Not From Around Here- A Hunter Hayes fanfic

Chapter 20- California Bound At Last

***Hey, guys! So, really quick, thank you SO much for 3k reads on this story! I'm glad ya'll seem to enjoy this book! Let's get into Melody's head now, shall we? ;)***

Melody's POV- 1 month later

      I never called Hunter back that day he left a voicemail on my phone, and I haven't heard from him since then. In a way, it was relieving to not hear from him, but in a way, it was also a bit lonely. Sure, maybe we weren't the best of friends, but at least he was willing to put up with me, unlike the other members of his band.

        Tomorrow is my last day in Nashville, and I couldn't be happier. No more country music, no more small town shops with the most hideous clothing known to man, no more Nashville. And for my sake, thank goodness, no more Hunter.

         I drive downtown until I come across the Starbucks building that I know all too well. Parking my car, I walk inside and see Jessie, the cashier and now somewhat close friend, standing behind the counter. She offers me a grin, adjusting the apron she was wearing. "Hey, Melody," she says happily. Ever since the night before Hunter left to go back on tour, when I ended up spilling coffee on him and Jessie and I made small talk, we've been becoming better friends. We exchanged numbers before Hunter and I left the coffee shop that night.

      "Hey, Jessie," I return, scanning the menu in front of me. "My shift ends.." she starts, looking at the time on her phone. ''right about now, actually! Give me a minute to fix us some coffee and we can chat, yeah?" she asks, taking her apron off. I nod, as she gets to work on the coffee. Moments later, she hands me my ususal: a Vanilla latte', with an extra shot of espresso, and whipped cream on top. "Thanks," I say, as we sit across from each other in a booth.

        "No problem. So, last time we talked, you said you were going back to California soon?" she asked, sipping on her drink. I sigh, completely forgetting to tell her that I was going back tomorrow. Jessie was pretty much the closest thing to a frined I had here in Nashville, and I'd forgotten to tell her I was leaving tomorrow! "About that," I start, staring down into my coffee. She looked at me, waiting for an answer.

        "My flight leaves tomorrow. I would've told you sooner, but I guess I just got distracted and forgot," I explain, looking at her. Her expression was blank, then shocked. "Tomorrow? Oh, well I guess we won't be able to hang out much, then?" she questions, taking another sip of her drink. "Unfortunately, no. I mean, I could always fly you out to Beverly Hills, but I don't think my other friends back home would be very welcoming to, well," I start, unsure of how to word what I was going to say.

        "Welcoming to who?" she asked curiously. I sighed. "Let me put it this way- my friends are very...'high maintenance' people, and well, you...aren't." I say awkwardly. She looked at me, before setting her drink down. "So, you're saying that I'm not good enough for your friends?" she asked, looking slightly hurt. "Well, I guess if you'd get something a little fancier to wear than your usual blue jeans and tee shirts..." I say, practically tasting the venom in my words.

What?

I was telling the truth!

        "Look, Melody," she huffed, getting up. I stood up as well. "if your friends aren't able to accept me for who I am, old blue jeans and all, I doubt you're able to, either. Have a nice flight back to California,'' she said, tossing her now empty coffee cup into the trash can. I watched as she gathered her things together from behind the counter, when another worker came in to take her spot. She walked out of the coffee shop, not acknowledging me. I stood there, stunned.

      Shaking my head, I walked out of the shop and out to my car. Climbing inside, I start the engine and head back to my house to finish packing for my flight.

The next day-6a.m.

      My alarm clock on my phone blared, signaling it was time for me to get up to head to the airport. Groaning, I stumble out of bed and into my bathroom, changing from my silk pajamas and into my hoodie and jogging pants. I'm going to be stuck on a plane all day, in first class, but I want to still be comfortable. Throwing my hair into a messy bun, I apply a bit of concealer and mascara, before walking back into my bedroom.

       Double checking everything around the house, I'm positive that I have everything packed and ready to go. I start dragging my suitcases out to my car, when my phone rings. Looking at the caller ID, I see that it's my mother calling. What is she doing up? She doesn't have to get up for another four or five hours to meet me at the airport.

      "Hello?" I ask, propping the phone in between my cheek and shoulder as I haul another suitcase into the backseat of my truck. "Hi, sweetie," she says tiredly. "What are you doing up so early?" I ask, slamming the car door shut. "Just wanted to make sure you'd gotten up and ready, is all. Do you still need us to meet you at the airport later?" she asks, waking up a little more. "Yeah, that'd be great. I've gotta go, don't want to be late. Go back to sleep for a while," I say, climbing up into the driver's seat of the truck.

Even after almost three months of driving this truck, I still hate it.

It's too big and chunky.

And loud.

       "Alright, well, I'll see you later. Have a safe flight. Love you, Mel," she says. "You too," I reply, before hanging up the phone. I back out of the driveway of the house, and start the one hour drive to the airport.

      Two hours later, I sit in my first class seat, waiting for the rest of the passengers to board the plane. After a few minutes, everyone is on the plane. We go through the usual plane routine, the flight attendants explaining what to do in case of an emergency, what to do if the plane crashes, blah blah blah. I've heard this all before.

      The plane takes off about ten minutes later, and before I know it, we're in the sky. I take my headphones out of my purse and plug them into my phone, turning on my Pandora app. The flight is going to be at least four hours, so I might as well sleep while I have the chance. Just as I got comfortable in my seat, (well, as comfortable as you can be while sitting on an airplane, that is.) I felt myself dozing off. Right before I completely fell asleep, I heard that now annoyingly familiar piano tune flow through my headphones, followed by the voice of the man I found myself unable to stop thinking about for the rest of the flight.

       Thinking about him doesn't necessarily mean I was thinking good or bad things about him, I was just...thinking about him, not in any specific way.

My phone buzzed in my hand, telling me I had a text. Looking down, I felt like throwing my phone off a cliff.

Hunter had texted me.

***Oooohhhhh I wonder what Hunter wants?? Stay tuned to find out!***

all my love,

-ML312 :)