I Know in My Heart It's Not You

She was at the show.

After reuniting with him a year since they’ve last met up with each other. After jumping into his arms while she rejoiced how great it was to be seeing him again. After spending most of the morning by his side and comforting him when he told her something personal. After taking him onto the bus to cheer him up with a new song of hers. After she practically hypnotized him with her voice and guitar. After meeting his lips and wrapping her arms around his neck, making him unable to think straight. After bringing the kiss to an end and telling him to leave without explaining why. After using a song to give him the message that she hated herself for feeling the way she felt. After telling him that she couldn’t do it.

After all that, Hayley still showed up and Oli had tried his hardest not to look in her direction again. He’d rather fall off the stage and have nobody catch him than see her standing on the side of the stage watching him perform.

He wondered why she had bothered to make the effort to come when they both knew they couldn’t look at each other the same way anymore. And yet, she always kept her promises and a year ago she had promised him she’d always be watching his set. No matter how distressed she was, she stayed true to her word and all Oli could think was how he probably wouldn’t have been able to do the same thing. That thought made him feel even worse. This was way too much for him to handle in one day.

Before he was aware of her presence, he thought he was okay. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself. He convinced himself to agree with Hayley’s reasons, even going so far to make some sort of mantra in his mind.

Things are better this way, he repeated silently. For the sake of the band. Things are better this way.

Keeping that in mind, he was going to make this show the best show that the fans would never forget. With the microphone in his hands, he put all his energy into his performance. His growls and screams ranged farther than ever and the crowd was enjoying it. This got him excited as well and once the first song was finished, he felt like he was weightless.

Then he turned his head and saw her. And just like that, he was once again pulled into a downward spiral.

She wasn’t as bubbly and giddy like she always was during his shows. There was no dancing or headbanging. Hayley just stood there, her whole body like a statue. Her arms were crossed and her expression was blank, those green eyes of her completely unreadable. Even with her like this, he was the most distracted he’d ever been. He avoided making eye contact with her and fought the urge to turn his head toward her.

“I will not let her get to me,” Oli said to himself through clenched teeth.

He took a deep breath and was once again moving around the stage and back to giving all his attention to the audience. He had to let her know—let himself know—that he was okay and nothing could stop him from giving the crowd what they came for. Even though it hurt like no other for him to know that she didn’t want to be with him, that mostly motivated him to put on the best fucking show ever. He had to stop thinking about her and just move on. He had to let her go. This was his way of giving her the message and letting her know.

Things are better this way.

After finishing the last song, the crowd went wild. If everyone had to agree on something, they’d all agree that the show was definitely worth it and Oli raised his hands in the air as they all chanted the band’s name. Without thinking, he turned his head to the left again where she was, only to find that nobody was standing there anymore. He couldn’t help but frown. For some reason, he had wanted her to be there with her arms still crossed, only a smile would be on her face. A smile that said she wasn’t going to go anywhere anytime soon. Looking at the empty space where she once stood as the crowd began to disperse, he lowered his arms and dropped the mic.

He couldn’t let her go. He couldn’t ever let her go.


Taylor had been running around, going from booth to booth, and made his way through the sea of bodies that surrounded the amphitheater. He was getting tired of going all over the place, but he didn’t want to stop. A few of his fellow musicians had wanted to talk to him, but talking was not on his agenda at the moment. The only conversation he would have with anyone was nothing more than a simple question regarding Hayley’s whereabouts, to which everyone’s response was always “no”. All he could worry about was where his friend could be and so far, he had not spotted the fiery head of hair anywhere.

During Bring Me the Horizon’s set, Hayley had ran off and Taylor had went after her. Apparently she proved to be faster than him because the moment he stepped off the stage to get her, she was already gone. Something was obviously bothering her; that much he knew. At this point, he couldn’t just stand around and give her space any longer. Ever since he had walked in on Hayley and Oli, he was certain that new problems had come and he suspected that it had to do with whatever happened on the bus before he got there. From the look in their eyes to how quiet they had spoken, not to mention Oli wanting to get out of there quickly while Hayley acted as if she was going to be sick.

If they weren’t so subtle then, they definitely confirmed his suspicions when she practically sang that one song to Oli during their acoustic set with Josh. When Oli came to sit down with all of them, both of them were gazing at each other and the desperation and emotion in her voice grew. Taylor looked at the others to see if anyone else had noticed anything, but he turned out to be the only one that saw it.

He stopped running to catch his breath, then cursed to himself. What other place around there could Hayley have gone to?

And then once he started using his brain, he smacked his forehead for not thinking of the one place he should’ve checked first: her bunk.

Taylor felt so stupid, though that was the least of his worries as he ran back to the bus. When he got inside, he called out for her. “Hayley?”

No answer.

He started walking toward the back. “C’mon, at least say something.”

Still no answer.

Reaching the bunk area, he sighed when he noticed that her bunk was the only one that had the curtain closed. “Hayles, I know you’re in here.”

Not waiting to see if she would answer or not, he went closer to her bunk and pushed the curtain aside. Sure enough, she was laying in it. She was curled up into a fetal position and her eyes were shut tight. Taylor hated to see her like this, remembering the last time she was in this position. When she had broken up with Josh, this was exactly how she looked when he went to comfort her at her house. This was yet another sign that told him something was wrong. Eventually, she opened her eyes and looked up at Taylor, sadness clearly all over her face.

“Hey, Taylor,” she gave him a half-smile, though it mixed with her pained expression. “I guess you found me.”

“Hayles,” he said. “I gave you some space and I’ve been very patient, but I can’t just do nothing anymore. Not when you’re like this. Now can you please tell me what’s wrong?”

Her smile was replaced with a frown. “I can’t right now.”

Taylor wasn’t having any of it. “That’s it, I’m getting in there.”

“Wait, you are not-”

“I’m getting in. Scoot over.”

He bent down and reached into her bunk to straighten her legs. When there was a little bit of an open space, he got into the bunk and Hayley had no choice but to shift her body into a more comfortable position so the both of them could lay in it. With Taylor laying beside her and the two of them facing each other, she knew there was no way out of this.

“Why are you doing this to me?” she sighed.

“Because as your friend who will always be there for you, I have a right to know what’s bothering you,” he said. “You can tell me anything, Hayley. No matter what you tell me, I’m not going to judge you or hate you or anything.”

“You promise you won’t?”

“Have I ever really judged you or hated you?”

That was when Hayley pouted in defeat. Taylor wasn’t that kind of person and she knew that. At her worst, he was always so understanding and to see how concerned he was made her feel bad for not telling him earlier. “No…you haven’t.”

“Then tell me what’s up,” he put his head on her shoulder again and though she rolled her eyes at this, she liked it and it made her feel a little better.

“I kissed Oli,” she finally said. “It was right before you came on the bus. I sang to him and played your guitar and everything. But then I no longer was thinking about the song and I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was moving closer to me and I also started leaning in and before I knew it, we kissed. And it was an amazing kiss. The moment his lips were against mine, it was like everything else around us just didn’t exist. It was just me and him. Like, all I could think about was how much I like him and how I could really see myself being with him...”

Taylor just listened and nodded, surprisingly not reacting to this news the way she had expected him to. Needless to say, he knew her all too well and had seen this coming for a while. Whenever she was with Oli, he saw her eyes shine and how Oli couldn’t stop smiling at her. Then here she was, describing to Taylor how the kiss with him felt and Taylor had never heard her talk like that in such a tone of voice since she was with Josh. When she said she liked Oli, Taylor knew she meant it.

“Hold on a minute,” he turned his head to face her with furrowed brows. “If you liked the kiss and you want to be with him, then why do you look so upset? Did he do something after that? Did he hurt you? He hurt you, didn’t he? Because if he touched you, then he is dead-”

Hayley clamped a hand over his mouth. “No! He didn’t do anything. The only person that you have to worry about hurting anyone is me.”

Taylor moved her hand away and looked even more confused. “What? I don’t get what you’re trying to say.”

“I can’t be with him,” her voice nearly broke when she said that. “That’s what I’m trying to say. As much as I want to, it would only end up bad for the both of us. Look what happened with the media and Josh. I know you were just a touring member back then, but you were still around to see how the band almost broke up. You saw how hurt Josh was and how it took us a while to get back to normal. This was only between our band. If the public knew about me and Oli, then his band would be affected, too. That would be an even bigger mess and I don’t want to pull him into all of that. I don’t want to pull anyone into that.”

She was blaming herself. That’s all Taylor could think about from all that she had told him. Of course he remembered that awful period of Paramore’s darker days. Those nights where none of them could be in the same room together, Josh unable to look at Hayley and inadvertently making her cry, and everyone having a hard time being happy. It had been almost two years since that and she still blamed herself for all of it when it wasn’t all on her. In her mind, she still believed that her failed relationship with Josh was the cause of all the band’s problems and that unnecessary guilt on her shoulders carried on to her and Oli.

“You have got to stop thinking it’s all your fault,” Taylor retorted. “You’re also assuming the worst before anything has even happened. I don’t like seeing you so miserable, Hayles. There’s a lot of issues you need to work out.”

Hayley groaned. “I already tried to work out these issues and they’re still here. I don’t know what to do, Taylor. Face it, I just can’t be with anyone without screwing it all up. Now leave me alone.”

He didn’t want to argue with her, so instead of going against what she wanted, he slowly got out of her bunk. “Fine. I’ll leave, but I still don’t think it’s all your fault.”

With that, he closed the curtain again and headed out. If she wanted him to leave her alone, he was going to leave her alone. That didn’t mean he was done. He was far from being done because he had to make her realize that she didn’t deserve to be unhappy. Taylor may have not been able to convince her, but he knew there was one person that could.


Ever since that morning, Hayley had not been paying that much attention to the time. She knew she had to because Paramore’s set was probably in an hour or so and there was no way she was going to miss that. Even if she didn’t seem like she was in the mood to be on stage, she was going to put on a good show because she cared about all those people who came there for a reason. They came for music and she and her band were going to give it to them.

She finally checked her phone for the time a while after Taylor had left and it turned out that she actually had less than an hour until the set. Apparently time flies when one was upset and she actually wanted it to fly by even faster so the band could just play their show and then go. Go far away where she didn’t have to see, be around, or think about him.

They probably wouldn’t see each other ever again after that. It wasn’t like that was so difficult anyway, considering he lived all the way in Sheffield while she was in Franklin. That was just another reason why things wouldn’t work out. It was fine for them to be thousands of miles apart when they were friends, but that would be a disaster in a relationship.

But they could make it work. To stay happy, they wouldn’t need to physically be with each other because they would do everything they could to make it seem like they were in the same place together. They would keep on talking on the phone, she would fly to the United Kingdom and spend a weekend with him. He would tour in the states and pass by her town to surprise her. Distance would be nothing to them.

…And she was once again thinking of having a future with him. She had to stop it. That wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t even know what she wanted anymore.

Hayley screamed into her pillow, hating herself for having those feelings. It would’ve been better if they never met. That night he approached her on the street, she could’ve just walked away and that would’ve been the end of it. If only she had known beforehand what she was really going to get herself into when she met the guy covered in tattoos. That one guy who went from being some stranger to a person who meant so much to her.

Her muffled screams ended when she heard footsteps. Someone was on the bus and she guessed that it was Taylor trying to talk to her again, so she pushed the curtain out of her way so she could get rid of him.

She looked out of her bunk. “I thought I told you to leave.”

However, it wasn’t Taylor standing outside her bunk. Instead it was someone else and they put their acoustic guitar down before sitting in the bunk across from hers.

Josh.

“Hey,” he smiled. “Is it okay if I sit here?”

She sat up. “It’s your bunk, you don’t need to ask.”

“Yeah, but from what Taylor told me,” Josh rested his chin on his hand. “You want everybody to leave you alone.”

“You talked to him?” Hayley’s eyes went wide. “What else did he tell you?”

“He told me about you and Oli.”

She bit her lip. She had a feeling Josh would find out sooner or later, but shit, did he really have to find out so soon? She made a mental note to punch Taylor in the face later for opening his mouth. What did Josh have to say about all this?

“I really really wish he didn’t,” Hayley muttered. “Okay, I kissed him, alright? I kissed Oli because I have feelings for him. I regret ever doing it because I don’t want to be with him and I want these feelings to just go away. We just don’t work.”

“You believe you guys won’t work,” Josh said. “Because of what happened with you and me. You think the same thing will happen all over again with him.”

Hearing that made Hayley sit herself down on the floor and lean against her bunk, once again covering her face with her hands. “So you understand.”

Josh shook his head and joined her on the floor, sitting beside her. “No. The real problem here is that you don’t understand. We had a serious relationship that came to an end and you still haven’t been able to move on from it. The reason why you haven’t gotten past it is because after that ended, a series of fallouts happened and you think you’re the cause of all these events. All because you were the one to end the relationship. To this day, that regret is still eating you up and it’s getting in the way of you ever finding peace. Then you finally find a guy that could make you happy and what do you do? You decide to throw that all away because you still don’t get that this isn’t all your fault.”

“I…I..”

He didn’t let her talk just yet. “I need you to understand this, Hayley. It wasn’t your fault that our band almost broke up. I repeat: It. Was. Not. Your. Fault. You know what I really believe? That it was nobody’s fault. We were all just kids who ended up being controlled by the press and because we were all young, we took everything the wrong way. We took it out on each other and it brought out the worst in us. I was a jerk after we broke up and I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you were the reason the band wasn’t going to last. I’m sorry if I made it seem like you weren’t capable of having a good relationship.”

“Josh…” she was at a loss for words.

“Let me say one more thing,” his voice softened. “It was for the best that we broke up. I realize that now and since then, I’ve managed to grow from it. That’s why I’m now in a relationship with Jenna because I know that I’m more mature and can actually have a healthy relationship without it affecting the sake of our band. Now it’s your turn. You could grow from it, too. You could be in a great relationship with Oli without risking our band and his band’s future because I know you could now. Nobody’s stopping you but yourself. I care about you, Hayley, and you deserve to be happy.”

He placed his hand over hers and smiled, which made her respond with a smile of her own. This time, it was genuine because she understood everything now. Josh had helped her climb out of the dark hole of pointless guilt that she trapped herself in.

She could care less about what the public would do. If they were going to keep doing their annoying tactics to make her seem like she wanted to steal the spotlight, then so be it. All that mattered was if she focused on her happiness and didn’t let them get to her or Oli. She would be with him and it would work out because she was stronger this time.

“You’re right. In fact, you’re more than right,” she smiled wider. “I want to be with Oli, no matter what. I shouldn’t be afraid anymore because things are different now. I’ve grown up, and you’ve helped me see that.”

“Anything to see my best friend smile again,” Josh nodded.

Hayley leaned over to hug him and then gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you, best friend.”

“You’re welcome, best friend.”

It was a friendly little kiss on the cheek and nothing more, proving that they both had finally moved on. They were truly best friends and they were glad things were that way. Josh got up from the floor and offered a hand to Hayley so she could stand up as well. Heading out the bus, Hayley already began looking around. She had to find Oli and let him know that after all this time, he was the one person worth taking a chance for.

Jeremy, Zac, and Taylor ran up to them. Jeremy was the first to speak. “There you guys are. We gotta head on stage soon and I heard that there’s already a huge crowd waiting.”

“Wow,” Hayley breathed. “I almost forgot we were here to actually perform.”

“I know,” Zac grinned. “It’s great. C’mon, we’re not gonna give the best surprise show ever if we just stand here. Let’s go!”

They all started rushing to where the main stage was, but Hayley didn’t go as quickly as they did. She was too busy looking around, wishing she could have some more time to find Oli. It was a little too late for that, so she had to wait to tell him until after the show.

But then again…maybe she didn’t have to wait.

There was another way.


Around the same time, Oli had been sitting outside where he had last talked to Hayley. He leaned against the bus and looked up at the sky, watching the small clouds slowly glide over the city. Ever since Bring Me the Horizon finished their show, he had separated from everyone else to be alone and it was probably the best idea he had all day. Nobody had bothered to look for him yet and he didn’t hear any voices to interrupt his thoughts.

Though that didn’t mean he was okay. He was calm at the moment, but not okay and all his thoughts were still of the girl with the bright colored hair that he had managed to fall for. And he fucking fell hard.

He had replayed all the events that happened that day in his head. Over and over again in his mind, he’d just see himself kissing her and then it’d go to her rejecting him and singing that horrible song to tell Oli she didn’t want him. Then her explaining to him the harsh reality of how their relationship would turn out and last of all, that cold, hard stare she gave him while he was on stage. Why the fuck did it have to hurt so much?

All he wanted was her, but that was near impossible and she already expressed how she felt about it. Her mind was made up and he was left to drown in the feelings that would never fade away. He was pathetic.

He wasn’t alone for long because he heard someone walking up to him and that someone turned out to be Lee. Out of all the people that could’ve approached him, he was slightly relieved that it was Lee since he was the only one that Oli had told about Hayley. That way he wouldn’t have to lie about why he was being so antisocial.

Oli looked up at him. “If you came here to comfort me, it’s not really going to do anything. But thanks anyway.”

“I’m just here to tell you that Paramore’s going to be playing soon,” Lee apprised. “Thought you’d at least want to know.”

At this information, he was surprised how long he had been there since he had forgotten what the time was. He couldn’t believe how time passed so quickly already and then he started wavering slightly at the thought of seeing her. He was completely unsure if he was emotionally ready to watch them.

“I d-don’t know,” he stuttered. “Maybe I should, uh, just, uh, stay here. It’s nice.”

“That’s a very poor excuse, but whatever,” Lee shrugged. “I thought that if you really cared about Hayley, you’d still watch the show to support her. You know, because she did that for you. But if you want to stay, then I’m leaving you here.”

At Lee’s words, Oli scrambled to his feet and frowned at his friend. “I changed my mind. I’m going.”

She wasn’t the only one that made promises and he wasn’t going to let himself chicken out. Just because they weren’t in the best of situations, that didn’t mean he could break his promise to her. He wasn’t that kind of person. He kept his promises.

That promise had caused him to end up in the audience that had gathered around the main stage. When the others had told him just how packed it was for Paramore, he already expected to be crammed in between tons of fans waiting to watch the “surprise special guest”. Because of how Cleveland’s amphitheater was structured, there was no side of the stage for them to stand at. The only other choice was behind Paramore, but he didn’t want to just see their backs. He wanted to see their faces. He wanted to see her face. Even if that meant he had to practically suffocate in the middle of all those sweaty bodies.

One person at the front started chanting “Paramore!” and their friends backed them up by chanting along with them. Then more people started to join in until the whole entire crowd was cheering for the band to come out, the loud chants echoing throughout the amphitheater. Oli was among the few people who weren’t yelling and instead just looked ahead at the stage, counting down the minutes the band had until showtime. The chants got louder and were beginning to speed up, everyone raising their hands in the air each time Paramore’s name came out their mouths. These chants then turned into screams and finally, they had come out on the stage. Hayley came out last and the screams got even louder when she raised her hand that held the microphone wrapped in her signature colored tape.

They opened up with “Misery Business” and the crowd went wild. Oli had to admit, it was a good start to get everyone’s adrenaline pumping. People started jumping and Hayley herself was jumping all over the stage and looked like she was having the time of her life. It was hard to believe she had looked so serious and quiet earlier and Oli was amazed by her movements and voice. She actually looked like she really was enjoying everything and he felt like she had been replaced with a different person. The smile on her face even looked real.

That’s because it was real. Bad day or not, Hayley loved her fans and would never do anything to disappoint them. Oli knew that. What he didn’t know was that she had other things in mind besides keeping the crowd satisfied. He was unaware that she had already spotted him in the crowd. He didn’t want to be too close to the front, but he wasn’t stuck in the very back either. Oli made sure he was a good distance away from the stage so he wouldn’t be seen, but nevertheless, she still saw him.

There was no doubt he would ever get tired of watching her on stage. The wind caused her hair to flow behind her, sweeping her bangs out of her face to expose her shining green eyes. When she danced, her hips would sway to the rhythm of the drums and it made everyone want to dance along with her. And that voice. That vibrant and energetic voice that always engulfed him. This continued with each song that Paramore played and the whole time, Oli was gazing at her. He ignored the numerous people bumping into him while he stood there dazed by every action that came from her.

Like all great shows, their set had to come to an end. Paramore was going to play one more song, but before the song could begin, Hayley walked up to the mic stand to put her microphone back in it, ready to speak up. The crowd grew quiet so they could hear what they had to say.

She smiled at everyone before taking a deep breath. “This last song is for someone very important to me.”

Oli froze.

“And he’s in the audience right now.”

Various people began muttering to each other and looked around for this “mysterious person” Hayley was talking about while Oli had lost his ability to breathe properly. On the inside, he was freaking out and with so many people surrounding him, he was trapped. He couldn’t believe she had actually said that. In front of everyone. He was the only one out of those hundreds of people that knew she was referring to him. That also meant she had known he had been watching her perform the whole time and he didn’t know what more she could do to him that made his heart beat a mile a minute. He seriously had no idea what her intentions were. Whatever the last song was going to be, she was going to be singing it directly to him. Was he even going to last?

Josh started playing and when everyone recognized the familiar guitar intro, they were back to screaming excitedly and cheering. Oli had also recognized it, only his reaction was far more different. His eyes widened and he clutched his stomach, that horrible pang coming back to him.

She was going to be singing “I Caught Myself”.

The same song she sang to him after their kiss. The song that was like a slap in his face. She used that song to tell him that she should’ve never kissed him or thought of him because that was not what she wanted. It was like another way of her telling him goodbye. Hearing it the first time was hard enough, but him having to listen to it a second time—this time in front of a lot of strangers—was overkill. He was already suffering enough from her earlier rejection, what more did she want from him?

You got it, you got it, some kind of magic.
Hypnotic, hypnotic, you’re leaving me breathless.
I hate this, I hate this, you’re not the one I believe in
With God as my witness.

And all these people were singing along. They had no idea what the story behind this was and he honestly didn’t want to be there at all anymore. So he began making his way toward the back so he could get out of there as the song went on. People were being difficult and with each step, it got harder for him to get through. While he struggled to make an exit, the song came to the bridge. The bridge had become his least favorite part because of the words and the memory of the look she gave him as she sang them. This made him try even harder to get out of there.

But he stopped when Hayley brought the mic up to her lips and sang lyrics. Different lyrics.

I know what I want.
And I know that it’s you

He turned around to face her, knowing that those weren’t the ones she had originally written. Oli had heard that song enough to remember what the real ones were. When he looked at her again, she was looking right back.

Keep pushing and pulling me down, and I know in my heart that it’s you.

Hayley had raised her hand and pointed to him, causing everyone else to turn and look at Oli. This was when he really didn’t know what to do because when it was revealed that he was the one she had been talking about, everyone around him had decided to move away from him. Then it all made sense why she was doing this. She wasn’t doing this to hurt him. She was doing this because she wanted him and he wanted her more than anything.

Now when I caught myself, I didn’t stop myself
I’m saying something that
I should’ve always thought of you.

Oli took a step forward and more people had backed away, clearing a path for him. Eventually, there was an open space leading to her and all he had to do was make his way up to the stage. Hayley was right there, a grin across her face as she sang and the audience had started clapping and were cheering him on. His lips slowly formed into a smile as he looked at the girl waiting for him. She wasn’t going anywhere.

Now I know what I want.

He started walking faster and it got to the point where he was almost running to her. As he got closer, he didn’t even care if there were a bunch of people around him. His eyes were only on her and he felt his heart beating rapidly when he finally reached the stage. Without hesitation, he climbed up and before he knew it, they were face to face. She looked up at him in wonder as she finished the song.

I want…

Oli moved closer and she felt her cheeks heat up.

I want…

He had leaned forward even more and she was close to meeting him halfway. The audience was watching in disbelief, astounded at the scene that was happening before their eyes.

I should’ve always thought-

They closed the gap in between them and their lips finally met again. Hayley let the microphone slide through her fingers and wrapped her arms around him. Oli’s hand cupped her cheek and his other hand held her waist, not wanting to pull away. She pulled him closer and all she could think about was how she was truly crazy about him and that she was stupid for almost letting him go. She wasn’t ever going to make that mistake again.

And there was Oli, who couldn’t stop smiling and all he wanted at the moment was to keep kissing her. The kiss was different. This time, it just felt so right and he loved the feeling of her in his arms again. It was then that they knew that it was indeed possible that they could have a wonderful future. Just him and her, together and happy. Nobody, especially the media, was going to get in the way of that.

Reluctantly, they parted to regain their breath. Their foreheads were touching and he was still holding her while they heard everyone going wild. The audience was absolutely thrilled to be witnessing this and Hayley and Oli just smiled at all of them, having forgotten that people were watching. She then gave quick glances to her bandmates, who were glad to see that she was happy and behind the stage was Oli’s band, who were all giving a thumb’s up.

“Did you find the only exception?” Oli asked her, obviously teasing.

Hayley laughed. “Yes, I did.”

She gave him a quick kiss, enjoying the sensation his lips provided each time. The best part was that there was no fear in her anymore and in place of that fear was peace.

“It’s you.”