still falling ↠ hunter hayes

chapter eight //

Chapter Eight

Sunday, March 30th, 2014

“

        I was on Hunter’s plane and he was flying it.

        "I don’t like flying," I whispered, shutting my eyes tight. He handed me a piece of gum, "It’ll stop your ears from popping."

        I nodded, planning to nap until we reached Vegas. I wrapped myself in my own thoughts, hoping time would fly. Pun, intended.

        I was nervous and scared. A red carpet with one of country’s biggest stars. Nick had told me to spread my name into Hunter’s interviews, make myself known. But, I was told to leave “Girls” out of any conversations. Hours passed. I hated planes.

        "Hey, we’re here." I felt dizzy, stepping out of the plane, "Hate planes," I mumbled. He wrapped an arm around me, "There’s gonna be cameras and they’ll probably yell at you, asking who you are. They’re not exactly nice. But, treat them with respect," he was talking quickly, leading me through the airport lot. I was trying to wrap my head around it all while preparing myself for the upcoming moments.

        "I’ve seen them bump into people, but, that’s only if you’re like a mega star. I’m not." I laughed, "You’re the mega star."

        He dismissed the comment, not saying a word, digging in his bag, pulling out two pairs of shades, “Here's some Ray Bans. That way, if you looked scared, sad, whatever, the camera isn’t going to pick it up. Alright, here we go. It’s not that bad, promise.”

        He pushed open the door of the airport and I heard and saw the flashes. He grabbed my hand, wrapping it in his. I was suddenly thankful that I had decided to wear a skirt. Hunter was in his usual jeans. But, today he had a leather jacket over his baseball tee. He led us through the crowd quickly, watching me intently. I saw bodyguards trailing us in the back, a few in the front of us.

        "HUNTER! Who’s the new girl!"

        “HUNTER! How are you?”

        Hunter waved, offering them a smile before he opened the door to the rental car, pushing me in quickly, sliding in behind me. The car pulled out of the lot, giving me a great view of Vegas.

        I pulled the shades off, “Intense.”

        He nodded, “Not my favorite part of my job but, they’re gonna ask who you are on the red carpet. Um, I guess mention you’re from Sony and such. I figured we could mention the song we wrote together for my new record.”

        He opened the car door, leading me through a small group of people. He followed a worker into a small room, “This room is yours for tonight. I’m right next door. A team will come, get you ready, all that fun stuff.”

        I nodded, “Um, what about us? When we’re on the carpet tonight?” It was a loaded question. Friends? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Business partners?

        He ran his hands through his hair, “Um, that’s your call.”

I could tell he was nervous about tonight and anxious. I wrapped my arms around his waist, “Good luck tonight. I know you’re not nominated, you should have been. But, I know you’ll sound great. I’ll see you later.”

        He kissed my forehead, rushing out the door, hands shoved deep in his pockets. It was hard to imagine it would take so long to get me glammed up.