Outspoken ❂ Hayes Grier

v

for my entire childhood, i had watched the teen choice awards on tv, wondering how such an event could get so big and how so many celebrities could be under one roof together. my childhood dreams were currently being fulfilled as i stepped out of the car onto the red carpet. it took a second to gather my thoughts, wondering how just a week ago i was doing regular things and now i'm on a red carpet at an award show.

hayes sighed, grabbing my hand that hung at my side. "are you ready?"

i gulp, nodding.

"don't be nervous." he nudged my shoulder with his, smirking.

"i'm not." i look up at him. "i'm excited."

we stepped out, immediately cameras invading our space, snapping pictures and shouting questions at our faces.

"hayes! who's your date?"

"mr. grier, is this your girlfriend?"

"hayes! over here!"

i looked at him, silently asking what to do. he kept his eyes forward, pulling me along with him.

as soon as we reached the actual carpet, it became a bit less hectic. of course, people were still shouting hayes' name, it was just from behind a barrier.

hayes held my hand as we walked the carpet, guiding me into the huge building that held the show.

my eyes widened as we entered the stadium. people covered every section of the floor, it was something that i had never seen. i could count at least ten celebrities everywhere i looked.

hayes must have seen my reaction, because i heard him chuckling when he turned his head and looked at me.

"what?" i asked him. "what's so funny?"

"you're cute, shay."

i furrowed my eyebrows.

"you're so excited. it's cute." he led us to our seats, which were about four rows away from the stage.

i looked away, knowing i was blushing, and not wanting him to see.

a few boys who looked about hayes' age were sat by us. "hayes! how's it going man?"

after they did the awkward bro-hug greeting thing that i never understood, hayes turned around and pressed his hand to the small of my back, pushing me forward lightly. "this is shay, my, uh, girlfriend."

"sup, shay, i'm tez." a kid with the coolest afro i've probably ever seen nodded at me. "that's luke and kyle." they waved.

hayes talked with his friends for a bit while i just sat there quietly. i wasn't really sure if he wanted me to interact with his friends, or if that was part of the contract or not. i wasn't really sure of much at the moment, actually.

they announced that the show was going to start soon, hayes and his friends quieted down along with everyone else there.

as the host made her way onstage, applause filled the stadium. hayes leaned towards me. "are you alright?"

"yeah, why wouldn't i be?" i answered, speaking loudly so he could hear.

"you've been quiet."

"you don't have to keep asking me if i'm okay." i said.

he opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it shortly after.

the show was going incredibly, all the performances were amazing, the awards were being presented, all until it hit me. "are you up for anything?" i asked hayes about halfway through the show. he just looked at me and smiled, pointing at the stage.

"the nominees for all-around male star are, justin bieber, cameron dallas, dylan o'brien, and hayes grier. (again, in real life hayes would not be in the same categories as these people but this is a fanFICTION so) they played a short video that included clips of hayes on dancing with the stars and clips from his movies.(AGAIN, FICTION)

"and the award goes to... hayes grier!"

i grinned, turning my head to face hayes. the biggest smile had just appeared on his face, probably the most genuine one i'd ever seen on him. i stood up and clapped with his friends as he made his way onto the stage.

"whoa, thank you so much, this is such an honor to receive." hayes took the award and stepped towards the mic, stuffing his free hand into his pocket, a nervous habit i noticed of his.

"i want to thank my supporters. recently someone who has just come into my life showed me that i most definitely wouldn't be where i am now without them. i love you guys. thank you to my management, my friends, and uh, shay. my girlfriend. most of you probably don't know her but she's over there in the fourth row."

my heart skipped a beat and i could feel my breathing become unsteady as everyone turned and looked my way. i usually handled being the center of attention quite well, but today i wasn't. maybe it was the dirty looks from all hayes' fans. maybe it was the complete radio silence. maybe it was because nobody expected hayes to date a girl like me. a normal girl.

we weren't even dating. and oh how i wanted to say that. so badly, especially now.

thankfully, someone started clapping, migrating the attention away from me and back to the stage. with that, i squeezed by tez, luke, and kyle and walked as fast as i could down the isle, all the way to the lobby where currently nobody was. i was still having trouble breathing, and my chest wasn't easing up. i had to get out of here.

within three minutes of me frantically calling people who could pick me up, hayes burst through the doors and grabbed me from behind.

"shay, are you alright?"

"i told you," i took a breath, "to stop asking me that."

"you're not okay, can you breath okay? deep breaths, babe, it's okay." he took my hands and looked in my eyes. i squeezed out of his grip, backing away. "stop, hayes, i'm fine. i don't need you."

"i'm just trying to help." he looked genuinely sad when i pushed him off me. it made my heart hurt to see him frown.

"this," i struggled to take a breath, "is your fault. if you hadn't have called me out, this wouldn't have happened."

"colin and i thought you wouldn't mind being the center of attention." hayes looked so conflicted, like he wanted to do something to help but couldn't.

"i thought i wouldn't either. but apparently i do." i put a hand over my chest. it was getting even harder to breath now, my chest was tightening by the second.

"shay, we need to sit you down somewhere."

i couldn't respond, only wheezes came out of my mouth.

"i think you're having a panic attack." hayes put and arm around me and took me to a bench outside. "let's get you some-"

that was when it went black.

+

IM SO SORRY!!

i hadn't gone on wattpad in so long bc i thought nobody liked my stories and i went on today and people actually wanted me to update this book and i'm so happy bc i love this book and there's drama rn and it's exciting and ahhh yay :))

thanks for reading, i promise i'll update more regularly 😂

love, emily :)💘