Shay came back with the warm towel and placed it against my face. I cringed a little but welcomed the warmth.
“You used to fight a lot before,” she whispered, gently dabbing my cheek. “When you were younger.”
“Yeah.”
“People probably always thought you were this beast or something, but you only fought people who bullied others... at least that’s what I noticed.”
“You noticed my fights?”
“I noticed your everything,” she confessed, and that frozen heart of mine began to thaw. That happened a lot when she was around. “Greyson told me what you did for him today. That was very brave of you.”
“It was stupid. I could’ve lost my spot in the school play. I could’ve jeopardized graduating.”
“Yeah, it was stupid, but stupid things can still be brave things.” She exhaled slowly and sat back on her heels. She stared at me with those eyes again, and my heart? A puddle.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I just... you just... you’re nothing like the person I’ve spent years building you up to be in my head.”
“I think the same about you, more each day.”
“If you had to choose one word to describe me, what word would you choose?” she asked, and that was the easiest question ever.
“Good.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Good? That’s it?”
“Yes. Good. You’re good to everyone on so many levels, even people who don’t deserve it, like me. You take the timeto look deeper into people and see things from different sides. You’re patient, too. That would be my second word for you. You don’t rush people to be what you think they should be. You just let them exist.”
“Wow...” She held her hand to her chest. “That’s the nicest thing an enemy has ever said to me,” she joked.
I snickered.
Not your enemy, Chick. Never your enemy.
“What about me? What’s my word?” I asked.
“Good,” she repeated.
“Copycat.”
“Maybe, but it’s true.”
I rolled my shoulders back. “I’ve been called a lot of things before, but good hasn’t been one of them.” I glanced over to her bookcase, which was filled with her notebooks. “Are all of those used?”
“Yes. They are all my character portfolios I make of people I know. It helps me craft characters for my stories.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Are there any about me?”
She blushed. “Maybe a few.”
“Can I read them?”
She laughed. “Definitely not. Can I tell you a secret?”
“Shoot.”
“I don’t think we hate each other anymore.” She inched closer to me, moving her lips gently against mine. Her inhales became mine, and my exhales belonged to her. “What do you think?”