Proof | Hayley Williams A.U.

°•|-six-|•°

I talked the guys into going to Hayley's coffeeshop after the auditions. It took a while because they were so exhausted and bored but i didn't care because i really just wanted to see Hayley. Taylor groaned and layed his head on his arms across the table and said,"It's hopeless! Oregon isn't as talent crawling as it used to be. Here I am thinking that we'd find someone but it's been three weeks!" I shook my head and patted his shoulder. "We'll find someone. Don't worry. We still have a week left." Jeremy rolled his eyes and played with a sugar packet. "Wow. What an uplifting speech,Nikki." I sighed and frowned. "Just,..don't give up hope on me yet,alright?" They both nodded slowly and I took that as the answer I needed.

Why did you hold so much hope in you?

I don't know..I guess..Hayley helped me see things differently.

"Hey! Rosie! The usual?" I looked up and smiled brightly at Hayley. "Yeah! Um,guys,this is Hayley. Hayley,this is Taylor and Jeremy." Taylor blinked with a wide toothy grin and Jeremy waved,still captivated by the pink sugar packet. "Woah. You're gorgeous." Taylor mumbled. Hayley laughs and I tried to hide the urge I had to murder him.

Oh,so you're the jealous type?

I guess you could say that.

"Thanks,Taylor. You're not too bad yourself.." She winked and I felt my blood boil. "..unfortunately,you're not my type." She laughed and walked off. I blinked vigorously at what I had just heard and watched as Hayley went to the back. "Did you hear that,munch? 'I'm not her type?' She's gay and it looks to me like she's got the hots for you." Taylor smirked and leaned back,me raising a brow. "She is not and she does not. She's just saying that she doesn't like you that way. That's all. Not every girl is gay and has some illustrious thing for me if they don't have a thing for you. Right,Jerm?" Jeremy looked up at us and laughed. "She totally is." I scoffed and blushed. "Unbelievable. Fine. You want proof? You're on. I'll give you proof. If she is gay,i pay for lunch. If she isn't,you will. Got it?" They shrugged and nodded,indicating the deal had been set. I smiled and politely excused myself,heading in after her.

How were you planning to find out her sexuality?

Oh,uh. Well,..I didn't exactly know. I was just planning to..ya' know,wing it.

That's when i heard the most beautiful voice i had ever heard sing,"Go on and try to tear me down,and I will be rising from the ground. Like I'm made of glass. Like I'm made of paper. Like a skyscraper.." My jaw dropped and I rounded the corner,seeing Hayley collecting clean mugs from the steamer and continuing to sing,not noticing me listening in. Her hair whipped this way and that as she sang into a fork. I chuckled and stepped out a bit more. My guess was she was wearing headphones and didn't have that whole eyes-behind-your-head thing like most people did. But I was fine with it. As long as she kept singing. "Like a skyscraper..." She was so breathtaking and every day I found out a new talent or amazing fact about her. It was almost like she had no flaws. But,of course, there's always a hamartia. No one is perfect. But Hayley was every bit as close to it. True,she had a small gap in between her teeth-which i found absolutely adorable. That was probably the only flaw on her but to me,it was more of a beauty mark. It was always there but it made whatever it was that much more gorgeous.

When the therapy session ends and Nikki goes home,she locks herself inside,drinking until all of her pride and self confidence is back up. That never happens though. So,she drinks more. Bottle after bottle and eventually she can't even tell her own hand if it was right in front of her face. She stumbled around the house in search of some of Hayley's clothes that she left behind. When she found one of Hayley's shirts,she slipped it on along with some pajama pants and attempted to walk to the bathroom. When she reached the sink,she threw up in the toilet and mumbled an incoherent speech about how she loved what Hayley's done with the place. Sure,she knew that drinking her sorrows away wouldn't ease the pain. It would only subside it for a moment. But these moments were the only times that she wasn't sitting down and thinking. She hated thinking. It was like one thought could build to something more. But most of all,she hated remembering. She never wanted to go to these stupid therapy sessions in the first place. But she was tired of living this way. She thought it would make her feel better but,in reality,it only made it worse. Nikki found herself crawling into the bathtub with a bottle of liquor cuddled in between her legs. She slowly started to sober up and was immediately reminded of the thought that Hayley hated her drinking problem. Nikki hated it to but was always drawn to it. Addictions weren't as easy as it looked to shake away. She let out an aggravated scream and threw the bottle across the bathroom tile,shattering it into a million pieces. She thought she could sober up. She thought if she stayed away from her liquid strength long enough, Hayley would be back and everything would be okay again. That everything would go back to normal. But not even sobriety could do such a task as that. It was silly of Nikki to think so childishly. So instead,she finds herself deep in thought over the past year and that only leads to her crying in the bathtub..all alone. No Hayley. No Taylor. No Jeremy. No Aero. No one. And Nikki knew it was all her fault.