Long Distance Call | tayley ✓

28 | Break The Ice

[Taylor]

I sit — impatiently — in the airport. There's nothing too entertaining when your phone is at 9%, it's late, and the only thing that you can possibly do is watch people retrieve their bags from baggage claim. I should have charged my phone in my car on the way here, but I didn't realize the percentage was so low. Every now and then, I get to experience the little bit of enjoyment of people looking confused in the airport that they likely have never before been to.

My phone buzzes twice within my pocket, indicating a text message had been received. I remove it from my pocket to see that Hayley was the one who had texted me. Now I'm excited.

Hayley🌈: I just got off the plane, where do I go now?

Taylor: Alright, there should be signs all over the place, pointing you towards baggage claim. That's where I am. Did you leave your bags for baggage claim or did you bring them on the flight with you?

Hayley🌈: With me. I'll find my way, and will text you if I get lost.

So I sit. Twenty minutes later, I become a little worried. Where is Hayley, I continue to wonder. But I've also not been looking up at all in the last five minutes. My eyes have been focused on my sweatpants clad lap.

I eventually look up and just so happen to see a short female with bangs and bright orange hair. She looks confused. No, she is confused. There's no other reason for her to be looking all around, walking in circles, clearly lost. May as well help her, considering I paid for her to even come here.

I stand from the seat I'd been sitting in and make my way over to Hayley. Her back is turned to me, so it's a perfect time to surprise her with a hug. I shouldn't scare her like that, but why not?

I run up behind her, arms wrapping around the petite girl. Her immediate reaction is an understandable one. She jumps a little within my arms, squirming within my touch. She utters a "get off" which I immediately do. I step back and watch Hayley turn around. The second she sees that it was just me, she places her hand on her chest and exhales a bit of laughter.

"Don't scare me like that," she demands, giving my shoulder a gentle punch. I rub the area that she had gently hit, pretending that it had really hurt. Of course it didn't, she's a weak little thing. Probably couldn't hurt a fly if she tried.

"Can you wait outside for a few minutes? I have to go and get my car. I'll be back." She gives me a nod and I walk her out of the airport. We find a spot outside that I'll pick her up at. I then make my long journey back to my car, immediately begin charging my phone, and then make my way back to Hayley. She's standing there, hands in the pockets of her zipped up fleece jacket.

Honking my horn, she looks around a bit. She realizes the obnoxious honk had come from me and she smiles. A beautiful smile. Lugging her bags behind her, she walks to my car. I unlock the back doors and help her place all of her heavy bags in the backseat.

Once we've both entered the car and buckled our seatbelts, I press down on the gas pedal. And to my apartment we go.

—

"You tired?" I ask her, removing the keyring, which holds all the keys I need, from my pocket. Even though her sleepy eyes make me assume that she is exhausted, she still shakes her head. It's around afternoon here. So if she hadn't gotten sleep on the flight over then I can only imagine her exhaustion.

"I slept on the flight." Well, that answers my question.

Not wanting to bother her with the abundance of questions within my messed up mind, I unlock the door of my apartment and gesture for her to enter. She steps inside. I can imagine that it'd be obvious to anyone who would happen to walk in that an immature 22 year old male lives in this place. Pizza boxes and empty bottles and cans of soda littering the floor. A Kerrang! magazine is on the coffee table, along with a few dirty paper plates. I should have cleaned up earlier. I immediately grab plenty of the trash, tossing it in the garbage.

But still, she walks inside of the place and acts as though nothing is off. She looks around, and I hope she's not affected by the poor appearance of the place.

"Where should I leave my things?" she asks. I raise my hand, scratching at the back of my head. After some hesitation, I point towards my room. I can sleep on the couch. It's actually quite comfortable.

"The room? Are you sure?" she asks. I nod.

"I'll sleep on the couch, I'm okay with that. It's really comfortable, actually. But you take the bed, it's all good with me." She nods back and heads into my room. Seconds later, she returns to the living room with a smile and tired eyes.

"Sit down next to me," I pat the spot on the couch beside me once I've taken a seat. She joins me, looking rather uncomfortable right now. What do I say? Oh god, maybe this trip was a bad idea. I can't even think of anything to say. It's too late now, she's here. So I just wing it, and say, "So...you're here." Wow. Good job, dude, stating the obvious. She lets out a laugh. Fake laugh. Clearly.

"Yeah, I am."

Alright, time to really break the ice.

"I'm really happy that you're here. Hey, we should do something. We should be total tourists for the day, what do you think of that?"

Her tired eyes widen a little, as does her smile. She nods her head, causing a grin of my own to make an appearance. A genuine smile of mine is actually more rare than you may think. I'm excellent when it comes to faking a smile, my emo self.

Maybe she can change that. I hope she can change me for the better. God knows I need it.