In The Lights

Chapter 16

"Hayden!" Gwen growled, yanking the headphones from my ears. 

"Oh, sorry," I smiled. "What?" 

"What song are you listening to? You haven't stopped smiling since you got here." Piper cocked her eyebrow and peeked over at my phone screen, which was blacked out. 

"Nothing." I smiled again. "Is there a reason you yanked my headphones out?" 

"Well I was gonna ask you what you were doing this weekend? You completely ignored my texts." Gwen glared at me. 

"I had to handle some stuff." I mumbled as my phone buzzed. 

"Colson stuff?" Piper asked, I nodded. "So where do you guys stand?" 

"I don't want to talk about it." Luckily, the bell rang immediately after that and I rushed off to class. 

.~.~.~.~. 

"So tell me again, why did you ditch the rest of your classes?" Austin chuckled a little and looked down at me. 

"Because my friends just wouldn't stop bugging me. And my last two classes are electives so I don't need them." I smiled and shrugged. "What new songs are you recording?" 

"I can't tell." Austin smiled as I wined.  

"Oh, come on! Please!" I perked up and smiled my wide, 5-year old girl smile. He shook his head. 

"Nope." My bottom lip fell over and big brown eyes stared at him. "Management and your dad would kill me." 

"Fine," Weboth laughed. It was quiet for a few moments before I piped up again. "Gwen and Piper are going to this party tonight and everyone's going. You should come." 

"I don't think so. Parties aren't really my thing," Austin groaned.  

Okay, so that was a major downside to being with Austin. He was more of a laid back person and liked to relax. He didn't want his fun outings to be so public. As oppose to Colson who went to every party he heard about and made sure he was the center of attention. 

"So what are you gonna do tonight?" 

"Unlike someone I know," He nudged me and smiled, "I have classes tonight that I can't miss." 

"Well I hope you have fun at school. I should go get ready for the party." I smiled and stood up, Austin following me to the door. He kissed my lips and mumbled the word 'Goodbye' against them along with a smile. As I turned and walked out the door I heard a deep sigh in sync with my deep sigh. Maybe we were thinking the same thing... 

As I walked back to my car I pulled out my phone and began typing a message to Colson. 

'Party tonight.. You going? -Hayden' 

I started the car and drove a few blocks away when I felt my phone buzz. I pulled up to a stop light as I read it. 

'For sure. -Colson' 

A smile wiped across my face as I started driving again, a little faster now. 

.~.~.~.~. 

"Who are you looking for?" Gwen nudged me and I shook my head, continuing to roam my eyes around the room. Piper gasped. 

"Is Austin coming?!" I shook my head and she pouted slightly.  

"Well you're obviously looking for someone.. Is Colson coming?" I pretended like I didn't hear her over the booming music. Slamming my empty cup down on the counter beside me, I glared at them. 

"I came to have a fun time. Not think about Austin or Colson, alright?" And with that I stormed off. Okay, so maybe I did sort of come to see Colson. But they're always assuming I'm going somewhere to see Colson or Austin. And it was starting to piss me off. 

When I checked the clock it was 11:30. I had officially been at the party for 2 hours and I have yet to see Colson or have any bit of fun. As I grabbed my ID and cell phone and stuffed them in my back pocket, a hand snaked around my waist and another over my eyes. 

"Guess who?" I heard the voice whisper in my ear. It sent chills all down my body. Only one person could do that, make me feel that way. It was Colson.  

He was dressed in all black clothing, wearing a black hoodie with the sleeves cut off . You could barely tell who he was unless you got close. 

I turned around and smiled widely, hugging him.  

"What took you so long?" I shouted over the music. He shrugged and I could make out a smile across his pale face. 

"I just finished recording a new song." He quickly explained. I smiled and nodded. "Enough of that, let's go have fun." He whispered in my ear and when he pulled away we were both smiling at each other. 

He took my hand and led me to a secluded area and we began dancing. We danced for hours. We talked for hours. We laughed for hours. I missed it. I missed Colson. But I couldn't do anything about it now.. 

After escaping through the back exit, we climbed into my car. Again, Gwen and Piper were nowhere to be found so we started driving. 

"Are you still staying at your hotel?" He shook his head.  

"We moved to a new hotel a few days ago. It's not too far from the old one though," He smiled. The car was silent for a few mintues. Colson looked at me confused when I took a right turn and we came up near the beach. 

"Hayden?" 

"Yes?" I smiled a little. 

"Why are we at the beach?" I stopped the car and rolled down the windows. The breeze flowed through the car and made it so much easier to breathe. It felt calm and relaxed. Away from the cameras, the drama, the rowdy life of Hollywood.

"Obviously you don't have a very fond memory." I smiled. He raised his eyebrows and looked around for a minute before smirking. 

"This is where we first kissed." I nodded and smiled at him, climbing into the seat with him, as I did the first night we kissed. "Are you hitting on me, Hayden?" He smiled widely. 

I rolled my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. 

"Do you know how hard it's been to not have you in my arms? Not being able to hold you and kiss you and go out with you?" I shook my head. 

"Well for the record, it's not so easy not to have you either. I miss us partying and hanging out and having a good time.." The car was silent, except for the sounds of the waves crashing onto shore. 

"I'll always love you, Hay." He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. I sat up and cupped his face in my hands. 

"I'll always love you, Colson." Our noses brushed against each other, causing Colson to chuckle deeply before grabbing my waist and kissing my lips. 

I'll always love him. Always.

.~.~.~.~.

Hope you enjoyed (: