starving [hailee steinfeld one-shots]

deep blue, you painted me golden [H.Steinfeld]

pairing: hailee steinfeld x reader

summary: the ups and downs that come with secretly dating under the watchful eye of the media prove to be too much for you and hailee...so you decide to come up with a solution yourselves instead of giving in to the chaos.

warnings: an overwhelming amount of fluff; mentions of anxiety + panic attacks but nothing super detailed; protective hailee; petnames for days; secret relationship; rude paparazzi's and ruder interviewers

wordcount: 2.1k

a/n: this request was sent in via pm on tumblr and it was an absolute delight to write. thank you everyone for the continued support and lovely requests. hope you enjoy <3

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You're not sure if you're too optimistic or a complete fool but either way, you've found yourself in a situation you were promised wouldn't end up in. If you were anyone else, you might be mad but you're far too overwhelmed to think like that.

"y/n! Hailee! Over here!"

You flinch as another camera flash hinders your vision. Right now is not the best time to be thinking about anything except getting the hell away from everyone.

Everyone except the one person keeping you safe amidst the chaos.

"It's alright, baby," Hailee mumbles, no doubt picking up on your rising anxiety. "We're almost there. Just hang on, okay?"

All you can do is nod in response as her grip on your waist tightens. She pulls you closer to her side, the subtle action filled with all the love and protection she always exudes so easily.

You're not the only one who notices the affectionate gesture considering the amount of camera clicks that go off the next second. You're more worried about finally reaching the safety of your home than the number of headlines those pictures will create.

The brunette leads you inside, doing her best not to lose her temper at the paparazzi yelling at you to smile. They're just doing their job. A job she strictly told her team she didn't want to be a part of.

You breathe out a sigh of relief once you're back in the familiar walls of your apartment. It's not until you move to take your jacket off that you notice how fast your heart is beating and how shaky your hands are. A second longer and you surely would have had an anxiety attack.

Hailee comes to the same conclusion as you once she reaches your side again. "I'm sorry," she says while her hands find your waist again.

"It's not your fault," you reply, not so subtly reaching up to wipe away the few tears that blur your vision.

Hailee's frown deepens and she gently pulls your hand down before taking your face in her hands, her thumbs wiping away the wetness that starts to streak your cheeks. "I should've known they would call the paps on us. They always do this."

"I get it, it's your job."

"My job and my life are two separate things, love. This shouldn't have happened."

"Lee, it's fine." You both know you're lying but you're far too tired to have this conversation all over again. The problem wasn't whether to go public with your relationship or not, the problem was the number of people involved in the decision. A decision that ultimately wasn't yours to make.

"Okay," she relents. "Let me make it up to you, though."

She attempts to move away, probably to put on a movie so the two of you can cuddle up on the couch and forget all the unnecessarily complicated details that make up your relationship. You stop her before she can get too far, though, and instead pull her into the embrace you so desperately need.