Straight Out of '94: A Michael Clifford Story

Chapter 5

Instead of just one, she found Ashton and a dark haired guy she'd never seen before, sitting behind the counter. They were in the middle of what looked like a heated conversation, and used their distraction to her advantage, walking past the register towards the rack that held the new music. 

There was an old man next to her, holding the new Wiz Khalifa album, and Haley had to smother a laugh behind her hand. She was always glad to see people that listened to music outside their usual genre, but that mix was too much for her to handle. 

If Haley had it her way, she'd have bought most of the new releases, but limited herself to two, knowing that she'd be back sooner than later. She was glad her job paid a decent amount, because she'd never have been able to afford all the new music when she was a college student.

"You have really bad timing, you know." The voice from behind Haley made her jump, and she turned around, smacking at Ashton's chest as he smiled down at her.

"Don't do that to me, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

Ashton just continued smiling, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What do you mean, I have bad timing? Did I miss a good sale?"

"No, you just missed Michael, though. He opened this morning, but he just left a few minutes ago. He probably went home to go back to sleep. He's really lazy."

Haley rolled her eyes, turning her back to him and continuing to look through the shelves.

"Why do you keep bringing Michael up, Ashton? You realize that I've only met him once, right?"

"Twice! Don't forget your little meeting in the rain. That was magical and romantic, wasn't it?"

"You're an idiot, Ashton."

Ashton gasped dramatically, and Haley pushed past him, walking towards the counter. Ashton walked next to her, hopping over the counter and clapping the other guy on the shoulder. 

"Haley, this is Calum. Calum, Haley."

Calum smiled at Haley, sticking a hand out for her to shake.

"Hey, now you've met the whole band!"

"I'm such a lucky girl." The sarcasm in her voice was evident, but Ashton seemed amused by it.

"I'm glad you recognize that."

Calum looked between Ashton and Haley, raising an eyebrow. 

"Haley's the one who took that wicked picture of me, Cal."

"Oh!" There was a flash of recognition in Calum's eyes. "So is this the girl that-" 

Before he could finish his thought, Ashton elbowed him in the ribs, glaring at him. Haley narrowed her eyes, curious as to what he was going to say. 

"The girl that what?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Ashton punched Calum in the arm as he rang up Haley's purchases, and walked away, calling over his shoulder for Haley to have a lovely day. Once he was out of earshot, Haley leaned in closer to Calum.

"Are you going to tell me what that was about?"

Calum's eyes widened, and he shook his head. 

"No. No, it was nothing important," he stuttered, running a hand through his hair.

Haley was glad to see that she could be intimidating, but rolled her eyes when he denied her a response. Taking the bag from Calum, she smiled sweetly.

"I hope you have a great day, Calum. Tell Ashton he's a jerk for me?"

Calum nodded, and waved quickly, before rushing towards the back of the store where Ashton had disappeared to.

This is a bit of a filler, and I'm sorry if it's boring, but now Haley's met the whole band, and the story's about to start getting good! There's some awkward Haley/Michael goodness to look forward to in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! x