"Hayden, I—" Lily stopped herself. So Hayden didn't stop writing to her. That meant something really did happen to the letters. "I never stopped writing to you. When I didn't get a reply from you, I figured you had gotten too busy for me or you just wanted nothing to do with me anymore."
"Lily, I could never get too busy for you." Hayden admitted. "So you didn't stop writing to me and I didn't stop writing to you..." Hayden pondered allowed.
Now the question was where did the letters go?
Ch. 14
Lily didn't know it, but Hayden kicked everyone out of the bus while she was in the shower so he could spend just a little bit more time with her when she got out. Hayden didn't understand what was happening to him. With each passing day, there were less thoughts of Juliet in his mind as more and more of his brain began to be occupied with Lily.
It was skinny love. Everyone else knew they liked each other. Even they knew they liked each other but they were both afraid to admit it. Especially Hayden. He didn't want to say it out loud because that meant it was really true. He didn't want to lose Juliet but he wanted Lily.
"Noooooooooooo!" He heard Lily shout from the bathroom.
"What?! Is everything okay?!" Hayden ran down the hallway towards the bathroom and banged on the door frantically. "Lily? I'm coming in, okay?"
"No, wait!" Lily shouted as Hayden began to open the door slightly.
She threw all her body weight against the door, making it shut again. "Let me get a towel first! Jesus..." She grumbled.
Hayden chuckled at Lily's reaction but stopped when he started to think about what he just saw. He was never going to tell anyone this, but he started to get a hard on when he saw Lily's bare skin glistening with water.
"Okay, come in." She said and the door began to open slowly.
Hayden almost fell on the floor laughing when he walked in and saw her dripping wet with a towel wrapped tightly around her body and her hair lathered with soapy bubbles.
"The god damn shower stopped working just as I was shampooing my hair!" Lily screamed at him. "This isn't funny, Hayden! I'm pissed!"
Hayden laughed some more as he looked at her again. "I-I'm sorry," He tried to say between fits of laughter. "It's just—oh god—it’s so funny."
"Hayden!" Lily squealed. "Fix the god damn shower, now!"
"Okay, okay." Hayden said, trying to catch his breath from laughing so much.
He jiggled the shower head and the hot water started again with a jolt. "There." He said. "All fixed. If it happens again, just jiggle the shower head, okay?"
"God dammit, Hayden." She grumbled as she pushed him out the door.
——
When Lily was done with her shower, she came out of the bathroom dressed in Hayden's Misfits t-shirt and some jeans.
"Hey, you're wearing my t-shirt!" Hayden grinned. He had secretly switched out her t-shirt for his.
"Yeah, because it was in the bathroom with the rest of my clothes. I guess I grabbed your t-shirt by accident instead of mine. Which, by the way, I'm keeping. It's so comfy." She said, sitting down next to him on the couch. "Um... Where is everyone?" She asked, looking around the bus. This was the second time she was being left alone with one of the guys in this band. First Wes and now Hayden.
Hayden just shrugged. "Dunno. Out somewhere, probably." He said.
Lily gave him an ‘I'm-not-buying-this’ look to which he replied with a smile of his own. Lily was beginning to get suspicious of Hayden. First the coffee date which, let's face it, was a date-date whether Hayden wanted to admit that or not. And now the other four guys in this band suddenly disappear so that Andy can be alone with her longer. Was Hayden hiding something from her or was he really just trying to be a good friend? She couldn't figure it out.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lily questioned when she saw the dreamy look in his perfect blue eyes.
"What do you mean?" He asked flirtatiously, causally putting his arm around her.
"Stop messing with me, Hayden. What's going on?" She wondered aloud.
Hayden just smiled and didn't even try and stop himself from leaning in and kissing her lightly. He couldn't keep himself back anymore. The temptation of her lips, the way she smelled so good, her eyes so full of lust, was too much for him. He couldn't hold back anymore.
He knew if Juliet ever found out, she would be pissed. But at that exact moment in time, nothing else mattered but Lily. She was the focus of all his attention.
"Hayden..." She mumbled against his lips. "Are you sure we should be doing this?"
Hayden didn't answer but instead kept kissing her as his response to her question. Lily took his passionate kisses as her cue to just go along with it all. He wasn't drunk; he was completely aware of what he was doing. Maybe this time around, things would be different. Maybe she and him could actually start a real relationship and continue on where they had left off.
Ch. 15
Point me to the sky above. I can't get there on my own. Point me to the graveyard. Dig up her bo-
"Hello?" Hayden answered his phone.
"Baby!" Juliet's voice squealed on the other side.
"Oh," Hayden's voice dropped its enthusiasm slightly. "Hi, babe. What's up?" Hayden tried to sound excited about talking with her but he really wanted Juliet to get off the phone now so he could continue to cuddle on the couch with Lily.
"Don't forget I'm coming to visit you in a few days!" Juliet squealed.
Hayden almost dropped his phone on the floor. He totally forgot about Juliet coming to visit him in a few days. He wasn't ready for her to go visit him. He wasn't ready for her to come especially after what he had just done. He cheated.
"Oh, yeah, right!" He tried to sound excited again. "Listen, babe, I gotta go. But I'll see you when you get here in a few days."
"Okay!" She beamed. "I can't wait to see you, baby!"
Hayden could feel a cold, guilty sweat creep up on the back of his neck. Half of him was excited that he was going to get to see Juliet again but the other half of him was wishing she wasn't coming. He just wanted to pretend like she didn't exist so he could be with Lily.
"Hey, who was that? You look like you just saw a ghost or something." Lily came up behind him.
"Uh..." Hayden thought for a minute. Should he tell her about Juliet coming? Probably. Was he going to? He still didn't know. "There's something I need to tell you."
"Okay," Lily responded. "What is it?" She began to think that maybe if it was secret revealing time, she should tell Hayden about her night with Wes. Let's just get it all out on the table so she doesn't have to have all this guilt eating her up all the time.
Hayden took a deep breath. "Okay..." He mumbled. "Juliet's coming."
Lily glared at him. "Excuse me? I thought..."
"I know what I made you think." Hayden shot back. "And I'm sorry I led you on like that. I'm sorry I cheated on her."
"You're such an asshole, Hayden. You really are." Lily stated. "But..."
Hayden looked up, hopeful. "But what?"
"I need to tell you something..." Lily looked down at the floor. She couldn't believe she was about to tell Hayden this but she needed to come clean with him. She couldn't keep doing this to herself or him. He already apologized for leading her on and being an asshole. And at least he warned her about Juliet coming. "Wes and I had sex." She said looking down at the floor again.
Hayden didn't respond. He knew all along there had been something that happened between those two but he never thought it would be that.
"I'm sorry." Lily continued. "But I promise you that I have no feelings for him. I was just drunk and lonely. We were both drunk, and..."
"No, it's okay." Hayden said. "It's not like you did anything wrong." But secretly he was hurt by it. What was happening to him? Lily having sex with Wes shouldn't bother him. But it did. "Lily, I can't do this." He was breaking.
"What do you mean?" Lily looked up at him with fear in her eyes. She knew this was going to happen. H
e no longer wanted anything to do with her anymore.
"I'm breaking up with Juliet." He decided. "You're the one that I want to be with. I can't keep doing this to myself or you. You're like a drug to me and I can't keep torturing myself with having you around and not being able to have you. So I'm breaking up with Juliet."
Lily was shocked to say the least. In all honesty, that was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want to come between Hayden and Juliet. But if this is was Hayden wanted, then she was okay with that. All of their secrets had finally been revealed. Except one secret. But it wasn't their secret. It was someone else's. Someone was still keeping the secret of the letters.
Ch. 16
Hayden stood, waiting for Juliet to get off the plane. Immediately he felt an overwhelming sense of fear. He knew something that she didn't. He could already tell that these were going to be some of the longest days of his life. He didn't want to ruin her stay, so he planned to do it right before she left. He knew it would break her heart, but at least he didn't have to deal with her sobbing over him during the few days she was going to be with him.
"Hayden!" She squealed and hurried over to him.
He smiled and accepted her hug. "Hi," He said. "How have you been?"
"Missing you." She admitted. "I'm so excited to see you again!"
"Yeah," His voice emotionless. "Same."
He walked her out to the cab waiting outside and they got in, allowing the cab driver to take them back to the venue. The ride was, in a word, awkward. Mostly it was just awkward for Hayden. Juliet was acting as if everything was normal, because to her, everything was normal. Or she thought, anyway.
"Is everything okay?" She asked, half way through the ride. "You're acting kind of different."
"I'm just tired..." Hayden lied. Well, it was half true. Tour life was pretty draining. But so was Juliet's constant peppy attitude.
Juliet accepted his answer and leaned back against the seat. The rest of the ride was painfully silent. Hayden just wanted the next few days to be over already. He couldn't remember a time where he felt so annoyed with her. What was Lily doing to him?
That's when the realization hit him. Lily. What was he going to do about the two girls on the same bus at the same time? They both hate each other.
It was too late for him to do anything because at that exact moment, Juliet was ascending the stairs to get into the bus.
"What is she doing here?!" He heard her shout.
"Oh no..." He mumbled under his breath. "Make something up, Lily. God, please, make something up."
Hayden climbed the stairs to see Lily standing in the hallway with a wide eyed look on her face. He could see her eyes praying for help. And the worst part? She was wearing Hayden's Misfits t-shirt.
"I-I..." She stuttered. "I'm visiting, too. Just like you. I'm dating Wes now. Didn't Hayden tell you?"
Juliet looked to Hayden with one eyebrow raised and a skeptical look playing among her eyes.
"Yeah," Hayden went along. "I guess it slipped my mind. I was thinking too much of you." He saved himself with that last line.
Juliet's lips turned up in a big smile and at that moment, Hayden swore that Juliet actually didn't hate Lily anymore. All it took was for Lily to become less of a threat and all of a sudden Juliet acts like they're best friends.
——
A day had gone by and it was still incredibly awkward for Hayden. Lily was picking up on his vibes because she felt awkward now whenever she was with Wes around Juliet. She was tired of constantly hearing Juliet comment about how they were such a cute couple and they really suited each other. She already felt bad about their one night stand. This was just making her feel even worse.
Hayden and Juliet had just left to go somewhere so they could spend some time together alone and Lily was exhausted from putting on this act for her. She threw open the curtain to her bunk and was about to dive into the mattress and bury her face in the cool pillows when she saw something resting on top of her pillow. It looked like a piece of lined notebook paper with her name elegantly scripted on it. She picked it up and opened it.
Lily,
Do you honestly think that Hayden is falling for you? He already did that once and look where things ended up. He's grown up and learned from his mistakes. Open your eyes. Wouldn't want to see you get hurt. He's got a band to focus on and he can't have you hanging around and distracting him. He's not going to take you back after what you did to him. And why should you take him back after what he did to you? Leaving you, stranded in that god awful place alone? Just think about that. Not everyone around here is who they seem to be.
There was no name to indicate who wrote this. She read the note over once, twice, three more times before the words stuck in her mind. At first she thought it was Juliet. It had to be. Why else would she so conveniently leave with Hayden right now and who else would want to try and split apart their obvious relationship? But the part about him leaving her in Ohio didn't click with her. Juliet didn't know about that. Juliet didn't even know who Lily was until they met at the restaurant. This was someone who seemed to know everything. But, who could that be?
Ch. 17
It's not like the letters just stopped after the first. They kept coming; all containing the same daunting message: Hayden will never love you.
Lily was beginning to get frustrated with these messages and she just knew they had to be Juliet sending them. Somehow Juliet must have had this master plan to get rid of Lily since the beginning. It was as if she was mocking her old tradition with Hayden by sending letters to her.
Today was the day that Juliet was leaving to go back to LA and hopefully these messages were going to stop. If it really was Juliet, they would stop coming and everything could go back to normal. Or at least she hoped so.
"Bye, guys!" Juliet swung her bag over her shoulder and waved to everyone. "And Lily?" She looked to Lily sitting on the couch beside Wes. "I'm so happy for you and Wes."
It was like that one last venomous jab to Lily's heart before she left. Juliet knew. She had to; and this was her way of getting the last word. This was her way to get that quick last satisfaction of making Lily feel horrible before she left.
Lily faked a smile as Juliet flipped her hair over her shoulder and sauntered off the bus with Hayden following behind.
Again, the ride to the airport was long, awkward and full of silence. Hayden could taste the anticipation of the words on his tongue. His whole body was shaking in fear of what Juliet was going to say and how she would react.
As they stood at the entrance to the tunnel that led to the plane, Hayden knew that this was the time to do it. If he didn't say those words now, he never would. He'd be eternally stuck in this relationship and never get to be with Lily like he wanted.
"Juliet, I need to tell you something." He said, and watched her smile turn down into a flat line.
"Okay..." She said hesitantly. "What is it?" She could feel what was coming next. She knew what Hayden was about to say. It wasn't like she didn't see it coming. Despite how much she hated Lily, she knew that this was probably going to be for the best. She could see he wasn't happy with her anymore. She saw the way he looked at Lily and even though she didn't show it, she knew that Lily had been lying about being with Wes to save Hayden.
"I think..." He trailed off. "I think it would be best if we stopped seeing each other." He said.
Juliet nodded and blinked back the tears that began to form in the corners of her eyes. "You're right." She agreed. The pain of the actual words was worse than what she thought it would be.
Hayden was surprised by her response. He thought she would have thrown a fit in the middle of the airport and cause a dramatic scene but nope. She didn't even cry. He could see her rapid blinking and he knew she was trying to hold back the tears. She was trying to be strong for him.
"Bye, Hayden." And she turned and walked away from him. As soon as he couldn't see her face anymore, she let the tears roll down her cheeks; black with masca
ra.
Hayden hung his head and turned to go back outside to the cab to take him back to the bus. That had probably been one of the hardest things he had ever had to do before. But then he thought of all the positives that would come out of this. He could finally be with Lily like he had wanted since he was sixteen years old.
When he returned to the bus, everyone was gone. There was a little note taped to the counter:
Hayden,
We all went out to roam around and hang out with some of the other bands for a while. We'll be back soon.
--Jeremy, Ricky, Lily, Tate, and Wes
Hayden shrugged, crumpling up the note and tossing it into the trash can. Figures they went out. Even though they didn't know he was going to break up with Juliet, they figured he was going to be moody because she was gone. Well, he was moody but not because she was gone for a few more months. She was gone forever.
He pulled back the curtain to his bed and before he could crawl in and curl up under his blankets, there was a note with his name on it resting on his pillow. He picked it up and unfolded it.