Work Text:
November 2012
Love songs were fucking weird to Oli. They were annoying, they were overrated, and sometimes they were just so disgustingly mushy that listening to them could make him gag. It was completely fine if other people enjoyed them because not everyone had the same opinion as him and he knew that. But still, he just wasn’t the biggest fan of love songs.
His reasons for not liking them weren’t because he hated the idea of happy relationships, though that used to be part of the reason why. That was back when he was young, irritated with lyrics about kissing and holding hands or some other lovesick shit because love songs were so fucking unbearable when he had gotten dumped by his old girlfriend at the time. But even though four years have passed, even though he was (slightly) more mature, and even though he was currently in a wonderful relationship with Hayley, he still didn’t like love songs.
He just grew tired of hearing hundreds of songs about the same subject. Yeah, he knew what it was like to finally find the person who made everything better and made his heart beat a mile a minute every time he was near them, but love wasn’t the only thing out there. Couldn’t artists write songs about other things? He was done with listening to them.
That was until he got a call from Hayley.
Getting a call from his girlfriend—let alone seeing her—had become a rarity during 2012 due to both Hayley and Oli having busier schedules than usual. Both Paramore and Bring Me the Horizon had spent the past year working on their new albums, which meant they only got to see each other a few times in between all those months of writing and recording. While Oli wasn’t traveling as much because the band was taking some time off from touring, Hayley was still doing shows and it wasn’t like he could go to one of her gigs because he was out in The Lakes. It was the band’s little tradition of isolating themselves while writing the album like they’ve done for the previous two and as frustrating as it was that he wasn’t able to spend time with her as much as he wanted to, he still tried to focus on writing. As soon as everything was taken care of, then he was going to see her so they could make up for their lost time.
It was around mid-November when he got her call. At first he was relaxing on his own in his flat, but then Tom decided to come over. Then not long after Tom had arrived, Lee showed up followed by Nicholls, Vegan, and even Jordan. Why they all ended up at his place, he didn’t know. Probably because they no longer had to worry about recording and all that. After all those long months of working on Sempiternal, the album was finally finished. That year had been pretty hectic and eventful, but they got it done and they all agreed that this record was going to be different, yet great. As for Paramore, he found out that they had also finished recording thanks to Hayley and Taylor confirming it through Twitter.
With how loud the guys were, he wondered how he even heard his phone at all. Then again, that was also his fault for leaving his cell phone on the counter, so thankfully it wasn’t on silent because at the sound of his cell ringing, he got up from the couch to grab it. Seeing her name on the screen, he had to make sure everyone had shut up because they were way too noisy and if they continued, having a conversation with Hayley would be impossible.
Once their chatter was at a reasonable volume, he put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
“Hey, stranger,” she said in a singsong voice. “Been a while since we’ve talked, don’t you think?”
Since it appeared they both didn’t have much to worry about anymore, he wasn’t really surprised that she would be calling. That didn’t mean he wasn’t happy because of course he’d be happy after being away from her for so long. Hearing her voice on the other end was music to his ears and he found himself grinning widely despite her not saying much.
“Yeah, it has,” he replied, chuckling softly. “I’m really glad you called. Not gonna lie, I miss you a lot.”
At that moment, he heard gag noises and turned around to glare at Tom pretending to be grossed out while everyone else laughed. This was the reason why he always ended up retreating to the bathroom because the band always took the opportunity to tease Oli whenever he was on the phone with Hayley. The only thing he did was ignore them because at the moment, all that mattered was her. The guys decided to leave him alone this time anyway since they knew he hadn’t gotten many phone calls from her and they were feeling nice that day. Thanks to Lee, Tom also stopped bothering him and everyone went back to conversing while Oli focused on listening to Hayley again.
“I miss you a lot, too,” she admitted. “As exciting as it’s been for us to be working on our albums, it also really sucks that you and I haven’t been able to spend some time together.”
Oli smiled. “Well, let’s hope that’ll change since all that craziness is done. What have you been up to anyway?”
“Just been sticking around LA,” Hayley said. “Kat’s here for a few weeks, so I’ve been hanging out with her lately. Of course, Jeremy’s really happy she’s here, too. What about you? How is everyone?”
“As of right now, I’m hanging out with the band,” he answered. “And they’re all good. I was just relaxing at home with Oskar, but apparently everyone ended up coming over.”
“It’s not their fault they can’t resist going to your place,” she giggled. “I know that’s what Iwould do and I’m kind of jealous that they can do that whenever they want.”
“Now if you came over, that’s a different story,” he smirked. “I wouldn’t mind having you here with me right now.”
“Even if Oskar was the only reason I’d come over?” she teased.
Oli shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Why do I feel like I should start worrying that my own girlfriend loves my dog more than me?”
“Because it’s true and you really should start worrying.”
“In that case, I’m not telling him. If he finds out, he’ll get cocky.”
Hayley laughed at his words and Oli found himself laughing along with her. He missed joking around with her and he wished she wasn’t all the way in California. He loved to make her laugh and not being able to see the smile on her face or the glimmer in her eyes killed him sometimes. At that moment it pretty much killed him that she wasn’t around and he couldn’t help but feel that this phone call just wasn’t enough.
“When will I see you again?” he finally asked. He didn’t want to be away from her any longer.
“Actually,” she began. “That’s what I’m calling you about. Are you doing anything this weekend?”
“Not that I know of,” he said. He even thought hard to see if he did and as far as he knew, he was free for the weekend. He didn’t have to record, he had no interviews or any other media appearances, and things for Drop Dead had already been settled with. “Yeah, I got nothing planned for this weekend.”
“Since you’ve got nothing planned, why don’t you come here?” she suggested. “I’m not doing anything either and the last time I’ve seen you was months ago. Also...”
She had dragged out her voice and Oli practically held his breath, waiting for her to finish her sentence. “Also what?”
“I have something I want to show you,” Hayley told him. “It’s something special and it’s all for you. Just you. I think you’ll love it.”
“Oh, really?” He raised an eyebrow. “Is this some early birthday present or something? What is it?”
“I’m not telling you yet,” she said. “It’s a surprise and no, it’s not a birthday present. It’s much bigger than that.”
“It better be good if it’s bigger than my birthday,” he joked.
“You know, if you weren’t all the way across the Atlantic, I’d punch you in the face.”
“I’ve always loved your unique ways of showing affection.”
She laughed again and sighed. “So does this mean that you’re actually coming?”
Oli grinned upon noticing that her voice had gotten slightly higher when she said that. He pictured her having those puppy dog eyes at the moment because it was evident in her voice that she really wanted him to come. Fortunately for her, he was already going to say yes and even if she hadn’t asked him, he was thinking of possibly going over there himself. It didn’t help that she also made him very curious about what surprise she had in store for him.
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “I’m coming.”
“That’s great!” she exclaimed, not even bothering to hide how overjoyed she was. “So, looks like I’ll see you in a few days.”
“I’ll see you in a few days,” he repeated with a smirk. “I can’t wait.”
He really couldn’t. But unlike her, he was better at masking his excitement.
“Okay, I have to go,” Hayley said. “Let me know as soon as possible what time you’ll be coming, okay?”
“You know I will,” he assured her. “I’ll see you soon, Hayles.”
“Bye, Oli. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Bye.”
After hanging up, he put his phone in the pocket of his jeans and sat back down on the couch next to Tom. His brother was paying more attention to Oskar who was laying on his lap while everyone else just looked at Oli and the big smile that was on his face.
“What are you so happy about?” Nicholls asked.
“Come on, Matt, he was talking to Hayley,” Jordan pointed out. “He looks like how any lad would look after talking to their girl.”
“I’m finally going to be seeing her this weekend,” Oli said, still smiling. “We actually have time for each other, so she asked me to come down there.”
Tom stopped petting Oskar and turned to face his older sibling. “How’s she been doing anyway? And how are things with Paramore’s new album?”
“She’s doing pretty good, it seems.” Oli shrugged. “Though she hasn’t really told me much about her album. She also said she’s got a surprise that she wants to show me.”
Vegan cocked his head to the side. “Really? She hasn’t told you anything? That’s a little odd.”
“Hmm, that is pretty odd,” Lee agreed. “Especially for her. You’d think she’d tell you at least a little. Not only does she know more about our album, but she’s even featured in it.”
“Exactly,” Nicholls said. “The last time we all saw her was a few months back when she recorded some vocals for one of our bonus tracks.”
“Look, I don’t know why she hasn’t, alright?” Oli crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch. “That’s her choice if she doesn’t want to. Besides, I’m more interested in what the hell her surprise could be.”
Tom just rolled his eyes, but was also a little interested in this surprise that Oli was trying to figure out. As he listened to them all talk, something then came to mind and he sat up straight at this newfound revelation. “I think I have a feeling what your surprise is.”
Oli just stared at him, obviously confused. “Wait, what?”
“This is just from what you’re telling us.” Tom said. “You said Hayley’s been quiet about this album and what I remember, they’ve finished recording it. And now you said she wants to show you something.”
“Yeah and where are you going with this?”
“There’s a reason why she’s been so secretive about this record,” his brother told him. “I believe she wrote you a song.”
“A song?” Oli mused. He couldn’t believe that he didn’t even think of this possibility and the more he thought about it, maybe Tom was right—though he wasn’t going to admit that out loud.
A few years ago, Hayley wasn’t as quiet about her music before. She shared some songs off ofBrand New Eyes with him before it was released worldwide. In fact, the first song she told him about was “The Only Exception” and she actually sang it to him herself. That was also before they started dating and she was still dealing with the relationship she used to have with Josh Farro. And considering most of the songs on that album were about him...
Tom ran his hand through his hair. “It’s just a guess, but it’s not much of a stretch either. Knowing Hayley and how lovey dovey you guys always are, I won’t be surprised at all if she really did it.”
“So it might be a song, huh?” Oli rested his chin on his hand. “If it is, I wonder what kind of song it could be. She doesn’t usually write those kinds of love songs. I’m not even sure if it’ll even be a love song.”
One of the few details she actually mentioned to him about the album was that it mostly centered around them all growing and changing. After all, it was going to be their first album without the Farro brothers in the band and their last one came out in 2009. A lot of things had changed and that included things between her and Oli. Over the years, they’ve both matured as individuals and as a couple, helping each other through the bullshit like her band mates leaving and his addiction. He was aware that most of the songs on her new album were going to be about Josh and Zac, but now he was thinking how some could be about him, too. Those songs could be about anything.
But he didn’t really have to think about all this, right? He wasn’t even 100% sure she had written anything about him. It was just a guess like Tom said.
“I wish I could answer your questions, but I’m not Hayley.” Tom patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll just have to find out when you see her.”
“Yeah,” Oli nodded. “Looks like it.”
Whatever she had for him, he’ll love it like she said he would. He could wait for it. It was only going to be a few more days and then he’d be on his way to California. At that point, he wasn’t really thinking about her surprise anymore because he was really more excited to be seeing her again.
Oli had arrived in Los Angeles on Friday. It was noon when he landed and the previous day he had already informed Hayley what time she needed to be there to pick him up. Those ten hours he spent on the plane felt like an eternity, but after sleeping in a seat he could barely recline, staring at the clouds through the window, and once in a while hearing a baby cry a few rows away, he was at his destination. He was well-rested and after making sure his hair looked right and there were no drool marks on his face, he was also ready to see her.
Hayley was waiting for him and it didn’t take him that long to spot her. Since it was the afternoon and the weekend, the airport was full of people claiming their luggage and reuniting with loved ones. Even in the huge crowd, he spotted that head of fiery orange hair and those lustrous green eyes that were looking directly at him. Her bright red lips were grinning widely and she was waving at him while standing on the tip of her toes. Everything about her was so eye-catching, pretty much anyone would turn their attention to her. She was wearing her white Doc Martens and her favorite denim jacket that she had adorned with various buttons. Her black skinny jeans were faded and wait, was she wearing one of his shirts? It was obviously his because she had used one of her rubber bands to tie it in the front in order to make it fit her and he could recognize the design on it a mile away.
She couldn’t wait anymore, so she began walking toward him. That was when Oli stopped walking and with a wide grin of his own, he dropped his duffle bag on the floor and had his arms open wide. Right when he did this, she began running toward him and before he knew it, she leaped into his arms. He picked her up with ease and she wrapped her legs around his waist, all the while laughing and holding his face in her hands. They both took a moment to lock eyes and just like that, their lips met, finally closing the space between them. He was still smiling against her lips and he honestly didn’t care if people were staring or if he was in anyone’s way. Kissing Hayley was pure bliss and all he wanted to do was enjoy this feeling that he missed so much.
When he pulled away, she wasn’t quite done yet. She took the time to pepper his face with more kisses, leaving lipstick marks all over his cheeks, his jaw, and his forehead. But he didn’t mind her giving him these. He didn’t mind at all.
“That was way better than a punch in the face,” he breathed.
She giggled and pecked him on the cheek again. “I was very close to delivering those punches, too. But yeah, delivering kisses is definitely better.”
Oli put her down and grabbed his bag so they could start heading out of the airport toward her car. As they walked, he put an arm around Hayley and she leaned against him, letting out a contented sigh. She had missed his touch, his scent, his lips. Everything. After what seemed like a million years, he was hers for the weekend and she was going to make sure they made the most of it.
“How was your flight?” she asked when they got to her vehicle. She opened the trunk and helped him put his bag in it. “Boring as usual?”
“Sadly yes,” he chuckled. “Not a single snake was on there. But it’s all good because I’m finally here with you.”
With his back against her car, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, allowing her to nuzzle against his chest.
He pressed his lips to her forehead. “Have I mentioned that I really fucking missed you?”
“A few times, yes,” she murmured. “Well, I missed you more and I’m just really glad you came.”
“And now that I’m here,” he muttered, tilting her chin up so she could face him. “You can finally tell me what your little surprise is.”
“Hold on there, buddy.” She tapped him on the nose. “I’ll tell you what it is later today, I promise. You just gotta wait a little longer. Can you do that?”
“For you, I can.” Oli nodded and he meant it.
“Good, because I know you’re hungry.” Hayley let go of him and went over to the driver’s side of the car to open the door. “Want to get lunch right now? Then afterwards, you’ll find out what I got for you.”
As if on cue, his stomach began to growl and he went around to the passenger’s side. “Yeah, lunch sounds great.”
She drove them to a nearby restaurant that had become one of her favorites due to the good prices and service. It was something that she and the band had discovered one time when they came home from a long tour. Taylor and Jeremy were starving, so they wanted to look for places to eat and stumbled upon this place. Ever since, they always went there to have a bite to eat and talk. It was the perfect place for Oli and Hayley to sit and catch up with each other.
“By the way, great job on finishing your album,” she said as they sat at a booth near the window. “I seriously can’t tell you how excited I am to listen to it.”
They both had gotten coffee and already ordered their food. Oli glanced out the window at the sky, appreciating how nice the weather in Los Angeles was compared to Sheffield. Back home it was gloomy and unbearably cold while where she lived was sunny and pleasant. Though it was still cold, it wasn’t to the point where he had to cover his face with a scarf so he wouldn’t feel numb.
“We’re releasing the first single in January,” he told her. “Keep an eye out for that.”
“Our first single’s coming out that month, too.” She smiled, holding the mug in both her hands.
He set his own mug aside and leaned forward a little. “Will I ever get to hear more about this album of yours?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Soon. Just be patient.”
“Come on, but I’ve been patient.” He placed his hand over hers. “Can’t you tell me something like you did last time? Sing me a little acoustic version of one of your songs.”
“I don’t have Taylor’s guitar with me right now,” Hayley jokingly reminded him. “I know it’s not fair that I’ve been keeping you in the dark about this, especially considering how you’ve been telling me about your new music-”
“And you’re in one of the songs,” he interrupted.
“And I’m in one of your songs.” She smirked. “But I’m finally gonna tell you more about it along with when I finally reveal my surprise to you.”
“You got this whole weekend planned out, don’t you?”
“Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.”
He didn’t bother to question her or push anything further. He just had to be patient like she told him and enjoy his time with her. They had only the weekend, after all. So he just smiled at her and changed the subject, asking her about other things like how Taylor and Jeremy were doing. Turned out those two were in the studio because the physical copy of the album had finally gotten manufactured and they were checking it out.
“Why don’t you and I stop by there?” she insisted. “You could say hi to the guys and that’s your chance to check it out, too.”
“Sure, I’d love to stop by and there’s no way I wouldn’t want to check things out,” Oli said. “Maybe then I’ll finally find out why you’ve been keeping it on the down low.”
After they were done eating, they headed for the studio and beforehand Hayley had called Taylor telling him she was on her way there. When they both entered the studio, they walked in to see Taylor lounging on a swivel chair while Jeremy sat on the small couch with Kat next to him. There was somebody else there with them and Oli recognized him as Justin, who was the producer of their album and a bassist.
Taylor was the first one to get up and give Oli a hug. “Nice to see you again, man.”
“Yeah, it’s nice to see you again, too,” Oli agreed. “All this album business has kept our bands separated.”
“Hayles told us you were coming down here,” Jeremy said, having gotten up from his seat. Kat stood up with him and they both greeted Oli.
“That’s all she talked about today, too,” Kat laughed. “It’s always fun to see her all happy and giddy.”
“So Oliver,” Justin put a hand on his shoulder. “I hear you’ve been wanting to check out this album.”
Oli turned to him. “Oh yeah, Hayley told me that-”
However, he stopped his sentence short when he realized that Hayley was no longer present. While he had been talking with Taylor, Jeremy, Kat, and Justin, she had slipped out of the room and disappeared. The others didn’t look too surprised about this and Oli started to wonder if something else was going on that Hayley didn’t tell him.
Moments later, she came back into the room and both her hands were behind her back. A smile was on her face and when he looked around it turned out she wasn’t the only one smiling, indicating something was definitely going on.
“Okay.” Hayley took a deep breath. “I kind of lied. The real reason I brought you here wasn’t just so we could stop by. The truth is I took you here because I have your surprise with me right now and I’m going to give it to you. But first, I need you to sit down over on the couch.”
He did what he was told and looked up at her after he sat down. “Alright. Now what?”
“Close your eyes,” she instructed.
Giving her a brief look of confusion, he shut his eyes and she even waved one hand in front of him to make sure he wasn’t peeking.
“When can I open them?” he asked.
“You’ll know when.”
All he heard was the sound of footsteps and a few other sounds, but he didn’t know what they were. He fought the urge not to peek because it was so fucking tempting for him to see what the hell she was doing. Then it got quiet and he started to question if everyone had just gone and left him in the room. And that’s when it happened. When he heard something else: Music.
More specifically, her voice. It was coming from the speakers and soon the room was filled with Hayley singing, Taylor playing the guitar, and Jeremy on bass. The studio's CD player was on. His eyes snapped open when he realized what exactly was going on and he listened closely to the lyrics.
Can’t count the years on one hand we’ve been together. I need the other one to hold you.
His eyes widened and he looked over at Hayley, who was sitting across from him on the chair, giggling at his initial reaction to what was playing. As he continued to listen, one of the first things Oli thought was how Tom ended up being right after all.
This explained why she was being so secretive about the album. This was her surprise. A song for him.
A love song at that.
It’s not a walk in the park to love each other
But when our fingers interlock, can’t deny you’re worth it
It had a more poppier sound and in the first verse, it was already clear to him that this was definitely a straightforward happy love song. Not only was it a surprise that she actually wrote something for him, but he was also astonished that she even wrote this kind of song. Like how he wasn’t one for love songs, she wasn’t one to write them. Sure, some of Paramore’s songs did revolve around the concept of love, but not usually in an idealistic way. She’s written about it being taken for granted, not believing in it, and how sometimes it made people lose everything else. But this time, she had written something about their relationship and she sounded so bubbly, so happy.
I should be over all the butterflies, but I’m into you
And baby even on our worst nights, I’m into you
Let ‘em wonder how we got this far
‘Cause I don’t really need to wonder at all
And he couldn’t help but feel happy himself. Despite his distaste for love songs and how it sounded different from Paramore’s old sound, he liked it a lot. When it got to the chorus, she sang about how she still loved him and how she didn’t care what other people thought. Through all those nights of them yelling at each other and all those times rude fans questioned why he would wanna be with “someone as ugly as Hayley” (an extremely false remark), he was still very much in love with her and she loved him just as much. This was a love song, but it was far from sappy and to think she still felt this way about him all these years, his cheeks began to heat up and turn red.
After all this time, I’m still into you
He averted his eyes and turned his head so she wouldn’t see that he was blushing, but it was too late. At seeing how red he had gotten, she walked over to him and sat down beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Oli looked down at her and smiled, both from her gesture and from the next verse that brought up some old memories.
The lyrics mentioned her meeting his mother and he laughed, reminiscing that interesting night when Carol got to know this eccentric girl who stole her son’s heart. He had been worried that night, knowing how stressful and somewhat embarrassing it could be when it came to meeting family. But by the end, both his parents adored her and when they drove back home, Hayley let Oli know that whether his parents would’ve liked her or not, she still loved him. Oli had simply beamed at her and they spent the rest of the car ride singing along to all the songs they never got tired of.
Some things just make sense and one of those is you and I
That’s how he saw this song. Already, he considered it a song that he could play over and over again without getting sick of it. She said the album was all about change and growth and this showed it. During the bridge, she sang how they made sense and that really conveyed how far they came.
I’m still into you
Once the song came to an end, he turned toward her and his lips curled into a smile. “This is what you’ve been keeping from me all these months?”
Hayley shrugged and she ended up blushing herself. “There were a few times when I wanted to tell you, but I also wanted to wait until everything was done.”
“You know what?” Oli leaned in closer. “It was worth the wait.”
He cupped her cheek and crashed his lips into hers, pulling her onto his lap. With their lips still attached, she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. After they broke away, she lightly traced her finger along his rose tattoo and grinned.
“So you like the surprise?”
He chuckled. “I love it.”
“It’s called ‘Still Into You’ if you haven’t guessed already,” she mumbled.
“Good title,” he said. “Describes our relationship perfectly.”
Hayley nodded and she knew how cheesy she would sound, but she found herself saying the lyrics of her own song.
“Not a day goes by that I’m not into you.”
When they met, she always had a downward look on love and he had seen how negative she used to be. With her parents divorcing and how messy her break up with Josh was, it was hard for her to warm up to finding someone. But things were different. She was with Oli and she’s been with him since 2009. Even with their lifestyles, they were in a happy committed relationship and this had made a big impact on her perspective on love. When it happens, it just works.
She wasn’t one to write happy-go-lucky love songs and he wasn’t one to listen to them. But things changed. Hayley had written the happiest love song ever and it was all for him.
And from then on, Oli realized that love songs weren’t so bad after all.