Chapter 25: Surprise
Hayden awoke to the incessant buzzing of her alarm clock. A soft groan escaped her lips when she flipped the covers back and the sun made its attack on her eyes. Quickly she turned her alarm clock off and dragged herself out of bed. There’s no way in hell she would be up at seven in the morning any other time, but she desperately needed to get everything together before Justin called. The fact that he called to say thanks for the basket last night was motivation for Hayden to continue with her plan. The truth was, she was freaking out inside. This was her one chance to show him that he means the world to her and she just wanted everything to go well. Thankfully, Riley agreed to help her out and came to stay with Tyler on short notice. There’s no way Hayden would’ve gone through with all of this, knowing Tyler was alone…so she definitely owed her best friend.
Hayden hopped into the shower, hoping it would wash away her nerves and somehow calm her insides. However, a half an hour later, she was still standing there wishing everything away. Realizing her attempt to relax was becoming futile, Hayden shut the water off and wrapped herself in a towel.
Once she was back into her room, she proceeded to get dressed into a pair of jeans and sweatshirt. Knowing she was going to need warm clothes, she started packing her suitcase full of sweaters, mittens, hats, gloves, and of course sweatshirts. This was definitely going to be a change of pace from seventy degree weather in California.
After spending nearly an hour packing, Hayden lugged her stuff down the stairs, making sure to grab the envelope with everything they’d need. Thankfully, Tyler and Riley were still asleep, she was hoping to just get everything ready and go. She needed to get their first meeting over with before she backed down and ran. Now all she could do was wait for him to call. This was going to be the longest hour of her life.
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Finally, Justin began to stir and he could feel all his muscles tense up once he shifted in the bed. For the last couple of weeks, his life was all about go-go-go and he just wanted some time for himself and take a deep breath. Snuggling deep into the covers, he bravely opened his eyes and immediately shut them when the sun practically blinded him. That was stupid Justin thought to himself. It wasn’t until he remembered the events of last night did he attempt to open them again and saw the basket. He felt a small smile creep over his face and he reached for his cell phone. He needed some kind of explanation as to what was going on. Hayden has played the hot and cold game almost the entire time they’ve known each other and he’s worried this is just another attempt to draw him in.
“About time sleepy…” Hayden teased.
“I didn’t know you were waiting for me.”
“I…umm…wasn’t. Well…actually yeah I was.” Hayden stammered.
“So what’s going on here?” Justin said lifting the covers up and making his way out bed.
“Before I tell you anything…I need to know if you’re willing to trust me.” Hayden asked.
“Of course, I trust you.” Justin reassured while making his way into the bathroom. He grimaced when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, damn he looked tired.
“Ok…I’ll be over at your house in twenty minutes. Be ready.” Hayden commanded before closing her phone.
Justin looked at his phone speechless. He hasn’t spoken to Hayden in more than six months and all of a sudden she’s ordering him around. What’s worse is he starts shedding his clothes and climbs in the shower. Damn her!
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Hayden rang true to her words and appeared on his doorstep twenty minutes later, with two cups of coffee in her hand. She looked cute standing there with a pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head.
“Hey come in…” Justin offered while taking the cup of coffee from her hand.
Hayden cautiously walked inside, she was hoping there wouldn’t be this awkward tension but of course it was filling the room.
“So can you tell me now what’s going on?” Justin asked while picking up his car keys.
Hayden set her coffee down, grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs. “First…you need to change.” Hayden said when they walked into his bedroom. Quickly she scanned the room and was thrilled to see her basket and note sitting by his bed. At least he kept everything.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Justin said scanning himself in the mirror. He was wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts, a green hoodie with William Rast scrawled across the front, a white baseball cap and a pair of sneakers adorning his feet.
“Trust me…you need to change. I suggest jeans and a sweatshirt.”
“Hayden…its seventy-five degrees. Why in the hell would I wear jeans and sweatshirt?” Justin asked reaching for the clothes.
“Because it won’t be seventy-five where we’re going.” Hayden explained while grabbing his duffel bag and opening it.
Justin reached for her hand to stop her progress. “What is going on? I’m so confused! You basically shut me out of your life for the last six months and now you show up out of nowhere and won’t tell me what is going on. But you just expect me to go along without protest.”
“Justin, I asked you to trust me. Please believe that I’m doing this in your best interest and I’m not telling you because I want it to be a surprise.” Hayden pleaded with her eyes to just go along with everything. “I promise I won’t let you down…” She whispered.
Those words caught his attention. It was hard for him to believe it, after all she had come and gone from his life like it was nothing and he couldn’t keep this cycle up. “I hope you don’t.” Justin said before closing the bathroom door to change into an appropriate outfit.
Hayden continued to pack his bag full of warm clothes. Once she had filled the bag to its capacity and fought to get the zipper shut, she tried lugging it down the stairs. Instead, the bag basically threw her down the stairs and Justin couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped his lips watching her struggle.
“A little help?” Hayden said exasperatedly when she noticed him watching her.
“I got it.” Justin came and lifted the bag with ease, tossing it over his shoulder. “So I’m assuming we’re going somewhere…”
“What gave you that idea?” Hayden joked before grabbing her cup of coffee and walking out the door behind him. They locked his house and loaded everything into Hayden’s car before getting in themselves.
Hayden pulled out of his neighborhood and got on the interstate. It wasn’t long before she took the exit towards the airport and Justin’s interest was peaked. “Where are we going? For how long? Do I need security? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Justin fired off the questions, one by one as she pulled into a parking spot.
“We’re going to Colorado. We’ll be there for a week. You don’t need security and quit being pessimistic.” Hayden answered all of his annoying questions as they gathered their bags and made their way inside the terminal. Hayden approached the ticket counter and arranged everything while Justin stayed back. He was a little uneasy with everything that was going on…he had no clue why they were going to Colorado or even how Hayden planned all of this. Right now, he was going along with everything because of his stupid curiosity.
“We’re all set…come on let’s go to the gate. Do you want anything?” Hayden asked.
“Yeah…a clue as to what you’re doing!” He whispered before they made their way through security and headed towards the gate. Not before long, the two of them were secured in the airplane and en route to Colorado Springs.
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Their plane landed about three hours later and Hayden had arranged a rental car for them to use while they were in Colorado. After driving for about an hour through the mountains and curvy roads, Hayden finally reached their destination. Justin was floored at the site before him. The pine trees adorned the outside of a wooden cabin and the snow was piled high all around the place.
“How did you find this place?” Justin asked once she stopped the car.
“I did some re-search on-line and it looked so pretty and it was private.” Hayden answered.
Justin helped carry the bags from the car up to the cabin and Hayden inserted the key. They opened the doors only to be blown away by the décor and overall feel of the cabin. The first things they notice were the high wooden beams holding up a loft above the living room. Justin dropped their bags immediately and started to look around. The living room was filled with huge plush couches and thick carpeting. There was a stone fireplace in the corner and his eyes traveled up to the loft. He took the stairs two at a time and once up top he found a huge king size bed overlooking the entire cabin. Noticeably, there were huge bay windows behind the headboard which faced the snow covered mountains. This place was absolutely breathtaking.
“Wow…Hayden…I don’t know what to say.” Justin said looking down at her from the loft.
“I’m glad you like it.” Hayden threw her purse down on the counter and walked into the living room. She was still exhausted from getting up early and traveling, the couches sounded so inviting. Practically falling into its warmth, she stretched out. Justin was quick to join her back in the living room when he saw her lay down. He lifted her legs up and sat down before pulling her legs back onto his lap.
“So why are you doing all of this?” Justin asked as he laid his head on the cushion.
“Justin, there’s so much I need to tell you but more importantly I want you to just relax and have fun this week. I’m doing all of this for you because I want to, not because I have to, but I truly want to.” Hayden answered genuinely. “How about we make a deal…”
“Ok…” Justin said wearily.
“There’s a lot we need to talk about, well more so that I want to say. But I really want to just hang out with you. I’ve missed you and I plan to enjoy this week alone with you. I know your schedule’s been crazy and I wanted to give you a week to just forget about all that other stuff and enjoy life. But I promise before we leave, we’ll have that talk. Ok?”
Justin tried to push the questions out of his head and focus on just having fun with her. He needed an explanation out of her as to why she disappeared and then reappeared but it could wait a couple of days. Right now, he just wanted to be with Hayden.
“Thank you Hayden. This place is beautiful.”
“You’re welcome.” Hayden said while sitting up and running her hand atop his curls. “You’re growing your hair back out?”
“I haven’t decided yet. You like the curls?”
“I love the curls.” Hayden said before getting up from the couch. “Let’s go get some food…I’m starving.”
“Me too.” Justin said getting up and rubbing his belly for exaggeration.
Hayden couldn’t stop laughing at his antics and she grabbed her purse. “Come on J…” Just like that, as if nothing happened, they fell back into their friendship. Finally, they could just be Hayden and Justin again.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey there! Alright, so I finished another update for you all. I hope you like it and thank you all soo much for reading and reviewing. It's awesome to hear from you! The next couple of chapters should defintely be fun to write! All right...I'll stop. Please continue to review! I love them! :)
Story Tags: justin college
