Blood Painted Roses *Part 7*

*Flash Back-Hayley’s P.O.V*The mall was kinda empty, surprisingly. I wonder where everyone was? *Adam’s P.O.V*“Good game! Good game my man!” Dean said talking off his helmet“Thanks dude. Man, we’re an awesome team! We slaughtered Greenwich High School!” I said socking Dean’s shoulder.“..And of all Chicago came to see Chicago’s finest team play!” Dean said giving me a high five.“Hell yeah!” I said with pride beaming in my voice.We undressed and hit the the showers. After dressing into a clean pair of jeans and t-shirt, we’re ready to celebrate.“So what do you want to do tonight?” I asked pulling my hood onto my head.“What do you want to do tonight,” Dean said imitating me in a funny way. “Eat-Duh!” he said throwing his hands in the air.We both stared at each other and immediately knew what each other was thinking.“Mortabello’s Mozzarella Chicago Pizzeria!” we yelled in unision like a football call.Dean jumped onto the passenger seat and I got in the drivers. In about 3 minutes, we were at an old pizza parlor on the corner of Chicago Ave. I parked right in front of the restaurant and next to a parking meter.I got out of the car and observed my environment. White smokey fog combined the street. It was an eerie location. During the day, people took walks on the sidewalk and shopped at the local boutiques. At night, the trendy stripmall turns into a domestic ghost town.“Adam, I’m freakin’ hungrey!” Dean said rubbing his stomach with a cross face.“Yeah..Yeah, coming.” I said holding the door open to enter.We ordered 2 large pepperoni-sausage pizzas and ate them whole. After conversing, we decided to leave. We split the bill and Dean left a tip.“Thanks for the great dinner, Louie.” I said to the restaurant owner.I ate there so much, we became well aquainted friends.“Yeah, what he said.” Dean added smiling.“No problem, guys. Come back soon. You always keep us in business. Tell your parents I said ‘Hi’.” he said patting his hands on his flourey apron.“Will do. Later!” I said waving good bye. The restaurant really was one of a kind. It had Italian-Irish memorabila on all the walls. The table cloths were red and white checkered with tiny pizzas in each little square. Over the entrance/exit door was a bell indicating someone had arrived or left. It was so traditional but still modern and sophisticated.As soon as we got outside, a midsized BMW Sedan pulled next to my car.“Hey Dean! Adam-hi there.” some familiar looking girl yelled out the window.The window slid down and it was a girl I knew, unfortunately.“Wanna get in? Miranda is having a party at her estate. Mega-fun! Join?” Brittany said with her eyebrow raised at me.“Sounds like a really good idea-hot chicks dancing, lots of empty rooms, and again lots of hot girls!” Dean said nudging me.“Ill pass, it’s getting late. Maybe some other time, I’m gonna get home.”Brittany’s huge sparkling smile faded quickly.“Suit yourself! Catch ya later dude!” Dean said hopping in the car.The car drove away and left a trail of exhaust(smoke).Reality was I didn’t want to go home anytime soon. The adrenaline rush from the football game and of thought of being home alone was a big turn off…but where else could I go?I unlocked my car. I noticed a smudge on my side window and licked my thumb, and polished the inperfection.“Ah, perfect.” I said looking at the window satisfied.Thats when I saw soemthing, or someone in my reflective windows. It looked as if a girl walked into a drak alley. Curious? Very much so. *Hayley’s P.O.V*My house was not what I had in mind. I had another place to go. A santuary. My home. I have this special place where I go to gather my thoughts and write them down. Chicago has a lot of alleys. Some are where the homeless warm their hands and bodies by gathering around fires in trashcans. Others were where I hang out. I hung out in alleys with high buildings and rooftops, with stars gleaming down. Magical? I think so.I walked down Chicago Ave past the closed boutiques and Mortabello’s Mozzarella Pizzeria, and looked both ways before crossing. Its was a chilly night with a little fog. I stuck my hands in my pockets and zipped up my hoodie.To get to my destination, I had to pull down a staircase to go to the roof. There was one problem. I’m short and I needed help pulling it down. Figuring that no one was going to help me, I jumped up and down to reach the bottom step.“Need help?” a voice came out of nowhere.“No.” I told Adam as he offered his help.I really did need a tall guy like him to help me..but I couldn’t let my guard down. Not this time.He ignored my reply and reached his arm out and brought the staircase with a loud slam as gravity pulled it down. He stared at me waiting for a few words of gratitute.“I don’t get a thanks?” he said blankly.“What are you doing here? Go drink your protein shakes and your steroids.” I said rudely.I was thankful for his favor, but I didn’t want to show it. I didn’t give him time to answer. I gave him my back and climbed step-by-step to the top. *Adam’s P.O.V*Geez! Hard headed! I do not take protein shakes and steroids. I didn’t know helping her would set her off like a bomb. I followed her up the ladder to an estranged rooftop.“God! You freakin’ stalker! Leave now!” she said angrily. I must have startled her.“First of all, I’m not a steroid-protien type of guy. Second of all, I think we started out on the wrong foot and this project will never get done if we don’t get along.” I tried to explain.“Remember:It was your fault for being an idiot.”“Yeah..I know. I’m sorry. How about we start over again?” I said honestly.I really did mean I was sorry.“Let me re-introduce myself, Im Adam Breech.” I placed my my hand out so she could shake it. She crossed her arms and ignored my generousity. This girl just won’t budge.“Okay…then.” I said putting my hands back in my pocket. Hayley looked at me suspiciously, then spoke.“I’m Hayley Stevens.” she said mildly.So we were getting somewhere. She sat on the edge of the building and got a notebook out of her bag and reached into her pack pocket for a pen.“I’m Adam Breech, nice to meet you Hayley.”Awkward silence is annoying.“I thought that maybe we could schedule and arrange how we’ll work on the it.” I said trying to get a little conversation started.“I’ve got to work about every other day and I don’t know when you’re available.” Hayley answered meekly.“We can switch off going to each other’s houses to research and type it?” I said questioning the idea.“Your house! Uhh…my computer doesn’t work…yeah, its got issues right now, so yeah-your house for sure.” Hayley answered uneasily.“Alright. Come over tomorrow evening?“Yeah, that’d be good.”“Great. Well I’ve got to go. See you tomorrow Hayley.” *Hayley’s P.O.V*Finally our little “war” is settled and he’s proven to be a pretty nice kid..but what boggles me is why he went through all that trouble just to say “sorry.”Adam waved bye and prepared for the climb down.“Wait Adam!” I said stopping him.“Whats up?” he answered casually.“Why do you care so much about apologizing to me? *Adam’s P.O.V*Why did I care so much?******So this one of our favorite parts in the story. We hoped you liked it as much as we enjoyed writing it (Well actually Annette wrote it).We might leave you on this cliffhanger for a while cause we are having trouble writing this next scene but again please bare with us. Tell us what you think so far of the story…Comments and Buzz!******