Labels || H.S. [#Wattys2020]

FIFTY-EIGHT

Per usual, Reagan was extremely early. She found herself waiting inside her car, waiting for Hailey's plane to land. Her fingers anxiously tapped against the steering wheel, then the dashboard. She couldn't keep still. The dark and damp parking garage was not helping her current mood either, in fact it made her feel claustrophobic. So much so that she had to get out of the car and lean against it to try to catch her breath. She was convinced this was the beginning of a panic attack. She hadn't had one in years, but she was sure that one was looming in her future.

The minutes passed by almost too quickly, and even though all Reagan wanted to do was stop time, she couldn't. All she kept thinking was how she had fucked up, and now she was here, acting as a delivery girl. She was literally bringing Harry his new "girlfriend", how twisted was that?

Reagan looked at her phone and winced, it was time. She had to walk to the terminal, she had to face this girl. She was just a girl after all, she wasn't even famous yet. She was a fucking person, just a person. Reagan knew she shouldn't be getting so worked up. Hailey knew this was business, Harry knew this was business, nothing bad could happen. After all, it was most likely Hailey who proposed this, it wasn't like it was Harry. She knew that as stupid as he may act sometimes, that he did feel something for her. That maybe one day he could love her, and if that were to happen, well they could surpass something like this easily.

As her heels clacked upon the linoleum leading up to the baggage claim, Reagan attempted to give herself another pep talk, one much like the one she had given herself the day she had met Harry. She kept telling herself that she could do this. That Hailey was just a girl after all, just like her. Hailey was there to do her job, like Reagan, and she could respect that. She didn't even know her after all, maybe she would like her.

Her thoughts continued running rampant as she stood in front of the baggage claim. She wondered if Hailey was even that good looking. Not that it matters, Harry could care less. He liked her after all, her of all people. But still if Hailey was on the plainer side, it would just make things easier. Reagan knew she was a terrible person for thinking such things, but her heart and her ego would not be able to take it if Hailey was as perfect as Lydia described her to be.

She was startled as the conveyor belt turned on and it started to plop out suitcase after suitcase. She saw people collecting their items, and couldn't help but wonder if Hailey was in fact one of them. Lydia had said to look for a tall brunette, but Reagan saw no one as of yet fitting this description.

That is until she saw her, a leggy goddess with flowing chestnut hair walking towards her. How how she wished she was exaggerating, but there was no better way to describe the perfect looking girl that was headed straight in her direction.

"Reagan?" She asked in a thick Aussie accent. "I recognize you from those tabloid pictures." She smiled showing perfect teeth and extending her hand in a friendly gesture, "I'm Hailey Routh."

But the moment Reagan smiled back and took Hailey's cold, clammy hand, she felt something amiss. She blamed it on the fact that perhaps she was teeny bit shaken up by this girl, "Nice to meet you." She said clearing her throat, "Your flight was alright?"

Hailey smirked, "Yeah, sure. Nothing more that I enjoy than fourteen hour flights." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder as she looked at the conveyor belt before them. Reagan immediately felt stupid for even asking the question, of course her flight wasn't going to be alright. Yet as Reagan dwelled, Hailey impatiently watched suitcase after suitcase come out

"Did you see a Louis Vuitton set?" She asked Reagan.

Reagan shook her head.

"I swear to god if they lost my luggage." She muttered under her breath.

"They do that a lot?"

Hailey shrugged, "It's happened to me once. But I don't usually travel."

"Have to get used to it if you want to be famous." Reagan said with a slight smile.

"Do I also have to get used to the forced relationships?"

Reagan smirked, "Harry wrote the book on those, you can ask him."

Hailey giggled, making Reagan peek at her. She couldn't be more than twenty. In fact, she couldn't have been in the business for long.

"Is he nice?" Hailey asked.

"Yeah." Reagan nodded, "Good guy."

"I figured."

"How?"

Hailey smiled, "Who else wouldn't mind getting photographed with their assistant, and being romantically linked to them. No offense, but you don't look like his type at all."

"Oh?" Reagan said, trying not to let it sound as if Hailey's comment stung her, "He has a type then?"

Hailey smiled, and Reagan couldn't help but think how incredibly evil she looked in that very moment, "Well, they didn't fly me in for no reason. No offense Reagan, I'm sure you don't mind I say this, but you don't look like Harry's type. I mean let's be honest, if Harry needed the PR they wouldn't have flown me all the way from Australia if he had someone here so close to him."

Hailey said it as if it were just so matter of fact, that Reagan didn't know whether she was being insulted or not. Of course she was, but Hailey's tone of voice, her body language, and her non-chalantness made it seem as if she were making innocent conversation.

"Oh, look!" Hailey said excitedly, "There's my luggage!"

"Great." Reagan said, arms crossed in front of her chest as she watched Hailey run towards her bags, "Just great."