Haylynn

Preface

"I didn't think there was a perfect girl in existence... you've proven me wrong." He mumbled, tucking a loose stand of hair behind my ear as I shook my head.

"I'm anything but perfect." I whispered, closing my eyes and leaning into his strong chest. I inhaled the amazing scent of him, enjoying every second. I felt him tighten his arms around me, pushing me closer and burying his face in my hair. "You, on the other hand, are perfect. Amazingly perfect." I finished.

He shook his head and brought my face up to his so he could stare into my eyes.

"I'm far from it, though. You're a whole lot closer to perfect than I am." He said back, placing his cheek on my neck in a loving and comforting embrace. I closed my eyes and sighed, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"You are perfect." I argued quietly, turning my head to kiss his cheek that was turned to me. "To me, you are the most perfect thing in the universe. And no matter what, that will always be true."

He sighed and his breath tickled my pale neck, sending shivers down my spine.

"I love you." He whispered, bringing me impossibly closer to him and taking his cheek from my neck. His eyes were loving, protective, and content all at the same time. "More than life, more than myself. I love you so, so much."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, stretching up on my toes to do so. He gladly leaned down so I wouldn't have to stretch as far.

"I love you, too." I said. His eyes flared with everything that I was feeling inside of me, but couldn't put into words.

Then, as his lips crashed into mine with intense and pure love, I realized something very, very important.

He was perfect. And there was nothing he could say to change my mind.

* * * *

Chapter One

I rested my head against the school bus window. I closed my eyes in thought. A new school, new town, new people, new life. New everything. I had no idea how this was going to turn out. It wasn't a big school, I guess. It was bigger than the school I went to before, though, which scared me the most. More than anything else.

I was in the last seat of the all-too-new yellow school bus. A boy sat beside me, glancing shyly at me from behind his dark lashes. I tried not to notice.

I sighed and thought about my friends back in my old school. Sam, Scarlet, Jade, Elizabeth, Jasmine, Brianna, Lynn, Jackie, Josh, Mark, Dan, Will, Evony...

I missed them so much it hurt. Why did we have to move? Why?

I opened my eyes to get my friend's faces out of my sight. I hated thinking about them, and the fact that I would probably never see them again brought un-welcomed tears to my bright blue eyes. This wasn't fair. Nothing was fair.

But I had to suck it up. I would make new friends, I would meet new people, new teachers, new neighbors. Who knows? Maybe I would like this place better.

As the school bus stopped in the school parking lot, I stood up slowly. I didn't feel like I should be anxious to get inside the school, but I did. I wanted to walk through the doors, to see people stare.

But I shot that idea down once I thought of how my school had treated new kids. How people would flock around them, leaving them no breathing room, and then suddenly they belonged to someone's clan. I really didn't want that.

I was the last to leave the bus, and even though I didn't want to be noticed, I obviously was.

Everyone stared. Everyone. Their eyes were on me as if I was fresh meat to a hungry pack of wolves.

I could tell they had been expecting me. I could tell by the way the shy people smiled, and the popular girls snickered, and the cool boys whistled. My pale face suddenly turned red.

I had known this would be tough, but I didn't think it would be like this.

Then, before I knew it, the flocking started.

People were shouting their names at me, hoping that I was listening. I tried to listen, but all their names got mushed in with other names and none of them made sense.

Only one name stood out to me, and the name belonged to a short, tiny, dark haired girl with glasses and freckles all over her face.

"Hi. My name is Kali Prescott. What's yours?" She asked shyly, smiling up at me.

"Haylynn Smith." I said quietly, shyer than usual.

"Cool. Hey, I'll show you around." She said, dragging me out of the flock that surrounded me and into the school.

As soon as we entered, all eyes were on me again. Even teachers this time. It was like I was a magnet and I pulled everyone and everything in.

When we somehow escaped from the madness, Kali took me to my homeroom. The school was a lot bigger on the inside. Tons of elevators and stairs. And a lot of people.

"I'm not in your homeroom," Kali said, a frown on her face, "But I have math with you second period. I'll see you there, okay?" She waved and walked away, looking back once.

I turned and faced my huge homeroom, eyes on me again. My face turned red as I made my way to the teacher's desk.

"Hello." He said, a smile on his chubby face. "You must be Haylynn. Welcome."

"Thanks." I said, the shyest I've ever been in my life.

"Just pick an empty seat anywhere." He said nicely. "I hope you have a nice first day."

I nodded and looked around for an empty desk.

That's when I saw him.

He was tall and muscular. Not lanky like me. He was tone, and had dark brown hair with the darkest eyes I had ever seen. He was smiling a breathtaking smile my way, my face turning every shade of red. I had to look away.

I sat down at a free desk and hid my burning face in my hands.

"Hey." Someone said. The voice was manly, and very attractive.

I looked up to see that boy I had been staring at earlier.

"Hi." I said. The blush probably returning.

"My name's Ben Taylor." He said, extending a hand to me. I shook it.

"Haylynn Smith." I said back.

He smiled his amazing smile at me again.

"I like that name. Very original." He commented.

"It's a mixture between Haylee and Gracelynn." I informed him, a little smile forming on my lips. "My parents couldn't decide which name they liked better. So they mixed them."

He chuckled.

"That's really cool." He said.

I nodded and turned to see a group of girls rolling their eyes at me. Obviously I was the new gossip. Great.

I shyly looked back at Ben, who was looking right back at me.

"Don't worry about them." He said, his eyes flaring with un-needed protectiveness. "They get their joy by making fun of others."

I nodded.

"Yeah. I know a few people like that."

He shook his head and his smile came back.

"So, Haylynn, would you like me to show you around this hell hole we call a school?"

I couldn't help but laugh, which caused his smile to widen.

"Sure." I said. "Thank you."

"Hey, no problem." He said as the teacher rose from his seat. "Come on, let's go ask Mr. Willis. He usually lets us get away with anything."

He lead me to the front desk and Mr. Willis smiled at us.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

"Is it okay if I showed Haylynn around school next period?" Ben said. I would never say no to him.

Mr. Willis nodded and wrote us a pass.

"Sure thing. Take good care of her, Ben." He said jokingly.

"You won't have to worry about that." Ben said, smiling down at me. I had to look away, the redness returning to my cheeks.

When the bell rang, Ben took my hand and led me into the hall way. It was crowded at first, but we moved faster once people went into their next classes.

Ben didn't let go of my hand.

"So, tell me about yourself. Where did you live before?" He asked, smiling at me.

"Um, I moved here from Maine." I said. "I lived in China there. It's kind of a culture shock, though, coming here."

He nodded.

"Yeah. Well, at least you didn't move into a huge city or something. Springfield Georgia isn't that big."

I smiled.

"That's a good thing. I couldn't survive in a city school."

He laughed.

"Yeah, me either."

He took me into a big room. Filled with bleachers, with basketball hoops and a wooden floor. We were in the gym of Springfield High School.

It felt good, to be in here. Like I belonged here. Like I was welcome here.

"Looks like you're a Gator, now." He said, a smile on his face.

I smiled back.

"I guess so." I agreed. I was now a Springfield Gator. No longer in the comfort zone of being an Erskine Academy Eagle.

I looked up at Ben, who was staring right back at me. I got a good look, then. His face was tan. Not overly tan, but tan. He had smooth skin, and dark brown eyes that seemed endless. I felt like I was lost in them.

His face had an expression on it that was hard to name. His eyes were adoring, like he liked what he saw when he looked at me. His lips were turned up into a little crooked smile. His hand was still in mine.

My heart fluttered. I could hear it thumping almost literally out of my chest.

"You have really pretty eyes." He said quietly, shocking me. No guy had ever taken the time to notice my eyes before.

"Thank you." I whispered, pulling away from the death-grip of his eyes. My face was burning.

He chuckled, it sounding light and easy. His eyes never left my face.

"So, this is the gym." He said, pulling us forward to walk on the wooden surface. "Really nothing special."

"A gym's a gym." I said, a smile on my lips. "But I have to say, I like yours."

He smiled.

"Yeah." He agreed, pulling me along by his side across the gym floor. I looked down as we walked over the symbol in the center. Ben suddenly tightened his grip on my hand, sending shivers down my spine as he did so.

"You belong here, don't worry about it." He said kindly, looking at me with those pit-less eyes again.

I nodded and smiled up at him.

"I know." I said.

We walked to another door on the other side of the gym, leading to another hallway. He led me down the narrow walk way and took me inside another room.

It was small, the typical size of a classroom in Erskine, and it was very homey. It felt like I was back home.

"This is the music room." He said, extending his free hand as a gesture. "My favorite room in the school."

I looked up at him.

"Really?" I asked. "I love music."

"Me, too." He said, the adoring expression coloring his dark eyes again. "What bands do you like?"

I sighed, looking through my mind to find my favorites. I had too many to choose from.

"Um, Skillet. Definitely Skillet. Decyfer Down, Thousand Foot Crutch, Fireflight, Flyleaf. Uh, Run Kid Run, Disciple, Sum 41, Reliant K, Barlow Girl, um..." I could have gone on forever, but Ben's expression stopped me.

His eyes brightened up, a smile spread across his perfect face. He looked amazed, and that he had finally found someone who could relate to him in some way.

"Me, too!" He said happily, sitting us down in some chairs at the front of the classroom. "Oh my God! That is so cool! You are amazing! What's you're favorite song by Skillet?"

I blushed at his comment about me being amazing. I wished.

"It's really hard to choose." I said. He nodded in agreement. "But, my favorites would have to be Hero, Awake and Alive, Whispers in the Dark, Comatose, Imperfection, The Last Night, and Those Nights." I looked up to see Ben's smile widen. "How about you?"

"The same exact ones!" He exclaimed, the smiled growing impossibly larger. "Wow. You are, like, the best girl ever created!"

I blushed even darker.

"Thanks." I mumbled, hiding my face with my hair. I turned away from him. I probably looked like an idiot with my face red every time he smiled at me.

"Hey," he said gently, his hands on my burning face. He brought my face back to face him, brushing some hair from my eyes. I stared at him in shock.

He smiled at me, the expression he wore melting my heart.

"Please don't hide you're face." He whispered. "Please."

I nodded and tried to smile back at him. My lips quivered.

His eyes suddenly got very concerned, a pucker forming between his brows. He put a hand gently to my cheek as if I were made of glass and could break at any moment.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

The truth was, I wasn't entirely sure what was wrong. I just didn't feel...well. I didn't feel right. Like I didn't deserve someone like this boy right here telling me that I was amazing, or the best girl ever created. It made me feel powerless and hopeless. It made me feel weak and feeble to the world. Like I could literally snap from all the weight.

I shook my head and tried to smile again. I could tell he wasn't fooled. His almost black eyes filled with more concern, and the furrow between his brows deepened.

"Please tell me, Haylynn." He said, his voice agonized. Why did he care so much?

"I don't know." I said, my voice uneven. "I just feel...weak."

"Like, sick weak?" He asked, his hands ready to steady me if needed. "Hey, I won't let you fall. I promise."

I smiled a tiny smile and shook my head.

"Not sick weak." I corrected. "Like self weak."

He frowned and then his hands were back on either side of my face, his eyes boring into mine with intense force.

"The funny thing is, I hardly know you, and I already know you're one of the strongest people I have ever met." He said quietly, chuckling once. "You are anything but weak. Don't ever think you are."

I forced my eyes away from his. I couldn't bare the intensity anymore.

Why did I feel this way about someone who I had just met about twenty minutes ago? I usually never believed in love at first sight, but now...

"Please look at me, Haylynn." He pleaded. "Please. I feel like I can talk to you..." He trailed off, his face turning red, too, "I feel like I can talk to you about anything."

I looked into his eyes again.

"Thank you." He said, the smile returning, his fingers still on my red face, my heart still pounding a hundred miles an hour.

I smiled and nodded, taking one of his hands from my face and placing it to my chest, so he could feel how fast my heart was racing.

"No problem." I said as he did the same to one of my hands, placing it over his heart. His heart was beating just as fast as mine was, maybe even faster.

After a minute of that, we stood up and he took my hand again. We left the music room, but I had a feeling I would see it again soon.

Ben took me down the hall a little ways and took us into another room. This one was bigger, and had homey looking brown walls.

"This is the English room." Ben said. "Usually the room for our creative writers."

"Cool." I responded, smiling up at him.

He smiled right back.

"Do you write?" He asked, suddenly very interested about what I did and didn't do.

"A little." I admitted. "Usually songs and stuff. I'm actually working on a new one..."

"You write songs, too?" He asked, the wide smile back on his amazing face.

"Yeah." I said, smiling back.

"Is there anything you can't do?" He said, his dark eyes staring deeply into my bright ones.

"Um, I'm not good at math." I told him. He chuckled.

"I write songs, too." He said, adoration in his eyes again. "And, also, I am very suckish at math."

I giggled and he smiled warmly at me once again.

"I love you're laugh." He commented, my blush spreading across my cheeks again. If I kept blushing like this, my skin would probably stay that way. I averted my gaze from his and walked forward a little, feeling him follow me.

"What kind of songs do you write?" He asked lightly.

"All kinds." I admitted. "The usual. Love, loss, heartbreak, friendship."

He suddenly stopped, causing me to stop, too. I turned to see the same concerned face that I had seen earlier. His eyes had the worry deep inside of them. It looked as if he was going to cry for me, as if he was scared for me.

"Heartbreak?" He asked.

"Yeah." I mumbled, turning away from him again. "Um, we should probably go to another room."

"Okay." He said quietly, almost a whisper. His voice, which was usually happy and joyful, was now sad and pouring with deep concern. I could tell he had a question he was dying to ask me. About my heartbreak, and how I was heartbroken. But, to be completely honest, I had no idea what to tell him. Not yet.

About a month ago, back home, I had been dating a boy named Seth. Seth was everything a girl would want. Sporty, cute, popular, everything. And for some reason, he liked me and asked me out.

And I said yes.

I should have known that was a mistake.

Seth was abusive. And he drank a lot. What else would you expect from the popular senior jock? He would come to my house after his games, because he knew my parents wouldn't be there.

And he would hit me.

He would blame me about everything. Losing a game, a fight with a friend. I was too afraid to break up with him, or tell anyone. He was bigger than me. A lot bigger. And he knew where I lived. He could hurt me anytime he wanted.

That was one of the reasons I moved here. Away from Maine, away from Seth. It was hard to remember, the bone breaking pain I had experienced. I never wanted to think about it.

The only thing that I could do that would help me cope with anything was writing songs about it. About girls getting abused by their boyfriend's. And being afraid to let anyone know the truth.

That was the heartbreak story I had never told anyone except for my notebook. Not only did I go through physical pain, I experienced the worse pain ever.

Why was it always me who got hurt? Why did only these boys like me?

I felt heartbreak for the first time, and let me tell you, it's a lot worse than people say. It takes over you, an endless blackness. Depression. Hatred. Loneliness.

Fear.

But I couldn't think of that now. I was here, away from all of that, far away. I was happy. I had already made two friends. Kali and Ben. And I knew that they would always be there for me.

We were in the hallway again, Ben leading the way as usual. I followed quietly behind, watching as his hands twitched, and his legs became stiff. What was wrong with him?

I reached my hand to touch his shoulder and he immediately softened up. He turned and put a smile on his face. A fake smile.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

The frown came back and the sadness polluted his dark eyes again. He walked up to me, looking down as he did so. He was really tall.

I looked up at him. I could tell that he was going to ask me now. Was I ready to tell him?

I hadn't even told my parents about Seth, yet. Let alone Ben. But I felt something...and I didn't know what it was. I had never felt it before now. Not with Seth, not with anyone.

"No, Haylynn." He whispered, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "What's wrong with you? What is going on? I can tell there is something wrong. I just..." He couldn't finnish. He suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him tightly, putting his cheek on the top of my head. He held me securely, as if to tell me he was never letting go.

And I didn't want him to. Ever.

"I..." I pushed my face into his shoulder, not wanting him to see the tears that were bound to pour from my eyes. "I don't know what to say."

Ben's body tightened around me. He took my face in his hands and pulled it up so that he could look into my bright blue eyes.

"I'm listening." He promised. "I'll always be listening."

How could this be happening? I had just met him, what, forty minutes ago? And now, suddenly, I was about to reveal my deepest darkest secret to him? I didn't know how to explain it...what did I feel for Ben?

I'll always be listening...

It hit me, then.

I was in love with Ben. Hopelessly in love.

Oh my. What was I getting myself into?

Okay! That was the first chapter of my novel, "Daydreaming." I hope you guys liked it! This story was basically inspired by the movie, "Sleeping with the Enemy," but I put my own characters and stuff. I don't own that movie!!!! :D Thanks for reading!!! R&R!!!

love,

Smiley =D