We Try And Run Away, But End Up Running Back

Take Off Your Colours

Beep beep beep.

I groaned as the shrill ringing of my alarm clock rang throughout the room. My arm flopped around, searching for the snooze button. I sighed peacefully as silence once again fell over the room. The mattress springs creaked as I began to sit up.

"Mmm, come back to bed babe," Connor mumbled into his pillow. His arm tightened around my waist, preventing me from moving any further. I laughed and managed to wriggle my way out of his grip. I blushed as I saw the state of our room. Our clothes and underwear from the previous night were strewn all over the place. We had gotten a little carried away in the heat of the moment.

"I would if I could but some of us have to work today," I said sarcastically. He leant his head on his arm, admiring the view as I pulled one of his t-shirts on.

"Why is Adam making you work today? It's Saturday. We were supposed to spend it together." He pouted and I chuckled.

"I know I'm sorry. Apparently we have some massive band coming in to do a singing. He won't tell me who they are, only that I love them." I shrugged my shoulders.

"What if it's All Time Low? Or Sleeping With Sirens? You could meet Kellin Quinn. Or Bring Me The Horizon. Oh my fucking god, you could be in the same room as Oli fucking Sykes!" he shouted, releasing his inner fangirl.

I rolled my eyes at him. "You know there are truly times when I wonder if you're actually gay and are going to run away with an Oli Sykes lookalike."

"You know I love you really," he said, making me smile widely.

"I think this ring on my finger proves that."

"Only five more weeks," he whispered. He crawled forward to the edge of the bed and placed his hands on my waist, trailing kisses down my neck. His dark black hair tickled my face. "And then I can call you mine forever."

I smiled and nodded my head but there was a tiny part, deep in the corner of my mind that knew that wasn't true. I could never be completely his since I left a part of heart in Surrey a long time ago, and I never got it back. Not really.

"Not long left now," I whispered and fiddled with the diamond ring on my left hand. "I'm going for a shower."

I kissed him and walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower and stepping underneath the hot water. In just five weeks I would become Hayley Evans. The thought definitely made me happy, although that same small, annoying part of me wished I was becoming Hayley Franceschi. I shook my head, trying to get rid of all thoughts about Josh. It was never a good idea for me to start thinking about him.

It was incredible to think that even after five years, he still managed to have this effect on me. I tried my best to avoid reading things about him and the rest of the band but it was pretty difficult, since they were so big now. Working in a record store didn't exactly help either. My manager, and best friend, Adam was a fan of theirs and had all three albums on repeat, along with other bands like All Time Low, Young Guns, We Are The In Crowd, We The Kings and Paramore.

Whenever I heard one of their songs, I would freeze up. It didn't matter what I was doing, even if I was serving a customer, I would stand completely still, close my eyes and just listen to the sound of his voice. I often wondered how many, if any, of the songs he had written were about me.

I didn't talk about them though. If someone asked me if I liked the band, I would simply shrug my shoulders. Since I had moved back to Scotland, I hadn't told anyone about my time in Surrey. The only reminder I had was the locket which remained around my neck. It was the only thing that proved it was all real, and that I hadn't just imagined everything.

I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body. I dried myself as quickly as possible and got changed into a pair of ripped skinny jeans and my young guns tee. The smell of food wafted it's way upstairs, making my stomach growl. I left my hair to dry naturally and wandered downstairs and into the kitchen.

Connor was standing with his back to me, hunched over the cooker trying his best not to burn the eggs."Smells good," I said as I walked through the door. He winked and placed a plate of bacon, eggs and toast in front of me. Blowing on my food slightly to cool it down, I popped a bite into my mouth and moaned at the taste. It was so good.

"Why can you not make me breakfast every day?" I asked through a mouthful of toast.

"Because I'm already on my way to the office by the time you get up," he replied with a smile. Connor was doing an internship at a local law firm. If everything went well during his placement, he could end up getting a full time job with the company. I was so proud of him.

My eyes widened as I saw the time on the clock. "Fuck! Adam will kill me if I'm late again!" I shouted as I sprinted upstairs. I hopped around on one foot, trying to pull on my converse whilst brushing my teeth simultaneously. It wasn't going too well. I chucked on a thin layer of eyeliner and mascara and left my make up at that. It would have to do. Hopefully I wouldn't scare the band too much.

I dashed out of the bathroom and sprinted down the stairs. Connor was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, holding out my leather jacket, keys, bag and phone. I smiled gratefully and kissed him.

"I'll see you tonight. Love you!" I shouted as I ran out the door.

"I can't wait to hear all about this band. Love you too!" he called after me.

I rummaged around in my bag for a second, before pulling out my headphones and plugging them into my phone, hitting play on the first song. It just so happened to be one of my favourites, Do It Now, Remember It Later by Sleeping With Sirens.

"Seen this place before back when I was young and I had something more to prove. Now that I'm older I've seen all the things that I want and I'm ready to make my move." I sang along quietly to the song as I made my way through the streets of Glasgow.

I reached the record store fairly quickly and had two minutes to spare before I was officially classed as late. "Morning Adam," I shouted cheerily as I entered the shop.

"Morning Hayls," he replied sleepily, clutching his cup of coffee desperately.

"Need me to do anything to help set up for the signing?" I asked.

"Nope, we're all ready. The signing starts in about thirty minutes, the kids have been queuing outside in the cold for hours, poor things. We're just waiting on the band to arrive. They should he here by now actually," he muttered, anxiously checking his watch.

"So are you going to tell me who they are yet?"

He tapped his nose mysteriously. "Nope, I'm not saying. All I'm telling you is that you're a big fan of them."

"How do you know I'm a fan? Have you seen me wear any of their merch?"

"No but whenever one of their songs come on or you see a picture of them, you zone out and it's like you're in your own wee world."

Oh no.

There was only one band I could think of who brought that kind of reaction out of me.

"I- um, I have to go. I'm sorry Adam, I just-" I was cut off by the door opening and five men entering the shop. They were joking and laughing with each other. It appeared they hadn't changed in the years we spent apart.

"Sorry we're late, we got lost and- Hayley?! Is it really you? Oh my fucking god!" Matt shouted. He moved, as if he was about to come closer to hug me. I quickly glanced around the room. Adam looked utterly bewildered. Matt, Max, Dan and Chris looked shocked but happy to see me.

Josh looked like someone had just punched him in the balls.

I had spent so long imaging our reunion, picturing every single detail and now that it was actually here, I couldn't handle it. I turned and did the only thing that felt appropriate.

I ran.