Twenty Four Hours ✿ Hayes Grier

viii // 3:08 am

hayes had fallen asleep only moments after ava had, but unfortunately had woken up at an ungodly hour.

ava was still sound asleep, somehow finding her way into hayes' arms. the girls head was nuzzled into his chest and her breaths were slow and steady. he instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer.

she stirred slightly, causing hayes to remove his arm and sit up.

"hayes?" she whispered. "what happened? where are we? oh god, my head." she clutched her forehead and sat up.

"hey." he smiled and held the girls hands again, something he had become quite fond of. she smiled indistinctly at him, bringing her eyes to his. "you got drunk, really drunk. it was only about six hours ago."

"shit." she leaned her head on hayes' shoulder, closing her eyes. "do you have any advil?"

he nodded, handing her a pillow to replace his shoulder and getting up to go find some medicine. she graciously accepted it.

"are you gonna be okay?" he asked after she took the pills.

she nodded. "i think i'll be okay."

"i want to take you somewhere." hayes suddenly shot up and grabbed a jacket. he also grabbed a hoodie for ava.

"okay." she laughed, accepting the grey hoodie and following hayes downstairs.

he tiptoed quietly down the stairs, not wanting to wake up nash. ava followed suit.

when they got outside, hayes grabbed ahold of ava's hand again. the streets weren't crowded due to the early hour; only a few cars would whiz past them every couple of minutes.

"are you okay?" hayes asked ava. her smaller frame wasn't able to be seen through the oversized hoodie. she was awfully quiet all of a sudden.

she nods. "i shouldn't have gone to that party." she looked at the floor.

"i'm sorry i took you." he stopped in his tracks and faced the girl, tilting her head up with his index finger.

"it's not your fault, i just should have known better."

"no, it is my fault. you were overwhelmed and tired and it wasn't right of me to let you go in."

ava's vision grew blurred and tears leaked from her eyes. hayes' heart broke as soon as he saw the tears spilling from her eyes.

"baby, please don't cry. please." he took the girl into his arms and hugged her tight, stroking her hair and placing kisses on her forehead.

"i miss her." she said through jagged breaths, crying into hayes' shoulder.

he hugged the girl as gently as he could, afraid of how frail she was. it was so unfair that she had to go through all this.

"the world is so cruel ava, it is. i wish i could say that it wasn't, but that would be lying. all i can say is that you're away from your mother and you have me now, okay? i won't hurt you."

"look at you." she smiled through her tears, blinking rapidly and holding hayes' hands. "you haven't said anything the least but asshole-ish in six hours."

hayes just shook his head and smiled. even with tears running down her face, and bags under her eyes, ava was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"c'mere." he wrapped and arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead, continuing to walk down the deserted sidewalk.

they walked in silence for a while, hayes' making sure ava was close to him. she kept her head on his shoulder, and once in a while, hayes would lean over and kiss her head.

"where are you taking me? this walk is long." she complained.

"right in here." hayes pointed to a dark building. it looked completely closed.

"this doesn't look open." ava said. "it's dark."

"it's open. trust me."

hayes led her into the room, hearing a small gasp behind him. he smiled.

it was an aquarium, not a regular aquarium, but the kind where you are surrounded by glass. the aquarium gave off a warm blue light that reflected off the teenagers skin.

"holy shit." ava breathed. "i've always wanted to be in one of these things."

hayes smiled at her reaction. "it's beautiful, isn't it." he said while keeping his eyes on her. she nodded. "really beautiful."

"thank you, hayes." she suddenly said and turned to him. "this has been the best day of my life."

"really?" he asked, surprised.

she nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck. "i don't want to leave."

"i don't want you to leave either." he said into her hair, snaking his arms around her waist.

"ava?" he suddenly said, looking up and staring into her full green eyes.

"yeah?"

he kissed her. she was taken aback; he had guessed that she probably hasn't kissed anyone before, but he didn't care the least bit.

their mouths molded together perfectly, moving in sync. ava ran her hands through his hair and moved them down to his face, hayes smiling against her lips as she did so.

this was wrong. he was messing with this broken girls emotions. she was so fragile, so vulnerable, yet he couldn't stop kissing her.

"ava." he pulled away, pressing his forehead
to hers in an attempt to still stay as close to her as he could. "we can't."

"i know, i'm a bad kisser-"

"babe, no, that's not it, you're a great kisser. we just can't do this. you're leaving tomorrow and i'm not going to be in la all the time-"

"i know, i know, hayes. i can handle a little bit of heartbreak" she went in for another kiss. their lips met again.

"ava, i can't do this to you." he broke away. "i can't. i would feel awful."

she sighed. "you're right. we should stop."

he nodded and sat down along the edge of the wall, motioning for ava to join him on the floor.

she leaned into his chest, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"ava, what are you doing to me?"