Me&YouTogetherStory.... •M•T•Healy•

•4•

"That was amazing!" I say in admiration the second we both slam the car door shut. Still buzzing from the looks on their faces minutes ago.

He shrugs "it was nothing" his mind seemingly else where now.

"No, really" I watch him, as he keeps his focus to the side. "The way you shut them both down then and put them in their place. You just humiliated them both like they have everyone else in the past"

He starts the car, still acting like it's no biggie, while I keep gushing like a fan girl. Not able to stop myself grinning at him.

"Thank you"

"For what?" He fires quickly, suddenly frowning across at me.

I shrug in shyness suddenly. This feeling taking me back a little, having never felt it around him. "For always looking after me"

His eyes leave the road for a few short seconds as he just stares at me from the side with a content smile. "I love you don't I?" His smile grows wider. "I'll always be here for you... you do know that, don't you?"

I nod with a shrug "of course" I mutter, now taking my attention to the night streets whizzing past.

His spare hand suddenly takes hold of mine, resting on my lap. And I'm suddenly aware of my heart rate quickening - it must be the adrenaline from before. The excitement of putting the high school bullies down.

"I mean it, Hayley, it won't ever matter where I am.... all you gotta do is pick up the phone" he says, squeezing at my hand again and keeps hold of it. His eyes track down to his thumb now making small circles over mine. My eye line follows. My heart doing that thing again.

I'm suddenly out of my element again. Feeling awkward and weirdly shy again and quickly try and get things back playful and normal with us. "Or just run round to your house in distress as per usual" I laugh, every memory of every inconvenience happening in my life now floods my mind. Remembering all the times I'd ran to my best friends house, bolted up the stairs in tears and climbed in bed beside him. Needing him to make me feel better. When I've been down and out. Knowing he's always been the only one to be able to do that for me.

He pulls into my driveway and quickly shuts off the car. His body suddenly turns to face me.

Matty's breath shakes on a sharp intake. "Listen to me, i need to tell you something...."

Me eyes reach his, aware he's already carefully studying my face now. "Ok" I whisper. Trying to ignore the voice in my head that I'm not going to like what he has to say. Trying to block out the feeling hitting me right now that this is bad news... like earlier.

Silence fills the air between us. And again, he's reaching and taking my hand again.

"I er-" he suddenly clears his throat and swallows hard. "I have to go away for a bit"

"Like a holiday?"

His brows fuse together. His concentration back on our hands again. He suddenly brings my hand up to his lips and kisses the back of it, before taking his attention out of the window, to the side and drops our hands onto his lap. "Kind of" his voice breaks, leaving him clearing his throat again. As though he's desperate to get hold of his emotions now.

"Kind of?.... or it's not?" I fire quickly. Now losing the battle to stay calm when I'm receiving now clarification here that everything's ok.

"It's BIG SLEEP..." he sighs. "I told you about us being signed and-"

"And?" I cut in. Aware my patience was beginning to slip here. Something that rarely happened in our friendship, but right now he wasn't reassuring my panicked state of mind.

"We're going on tour. As a supporting act. It's only for a year-"

"A year?!"

He shrieks at my outburst and suddenly throws me a saddened look before throwing in a nervous chuckle.

"Look, I don't leave yet for another few weeks-"

My loud scoff cuts off his sentence. "So that's it? You've already made up your mind? Like, you're actually going? No discussion with me? No checking my thoughts on this?" I spit in disbelief.

Matty's eyes now glare at me as though I've just over stepped some line.

"With all do respect, Hayley, this is my life. My dream. Me and only I get a say in what I choose to do" he states.

"Oh, like that, is it?"

"I'm sorry you feel this way-" my eyes shoot up in shock he's just hit me with that. "No really, I am, but this is what me and the boys have worked so fucking, tirelessly hard at, Hayels"

"What about your mum? Lou?"

He smiles at the mention of his mum and brother. "They're over the moon for me"

"Then.... school? College?" I rush. He hasn't thought this through properly.

"Come on, you know college was never for me. You've always been the brain box here" he grins. Trying to lighten the mood.

But I'm passed that. So far passed it. I swing the seatbelt off and yank at the door handle.

"Hayley don't do this!"

I throw the door open, aware I'm not even able to look at the boy right now. "I'm sorry, I have to go!"

"I thought you'd be happy for me?!" He yells after me as I bolt for the door not even giving my so called best friend a second glance back.

Because the truth is...so did I. So why wasn't I?