A Casual Affair

Hayley’s hands wrapped around the chains of the swing as she pushed herself back and forth, her feet swinging a little in the air. It was a nice calming feeling to suppress her nerves. She looked down to see if she got any texts back, and blew out a sigh when she didn’t. What was taking him so long? She texted him to meet up at the park over twenty minutes ago, and it’s not like he lives far away from―

“You rang?”

She glanced up quickly. “Hey,” she smiled bright to Brendon, who was making his way over to the three-part swing set.

He sat down timidly on the swing next to her, tugging at the chains that held him up with a sigh. “Haven’t been on this old thing since me and Holly …” He trailed off as he got lost in thought. After a moment, he looked back at Hayley in confusion. “Why did you ask me to meet here, by the way?”

“It’s … it’s actually about Holly.” The redhead admitted, glancing at Brendon guiltily.

He rolled his eyes. “What about her?”

“If I tell you everything I know, will you promise not to tell anyone? I’m supposed to keep this a secret, but I’m really worried, Bren. I know you may ‘hate’ her, but I know you still care about her, or you wouldn’t have ratted her and Alex out.”

His dark eyes slid to hers, and Hayley was surprised to see a bit of warmth in them. “I promise.”

Hayley nodded, looking down and playing with her hands in her lap. She took a moment to think over what she could say and how she could say it, but she could tell Brendon was growing restless. That told her the truth: he really did miss Holly. He could go on all he wanted about “hating her,” but in the end, Hayley knew he would always care for his ex.

“I believe …” She huffed out a sigh. “… That Holly might have been kidnapped.”

Brendon stayed silent, just stared at Hayley with a shocked expression. After a minute, he ran a hand through his hair and let his head fall into his hands. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“Okay, just hear me out. I know you and her didn’t end on good terms, but I still need your help. I really believe this happened and I need to know what I should do.” She grabbed his forearm. “Please, Bren. Forget about Jasey, forget about the breakup; just help me figure out what I should do.”

He snatched his arm away. “I have forgotten about Jasey. I ended it with her recently, anyways.” He then rubbed at his temples, trying to think. “I guess I’ll still help you, though.”

Hayley’s shock at Jasey and Brendon’s breakup vanished instantly when he said his last statement. “So you believe me?”

He nodded. “Yeah. After everything that happened―you know, with Mr. Gaskarth getting fired and everything―it makes some sense. He could’ve kidnapped her so they could stay together.”

“But some things still don’t add up.” She pulled out Holly’s note she found, and put it in Brendon’s hands. “This was in my locker the day before she vanished. She couldn’t have been kidnapped reluctantly, right?”

“He could have made her write it?”

Hayley nodded as she stared at him, and she didn’t know why. She stared at him as long as she could, thinking about how lucky she was to find someone who finally understood and was willing to help her. Even if he didn’t want to, Brendon always came through for them.

“Why are you staring at me?” He cocked an eyebrow.

Before she could think about it, she hugged him tightly. He was a bit shocked at first, but eventually wrapped his arms around her also as she whispered, “Thank you.”

Notes

Very short chapter, I'm sorrrrrrrrry!
But Hayley went to Brendon for help! These two are definitely going to become a big part in the story... ;)
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Rock on \m/