Ink.

Mornings weren't really Oli's forte and he admitted numerous times that he wasn't the kind of person that liked to get up early on days when he didn't have to. Whenever he got up early, his hair would be messy, he'd be half-asleep, and the only reason he was awake was either because someone woke him up or because he had something important to do. But even with these little issues, he didn't dislike mornings one bit.

He actually liked mornings despite the fact that he wasn't a morning person. This was all thanks to a certain person being there for him the moment he opened his eyes. Before his eyes opened, he'd feel their soft and plump lips press against his cheek and as he blinked a few times to better his vision, he'd see a flash of orange; their hair. Once he saw clearly again, he'd find himself looking directly into a pair of radiant green eyes and hear the prettiest voice whisper "good morning" to him. They'd nuzzle against his chest, their arm holding him close as he felt their gentle breath linger on his skin. All of this made Oli let out a sigh of content and he'd just smile before kissing them lightly on the head.

Hayley made his mornings and that's all he ever needed to feel better. Even though they were usually away from each other and he'd wake up alone sometimes, he still thought of how she was his wake up call. The image of her would enter his mind and he'd find it easier to go through the day. All because of her.

This morning was different, however. Oli had actually woken up before she did and he was sitting near the window of the hotel room looking out at the New York skyline. He watched as the glowing rays of the sun began to peek over the horizon, brightening the sky and warming the air. Apparently, being with Hayley had made him appreciate beautiful views more often and he chuckled to himself upon realizing this.

Oli looked over to the bed where she was still sleeping. She was laying on her side and facing toward him, her body slightly curled up. One leg was out of the blanket and only half of the sheets covered her body. All she was wearing was one of his Drop Dead shirts and since it was so big for her, it was like a dress. He smirked due to the fact that she always seemed to steal some of his clothes and the only times he noticed was when she wore his stuff weeks after she had taken them from him.

Her face appeared younger and her entire body was completely relaxed and at peace. As she lay there breathing softly, his eyes traveled down to her left hand that was slightly dangling off the bed, mainly the diamond ring on her finger that was shining because of the light provided by the sun. The memories of the events that transpired the previous night reminded him that it was all real and he couldn't help but grin widely at the ring.

Laying on the bed was the girl he was going to marry.

He sat there smiling to himself for a few more minutes and went back to gazing out the window until he heard her stir in her sleep. Facing her again, he saw that her eyes had opened and she began to shift her body to a more comfortable position. After she let out a yawn, Hayley gave him a tired smile as she propped an elbow on the pillow and rested her head on her hand.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Oli smirked. “Nice to see you finally awake.”

“You’re up early,” Hayley murmured. “That’s a first. By this time, you’re usually still in bed and drooling all over the sheets.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, this time it’s the other way around.”

“I don’t drool.”

“That’s true. All you do is talk in your sleep.”

She sat up, looking surprised. “Do I really?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Every night you keep talking about how handsome and sexy I am. I mean, come on, tell me something I don’t know.”

Oli tried his best to look her in the eyes with a straight face, but he eventually failed and ended up laughing. At his words, she shook her head and got off of the bed to walk over to him. She sat herself down on his lap and held his face in her hands while he used one arm to lift her legs so that they draped over the arm of the chair. Once her legs were up, he rested his hand on her thigh while his other hand was on her lower back.

“You had me for a second there,” she said. “You’re lucky I love you.”

He looked up at her and his voice softened. “I really am.”

Hayley leaned in and kissed him on the lips, which Oli had been waiting for all morning. After pulling away, she moved her hands down so that they were resting on his shoulders.

“And you are handsome, I’ll admit that,” she told him and began running her fingers through his hair. “What with your wonderful bedhead, your fresh morning breath, the sexy drool marks running down your face-”

“Okay, I’m flattered,” he took her hand away from his head. “What about you? You’re pretty beautiful yourself with your staticky hair. But I have to say that I really like the ring on your finger. That’s new.”

“Oh, this?” she looked down at it. “This was just something my amazing boyfriend gave me last night.”

“Hmm, looks like he’s not just your boyfriend,” Oli grinned.

She giggled. “My mistake. My fiancé gave it to me. I’m probably never going to take it off.”

He laughed with her and she rested her head on his shoulder. They were silent for a moment until she reached down to hold his hand that was on her leg and their fingers interlocked.

“We’re really engaged,” he said. “You have no idea how great it is for me to say that.”

“You and me both,” she agreed. “I’ll say it over and over again if I have to.”

It was still so new to them. After being together for four whole years, they were taking a big step and they had never been so sure of it. This was what they wanted for a while and now that it had become a reality, they were happier than ever.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Looking down at their hands, she let go and made her finger slowly trace along all of the artwork imprinted on his bare chest. Her hand continued to move up so she could hold the nape of his neck and after she did so, she began giving light kisses on his shoulder.

“You know what else makes you handsome?” she began. “All of your tattoos. They’re so amazing. From the ones on your legs to the three dots on your face. I’ll never get tired of them.”

“It’s a good thing they’re permanent,” he joked, once again placing his hand on her leg. He then looked where his hand was, which was on one of her own tattoos; a solid black cross. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of yours either.”

“Mine?” Hayley said. “But they don’t compare to yours.”

“You shouldn’t have to compare them,” Oli retorted. “I’ve got different tattoos and you’ve got different ones. In my opinion, yours are beautiful.”

She scoffed. “Beautiful? I have a tattoo of a razor with a banner that says ‘shave me’ on my ankle. I got it as a reminder to shave when I’m on tour, but yeah, that hasn’t really helped me so far. You think that’s beautiful?”

“Are you serious?” he chuckled. “Hayley, I have a fucking penis tattooed on my leg.”

“Alright, you win that one,” she smiled. “But hey, you pull it off and not many people can.”

Oli laughed, enjoying her humor as always. He focused his attention on her left hand again, but his eyes were actually looking at her forearm. “Whatever you say. And yes, I still think your tattoos are beautiful. I’ll tell you my favorites.”

“Ooh, now I’m interested,” she said. “Enlighten me.”

“Okay, I will,” he took her arm by the wrist and looked at her forearm, where words in capital letters were embedded in her skin. The words were uneven and it was such a simple tattoo, yet they meant something to him as much as they meant something to her.

Accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative

Those were lyrics from an old song. Johnny Mercer, he remembered her telling him when she first got it. She lived by those lines long before she had even gotten that tattoo and he went on to tell her the story of the night he first heard these words.

When Oli used to feel like he wasn’t good enough for anyone or almost gave up on life, she had said those lyrics to him. It was a terrible night. He had been drinking and once he set foot in her place, he made his presence known by stumbling in and knocking over some of her things. While she tried her best to tend to him in his inebriated state, he would yell at her and she just looked at him, heartbreak clearly in her eyes as she ignored the disgusting stench of alcohol from his mouth as he shouted out insults.

“Worthless,” he spat through clenched teeth. “Fucking worthless!”

But these insults weren’t directed at her. They were directed at himself and that was the worst part. To hear countless times that this was how he felt about himself, she didn’t want him to feel this way anymore. Eventually, she managed to calm him down and after she had cleaned him up and gave him some water, she sat him down on the couch and held him close. At that point he was barely conscious, but he heard enough.

“You’re worth it,” she told him. “To me, you’ll always be worth it.”

And then she whispered those lyrics into his ear, which was the last thing he remembered before falling asleep with her by his side for the rest of the night.

Pointing to the words on her arm, he smiled at her. “I always repeat those words in my head because of you. I wanted to be more positive and I wanted to get better for myself, for you, and for everyone. That’s what I think of when I look at this. I also live by these words.”

She remembered that as well. It happened two years before she got that tattoo and in the back of her head, she thought of that memory when she decided she wanted to have those words permanently written on her body.

“Any other favorites?” she asked.

He nodded and looked down at her upper thigh where there was a big traditional styled tattoo of a hand holding an envelope surrounded by ribbons and leaves. It only consisted of the colors black and red and was a little above the cross on her leg. This was her newest one and she had gotten it last February in Brisbane. She was in Australia because Paramore was going to be playing at Soundwave. Oli and the rest of Bring Me the Horizon were there, too. They were both performing at that festival; something that hadn’t happened in a while since Warped Tour.

“This one,” he gestured to it.

The story behind this artwork was how she was always away from her loved ones because of touring. The letter symbolized her writing and calling the people she missed to deal with the distance. This included him and he could relate to this feeling. When they got to see each other at Soundwave, he was happy and sad at the same time because he knew those few days together would go by fast. Then it’d go back to being away from her until they both got a break, but that was going to be a while since they both were releasing new albums.

Shortly after they had gotten together, she didn’t just want to call him up on the phone. One day, Hayley had sent him a letter, claiming she did so because she could be old fashioned. That’s when Oli started sending letters back and it became a regular thing. Their letters got longer and they’d include drawings at the bottom of the paper. To that day, they would still send each other letters.

“I like the letters you give me,” he mused. “I’ve kept all of them and though I never told you this, I read them while I’m on tour.”

“Aw, you’re so cheesy,” she teased. “But I can’t really judge you for that since I keep all your letters in a box and bring them with me almost everywhere.”

“Do you reread them?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

“Anyway,” he went on. “I have one more favorite and I’m gonna tell you straight up that this one is the one I love the most. More than any of your other tattoos and possibly more than your future ones.”

“Just tell me,” Hayley urged. “Which one is it?”

“The one behind your ear,” he responded.

Hayley brushed her hair behind her left ear and turned her head so Oli could see it. Right behind her ear was one of her older tattoos, a small cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it. On top of the cloud were letters that spelled out “Warped!”. When he mentioned this one, she had a feeling why this might be his favorite one of them all.

“The one I got in 2009,” she grinned. “I got this to remember my greatest memories from Warped Tour. Like the time we played a show during a storm and when we played that surprise show and...”

“When you sang for me on stage,” he finished. “That was when we finally got together.”

That was when everything changed. Before that surprise show in Cleveland, they were merely just friends. They had reunited after a year of being separated and the first thing Oli did was kiss her. She was scared at first, unable to move on after her previous relationship had ended badly. It wasn’t until later when she realized that there was no reason for her to be afraid because all she wanted to do was be with him.

She never let go after that and neither did he.

“That was the best memory of them all,” she leaned on him again.

“My favorite memory,” he gave her a peck on the cheek. “My favorite tattoo. And like the rest of the ink on your body, it is and will always be beautiful.”

Her cheeks turned pink. “You always know what to say to make me smile. Now you wanna know what tattoo of yours is my favorite?”

“Do tell,” he said with a smirk.

That was when Hayley pressed her lips to his neck, right where the rose tattoo was. “This one I love the best.”

Her kisses traveled up and soon her lips were now on his chin, still slowly making their way up to his temple. Like him, there was a special reason why this particular tattoo was her favorite and it wasn’t just because she liked the way it looked.

“Why is that?” he questioned.

“It takes me back to the night I first met you,” she replied. “When you talked to me that night, the first thing I noticed was the rose on your neck and I love it because it just reminds me of how you helped me. I felt lost and I was blaming myself for causing things that weren’t really my fault. I almost gave up, but I didn’t and it was all thanks to you. You were the one that talked some sense into me and I listened to you. You were just a stranger that gave me hope when I needed it.”

Oli smiled, but looked away. “You make me out to be some hero or something.”

Pressing her forehead against his, she put her arms around him once more. He loved the warmth of her embrace and reciprocated. “But in a way, you kind of saved me like a hero.”

“You’ve saved me, too,” he pointed out. “More than I can count.”

“Either way,” she said. “You’re still a hero. That’s how I see you.”

He leaned in so his lips could meet hers and just like that, it was yet another perfect morning and a great start to their day. Waking up to be greeted by Hayley’s face and talking with her for hours were things he looked forward to. These were things he wished happened all the time.

“So we’re still in New York for a few days,” he said as she finally moved off of him and they both got up from the chair. “Wanna get breakfast?”

“I’d love to,” she nodded and was about to get ready, only to hear her cellphone ringing. She walked over to the nightstand where it was and answered it. “Hello?”

She sat down on the foot of the bed, only to jump back up again when she realized who was on the other end.

“Jeremy!” she exclaimed. “How are you? We missed you last night!”

Oli guessed he was calling to wish them a Happy New Year. He watched as Hayley paced back and forth, excitedly catching Jeremy up on what he had missed. She gave Oli a quick glance and smiled before grabbing a change of clothes and heading into the bathroom. He began getting out his own clothes and looked back at the closed door where he could still hear her talking on the phone. Though her voice was slightly muffled, he could make out what she was saying at the moment. She was finally telling Jeremy the news of their engagement and the joy was evident in her voice.

Hayley Williams as my wife, he couldn’t resist letting his lips curl into a wide grin. Who would have thought?

This wasn’t what he expected at all. Years ago, he had never thought he’d one day end up with a girl like Hayley. He never thought that one day, he’d go out, get a ring and put it on her finger. Before, he never even believed that he’d actually live to find love or get married. But everything changed when he realized that he wanted to get better and now he was surrounded by his friends, people looked up to him, and he had found someone who made him feel so alive. There was a reason why he had woken up so early that morning and it was because after so many years of feeling broken, he was finally happy.

Already, Oli was picturing the future. He pictured warm summer mornings where he’d wake up beside her, that staticky orange hair of hers falling over her face as she cuddled up against him. He pictured hearing her sing her favorite songs in the bathroom while getting ready. He pictured her taking his clothes, wearing only his shirt around their house and showing off those intricate tattoos that contrasted against her skin. He pictured getting up early to make breakfast for her. He pictured starting a family. He pictured everything. He was going to marry this girl and this was the life he could see them having.

This was the life he never knew he always wanted.