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The lad looks at me sceptically. He can only be fifteen or so, same age as Mabel and he is in no way intimidated by my presence, he just shrugs and goes about explaining to Mabelwhat they’re doing. Elle stays with the group for a while, and I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“She’s not going anywhere, mate. Take a step back and let her figure herself out on her own.” Hayden speaks with a gentleness and understanding that unnerves me. He should hold me with the same level of wariness that Annika did when we first met, he doesn’t know me. But I find myself stepping back and standing next to him against the wall, spectators to this musical bizarre. “Plus, if you mess with Elle’s process, she’ll chew your arse right out.”
I smirk, sliding my hands into my pockets and attempting to look relaxed and casual as we watch, but I find myself feeling nervous for Mabel. I did this so she had something for her, so she could be kid for an hour or so, but I know this must be a lot for her. I’m watching her every move, obsessively looking for any signs of discomfort.
“Relax, dude.” Hayden chuckles. “You look like you’re about to shit a diamond.” I glare at him and he just grins. He looks different today too, his hair is product free and falling into his face and the black smudges under his eyes are fainter, more likely leftover from yesterday. He’s still in all black but in a short sleeve t-shirt and black skinny jeans. “Trust me, these kids are good, they’ll look after your girl.”
“Yo, E.C.!” A voice calls across the hall and Hayden’s head snaps in the direction, narrowing his eyes at a kid coming over to us.
“Romeo, what do you want?”
“Can you hook me and my boys up to free entry at that fancy club of yours?” Romeo asks with a cocky grin. He’s tall and lanky with tattoos covering both his bare arms.
“No under eighteens, kid,” Hayden answers.
“Eighteen next week, baby,” Romeo says slapping his chest.
Hayden gives the boy an unimpressed glower. “Only one person in this room gets to call me baby.”
Romeo grins wider, enjoying pushing the man’s buttons but my intuition tells me that Hayden’s annoyance is for the boy’s benefit and fuelled by affection. “What d’ya say, E.C.? You gonna help me?” He looks to the floor, losing some of his cockiness. “It’d be cool to see Elle perform.”
Hayden huffs. “I tell you what, I’ll have six tickets waiting for you at the door, but you only bring friends over the legal drinking age and if I catch any of you drooling over my girl, your arse will hit the pavement before you can say tequila, got it?” He points a single black fingernail in Romeo’s face.
“Weird, dude, she’s like my big sister, but thanks.” He starts trotting backwards to rejoin his group. “Keep watching, E.C., my group’s about to kick all these losers’ arses,” he bellows loud enough for all the kids to hear, and he’s met with boos and hisses, much to his amusement while Hayden shakes his head.
“E.C.?” I ask when we’re alone again.
“Edward Cullen,” Hayden sighs, screwing his face up.
“I don’t know who that is.”
“Be thankful.”
“He seems…fun.”
Hayden snorts. “He’s a great kid, hides behind bravado and too much cologne but he’s first to help the other’s here, heart bigger than his scrawny little chest would suggest.”
I nod, checking back in on Mabel to find her smiling at the girls in her group as they sing before encouraging her to join in. It makes me smile.
“It’s a shame he’ll have to leave,” Hayden continues, confusing me until I remember who we were talking about.
“What do you mean he’ll have to leave?”
“When he’s eighteen,” he answers as though that explains it all. At my confusion, he continues. “When he’s no longer ayouth, he can’t come to the group as a participant. He spoke to Elle about joining her in facilitating the group, but he has to have a criminal background check, which he won’t pass, unfortunately.”
“He has a record?”
“Most of the kids here have.” He crosses his arms over his chest, the look of frustration on his face real and aimed at the institution, not the kid across the hall currently harmonising with his peers. “It’s okay for him to hang around today, to help the younger kids, to be the positive influence they all need but next week, he tries doing it and he’s a menace.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” I mumble frowning at the injustice of it.
The smirk on his face is almost smug. “That’s the law, detective.”
“Okay guys,” Elle’s voice rises over the noise in the room. “Let’s come together and show what we’ve got.”
Music and laughter are replaced by the scraping of chair legs against the shiny wooden floor as all of the groups come together in a semi-circle. “E.C.!” one kid shouts. “You gonna sing for us today?”
“Fuck off,” Hayden scoffs, reaching into his back pocket and pulling his wallet out.
