"You must really like this girl if you want to fix her car for her." Jason says cleaning off his hands from helping his dad with Hadley's car.

"I don't like her like that, it's just.... she doesn't have any friends Jason, not one." I say sadly and a little hesitant. She probably wouldn't appreciate me spilling her life story.

"It's not your job to find her friends, can't you just do what you always do. Hook up with her, fool around then dump her?" He says it so easily, I've even got him hooked to my reputation.

"I'm not trying to help her get friends, I'm trying to be her friend." I say taking her car keys and slipping into the drivers seat. "Can you do me a favour and drive my car home behind me, I'll give you a ride back to your place."

"Sure, if you ask me it sounds like you are trying way to hard to just want to be friends." He says before heading to my car and getting in.

Once Jason and I get to my place he switches to the passenger side and I get into the drivers seat. I back out of my driveway.

"Do you mind if I ask her to hang out with us at lunch?" I ask him somewhat nervously.

"Who? Hadley?" He asks while scrolling through something on his phone.

"Yeah. If you don't mind, it's just you know she's really nice and.." I start.

"I get it man you want to be her friend and want us to like her and her to like us. I understand." He nods not taking his eyes off his phone for a second.

"So it's okay?"

"Sure. Believe it or not but I think I'll like her. Maybe she's smart enough to help me make fun of you. " he laughs finally looking up to look at me. I shove him with my hand and a smile then return it to the wheel.

~ ~ ~

I drive my way to Hadley's place bright and early in her dad's old car. I managed to get Jason's dad to help us out, he's a mechanic. He helped us make the thing purr. It's still her car, it just runs smooth now and is a lot more reliable. Just as I pull up to the parking spot o was in yesterday she's walking with her brother out of the store. Her jaw drops the second she sees me and the car. I turn the keys to turn off the car and get out. I walk over to her and dangle the keys in front of her.

"What? Is this my dad's car? Did you fix it?" She stares in disbelief.

"My friends dad is a mechanic so I called in a favour." I say jingling the keys once more.

She take are keys from me and shakes her head. "Dustin I can't accept this, I already owe you so much." I roll my eyes and go down to be eye level with her brother. "What's your name?" I ask him

"Oliver." He says shyly.

"Hey Oliver, I'm Dustin, a friend of your sisters. Can I ask you a question?" I ask him he nods his head in response. "Do you want to ride in the car to school or use your feet to walk all that way?" I say trying to make walking sound hard and dramatic.

He nods his head excitedly and runs to the back seat of the car. He opens the door and climbs right in. I stand back up to look at Hadley, her eyes full of disapproval and happiness.

"Dustin... I.." I motion my hand in a way to cease her from talking.

"Doll, stop." I say with a smile. "Your first favour back is to drive me to school and then drive me home tonight." I say. I turn around and walk to the passenger side. I open the door and look back to Hadley standing staring at her keys a smile on her face. "Doll? I we don't get a move on you're gonna be late."

She looks up and meets my eyes. I can see the smile and happiness in the blue of them. She walks happily over to her side and gets in, I follow and she drives off to the elementary school to drop Oliver off.

"Okay buddy, ready for your school day?" Hadley asks looking at her brother in the mirror. She cares so much for him I can tell.

"Today is an assembly! I'm excited." He smiles as he unbuckled his seatbelt and puts his bag over his shoulder. Hadley gets out of the car and walks Oliver to the door giving him a hug and wavering to him as he heads inside. Then she returns to her seat.

"You're like a mother to him you know." I say referring to her way of hugging him and wavering goodbye.

"I try to be." She says giving a small smile. Then I think back to her story she never mentioned her mother.

"Hadley, if you don't mind me asking, where is your mother?" I ask quietly and trying to decide if I regret my words.

She lets out a heavy sigh. "I don't know." She says. "She left about three years ago. When my dad lost his old job and we fell on really hard time, being kicked out of our house and many other things, she just up right and left one day. She said she was going to the grocery store for something for Oliver then jut never came back." She says the hurt clear in her tone. How could someone leave her and her brother.

"I'm sorry." I don't know what else to say. I look over and see she's starting to cry.

"I used to think it was my fault, I know it's not but sometimes I feel like I could have done something, or seen she was distancing herself sooner."

"It's not your fault. "I tell her as she parks on the side of the road. She turns to me and I risk it. I wipe her tears with my hand. "Is that why you do stuff at lunch? So you can take care of your brother? And work?" I ask her.

She nods her head." Yeah"

"Listen, do you want to go to a party with me tonight?" I ask trying to take her mind off the conversation we just had.

"I can't, I need to stay home tonight to watch Oliver, my dad has the late night shift so he needs to sleep until his shift."

I pick my brain, she needs a break. "I'll hire a baby sitter for you." I say. Great idea if I do say so myself.

"I can't let you do that Dustin, you've already done so much."

"Think of it as your next favour to me, I know how is that a favour to me? You coming to the party is, okay? Come to the party and hang out with me and my friends at lunch and we'll call it even okay?" I tell her. Beating her to the whole, but that's another thing I'll owe thing.

"Okay." I can barely hear it as she says it under her breath. "I've never been to a party before," she says nervously.

"Just stick with me, I've got experience." I laugh. "Plus If you come meet my other friends they'll be there too." I say trying to further convince her to hang with us at lunch.

"Oh alright." She says completely free of the previously hurt tone she used to speak moments ago, her eyes are dry. "I'll meet your friends and attend the stupid party. But.... I have to bring my homework if I get any from my first two classes."

I sigh with a smile and lean back in my seat. "You can take the girl out of the school but you can't take the work ethic out of the girl."