Thanks To You || Alex Gaskarth

7. Lost In Stereo

Hayden POV

I exited the hallway, taking in the fresh air. There were only three weeks of school left and I could practically see the excitement buzzing in the air. It was the end of senior year and graduation was around the corner. Unlike all my friends who had plans to head off to college once the fall approached, I had decided to take a year off. I had no motivation towards what I wanted to do in the future and a year off sounded delightfully relaxing. 

Lauren jogged over to me, joining me in my walk towards the parking lot. She rambled on about Rob and her annoying Psych teacher and the obvious excitement of only three remaining weeks of school. We reached the doors of the school and saw the parking lot before us.

A familiar black Mercedes was parked at the curb, sending a smile to my face. I could see Alex's messy hair and stubbly unshaven face through the open passenger window. 

Lauren smirked. "Well, look who it is."

"Shut up," I replied. For some reason, Lauren had gotten the idea that Alex and I were destined to be together. She couldn't grasp that we were simply friends. Yeah, he was cute and all, but he'd just gotten out of a relationship and was clearly not over it. Alex and I were just hanging out and there was nothing more to it. 

However, Lauren's persistent view made me consider it. I knew it wouldn't happen and the timing was far from right, but I had to admit that Alex was kind of adorable. His hair always stood scattered atop his head like he hadn't had the time to brush it when I knew he spent at least 20 minutes straightening it and styling it to perfection. Alex's eyes were this honey brown that were soft and sweet and held so much emotion. I stopped my train of thought. Over analyzing all of Alex's features wasn't helping my stance on our friendship. Yes, the boy was cute, but we were friends. And it was going to stay that way.

"Stop fighting it, Hayden. There's so much sexual tension radiating off the two of you."

I gave Lauren a look. "Uhh... more like delusion radiating off your brain."

"Whatever. You guys are going to get together and I'm going to have the satisfaction of knowing that it would happen all along."

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you later," I called out, jogging away from her. She was my best friend, but sometimes, she was just certifiably insane.

Alex looked up at me as I approached the car, a smile lighting up his features. He'd borrowed my car for the day to head into Charleston, the closest big city. Alex wanted to get out of this isolated small town for a bit and shop for some new clothes. 

Climbing into the passenger's seat, I smiled at Alex, buckling my seatbelt.

"Hey," I smiled.

"Hey," he replied in turn, greeting me with a grin.

"How'd shopping go?"

"Good. I got like eight bags of shit. You can help me hang it up."

"Do I really get the honor?" I gasped dramatically.

Alex nodded. "You should feel special."

Alex POV

"I see you've taken over my stereo," Hayden smirked, noticing the change in music as I accelerated out of the parking lot.

"Yeah, did you know that it was set on a country station?"

"I was aware."

"I plugged in my iPod to spare my sanity."

Hayden smirked. "And who's this?"

"Are you serious right now?" I gasped. She rolled her eyes at my dramatics. "This is blink-182, the greatest pop punk band to ever exist."

"Oh, the one that has that All The Small Things song?"

"Yes, thank god you at least know that song. I was afraid I'd have to stop being friends with you."

"You'd never," Hayden teased. "You love me too much."

I smiled softly. "Yeah, I kind of do."

"So which song is this?" 

"Time To Break Up," I explained.

She listened to the music that filled the car, an interested look in her eyes. I turned left, away from the main street and towards Kathy's. After a moment, Hayden smiled, "I like it. It's loud and kind of angry, but it's really good."

"You really like it?" 

She nodded eagerly. "Can you play me something from your band?"

For a second, I felt shy as I grabbed my iPod from the console and scrolled up to All Time Low. There was a part of me that so desperately wanted Hayden to like it. I wasn't sure why I craved her approval. I guess I just wanted her to enjoy what I put all my passion into. After a moment of deciding which song to play, I finally put on Stella.

"This is amazing, Alex," Hayden gushed after a few minutes. I grinned. "Like, I knew you could sing, but you can like.... sing."

I smiled, relief and pride flooding through me. The song ended and Hayden immediately urged me to play another one. I put on Weightless, and when that ended, Lost In Stereo. Soon, we'd pulled up to Kathy's house, gravel crunching beneath the tires, and I braked the car to a stop.

"If you think I'm not going to force you to sing for me all the time now, you're so wrong," Hayden stated as she hopped out of the car. 

I laughed, not minding at all. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It was Jack, once again. Lately, he'd been calling more often than before. It had gone from once or twice a day to five or six. It was growing annoying. I was on the verge of just answering his damn calls. However, every time I was about to, I got kind of anxious. Not like I was going to have a panic attack, but just uncomfortable and unsteady. Rian, Cassadee, Zack, Matt, and my parents were all calling at least once a day. My phone was on blast, but I just couldn't bring myself to answer any of them.

I'd arrived in this small Southern town with the idea that I just wanted to get back to Baltimore and back to my life. Now, that had changed. This was like a haven where reality didn't exist. It was just riding horses and hanging out at bonfires and helping Kathy tend the ranch and spending time with Hayden. I'd gone from seeing Hayden maybe once a week to at least once a day. She was addicting and I just liked being around her. Hayden was light and happy, an antidote to my anxiety. I felt carefree when I was around her, and it was like for a while, I was normal. The night I'd had a panic attack in front of her had cemented our friendship -- the fact that she hadn't judged me and just held me. God, that meant the fucking world to me.

Sometimes, I found myself staring at the curve of her lips or the view of her cleavage from her V-neck top. However, I'd snap myself back to earth quickly. We were friends and I was far from ready to be with anyone. Hayden was just a friend and I was determined that it stay that way. 

"Are you going to get these bags or just stare off into space all day?" Hayden asked with amusement.

"Sorry," I mumbled, rushing to the trunk to help her. I took about six of them, leaving her with only two. As we walked up the stairs, Hayden told me about her day at school and how Megan had kissed Tyler at a party and everyone in her group of friends was freaking out about it because Hailey liked Tyler and Megan knew it. It was kind of funny to hear about the drama that mattered in high school from a more mature perspective.

We reached my room where my bed was unmade, sheets thrown sloppily across the bed. My shoes were scattered near the door and a pile of clothes were nestled in the corner. I'd never been very good at keeping things neat. Hayden rolled her eyes and straightened things up while I unloaded the bags. I told her about All Time Low and how we'd gotten our start and watched her vibrant smile. I wanted to stay in moments like this where Hayden and I laughed and smiled and there were no such thing as panic attacks or Jessica. It was just us and good conversation. 

Hey, I kind of changed the plot a tiny bit and deleted part of chapter 4. It's a really small part and you may not even notice it and it was at the very end. Basically, if you don't remember it, good. And if you do, just forget about it. :P