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Hayden listens to the announcer's voice as several flight schedules are read out over the PA. He notices that some of it is in English, and some in German. He pulls out his phone, opening up his message thread with Eileen.
don't need to miss me that much anymore, her latest text reads. i'll see you at the airport :)
Hayden frowns, though Eileen's messages usually make him smile. But it's been like this for longer than he cares to admit - words on a screen substituted breathless "i love you's" in a seemingly endless phone call, five-second streak snaps replaced FaceTime conversations that used to end with one of them falling asleep depending on whose timezone was in the night hours, and DM threads became the only strings that tied them together.
Hayden stares for a few more seconds, lost in thought, before tucking his phone back into his pocket.
He's been at the airport for most of the night, stewing quietly as his flight has been delayed. He groans under his breath, shifting in his seat and frowning when he notices how stiff his neck has become.
Hating the idea that his muscles might end up being sore on the plane, he stands up, deciding he'll walk around a bit. He pulls his carry-on behind him, walking past small crowds of people all speaking in a language he finally learned to understand over his past eighteen months in Germany.
Hayden's stomach grumbles and seeing as he's already walking around, he decides to look for somewhere to eat.
His eyes skim past the fast food names, which are all mixed up with gate numbers and arrows and washroom signs. Some diners are worldwide franchises, others are native to Germany. A slight frown crosses his face, as he is quite familiar with German fast food; he remembers the weeks he spent surviving off of it when he first arrived here, not knowing how to cook and having to force himself to learn if he didn't want to turn into a walking hamburger.
A fast food logo catches his eye, and he walks the towards it, lining up behind an Asian family that is bickering in broken English about whether to get medium or large fries.
Hayden smiles to himself, amused by their exchange, then scans the menu above the counter. He realizes with a start that this is one of his and Eileen's favourite fast food restaurants; back home, this had been one of their ideal date places, only because it was convenient and regardless of whether they met at his or Eileen's campus, there was always one close by.
Hayden feels his smile disappear, practically melting off his face like it was ice cream left that had been left in the sun for too long. His entire face droops at the thought of Eileen, remembering all the fights they had had in the past year and a half. With the different time zones, different schedules, busy weekends and even busier weekdays, they hadn't spoken as often as they should have - considering they were "in a relationship." They kept "managing", but it wasn't enough for either of them, not anymore.
Hayden swallows, suddenly feeling as though his hoodie is too hot, though it's the middle of winter in Germany and even the airport is drafty. He pulls out his phone again, recalling that he hadn't responded to her text. Before he can type in a reply, a chirpy voice interrupts, calling him up to order.
Hayden puts his phone down on the counter, looking up at the fast food employee. She smiles eagerly at him, her cheeks dimpled and her hazel eyes staring into his. She leans forward, asking for his order and her voice seems to go up a notch.
Hayden quickly lists out his usual order and the girl punches it in, her eyes continuing to flick up to him. He barely recognizes it for what it is - flirting. It's been awhile since he's entertained girls, since he's taken and all.
Hayden smiles in a friendly manner, then reaches out with his hand, which is holding a wad of cash. The girl reaches for him a little too eagerly, her hand lingering on his as she takes the cash.
Hayden pulls away, but not fast enough, not fast enough to make it look like he isn't interested. He feels a pang of guilt but ignores it; he's not doing anything wrong.
He grabs his phone then waits for his food to come, standing off to the side and ignoring the fact that Dimples Girl is taking it upon herself to prepare his order. He pulls out his phone again, fully intending to actually respond to Eileen's text.
Just then, Dimples Girl saunters over and plops his to-go paper bag in front of him. Hayden quickly picks it up but before he leaves, the girl reaches out and shoves a receipt into the bag. Hayden smiles, a little confused, then starts to make his way back to his departure gate.
When he sits back down, Hayden once again unlocks his phone, typing out a message to Eileen. Before he can press send, the receipt in his bag catches his eye; there are digits scrawled on it and Hayden's eyebrows furrow as he realizes Dimples Girl gave him her number.
He crumples the receipt, fully intending to throw it away. With the wad of paper in his hand, he clicks send with his thumb.
see you soon, love, his text says. never missed you, dw ;)
Hayden rereads his text, his brows still furrowed - not with confusion this time, but with concern. The same feeling of inadequacy courses through him and without really thinking about it, he lets the crumpled receipt unfurl and fall back into his bag.
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This is the last "short" chapter (it wasn't really that short). No, Hayden's not going to cheat or anything. This was just a subtle way to show that #hayleen isn't the same as it was before.
Anyway, up next is one last special that I hope you will all enjoy.
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