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"Guess we should have done this yesterday," Liz said, looking around the shoulder of a parent volunteer She could see the statue, but it wasn’t the most pleasant experience

"Yeah, this is ridiculous," Hayden said, standing on the step below her

"Seriously," Liz groaned The wo in front of her had scooted over and blocked her view

"Come on Let’s coed lightly

"What? No, we don’t have to do that I don’tto be an inconvenience Hayden had already been here before; they didn’t need to coh look now

"Nah, let’s go It’s a better view at night anyway You’d probably like it," he said He directed her away froht, if you’re sure"

"Definitely If you want to see it," he said over his shoulder, "then we’ll co the path on one side of the Reflecting Pool Liz was glad that she had on loose cotton clothing, because it ay too hot to be out in jeans, like soht ponytail, and she wished she had brought a hat with her to block out the sun beating down

They passed the World War II Meton Monument The area around the Monument was as packed as the Lincoln Meiant obelisk rising to the heavens

Passing the Sain, Hayden chose a restaurant near the National Mall for lunch It was a s was outside Hayden paid for both of theers were pretty incredible, not that she was hard to please She wasn’t sure if it was because of the heat or if they were really that good

They finished their meal and were about to head back on the Metro, when Hayden stopped

"Hey, I know oneher hand and pulling her in the opposite direction "It’s right around the corner Cohing "Why are we running?"

"I can’t believe I forgot to show you," he said "I didn’t even think about it"

They turned the corner and walked right up to a giant building Hayden never released her hand the whole tirasp, when she looked up at the building and saw that it read Newseu dedicated to newspapers

"How could you forget this?" she e of the main newspaper from every state displayed outside, as well as from several different countries," Hayden told her

They walked and stood before the newspapers all displayed in glass cases in alphabetical order by state It was pretty incredible to witness She recognized thethem all out on displayat one of these papers

They stopped in front of North Carolina, and when Hayden saw the front page he had to laugh, because he knew the reporter who had the ainst her hand, and she tensed

She wanted to say that she didn’t like it, and that she wished she weren’t standing there with Hayden holding her hand, but it would be a lie The whole moment felt a bit too perfect, and yet so different at the same time

Here she was couy’s hand It didn’t have to be Hayden; it could be anyone, because it wasn’t Brady She could never have this with Brady

And at thatshot It was Brady versus not Brady, and Hayden happened to be providing the one thing she wanted frohed, hating her heavy thoughts She had come to DC to escape for a little while, and she didn’t want to think about all of the confusion that caardless, she relass to point at so She didn’t want toof it…or try again

"Did you want to go inside?" he asked, pointing at the ht still have time"

Liz checked her watch and sa late it was "I do, but if we’re going to go out tonight, I don’t think it’s feasible"

"We can go out a little later if you want to see it," he suggested "I don’tShe did want to go inside It was such an unbelievable surprise…as if he knew just the right thing to ht You convinced ain, and she let hier than they should have perusing every aspect of the museum dedicated to journalism

Hayden and Liz ton University The guys went to school there and had a bunch of friends who lived in the area

The bar was located off of Pennsylvania Avenue with a giant sign over the top of the entrance When they entered, the roo professionals working on the Hill The room was all hardwood floors, dark wooden bars stocked with liquor, and a large staircase leading to a second floor Girls in low-cut tank tops andhip-hop beats blasted fro in the center of the room took up the majority of the space

Liz had dressed up for the occasion in a short hetti straps that ended in a scoop neck with a wrap look froh heels and a long, thin silver necklace with an owl pendant at the end Her hair was down despite the te if that was a bad idea