Our Album (A Taron Egerton Fan Fiction)

Dive

     Taron froze at her soft spoken words. He'd almost convinced himself that she hadn't actually spoken them. He held her a little tighter, pulling her a little closer, afraid to let go for the fear that she'd turn around and walk out of his life. He focused on his breathing. In. Out. In. Out. His heartbeat slowed back to normal and for a moment, he felt like everything would be okay. He pulled back slightly, just enough to look at her face. Her eyes were still red, but she smiled at him shyly, her head cocked to the side. 'Okay,' Taron thought to himself, 'We'll get through this, we'll be stronger on the other side.' What he failed to know was that Hayden was telling herself the exact opposite.

     Hayden had made it through the rest of the trip, with what Taron would have described as dignified grace and he'd been pretty positive that things would blow over but he couldn't have predicted what was to come when they'd get back home.

     Almost immediately upon arriving in London, his phone blew up with notifications and messages from his mates and his mother, all telling him the same thing. Check your social media pages. He'd been hesitant to do so, not wanting to face the horrific truth that would confront him. He scrolled through his Twitter feed, cringing slightly at what must have been the source for the urgent messages. He stopped walking, his eyesight moving from his phone's screen to his girlfriend's head. She realized he wasn't next to her anymore and turned slowly, the look on her face flashing a minor panic.

     "Taron..." She didn't like what she was seeing. His body still, the phone glowing in his hands. She pulled out her own phone, unlocking the screen.

     "Hayden don't," Taron exclaimed, his feet coming unglued as he rushed towards her.

     It was too late, she'd gotten many of the same messages he had and her Twitter feed was open when he tried to snatch her phone from her.

     "Hayden, it really isn't that bad..." He was being truthful. Most of the comments were positive, his fans embracing her wholeheartedly, but there were always the few that like to go against the grain and they always seemed to make the biggest waves. In this case, they were confirming the things she had feared and he knew it.

     She looked at him again, this time he flinched, not liking what he saw. It wasn't anger, it wasn't even hurt or sadness... it was fear mixed with pulling away. He quickly reached for her hand and wasn't surprised when she pulled away. He watched as she stuffed her phone back into her jacket pocket and started for the exit. He followed behind her, his own fears beginning to creep back in.

     He knocked softly on her door. It had been days since they'd gotten back to London and days since she had discovered the nastiness, while standing in the middle of the airport. Their ride home had been quiet and she had insisted that she stay at her place that night. He hadn't wanted her to leave him, but felt that fighting with her about it that night wouldn't have been the smartest thing to do. He now wished he had. It had been days since she had answered his texts or returned his phone calls. All he had received from her since they'd been back, was a short series of text messages...

Taron: Hayden please talk to me.

Hayden: I told you that they wouldn't think I was good enough.

Taron: And I told you I didn't care what they thought.

Hayden: I'm not the girl for you Taron.

Taron: Isn't it for me to decide what kind of girl I need?

Hayden: You could have anyone...I'm not it.