was hallucinating, but I could almost feel him staring at me from behind. I returned to my seat in the cinema next to Mina.

“What happened to you?” She whispered

“What do you mean?” Was I that easy to see through?

“You came in smiling like you won a lottery and now instead of texting you’re actually pretending to watch the movie.”

“I’m not pretending.” I lied

“You are still smiling, who smiles while they’re watching a horror movie.” Okay, she has a point.

“I just bumped into someone outside that’s all.”

“Who was it? Someone from school?”

“No, just some stranger now shush.” I turned back to the movie, making sure to have a frown plastered on my face. I didn’t want anyone else in the cinema thinking I was a sociopath.

Mina turned to Mona and started whispering, I knew the two of them well enough to know that they were discussing what I had just told Mina.

My mind found its way back to Kayden, the way his eyes squinted when he smiled and how she tried to diffuse the situation by not being angry. He seemed like a really nice guy, he would probably make a good friend, I repeat friend.

Thankfully the gory movie was over and we walked out of the cinema and into the open space of the mall.

Mina and Mona were bombarding me with questions about my “encounter with the coke stranger” as they were now apparently calling it, I didn’t tell them I knew his name.

“Was he good looking?”

“I don’t know.” I said to get them off my back but that obviously didn’t work.

“If you don’t know then he’s probably below average.”

“It doesn’t matter what he looks like.”

“Yeah you’re probably right, he didn’t get pissed at your clumsiness so he gets points for that.”

“Points?” I laughed aloud.

“What do you think this is, a game?” I could believe them right now.

“Pretty much.”

We were walking out of the cinema, Mina and Mona still bickering about their individual conspiracy theories as a result of too many romance novels when I spotted something familiar in a small circle of guys talking.

A white t-shirt with a big brown stain. Shit.

I was about to turn away when I noticed him approaching me with a smile on his face.

“Hey, Hayley, right?” He asked with his soft voice.

Mina and Mona seemed to have put the pieces together and they gasped.

“The Coke guy!” They shrieked in unison.