The Puck and The President

Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

The silence in my dorm room was deafening. It was a stark contrast to the cacophony of the main hall and the even greater chaos that had just unfolded inside my head. Liam Hayes, the boy who made a sport of getting under my skin, was now a fixture in my thoughts, a beautiful, maddening, confusing mess I couldn't seem to get rid of. I threw my bag onto my bed and sank into my desk chair, my mind a frantic loop of his words. “You’re just as much of a mess as I am. You’re just better at hiding it.” He saw me. He had peeled back the layers of my perfectly constructed façade and had seen the vulnerable, messy girl I was trying so hard to outrun. The thought was terrifying and, in a way, exhilarating.

I was startled by the sudden buzz of my phone, a loud, intrusive sound in the quiet room. It was my mom, her face a bright, cheery smile on the screen. My heart, which had just started to slow down, began to beat a frantic rhythm again. This was a different kind of chaos, the kind I knew how to deal with.

“Nadine! There you are, sweetheart! I’ve been trying to reach you all afternoon,” she said, her voice a soothing balm. My mom was the only person in the world who could make me feel like I was a little girl again, all my anxieties and fears melting away under the warmth of her gaze.

“I was at the library, Mom. A little busy,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. The lie felt a little heavier on my tongue than it had with Liam.

She just laughed, a warm, melodic sound that filled my small room. “Oh, I know you, honey. Always a little busy. I just wanted to tell you the good news! We’re moving in next week!”

I had almost forgotten. My parents had decided to sell our old house in the suburbs and move closer to the city, a change that felt both exciting and a little scary. “That’s great, Mom! Have you decided on a neighborhood yet?” I asked, trying to sound excited.

“Oh, honey, we found the perfect one! It’s this lovely little cul-de-sac just outside the city. It’s so quiet and so quaint. And you won’t believe who your new neighbors are,” she said, her voice full of a playful, almost mischievous tone.

A little knot of dread tightened in my stomach. The universe, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor. “Mom, don’t tell me we’re moving next to the Montenegros. I can’t handle another school year with Sofia,” I said, a familiar exasperation rising in my voice.

She just laughed again, a sound that was full of a different kind of mischief. “No, honey, not the Montenegros. The Hayes family. The hockey player's parents, Liam Hayes.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. My breath caught in my throat, and my heart, which had been so calm just a moment ago, began to pound a frantic, desperate rhythm. This was impossible. This was a cosmic joke, a cruel twist of fate that was meant to break me. Liam Hayes, the boy who was already tearing down my perfectly constructed life, was now going to be my next-door neighbor.

“Mom, you can’t be serious,” I stammered, the words a horrified whisper.

“Oh, I am, honey. His parents are lovely. And I ran into Liam the other day. He was so polite. A very handsome young man,” she said, and her voice was so full of genuine admiration that it made my stomach churn.

I was speechless. My perfect, planned life was now a complete and utter mess. And it was all because of a boy with a London accent and a talent for getting under my skin. I ended the call with a quick promise to visit over the weekend and sat there, stunned and silent, my phone still clutched in my hand. This was a nightmare. A beautiful, terrifying, infuriating nightmare.

The weekend came faster than I wanted it to. I drove to the new house with a sense of dread that was a heavy, unwelcome companion. The street was quiet, lined with beautiful, old houses and lush green lawns. It was a perfect, idyllic little world, a world where Liam Hayes had no business being. But there he was, standing on his lawn, a hose in his hand, a small, mischievous smile on his lips. He was wearing a faded gray t-shirt that clung to his muscular frame, and his hair, a chaotic mess of dark curls, was falling over his eyes. He looked like a god, a messy, chaotic god that was about to turn my perfect life into a complete and utter mess.

He saw me, and his smile widened. “Prez. Welcome to the neighborhood. Fancy seeing you here,” he said, his voice a low, teasing whisper that was meant only for me.

My heart, a small, rebellious thing, did a little flutter. “Don’t call me that, Hayes,” I said, and my voice was sharper than I intended.

He just chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that made my insides do a little flutter. “What? You’re the President, aren’t you? And you're living next to the Puck. It just makes sense, doesn't it?”

“No, it doesn’t,” I retorted, my voice full of exasperation. “This is a nightmare.”

He just shrugged, the smile never leaving his face. “One man’s nightmare is another man’s dream, Prez. And besides, think of all the spontaneous moments we can have. Late-night talks, a drive with no destination…” he said, and his voice was so soft and so gentle that it was more dangerous than any of his snarky comments.

“You’re a git, Hayes,” I said, a smile I couldn’t control playing on my lips.

He just laughed, a sound that was so full of genuine amusement that it made my heart ache. “And you’re a mess, Leyva. And now we're neighbors. This is going to be so much fun.”

His words, a painful truth, hung in the air between us. He was right. We were a beautiful, chaotic mess. And now, we were going to be neighbors. My perfect, planned life was now a complete and utter mess. And I had a feeling that this was just the beginning. The thought of living next to him, of seeing him every day, of being a part of his chaotic world, was a terrifying, beautiful, and exhilarating prospect. I had a feeling that this was just the beginning.