Chopped Orange Locks

Hayley was looking at herself in the mirror of the bathroom, her fingertips touching the ends of her newly cropped hair. It was early in the morning and she had just woken up due to the sun already shining so brightly. Most summer mornings were like this and she enjoyed waking up to such beautiful weather because it always put her into a good mood. While looking at her reflection, she noticed that various strands were sticking out, so she grabbed her brush to get rid of all those annoying tangles. She still wondered how she could have so many of those when she had so little hair left on her head.

Once her hair was decent, she ran her hands through it. She still couldn't get over the fact that she had cut off so much. After all, it had only been a few days since she did it and despite her always going through different hairstyles, she never did it like this. Sure, she was notorious for dying her hair all sorts of colors, but everyone was surprised to see that she chopped off a good chunk of her locks. She had surprised herself, to say the least. Though she had cut it before, there wasn't much of a difference since it was only a few inches shorter than her normal length. Her hair grew fast anyway and it reached her shoulders again in no time.

This time, she went even shorter. Her hair had been cut in line with her cheekbones and she didn't want her baby bangs again, so they fell just a little above her eyebrows. When she revealed this look at the Teen Choice Awards last week, sure enough a whole lot of people were talking about it the very next day. Pictures of her new look were all over the web and fans on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook expressed how they felt about it.

She loved this new hairstyle. Out of all the things she had done to her hair, this had to be her favorite so far. As cliché as it sounds, it really felt like a big weight was off her shoulders. When she cut off her locks, she was also cutting off all the troubles and issues of the past that tried to take over her. She couldn't hold on to those anymore. Hayley was no longer the angry little girl that she used to be and the past wasn't something to dwell on and cry about. Instead of living in the past, she was looking forward to the future. Her hair was her way of showing that. In her own words, she described it as a liberating and very welcome change.

After being in the bathroom for a few more minutes, she walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. Hayley then turned her head to face Oli, who was still sleeping, and smiled. He was laying on his back and she watched his chest rise and fall, his breathing deep and relaxed. She lay down next to him and let her finger trace along the skull tattoo on his chest. He looked so peaceful and innocent as he slept. Whenever she saw him in this state, it was almost hard to believe he was the same metalcore singer who screamed his lungs out and jumped around on stage. But he was and he was hers. She couldn't be any happier about those facts.

As she moved closer to him, Oli's eyes slowly opened and he grinned at her once he gained consciousness. Despite not being much of a morning person like Hayley was, he never complained when he woke up early because he'd always be greeted by her smile. That smile was more than enough to wake him up and give him a good start to his day.

Her hand still rested on his chest and he put his hand over it. "Good morning."

Seeing that he was awake, she beamed and sat up to look down at him. Their fingers intertwined and she leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Great," he yawned and sat up as well. "As always."

"I'm glad," Hayley said and looked away from him for a moment. She ran her hands through her hair again and pushed her bangs aside so they would be out of her face. Thinking about her hair again, she realized that she never really heard what Oli had to say about it. He only acknowledged that she did something with her hair, but didn't say he liked it or not. She heard all kinds of opinions from her family, Jeremy, Taylor, and the fans. For Oli, he flashed her that same smile of his and then kissed her. No opinion.

Oli noticed that she was deep in thought, so he gave her hand a light squeeze to get her attention. She blinked a few times and faced him again, seeing that he looked concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I've just got something on my mind."

"Well, what's on your mind then?"

He wrapped his arms around Hayley and pulled her onto his lap. His back was against the headboard and as she leaned against him, he rested his chin on her shoulder. Some mornings he would do this and she loved the feeling of him holding her close because it gave her a sense of protection. Of course, he didn't even need to be holding her to give her that feeling and it also wasn't just protection. She just loved his touch, the way he gave her pecks on the shoulder, the warmth that he provided. Whenever they did this, they would talk for hours and it looked like it might be one of those days.

"I've just been thinking," she began. "You know how I cut my hair, right?"

"Right..."

"How do you feel about it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "This is what you've been thinking about?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Just be honest, do you like my hair?"

At first, Oli wondered why she would all of a sudden bring up the subject of her hair. But then it made more sense to him the more he thought about it. It had only been a week since she did it and whenever she changed her hair, that was the main gossip for Paramore fans. They were always the first ones to go on and on about how they loved it or hated it. While he understood that they were allowed to have their own opinions, some people got nasty sometimes and said horrible things about Hayley that were just unnecessary. Especially since all she did was get a haircut.

She never let these get to her and Oli was bothered by these comments more than she was. But was it possible that someone finally said something that actually affected her? Something that made her second guess herself about a hairstyle that she thought she adored? Something that suddenly made her insecure enough to ask him if he liked it to assure her that she didn't make a stupid decision? He hoped this wasn't the case unless that person wanted a large pole right up their ass.

"Did someone say something to you?" he said. "Because if they hurt your feelings, I swear I'm gonna-"

Hayley put a finger to his lips and laughed. "No, nobody hurt my feelings. It's just that I never got to hear what you think of my hair."

Oli cocked his head to the side. "That's it?"

"That's it," she confirmed. "And don't worry, whatever you tell me won't hurt my feelings nor will it make me want to change my hair. I'm just curious about what you have to say about it."

From her tone of voice and the look in her eyes, Oli knew she was telling the truth. He relaxed at this, even chuckling because that was something he'd expect to hear from Hayley. He knew she was happy about her hair and she definitely wasn't going to change it because of other people's stupid comments. Even his.

He smirked at her. "So you wanna know what I think?"

She nodded again. "Fire away."

He knew exactly what he thought about her hair. The moment he met back with her and saw that she had chopped off those electric orange locks of hers, he immediately knew how he felt. However, he didn't say anything to her when she showed him her new look. He could have told her right there and then, but stayed quiet. Instead of words, he gave her a smile and a kiss. But he did have an opinion. Oli didn't like Hayley's hair.

He loved it.

It wasn't just because he thought she looked pretty because he always thought she was beautiful. No, it was so much more than that. Oli loved the way that she did it, how without hesitation, she went and cut off her hair. Hayley was never one to shy away from doing something different and he admired how confident she felt about almost everything. She was a strong person and throughout the years that they've been together, it was her strength that had also helped him out of the dark. Along with his fans, she saved his life and he no longer felt like some worthless drug addict.

That problem had almost broke him. He was astonished how someone like her would stay with him when he felt so fucked up. It was almost like she was so put together and always had to clean up the messes that he made. Oli had admitted to feeling insecure around her and once contemplated ending his life just so everyone else wouldn't be dragged down by his mistakes. Hayley had remained composed and simply embraced him during his moment of self-hatred. He calmed down at the feeling of her holding him and she quietly told Oli that he was truly a good person and how so many people looked up to him. She reminded him that he was strong enough himself to want to move forward from his drug abuse. Hayley cared for him, no matter what and was willing to do anything to help. He apologized afterwards for having such horrible thoughts and was thankful that she had convinced him that life was worth living.

In spite of that, she wasn't always strong. He had helped her through some bad times, too. The biggest one being the departure of Josh and Zac Farro. When they had left, it didn't seem harsh at first and Hayley gave the both of them nothing but positive words and even wished them the best. It wasn't until Josh had decided to respond negatively and she wasn't afraid to admit to Oli that it hurt her.

For the next few days that followed that event, she was quiet. He had tried his best to comfort her with kisses and held her hands, but she simply let go of him and told him that she wanted to be left alone. He knew she was shocked. She started to question herself, blame herself, and even yelled at herself because she believed that she wasn't who she thought she was. She felt so lost. Even with Jeremy and Taylor still there, she was worried that she might drive them away, too.

Oli had given her some space those first few days. During that period, he was angry with Josh for what he said about Hayley. She grew up with the brothers and they were supposed to be her best friends, but his exit statement said otherwise. The ex-bandmate had called her out on things that were untrue and she felt like she couldn't even respond because that seemed immature and it wouldn't have been the right thing to do. Some days she would wake up thinking that keeping the band together was pointless and that she probably had to get another job and do something else with her life. As much as Oli wanted to retaliate against Josh and defend her, he reluctantly had to swallow his pride as well and decided that it was more important to talk to Hayley and keep her from giving up. She had once done the same to him and it was now his turn.

With the help of Jeremy and Taylor, Oli was finally able to talk to her. They had all spent the next three weeks in Taylor's kitchen about what they were going to do from now on. Oli listened to the band rant and talk, and even joined in and told them how he could relate to losing a band member, thinking back at when Curtis had left Bring Me the Horizon. Those nights, Hayley was able to open up to him again and he told her that he believed she could keep going. She finally allowed the comfort that he gave her and he was glad to give it to her. She deserved to be happy.

Eventually, Paramore decided to just go for it. They believed that they could do it and Oli told them that he was supportive of anything they did. With his words of encouragement and a lot of faith, Hayley was feeling confident again and she was once again the Hayley he knew and loved.

And here they were. Paramore had released a new album and the band had greatly matured. They weren't angry or sad anymore and Hayley was looking up. After all that happened, Hayley then cut her hair and Oli thought it showed that she was stronger than ever. Like she said, it was a liberating change and he loved this change. Just three years ago, she was thinking of quitting. She was on the brink of letting go of her dreams and all that she had worked for, but she still held on to faith and the guys and they did the same to her. They were looking forward to the future. The Farro brothers were the past. This haircut symbolized that she realized she had everyone she needed and she was finally happy.

That was why he loved her hair. Nothing made him happier than seeing her smile and he was proud of her for becoming a better person.

"I love everything about your hair," he finally said. "The way I can see your face more and the way it bounces whenever you perform. I like how you didn't care what people would think of it and how the only thing that mattered was if you were satisfied. Not only that, but I like to think of it as you showing that you overcame all the shit that almost destroyed you in the past. You're not worried anymore and I think you're amazing for that."

She just tilted her head, speechless after hearing Oli's words. All she expected to hear was something along the lines of "I like your hair" or "Your hair looked better long". She didn't expect him to say all of that and she was so close to shedding tears of joy. Words struggled to come out of her mouth and she couldn't even utter a single sentence. She only managed to say one thing.

"Wow."

Oli pressed his forehead to hers, grinning at her reaction. "You said you wanted to know what I think. I was being honest like you told me to."

Hayley giggled and felt her cheeks heat up. "I'm so lucky to have you."

Their faces were still close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled widely as she looked into his hazel eyes. Who would have thought that he'd give her that answer when she had asked such a simple question? He never ceased to make her days better.

"I love you, Hayley."

"I love you, too, Oli."

He brushed her hair behind her ear and just like that, his lips met hers and she grinned against his lips. Her heart was beating fast and his arms moved down to encircle her waist. He didn't ever want to let her go because he loved everything about this moment.

Oli loved her strength. He loved her chopped orange locks. He loved her.