"Hey," Hayden greeted her at the door before she even made it up the walk way.
"Excited to see me?" Lily guessed.
"You could say that." Hayden played along.
He let her inside and led her to the living room to sit her on the couch. He sat beside her and made sure not to sit too close. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.
She looked around the open room. "Where are the rest of the guys? I've missed them."
"Oh, they aren't here yet." Hayden said, stretching himself out on his side of the couch. "They won't be here for a few hours."
Lily raised one eyebrow. "A few hours, Hayden? Then why am I here so early?"
Hayden looked down at his lap and tried to stop his face from turning a bright shade of red. "I...I wanted to be with you, just you and me. Like old times." He admitted. "Besides, you're going to have to get used to me. We're going to be spending the next three months together."
Lily laughed and scooted herself over closer to Hayden. "Alright, well it's been a while. What do you want to know about me?"
Hayden smiled. "Well first off, you gotta tell me where these came from." He flicked her overstretched earlobe.
"Rebellion." She said. "I wanted to be different. Now my turn. Where did you manage to meet such a bitchy girlfriend?"
Hayden shook his head in disbelief. "Is that all you care about?" He joked.
"Just answer my question." Lily ordered playfully.
The two of them went back and forth exchanging questions for the next few hours before the rest of the guys showed up. Now Hayden had to figure out how he was going to keep Juliet from seeing Lily and Lily from seeing Juliet.
Ch. 10
"You remember Wes, right?" Hayden stood with Lily and Wes backstage before the show.
"Yeah, of course I remember Wes." Lily gave Wes a small wave.
"Good." Hayden said, exasperated. "Well, you two hang out right here before he has to go on stage. Right here. Don't leave this exact spot."
"Oh... Kay?" Lily said as she watched Hayden turn and run across the stage to the other side.
Now that Lily was taken care of, he could deal with Juliet. His plan was to keep Lily on stage right with Wes and the rest of the guys, and keep Juliet, Sammy and Ella on stage left. That way, Lily and Juliet would have no idea that the other was there.
"Hayden, baby!" Juliet called when she saw him. She pulled him into a stiff hug and gave him a quick kiss.
"Hi." He said out of breath.
"Babe, you're already out of breath. Take it easy. You have a show to perform." Juliet, ever the caregiver.
That was one thing Hayden admired about her. She was always watching out for him and making sure he was take care of.
"I need you to stay right here, okay? The roadies and stage crew complained about people getting in the way backstage so I just... need you three to stay right here so you don't get in trouble, okay?" Hayden felt a wave of nerves wash over him at his false words. All he could do was pray that she believed him. She could tell when he was lying.
"Oh... Yeah, that's okay." Juliet said. "You're always watching out for me." She smiled but then pouted. "So I won't be able to be with you until we have to say goodbye?"
"I'm sorry, but... That's just how it is." He explained vaguely.
"Thriller Equinox in five." A stage tech announced.
"I have to go." Hayden said. "I'll see you after the show." He placed a kiss on her forehead and made his way to upstage so he could sneak behind the scrim to get to the other side of the stage.
The 'before concert' plan had gone smoothly. Now he just had to hope that the 'after concert' plan would go just as well.
*****
Lily was amazed at what Hayden and the boys had accomplished since they left Ohio all those years ago. She didn't even recognize any of the songs they had played since they were all new to her.
As she stood by and watched, pride filled every inch of her. If it weren't for her, none of them would be where they were right now. She always wondered what her life would have been like if she had never helped Hayden with his band. Would Hayden have a band right now? Would he have even left Ohio? Would she be the one kissing him goodnight every night instead of Juliet?
Throughout the show, she noticed Hayden glance over at her occasionally. She would give him a cute little wave and he would flash her that perfect smile in return. When the show was over, Wes practically threw himself onto Lily and dragged her away to the bus.
"Wes, where are we going?" She stumbled over her feet as he pulled her along.
"To the bus!" Wes exclaimed. "We have to get there before everyone else so we can get the best bunks!"
Lily rolled her eyes playfully and just went along. She wanted to see Hayden but she realized that she would be spending the next three months with him.
Hayden met up with Juliet shortly after the show was over and he walked with her out to the bus.
"I'm going to miss you..." Juliet said, a tear escaping and rolling down her cheek.
Hayden wiped it away with his thumb. "I'll be back before you know it."
"C'mon Hayden. Let's go!" Tate called from the bus steps.
Hayden gave Juliet a kiss goodbye before making his way over to the bus. The doors closed and the bus lurched away from its parking space.
Lily already felt uncomfortable with being on a bus full of men. It was just awkward because she hadn't seen these guys for six years. She felt like she barely knew them.
"Hey," Hayden sat on the couch next to her.
"Hi." She shifted in her seat.
"Things will get better. I promise." He could sense her discomfort.
"Ricky! Did you just fart?" Tate shouted from the bunks.
There was a collection of laughter and Hayden laughed a little himself while Lily grimaced. The face she made caused Hayden to laugh a little more. "Welcome to the next three months of your life."
Ch. 11
It had already been a week since Lily started touring with the guys and she still wasn't used to it. She had walked in on Tate having sex at least twice already.
"It's okay. We've all walked in on Tate having sex at least twenty times before." Jeremy said, trying to make Lily feel better. It didn't. She could never unsee that. Her mind was permanently scarred.
She could see that Hayden was trying to hang out with her as much as possible but he was always on stage or sleeping it seemed. This wasn't turning out to be as much fun as she thought it would be.
She walked out into the living room area to find Wes sitting on the couch playing Halo. "Hey, where are the rest of the guys?" She asked, sitting down next to him.
He paused the game and set the controller down on the table next to him. "Hayden and Tate are hanging out on some other band's bus and Ricky and Jeremy went out for pizza or something. So it's just you and me." He stood up and walked into the kitchen.
Lily had hoped Hayden would have taken his night off to spend with her but hanging out with Wes would be fun too. They could start to re-connect after all these years.
Lily looked over at the sound of cabinet doors slamming and saw Wes reveal two bottles of wine. "Wanna get drunk?" He asked, holding the bottles up.
"Hell, why not." She agreed and took one of the bottles from him, tipping it back and taking a large swig.
After a whole bottle of wine, one thing led to the next and Lily ended up in Wes's bunk.
"You're so pretty." He said between kisses.
"Wes, maybe we shouldn't do this. I'm drunk, you're drunk..." Lily trailed off. She was still thinking of Hayden.
"Oh, c'mon. You're single, I'm single; It's not hurting anybody." He tried to convince her.
The alcohol in Lily's system and the scent on Wes's breath began to take over her mind again. This was a night she was going to regret.
*****
"Has anyone seen Lily?" Hayden asked. "She's not in her bunk..." He sat down on the couch next to Tate.
Ricky was in the bunk
area, searching all the bunks for Lily. When he pulled back the curtain to Wes's bunk, he saw both of them fast asleep. "Found her." He called out. He pulled the curtain closed when he heard Hayden's heavy footsteps rushing in his direction.
"Where is she?" Hayden said frantically.
"She's in Wes's bunk. They must've gotten a little drunk last night and she just fell asleep in there. She's still asleep, probably hung-over, so leave her be until she wakes up. Nothing happened. They're just sleeping." Ricky knew the last part was a complete lie. He knew something went on last night that Lily wouldn't have wanted Hayden to know.
He slipped past Hayden and went to go play video games with Jeremy and Tate in the other room. Hayden turned to follow but stopped when he heard the curtain behind him slide open. He turned around to see Lily wrapped in a blanket and sneaking off down the hall towards the bathroom.
"Hey." Hayden called after her.
Lily stood still at the sound of his voice and slowly turned around. "Oh, uh, hey." She said in return.
"So, this is a bizarre question but, um, are you... are you naked under there?"
Lily looked down at her blanketed body. "No," She lied. "Of course not."
"Then where's your bra strap?" Hayden was beginning to get suspicious.
Luckily for Lily, she was a quick thinker. "It's called a strapless bra, Hayden. In case you haven't heard of that before." She rolled her eyes at him and turned around to go to the bathroom.
She ran the hot water and jumped into the shower, feeling the warm water relax her muscles.
That was a close one.
Ch. 12
"You little slut." Ricky said when Lily finally emerged from the bathroom.
"Jesus Christ, Ricky. You scared the shit out of me." Lily held her hand against her rapid beating heart.
"Why'd you do it?" He asked, moving closer to her.
"I was drunk, Ricky." Lily responded.
"Lily..." Ricky threw his hands up. "Drunk or not, you still had sex with Wes."
"Shh!" Lily clasped her hand over his mouth. "Hayden doesn't know."
Ricky reached up and removed her hand from his face. "He's not here. He already left with the other guys for our sound check."
Lily took a deep breath, trying to calm her guilty nerves.
"Lily," Ricky continued. "You know Hayden still loves you. We all know he still loves you. Just because he's blinded by Juliet right now doesn't mean his love for you isn't there. Just... think about that. Please." He turned to walk away from her but then stopped himself. "I'll see you backstage." And with that, he turned and walked off the bus leaving Lily to wallow in her shame.
Lily sat down on her bunk. She hadn't realized what this was going to do. Now she and Wes had this big secret to hide.
Wait. Wes.
Lily jumped up and grabbed her phone off the bed before running off the bus after Ricky and towards the stage. She had to get to the stage and find Wes before he told anyone about their night alone.
****
"Thank you guys so much for coming out today!" Hayden shouted into the microphone, receiving a loud cheer from the crowd. "Five o'clock! Our merch tent! Be there! We love to see you guys and hang out. Come get some hugs and we'll sign some stuff. Thanks guys!" Hayden jogged off stage with the rest of the band. He gave Lily a little head nod on his way off and kept going by her.
"Hey! Lily!" Wes's voice called out to her as he reached his arm around her.
She shrunk away from him. "Wes, no. I can't do this."
Wes looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? I thought..." He trailed off.
Lily sighed. "Look. What happened last night was a mistake. I was drunk and lonely."
"Oh..." Wes looked down at the floor. "This is about Hayden... isn't it..."
"No... I mean, okay, yes but it's also about me. I just... I don't think of you that way, Wes. I think of you as my best friend. My partying buddy. Not my friend with benefits or my boyfriend."
Wes nodded. "Yeah, no, I understand. I'm used to hearing that... Besides, I know Hayden still loves you and it's obvious you love him, too."
Lily gave him a half smile and hooked her arm with his. "You'll always be my best friend, Wes." She smiled and they walked back to the bus together, arm in arm.
Now that the whole issue with Wes had been resolved swiftly, she could now focus on her most burning question of all. What happened to those letters? Did Hayden stop writing to her or did something happen to them? It seemed all the guys knew Hayden still loved her but if he loved her so much, why did he stop sending her letters?
When they returned to the bus, Hayden swooped in and wrapped Lily in his arms. "Hi." He said, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"Uh, hi." She replied, hugging him back. "What's this for?"
He pulled away. "I just felt like hugging you." He admitted. "And I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay...?" She motioned for him to continue.
"Let's go out." He stated. "Just you and me. We can go get some coffee or something."
"Like a date?" Lily asked.
Hayden shrugged. "Well, kinda but not like a date-date. You know? Like a friend date. I just figured it would be a way for us to hang out since I've kind of neglected you since we started tour."
Lily agreed with the neglect part. "Okay," She agreed. "Tomorrow after your set?" She held out her hand for him.
"Tomorrow after our set." He agreed and they shook on it.
Ch. 13
"I'm glad we could finally do this." Hayden said, taking Lily by the hand as they walked into the coffee shop together.
It's not a date, Hayden? Then why are we holding hands right now.
Lily decided she was taking everything too literal. She had to just step back and remember that Hayden still had Juliet waiting for him at home. Maybe this was just Hayden being extremely friendly. Yeah, that's it. Hayden was just being extremely friendly and she had to stop reading into everything so much.
When they got their coffee, they went and sat at a booth in the back of the room. Lily slid into the seat and Hayden slid in on the other side of her. He smiled at her and she gave him a half smile in return.
Stop playing with my emotions, Hayden.
"So, how've you been? Are you liking the tour life so far?" He lifted his cup to his lips and took a sip.
"Oh, yeah. Tour's been, um, great." Lily was feeling the guilt of sleeping with Wes eating her up with every passing second that Hayden was talking about tour.
"Well, that's good. I'm glad that we're not boring you at all." He smiled again.
Could he be anymore ironic right now?
His smile was like a drug that she was getting way too high on. She couldn't help but think she was cheating him by keeping this secret from him. All he had ever been to her was sweet and kind and generous and then she went ahead and made the biggest mistake of her existence.
"I have to ask you something." He said, breaking the brief silence between them.
"Fine, but I get to ask you something after that." Lily negotiated.
Hayden smiled again.
God, stop it Hayden.
"Okay, well, do you and Wes like..."
Oh no, here it comes. He found out somehow. I'm dead. Get ready to start packing your bags 'cause you'll most likely be living on the street now.
"...Have a thing or something? Do you like him?"
Hayden could see the petrified look on Lily's face. "Well, I'll take that as a no, then." He chuckled.
"No, Wes and I are just really good friends." Lily had to reassure herself as well as him. "Why do you ask?" She lifted her own coffee cup to her lips and sipped the searing hot liquid. She hoped it would burn away all her sins.
"I just thought I heard Wes talking to Ricky about it before the show. It's totally okay if you do like him, you know. You're single, you're allowed to like who you want." But Hayden knew that was a lie. He didn't want Lily to like anyone else. He wanted Lily to like him, not Wes.
/> "Yeah... I know..." She said. "Okay, my turn to ask a question."
Hayden nodded, "Go ahead."
Lily took a deep breath and braced herself for what was about to happen next. She couldn't let this question keep going unasked for much longer and now was the time to put everything on the table. This was her chance to finally know why. "Why did you stop writing to me?" She looked at him, straight in his sharp blue eyes.
Hayden thought he was going to drop his steaming hot coffee right in his lap. The utter shock of the words that had just come out of her mouth was enough to stun him. This meant that Lily didn't stop writing to him. "But..." He began. "I never stopped writing to you. I loved you. Why on earth would I ever stop writing to you? You were my everything. You stopped writing to me and I've been wondering why you ever let me go."
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