Fan Girl | tayley ✓

10

He fully knew that going to Nashville, in turn missing a few of the band's rehearsals, would surely result in at least a few problems when it came to their live performances. But that was the least of Taylor's concerns. He was much more worried about something else. Someone else, rather.

It was difficult to explain to his parents why he had randomly returned to Nashville. So he wasn't totally honest. Or honest at all, really. He could have told them, "hey, some girl that I hooked up with here might be pregnant with my child." But that didn't seem like a fun conversation to have with them.

He was totally honest with his bandmates, though. He told them exactly what had happened, because he knew that if he were to lie to them, they'd end up discovering what the truth was anyway and it would somehow come back to haunt him.

Instead of being honest with his parents, he just told them that he was looking for a place in Nashville to have whenever he wanted to get away from his bandmates and the stress that he experienced at home in California. He wasn't entirely lying, technically. He genuinely did want a place back home. They told him that he didn't have to do that and could instead just stay with them when he was around. But he just told them that he still enjoyed his privacy, which, again, was not a lie.

The first thing he did, after eating a dinner that was way too much for him, was call Hayley. He paced back and forth within his childhood room. It was never enjoyable for him to be forced to stay in that room. Seeing the actual walls of the room was rare, considering the blue walls were covered with posters. mewithoutYou posters, Nashville Predators posters, Tennessee Titans posters, Radiohead posters, along with posters of many other bands he enjoyed as a teen. He even had posters up from early days of the band, pictures from old photoshoots covering the walls. An autograph from MewithoutYou's Aaron Weiss, also known as Taylor's most prized possession, could be found in a picture frame on his nightstand. He took a mental note to bring that home with him.

But anyway, he paced back and forth through the room as he waited for Hayley to pick up. One ring, two rings, three. Just as he was ready to cancel, Hayley picked up.

"Hi," she spoke quickly. They had spoken some more about Taylor coming to Tennessee, but she was still in disbelief that he would actually do it. But once he texted her, letting her know that he was boarding a plane to his home state, she knew that he was serious about this.

"Hey. So, uh, I'm in Nashville. I'm at my parents' house right now. Do you want me to come over tonight?" He asked, continuing to pace to and fro. There wasn't even much space to walk. Besides the fact that the room was small to begin with, it was filled with several old guitars of his. His Baby Taylor guitar, which he happened to love when he was little because it had the same name as him. His first ever instrument, but he had grown out of the slightly smaller guitar. Plus, it had enough scratches and dents on it to make it too much of a nuisance to play anyway. It was out of tune, and he was too lazy to fix that anyway. So he stuck to his higher quality guitars.

So he really just walked two feet, turned around, walked back to the spot he'd been standing in originally, and repeat.

"It's kind of late, you can just save the trip for tomorrow," Hayley spoke with a shrug. Like he could see her, yes.

Taylor raised his arm, to check the watch upon his wrist. It wasn't late, the smaller hand on his watch not yet hitting 8. But he felt as though this was her saying she didn't want him there at the time. Even though it was really just Hayley not wanting to annoy him and make him feel like he had to come as soon as possible.

"Okay," the musician spoke. "I'll come tomorrow, then? Does that work for you? I'll let you know when I end up waking up. You just let me know when it's convenient for you, and I'll head on over. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye," Hayley repeated, before the call came to an end. All of what was going on was crazy to her and beyond anything she ever could have imagined. It was as if she was living inside a dream.

The following morning, Taylor texted Hayley the minute he woke up. He didn't have to wait long for a response, receiving one in a matter of seconds.

Taylor: I just woke up. Sorry that I slept in sort of late, not totally used to this time zone and stuff. Let me know what time works for you.

Hayley: It's okay, and you can come over whenever you can. As soon as possible, preferably. But take your time getting here, I don't have anything going on today :)

Taylor changed into clothing that made him look decent (though we all know that no matter what he wears, that boy is gonna look good). But he head to Hayley's place the first chance he could.

The guitarist knocked on the door of Hayley and Sydney's apartment. He could hear some words being spoken behind the door. "He's here" followed by "I know, I'm getting it" which caused Hayley to yell "Go into your room" like a bitter mother, and to top it all off, there was some more banter between the roommates. After a moment of standing there waiting, Taylor was greeted with a smiling Hayley.

"Good morning. Or afternoon, almost. Whatever, come in," she said to the dark-haired boy and stepped aside. She was a nervous wreck in his presence, but who can blame her?

"So, how are you?" He asked the girl, trying too hard to make small talk. He hated small talk, but he needed something to fill the silence.

"I'm good," she said with a nod. But on the inside, she was actually screaming at herself. Good? Not exactly. Far from, actually.

"Are you, though?" The guitarist asked, eyebrows raised. He saw right through her content façade. She gulped, before shaking her head.

"I'm nervous. But we can see...you know. I bought tests and stuff last night. I wanted to wait for you, since I knew you were coming. If it turns out positive, well, we'll figure out where to go from there. And if it's not, then you can just leave me out of your life for good."

It broke Hayley's heart to say those words, and it hurt Taylor to hear it. As much as part of him was celebrating the fact that he could possibly go on to living his basically stressless life, it hurt to know that she realized he wanted that.

"I'm gonna take the test, okay? Just...stay in here," she said after some more conversation, directing him to remain in the living room of her apartment. He nodded and took a seat on the couch as he waited for Hayley to do her business.

She left the room and went into the bathroom to do so. The first few moments in the bathroom were spent staring at herself in the mirror, talking to herself, and getting herself to take the test. Finally, she did it. She left the stick on the edge of the sink, and returned to Taylor.

He instantly stood up once he realized that she had come back from the bathroom. He walked a bit closer and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"So, what is it?" He asked nervously.

"We have to wait a few minutes. Can you set a timer on your phone for five minutes? It'll tell the results after that time."

Taylor nodded his head and did as told. And now here was the waiting.