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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 22, 2011 17:49:22 GMT -5
It had been awhile since Hayden spoke with Roland. He didn't want to bother his cousin too much while he was getting ready for his first child. Plus, Hayden had been busy with work but now he was catching a break. He had caught up with Liam and now it was time to catch up with Roland.
He sent Roland an owl yesterday asking about meeting him in the Leaky Cauldron. Arriving a little early, he asked the barmaid for a butterbeer. With his butterbeer in hand, Hayden made his way over to one of the empty tables.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 22, 2011 23:35:30 GMT -5
Roland was glad to hear from Hayden. He hadn't seen a lot of his family since his return, and he missed them. Most of them didn't know the true story of his "death," but Hayden did, and even though the had already talked about it once, Roland still sort of felt like Hayden was angry about what he had done. Or maybe he just expected everyone to be angry, because he still felt guilty about everything that happened.
So when he received the owl, he felt a bit of relief. Hayden was his best friend, after all, and he missed talking to him. And it happened that Riley was already planning to visit Geoffrey that day, so Roland agreed to meet Hayden for a few drinks at the Leaky Cauldron.
When he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, Roland spotted Hayden immediately. He nodded in his direction, but went up to the bar first to order a glass of firewhiskey. Although he was drinking a lot less than before, he still enjoyed the occasional firewhiskey.
Once he had his drink, he made his way over to the table where Hayden was sitting. "Hey, Cuz," he greeted him with his trademark half-grin. "What's going on?"
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 23, 2011 9:23:07 GMT -5
Roland was always on time. That was one good thing about the Ferreras. They were rarely ever late. After Roland ordered his drink, Hayden stood up to greet his cousin. He noticed that he looked a lot happier than before. It was about time something good happened.
"Hey," he said in return with a smile. "Nothing much." After their greeting, Hayden returned to his seat. "You look happy," he commented. "How are you? How's Riley and the baby?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 24, 2011 1:51:26 GMT -5
Roland sat down and leaned back in his chair. Yes, he was happy. Things weren't perfect; he knew that Riley was still stressed about things and not telling him everything that was going on. But he made sure that she knew how much he loved her and that he was there for her no matter what. The pregnancy put a lot of extra stress on her, and he knew her hormones were out of balance right now. It would be OK. They could get through this. They'd defeated Blake, after all. This was nothing. Right?
"Yeah, I'm doing good. Riley's OK, and the baby's.... growing. I can't believe how fast it's all going by. The baby will be here before we know it. But what about you? What are you up to?"
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 24, 2011 17:41:38 GMT -5
"I'm glad everything is going well," he said with a smile. It was fairly rare that a smile used to appear on Hayden's face. However, things seemed to be calmer as of late and he was going to do what he could to take advantage of that before things could get worse.
"I'm enjoying the quietness while I can." Hayden took a drink from his glass. "Finding things to do with my time if I can."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 24, 2011 23:53:34 GMT -5
Roland was quiet for a minute as he surveyed his cousin. He couldn't forget that the last time they had sat in a pub having drinks, they had talked mostly about work and about the possibility of dying in the line of duty. Everything seemed different now. Roland had so much more to lose now, with Riley and the baby on the way. But he didn't know if anything had changed at all for Hayden. There was something in the owl that made Roland think that Hayden wanted to talk about something, not just sit and chat over drinks.
"What kind of things?" he asked at last. "Anything worth talking about?"
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 25, 2011 17:19:32 GMT -5
Hayden knew Roland's look pretty well. The look he had on his face made him aware of the question that was going to come from him. Of course, he was pretty sure Roland knew something else might be going on because Roland knew him extremely well. He was his best friend after all. It was sometimes eerie how they could read each other.
The question was asked, just like Hayden thought. He knew he couldn't just simply say just things, because his cousin would be able to read him. "There's a girl, well sort of," he said not sure how to really approach the situation. "I finally asked her to dinner after an awkward event not too terribly long ago."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 14, 2011 23:13:22 GMT -5
"Good for you!" Roland said approvingly, raising his glass to him in a silent toast.
He sometimes worried about Hayden. He was too serious and shy at times, and it didn't seem like he had much of a social life. He needed to get out more, to have some fun and meet women. But now it seemed Hayden had finally met someone who interested him.
"Tell me about the girl. And what was the awkward incident?"
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Dec 14, 2011 23:25:20 GMT -5
"She's really nice and really nice to talk to," Hayden started. "She's smart and funny." There were a lot of words he could use to describe Nathalia. "And really pretty to be honest." Of course, he knew that he cousin knew her, but he wasn't going to say her name just yet.
"The awkward incident, yeah..." He paused for a moment and scratched the back of his neck a little nervously. "Well I ran into her one night. We talked for awhile and then I walked her home, just to be a gentleman. She invited me up, and I thought nothing of it." There was a light pink tint that was showing through on his face. "She offered coffee and I just wasn't thinking. She thought it was going to lead to something else and when it finally dawned on me, I felt bad. We didn't do anything, but after we talked for another moment I ended up leaving. It took me a little bit, but I got the courage to ask her out for dinner when I saw her again. I want her to know I like her more than what she's used to."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 18, 2011 14:24:36 GMT -5
Roland couldn't help but smile as Hayden told his awkward story. He couldn't help but think that, in many ways, Hayden was a better man that he was. Before Riley, if Roland had been in a similar situation, he would have walked the girl up to her room with exactly the same expectations as this girl had apparently had. Hayden was a true gentleman, of course, and would never have had a one night stand with a girl he met in a bar. Now that Roland had Riley, he regretted his past behavior more than ever, and wished he could have been more like Hayden.
"I see," he said, nodding. "You were just trying to be a gentleman, and she took it the wrong way. But you do like this girl... you just want to take it slow. Did you explain to her that you're not the one-night-stand type?"
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Dec 20, 2011 17:40:48 GMT -5
"Exactly," he said. Hayden wasn't exactly sure how to really go about the situation, but he was going to try. "I think so." He paused for a moment. "After we, well, she kissed me, it all became apparent of what was going on. I told her I wasn't looking for just that. She seemed pretty hurt about it." He frowned for a moment.
"But I spoke to her again and then told her that I would see her again. After that I left." Everything seemed a little jumbled up, but maybe things would end up working out. "A little while later, when I was out with Sean, Damon, and T, we ran into her. I left them alone while I went to go talk to her. I'm pretty sure she was surprised and confused by me asking her to dinner."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 26, 2011 0:36:08 GMT -5
Roland gave a slightly sad smile. Although he had no idea that Hayden was talking about Nathalia, the way Hayden was describing the situation reminded him of her, and Paige, and the other girls like them with whom he'd shared a night. He'd never felt good about his behavior back then, and tried to stick with girls who he knew didn't expect much more. And even then, he tried to get to know them a little and treat them with respect. He now realized that all of those girls should have expected more, should have respected themselves a little more than to expect so little of a man. It was Nathalia who had taught him that, and he would have found it extremely ironic if he knew that she was the very girl Hayden was talking about.
"You say you met this girl in a bar?" he said. "A lot of girls who spend a lot of times in bars.... they don't really expect much from men. She might not even be looking for a relationship.... or maybe she doesn't realize that she is."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Jan 3, 2012 14:51:06 GMT -5
"I know she didn't expect this," he said leaning back in his chair a little. "But I think because she's been treated the way she has for so long, that's all she expects." Hayden sighed. "I don't know what it is about her, but I'm going to show her, or at least try to show her, that she should expect different. I mean, when I asked her to dinner, she thought I was just kidding her and wanted me to explain why I wanted to take her to dinner."
Hayden grew quiet for a moment. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to really go about showing Nathalia that she was worth a lot more than what she thought she was. "I like her, I'm not going to lie. I just hope she will eventually understand that."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jan 10, 2012 0:23:07 GMT -5
Roland smiled, but he felt a little sad at the same time. He was actually thinking about Nathalia, completely unaware that Hayden was talking about the very same person. He could still remember the time she had come to his apartment, seeking... help? advice? companionship? He didn't know what she'd really been looking for, and he had a feeling that she didn't really know, either. But he suspected she hadn't found it, whatever it was. He hoped one day she could find someone like Hayden, who would give her the things that she didn't even realize she needed.
"You know, I've known more than my fair share of girls like that in the past," he said. "Girls who live night to night, moment to moment. Girls who think that's all there is, and that fairy tales don't exist. I remember one once told me that all she really wanted was to find someone who really wanted her, but would turn her down at first. And who would ask her to stay the night. If I were you... I'd start by showing this girl a good time. Just treat her like a princess for the night... but at the end of the night, treat her like a person. Show her that you respect her and care about her. I have a feeling you can do that."
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