Flights

Three

"What are you doing here?" Cam said as he walked over, drying the sweat off his neck with a towel.
I shrugged "just.. Really wanted to see you guys play" 
I knew Cameron was suspicious as he lingered his arm on my back and guided me back to the hotel lobby. 

"So, what - you're just going to ignore him?" Cam asked as we approached his hotel room. He fiddled with his keys as we got the door.
"No, of course not; I'm just giving him time to.. Comedown...?" I wasn't sure of the term as I prefered living in ignorance when it came to drugs.
Cameron looked up at me and smirked. 
"What" I huffed.
He chuckled. "Nothing, alright; well it's 5:30.. You still have that dinner date" 
"That's not happening." I stated. 
"Give him a chance to figure himself out when you know you can take him seriously." Cameron explained, opening the door to his room. "After you" 
I walked into the room and headed straight for the bed where I buried my face in the pillows. 
Cameron swiftly followed. I lifted my head up and looked at him. 
"Thank you for putting up with me." I moped.
He wrapped his arms around me and I leaned into his chest. I rarely got any time with Cameron by myself anymore. 

After the Ed Sheeran concert, I was meant to have a sleepover at my friend's house but she had bailed on me after the 1am mark so I went home with Cameron. I was extremely reluctant, as any girl my age would be about going to a complete stranger's house, but I had spent four hours outside in the cold with them; Cameron was the first to speak to me after Shawn. He let me borrow his hoodie and I still haven't given it back. We got to his house at five in the morning so we immediately went to sleep. I remember, he slept on the floor to let me have his entire double bed to myself. That's when I knew he wouldn't hurt me, and that he didn't want anything from me. Since then our friendship grew and I was going to his house every weekend, he'd often have Jack and Jack over as well.

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I got back to mine and Jack's room to find it was empty. My shoulder's dropped and I walked over to the desk and sat down. I sat and watched life around the hotel from my window when a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I stood up and walked over. I looked through the peephole to find Jack with his arms behind his back. "Oh god, has he been arrested" was my first thought. I quickly unlocked the door and opened it. 

"Hey" He bit his lip as he moved his arms forward to reveal a huge bouquet of Irises. My favourite flower.
I tried to hide my smile as I leaned my head on the door. "Hey." 
He handed me the flowers and I let him in. 
"Hayley" He started as I put the flowers down on the desk. "I love you, and I know you know that." He grabbed my hand and pulled me down to sit next to him on our bed. "We've been together nearly a year; I love you too much to throw what we have away. I spent eight long months trying to convince you to give me chance" 
I laughed, I felt him ease up as he brushed a strand of hair out of my face, behind my ear.
"You know I would do anything for you. I can change if that is what you want, I promise, you mean enough for me to give up anything you ever asked me to." 
I squeezed his hand, leaned in and kissed him. I let one hand go and grasped his face. 
"If you promise, I believe you." I looked him in the eyes. "I have faith in you, Gilinsky" 
I wrapped my arms around him and he lifted me up. 
"Okay, time for that dinner you wanted." He said marching towards the door. 

The first time I went to Jack's house, he tried to cook for me. By then he knew all of my favourites and was planning to make chicken caesar wraps. Long story short: he wasted a lot of food and we ended up ordering pizza and watching a movie. Since then he chose not to try and cook for me, but instead - always took me to the most expensive restaurant he could find to make up for his absence on tour or his lack of culinary skills at home. 

"I think I'm gonna get the romaine salad." I said to Jack from across the small table.
He laughed. "No way, gorgeous - you need some meat on you, get anything you want. I'm paying." He squeezed my thigh under the table. 
"You can't say 'I'm paying' when you pay every time." I mocked. "Let me pay for once."
"What, so that you can be the best cook, best looking and the one that pays?" He looked at me. "How did I get so lucky?" 
I smirked. "Eight months of hard work." 
He chuckled as he sat back in his chair. His face softened. "I love you." 
I fiddled with my hair. "I love you too" 

Jack constantly reminded me how much he loved me, through words, through hidden lyrics in his songs, through remembering all the small things I tell him. He was the one itching to tell me he loved me first. I never believed in love and thought that making it a big deal was stupid, but he made a point of making the moment perfect - and it was. It was at the lake on our four month anniversary. It was early evening and the sun was rapidly setting. We got into the boat, as the wind started to pick up as night started to take over. We got to the middle of the lake and I was visibly cold. Jack apologised and got up to warm me up. At the same time, a gust of wind made him lose his balance. The boat rocked to each side until it toppled over and we both fell into the water. Jack made sure I was okay, he grabbed my hand and guided me to the boat to hang on. By then it was dark and we couldn't see anything but each other. I started yelling at him. I wanted a peaceful night after having such a hectic day. He didn't say anything, he just nodded in remorse. When I had finally let all my anger go, it was dead quiet. Not a single noise around us. I looked at him and he started laughing. I tried to resist but I couldn't. It was 8 o clock on a cold September evening and we were stuck in the middle of our lake. As we stopped laughing, Jack grabbed my face and kissed me. "I love you" He whispered, still holding onto me. I smiled and kissed him again. For once I didn't need to think through my feelings. "I love you too" I replied. 

We eventually had to swim back, pulling the boat along behind us and get back in the car to drive home as quickly as possible. Jack had a hoodie in the car that he let me wear, but we both got colds and spent the next two weeks in bed watching movies together. Where he woke up every morning and reminded me that he loved me. 

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