The Only Exception

Chapter 2

Hayley’s POV:

As we drove, I found myself falling asleep on Carter’s shoulder.  It’d been a long day, and a long couple of weeks.  Paramore had just gotten back from Warped and as always, it was exciting and fun, but also very tiring.  I’d totally forgotten about tonight, before Adam came over, all I was focused on was Carter and getting some rest.  But I knew that this meant a lot to Carter.  Although Jeremy, Taylor, and myself were also great friends with Adam, Kaycee, Gabriella, and Aden, Carter was the one who introduced us all.  They’d been her best friends since who knows when, and I knew that Adam proposing to Kassidy was important to her.

Earlier than I wanted, I was awakened by a soft hand caressing my face and a light voice, “Wake up Hayles.”  I opened my eyes to find Carter’s beautiful face hovering over mine.  ”We’re here.” Carter smiled down at me.  I sat up straight in my seat and looked out the window, we were at the restaurant already.

I opened the door to Adam’s truck and got out, Carter following swiftly behind me.  She took my hand and I smiled, finally acknowledging Adam’s presence.  ”Come one, love birds.” he chuckled as we followed him inside the restaurant.  It didn’t take long to find a huge table with everyone surrounding it in small little diner chairs.  There was Taylor and Jeremy towards the end, and Kassidy, Gabriella, and Aden filling most of the other seats.  Carter, Adam, and I walked over.  Adam exchanging a tight hug and a kiss with Kassidy, Jeremy and Taylor greeting me with boyish smiles and hellos, and Gabriella pointing to two empty seats next to her, obviously meant for Carter and I.

Carter walked over, taking me with her.  We both exchanged hugs with Kassidy, Gabriella, Aden, Jeremy, and Taylor before sitting down.  Our seats were in between Gabriella and Jeremy.  Perfect.  I had both of my band mates on my side while Carter had Gabriella, one of the only girls she hung out with, on hers.  ”Hey everyone!” I heard Carter exclaim.  Our hands were no longer intertwined and her voice was a little startling, since I had just woken up from a quick nap.  Taylor must’ve noticed, because he gave me a laugh. “You okay there, Hayles?” he asked.  I laughed.  ”Yeah, just got up from a quick nap.  Warped is always so tiring, isn’t it?” Jeremy nodded along with Taylor in unison.

I looked back over at Carter, she was talking with Adam and Kassidy, probably excited for the proposal.  I had to say, I was too.  I was always a sucker for sappy love stories.  I grabbed her hand, intertwining our fingers again.  She looked over at me and smiled, placing a soft kiss on my lips that made me smile inside and out.  We returned both our gazes back to Adam and Kassidy.  It was obvious that they were the couple of the night, only Kassidy didn’t know it just yet.

Our dinner went great.  We all had a fun time talking, recalling memories from this year’s Warped tour and past ones, a few fans even came over to take pictures with us.  I loved our fans.  They didn’t fangirl in our presence, they treated us just like really close friends or family members.  I loved that.  Soon enough, the time had come.  It was time for Adam to propose to Kassidy.  Carter tightened her grip on my hand, I could tell she was nervous—probably as nervous as Adam was.  I kissed the side of her head and whispered into her ear, “It’s gonna turn out fine, babe.” she smiled at me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before turning back to Adam and Kassidy, who were seated right across from us at the table.

Adam looked over at Aden and gave him a nod, doing the same with Carter.  He turned to Kassidy and smiled. “Kass, I need to ask you something really important.” she smiled at him, a little confused look taking up her face.  ”Uhm…okay.” she turned in her seat as Adam got down on one knee, pulling out a little box.  ”Kassidy Harris,” he opened the box, exposing a big diamond ring that must’ve cost a lot. “Will you marry me?”