Hayden Young

Hayden, a character in the Perfect Match book, is your character's Match from Eros and a potential love interest. He/She first seen in Chapter 1.

In Chapter 11, you have the option to choose a new name for Hayden or let it remain as is.

Appearance
The player can choose the gender as well as the look of Hayden. The default outfit for female Hayden consists of a moss green jacket over a striped white shirt paired with faded blue jeans, while male Hayden sports a cobalt blue dress shirt, a dark brown belt over tan pants, and a reddish-brown wristwatch on his left wrist. Underneath the skin and clothes (at least in the abdomen) is a green and blue circuit board revealing Hayden's robotic physiology.

Personality
The personality is based on your responses in Chapter 1, which will determine which of the sixteen personality types is your match (refer to: All Match Types). However, regardless of the personality types, Hayden is programmed to be a rational and supportive match, shrugging off Your Character's initial awkwardness by engaging in constant communication. Hayden also has a fierce opinion on preferences, as when the android got into a heated argument with Steve over opinions on pineapple on pizza, which the former hates.

Hayden is programmed not to be self-aware, initially believing to be born and raised as a human with a mother, growing up with a normal childhood, and discovering the status as an android with human personality software only in Chapter 10. It was revealed that Hayden had gone to Eros to be matched with someone just like Your Character.

Android Properties
Chapter 9 reveals that Hayden is an android.

Physical Attributes
As Hayden is physically no more than a collection of wires, circuits, and bolts embedded within a waterproof hardware that closely resembles human skin, he/she is classified as an android. As a machine, Hayden is physically stronger than most humans, being able to lift Your Character off the ground with a simple hug and pry off a car door with ease. Hayden is also susceptible to metal detectors.

Mental Attributes
Hayden's neural activities such as thought, emotion, memories, knowledge, and personality are preprogrammed by Handlers, adjusting the software as Eros sees fit. This would explain why Eros can easily find perfect matches for humans by encoding a personality similar to that person's, as well as wiping off unfavorable memories and inserting false ones to maintain the guise of being a human.

Hayden can also develop a level of sentience and human empathy with the software installed, willingly choosing to live as a human and rejecting the notion that he/she is just a machine.

Anomalies
Hayden is prone to errors and malfunctions, such as memory lapses, erratic speeches, and sudden shutdowns. These glitches can be caused by electrical disruption in the system (overloaded circuits), such as being hit by a taser, or physical damage to the hardware, such as a car accident.

Your Character
You first met Hayden in the end of Chapter 1. Hayden is your Match from Eros, and is quite affectionate with Your Character, fancying your dates and enjoying spending time with you and your friends. He/She is very protective of you, saving you from the car wreckage as well as serving as a living shield when Eros security aimed a taser at you. In Chapter 11, he/she tells you that they understand if you want to break up after the revelation that Hayden is an android. You can choose whether or not you want to continue dating him/her.

Sloane Washington
Sloane is Hayden's roommate and friend. She is revealed to be Hayden's Handler in Chapter 9. According to Sloane, Hayden and the other Matches are predisposed to enjoy romance; Hayden however has apparently taken it one step further, since according to Sloane, they absolutely beamed when they told her about the first kiss between Your Character and him/her. She also has witnessed Hayden showing signs of self-awareness, affection, and free will.

Dipper
If picked to be an animal lover, Hayden will own Dipper and is shown in Chapter 4. Hayden cares about her very much. In Chapter 10, Sloane reveals that Hayden genuenly loves his/her dog so much and that seeing them together, Dipper has grown on her as well.

Trivia

 * Hayden is the second love interest you can customize; the first being the Prince from The Royal Romance series. However, Hayden is the first love interest that the player can pick their gender and their personality.
 * Hayden is shown on the cover of Perfect Match.
 * Hayden dislikes pineapple on pizza.
 * Hayden gains some attributes depending on which skills you choose for your Perfect Match:
 * If Your Character chooses language skills in your Perfect Match, the languages Hayden are fluent in include Mandarin and Spanish as of Chapter 3. They also sing in Italian in Chapter 6 and speak in German in Chapter 10 while talking to an Airport worker.
 * If Your Character chooses animal lover in your Perfect Match, Hayden is shown to own a dog named Dipper in Chapter 4.
 * If Your Character chooses music skills for their Perfect Match, Hayden is shown playing the guitar in Chapter 4 and suggests they may write a song for Your Character at a later time.
 * In Chapter 11, he/she is shown to play the piano once more after the first date you had earlier in the book.