sunrise || m.h.

Casual

I left Vee's flat looking like a model ready to walk a runway. She insisted that I'd "blow him away" even if it was just McDonald's.

The short walk home was awkward, people looked at me as if I was walking down the streets of London in a wedding gown. A few guys catcalled me as I walked past, asking me where I was going or if I wanted to hook up later. Ignoring their calls, I continued to walk back to Matty's flat.

Opening the front door, I peeked around for Matty, trying to remain undetected so I could change out of the unfit outfit choice Vee had chosen for me. I hurried through the lounge and down the hallway, nearly making it into Matty's room before I heard a voice call from behind me.

"Hayley?" Matty called from the kitchen.

I mentally cursed, trying still to sneak into his room.

He called my name again, stopping at the end of the hall and cutting himself off mid-sentence.

"Hayl- whoa" He stumbled.

I stepped back out from his room and laughed awkwardly.

"Um, Vee made me wear all this. She insisted I 'blew you away' " I put my fingers in air quotes, "But I was just going to change-" I rambled.

"Hayley, you look amazing."

I felt my heart skip a little.

"T-thanks." I stuttered.

We fell into a momentary awkward silence, neither one of us sure of what to say.

"Though you look nice, I think it's a bit much for a casual cafe, don't you?" Matty said.

"I'll go change." I said, quickly shuffling into Matty's room and shutting the door behind me.

My heart was beating quickly as I leaned against the door. Why had my heart rate gone up so much? And since when did I have fluttery feelings in my chest?

Sighing, I stripped out of the dress and found something much more fit for a cafe. Black jeans, a jean jacket and boots seemed a much more acceptable attire.

Taking another look at myself in the mirror, I decided my hair and makeup would have to do. It was a good look, Vee knows her style.

I found Matty sat in the sofa, probably texting George or another one of the boys. He turned as I entered the room and stuffed his phone into his pocket, standing and opening the front door, motioning his arm towards the doorway.

"After you m'lady." He joked, a smile creeping into his face.

"You're such a nerd." I laughed, leading the way out of the flat.

The only way to really describe the cafe was casual. Everything about it was just casual. It wasn't fancy, a cup of coffee wasn't £15, but it wasn't complete rubbish either.

Our food was finished for probably half an hour, we continued to sit and talk. The waitress gave us a few dirty looks while we talked, probably mentally willing us to go away.

"I think the waitress wants us dead" I laughed, catching her glances at us.

"She can deal with it" Matty laughed back, earning an even meaner glare than before.

"How long have we been here?"

I pulled my phone out and ignored the messages from Vee asking how the "date" was going.

"Nearly an hour and a half." I said, stuffing the device back into my pocket.

Matty scoffed.

"Not even two hours, she can fuck off." He joked.

We laughed and continued to poke fun at the waitresses.

I had completely forgotten about my father and what he had done to me. It seemed so far in the past, like that part of my life was over for good and this is when real life starts. All because of one person constantly going through my mind. I could never thank him for it. I couldn't tell him he kept my mind off of my father because I was always thinking about him. He'd probably kick me out. Either way, I was grateful for him.

A girl from across the cafe walked towards us and stopped at our table, our laughter coming to a halt.

"Hey, aren't you that girl from the news? The one that's been missing?" She looked at me expectantly.

I stared at her with fear in my eyes, feeling my whole world crashing down.

"What are you doing going around with her?" She turned to Matty.

"Excuse me?"

"What are you doing going around with someone like her? She seems like a troublemaker. Not even a pretty one. You can do so much better. With someone like me." She said, looking at me with disgust.

I sat in shock and watched as Matty's face turned from confusion to rage.

"You have no right to talk to her that way. She's no troublemaker and I'd rather being going around with her than anyone like you. I suggest you leave."

The girl pushed her way into Matty's seat, practically sitting on him.

"You don't mean that. Just look at her. She looks like a trainwreck. Not to mention daddy issues. You'd be so much better off with someone like me, gorgeous, stable, rich, and no daddy issues to worry about because he's six feet under."

I felt tears well up in my eyes and stood from my seat, bursting out the cafe doors. I ran until I was out of sight and collapsed to the ground, the rain that had started while we talked pouring over me.

"Hayley!"

Matty's voice called after me, sounding frantic.

I continued to sob into my hands, now soaked with rain.

"Hayley!" He ran over to me and grabbed me by my arms, pulling me to my feet and into a hug. "Don't listen to her, she's wrong."

"No," I sobbed "She's right. I'm all of those things she said I am. I'm a trainwreck."

He hugged me tighter. "No, Hayley, you're not. She doesn't even know you." He held me at arms length, making me look at him through my tears. "I know you, alright? And you're none of those things. You are the most wonderful and best people I know. You running away from your father doesn't make you a bad person. It means you're strong enough to let things go."

I sniffled and wiped my eyes as Matty pulled me into another hug. I sighed and sniffled once more.

"Let's get fucked up."