two || ✓

two || beauty half-betrayed

"a beauty half-betrayed; butterflies with punctured wings..."

-

"Oh my God, don't even get me started." Everyone at the table laughs, and a few people nearby look over — some curious, some rather annoyed.

"Shh, Zac — oh my god, you're so loud," Hayley laughs, and Zac just shakes his head.

"Okay, no, this is completely his fault," he says, pointing to a very amused Joey Howard across the table from them. "It's his fault for bringing it up."

Taylor watches with a smile as Joey fake gasps and throws a hand to his chest. "I was just asking."

Zac laughs and throws a little piece of his bread at him. Taylor holds back a snort when it lands in his hair and stays there, but Joey Mullen and Logan don't bother containing themselves.

"Holy shit," Mullen says with a laugh, until even Justin joins in. Taylor shakes his head, but the amused smile on his face is more telling.

"Polaroids are not hipster, they're not trendy — they're pretty, okay? They're pretty." Zac's face flushes red enough to match the tomato sauce scattered across his plate, and the rest of the guys laugh as Joey whispers, "Mhm, alrighty then."

And as he watches Zac aggressively eat his spaghetti and Joey fish out the piece of bread from his hair and Hayley laugh too hard to eat her own food, Taylor can't help but smile.

Every single person around the table warms the content man's heart, even though it had been only a couple years ago when he couldn't have even imagined being lucky enough to have more than two friends. Now, he loves them all with all that is in him, and his smiling face shows it. He then meets Hayley's eyes, and her laughter pauses momentarily as she looks at him, taking in all of his affectionate features. She smiles peacefully, her eyes lighting up with that same love and joy Taylor couldn't help but give into. He feels his heart soar as she stares back.

He turns to face Zac. "Z, I love your Polaroids, okay, I love them." Zac raises his eyebrows at his smirking friend.

"But c'mon. Aren't they a little hipster? Just- just a little bit, and is that even really a bad thing—"

"Oh my God," Zac groans, and everyone else at the table bursts into laughter. "This is bullying, I tell you. This is harassment."

"Okay, what is wrong with hipster anyway?" Logan asks, and Hayley agrees, adding, "Yeah, Z, don't you wanna be all trendy and cool? Don't you want that clout?" Taylor contains his laughter, but his wry smile isn't so subtle.

"No, it's not— there's nothing wrong with it," Zac tries to be serious and get their attention, but they just laugh at his flushed face. "This is just not it. It's not, guys."

As Taylor watches his friends all ramble and poke fun at Zac who just groans and throws himself back on his chair, he forgets about his beyond messy hotel room and the concert the next day and the once-appealing prospect of getting any sleep. He just enjoys the moment.

Once the table has calmed down and is discussing something much more normal, Taylor notices Zac watching Hayley, and his mind drifts back to the meet and greet. He offers to go pay for the meal, but Hayley stands up and calls after him.

"Oh, no, T, I got it," Hayley quickly says. "You paid last time."

Taylor quickly shakes his head and instinctively runs his hand through his hair as he looks down. "No, it's fine. I swear." He avoids Hayley's passionate stare in an effort to remain composed and keep his face from flushing that deep red again. "Besides, didn't Zac want to talk to you about something?"

The now quiet man looks up at Taylor with a curious look in his eyes, and then he seems to collect himself. "Oh, yeah. Hayles, is that fine? We can talk while walking back to the hotel."

Hayley nods happily. "Right, yeah, of course, Z." She turns to Taylor. "And thank you so much for paying — you're such a gentleman. I love you, T."

She turns to look at the unmistakably flushed man, and Taylor feels himself redden even more at the sight of the affection and happiness so present in her warm green eyes. She gives him a soft hug before leaving, and Taylor blushes and immediately turns after pulling away. Around the table, the guys all smile as they look at him.

"What?" he asks, and only Joey answers — with a laugh.

"Oh, nothing, T. . ." Taylor quickly heads off to pay for the meal, his face a dark red from his embarrassment. As he walks, he swears he hears the guys say something about him and Hayley, but he doesn't look back. He picks up his pace, pushing the ignorantly hopeful thoughts of him and his best friend out of his mind.

-

i love paramore. i love all of them, i do, with all my heart. i just cannot help writing these thoughts as they float into my mind, and exploring them more and more as they linger, fester in their darkness. it's addictive, in a way. and it is why i always feel the need to specify that everything i write is fictional and in no way meant to harm anyone, especially not those whom i love the most. it is also why i often feel the need to apologize; and so, here i go again. i am so sorry.