#did i add enough water marks? there are more than you think LOLOLOL

[ocean-spirit-productions]

Gonna try and do a weekly mermay cuz i’m busy, so here is week one. Unfortunately i’m more interested in everyone looking at the frogs so look at them round bois!

[clubdolan]

awe hiding-your-face hug with gray

I got VERY carried away with this but it’s cute and fluffy AF.

Grayson and Ethan had been in Australia for a month on tour, vacationing, doing interviews, photo shoots, you name it. Haiden had been in LA, going to class, working her internship, and finding random nannying jobs to make money.

She missed Grayson. She missed staying at his house instead of her school apartment. She missed late night ice cream runs to the one 24 hour dessert place down the road. She missed going to the warehouse to workout… well she missed Grayson making her come to the warehouse while he worked out. She missed meeting him for lunch between her classes and his filming. She missed his hugs, his hands, stealing his clothes; she missed HIM.

Her small desk calendar with hand written numbers, counted down the days till his return. He had sent her pictures of the water fall they were at and the beach and the skate park and his view from his hotel room. He facetimed her and let her complain about her internship and brag about the homemade donuts she had made the day before.

Haiden tapped her pencil on her notes from class, looking at the number three on her calendar as if she stared at it long enough it would change. The first two weeks she had kept her self busy so she didn’t recognize he was really gone. The third week it was hitting her, she texted him more, called him more, facetimed him more, and definitely thought she couldn’t make it another week.

It was the fourth week now. She gave up on her homework and went to her kitchen to grab her secret stash of chocolate chip cookies and wine. She sat in her bed in one of Grayson’s hoodies and ate a cookie and sipped on wine while looking at her album of pictures of them together. She had reached an all time low.

While she scrolled her phone rang, slightly scaring her.

GRAY💕 would like to FaceTime

“No, no, no, no…” She mumbled to herself, pulling up the hood over her messy hair and using the sleeves to wipe of her cheeks from where she might have been crying.

She swiped to answer it, aiming it at the ceiling as she wiped her cheeks off more. “Hold on…”

“I just wanted to call and tell you goodnight.” Grayson said, trying to figure out the blurry images of her blanket and the wall next to her as she moved around. “Where are you? I wanna see your face.”

“I’m here, eating cookies.” Haiden pulled the camera up, her side table lamp barely lit up her room and her on the screen. She fake smiled and help up the bag of cookies. “I gave up on homework.”

“Have you been crying?”

“No.” She gave him a weird look, as if it were crazy of him to assume she had been. Red, puffy eyes and all.

“Put me closer to your face.”

“Gray, seri–

“Haiden, do it.” He demanded and she slowly pulled her phone closer. “Your eyes are red, you–”

“So I’ve been crying, homework is hard and my internship is frustrating.”

“If it was your homework you’d still be working on it no matter how hard it was.” He proved a point, knowing her for too long. “What else is bothering you? Is it your dad again? Did he call–”

“You.” She mumbled, holding back tears. Her eyes stung and her chest felt crushed. “I miss you.”

“Oh god, babe. Don’t cry, please? I hate seeing you cry. I’ll be back in three days and I’ll come straight to you, no matter where you are.”

“The next two days I just have class from eight to noon. The day you get back I have my internship till four.” She mumbled.

“So I’ll meet you at four, right at the door of the office. I’m taking you to dinner and dessert and you can come back with me to our house and we can do whatever, I promise.”

She couldn’t talk, if she did she would break.

“Hai, I promise, you can even meet me at the airport if you want to leave your internship. You’ve made it this long–

“It’s been too long. You’re my best friend, I miss just being around you or knowing you’re near.” She mumbled into her sleeve before wiping off her cheeks. “I’m pathetic, I know.” She laughed to herself a little bit, “That’s why I was crying and eating cookies and drinking wine alone in the dark.”

“In my sweatshirt I’ve been looking for.” He smirked, watching her pull the strings tighter around her head.

“I just want a hug and then you can go back to Australia, okay? There’s a new rule where I can’t go more than ten days without hugging you.”

“I’m fine with that rule– hold on, E.” He sighed as someone knocked on his door. Haiden began crying again, knowing he had to hang up soon. “Babe, come on, don’t cry. I can’t hang up on you when you’re crying.” He unlocked the door, “Unlimited hang out time when I get back, promise.”

“Hi Haiden!” Ethan yelled, diving his face in front of the camera.

“Hai, please answer me.” Grayson begged, watching her sit still on screen. “We’re meeting some people for lunch or I’d keep talking to you, text me, okay.”

“Ubers here.” Ethan whispered.

Haiden nodded, “Bye.”

“I miss you so much, Hai. I love you, okay? You know I do. I’m so sorry I’ve been gone so long.” Haiden kept nodding, “I’ll call you when it’s morning for you, okay? Haiden please answer me, stop nodding.”

“That’s fine, bye.” She hung up the phone, tossing it on her bed before crying herself to sleep. She was already sad that he was gone and now she was mad at herself for making him feel bad.

Half way across the world Grayson shoved his phone in his pocket and followed Ethan downstairs.

“Bro, what’s up? What’s going on with Haiden?”

“She’s just, she misses me, it’s been so long. I forget that we’re distracted doing stuff and keeping busy but she’s working her ass off at school and interning and little jobs and doesn’t give herself a break until I usually make her.”

“I’m glad Kaya has a job like us so she was able to visit. I don’t know how you two do it, four weeks is way too long.” Ethan led him to the Uber.

“I told her I would fly her out here for a few days and she couldn’t. If she doesn’t have internship she’s at class in the morning. She has no days off. This is her last semester though so hopefully we can find some type of normal after she graduates.” He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes, “I feel so bad, I just want to go there now. Why did we add an extra week? Why were we worried about saving money and flying out when it was cheaper? Why didn’t I think of her?”

“Dude, you’re another zone, I’ve never seen you like this.”

“E, I love her. I really love her.”

“I know you do. I know she’s different.” He said, hating to sound cliche, “I know you’ve been missing her, you’ve alternated your background to different pictures of her all week, you both are always facetiming, you know her schedule better than ours, and you keep buying her stuff because it ‘reminds you of her’ which I have never heard you say.”

“I’m gunna marry her.” Grayson sat up quick, “I’m going to marry, Haiden. Haiden Dolan. My wife, Haiden. Haiden Gianna Dolan.”

“My sister-in-law, Haiden.” Ethan said, nodding his head. “Sounds fine to me. She’s cool.”

“Hey, driver.” Grayson leaned up between the seats, “Can you take me back to the hotel?”

“We’re at the restaurant.” Ethan pointed out the window.

“I’m going back to the hotel, packing, and getting back to LA.” He said, starting to look up flights on his phone.

-

Ethan stayed with their friends in Australia.

Grayson spent $1,500 on a flight back to LA.

He left at 2pm on a Monday in Australia and arrived in LA at 4pm on Monday. (I did quick math and looking it up so just deal with the times okay! lololol)

He had texted Haiden a few times, asking about her class for the day and she had said she was spending time in the library or the cafe before going home. Haiden’s plans were to postmates Chipotle and watch The Bachelorette and The Bachelorette After Show.

His suitcase sat next to him in the uber and watching the ‘time to destination’ was the only thing distracting him as they drove through downtown LA.

He must have zoned out because the driver made him jump when he said they had arrived. Grayson was so tired that just getting to her building made him happy knowing he was close to a bed, or even a couch; even happier he was closer to Haiden.

He gave her a quick text, asking what she was up to. Nothing out of the normal so she quickly responded.

Haiden: I think my eyes are bleeding from reading so much and my left foot is numb from sitting on it too long and I have purple pen marks smudged on my hand from taking so many notes.

Grayson: Then stop! haha You deserve a break. It’s your day off.

Haiden: I’ll stop soon. I have two pages left to take notes on. Stop texting me, go hang with your friends. :)

So he stopped.

He put his phone in his pocket, entered the door code for her apartment, and patiently waited on an elevator to go to the 4th floor. Her apartment was down a hall at the end, perfect view over LA, perks of knowing the owner of the complex.

Grayson knocked on her door a few times, standing to the side of the peep hole so she couldn’t see him. He heard foot steps go down her loft stairs before getting louder as they made their way towards the door.

One lock clicked.

The second lock clicked.

The knob slowly turned.

“Nooooooooooooooooo.” She spit out, covering her face and backing up, “No you didn’t. No. Nooo.”

He pushed his luggage in the door, letting it roll until it stopped. “But I did.”

“Grayson.” She sounded mad, “You’re supposed to be in Australia.”

“But I wanted to be here with you.” He grinned, finally getting a hold of her. His arms wrapped around her tiny frame, she hid her head in his t-shirt and he felt her little hands grip onto his waist.

He felt her catch her breath and pushed her back, “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” He slightly laughed, wiping off her cheek with his thumb. He finally got a good look at her.

Her blonde hair was tied up somehow, sitting messy on top of her head. Her legs stuck out from a small pair of red work out shorts and she had on a faded t shirt she had cut into a crop top. Even her reading glasses were sitting on top of her head and he noticed the purple pen smudges on her hand.

“You’re here.” She grabbed his waist and pulled herself into him again, wiggling her body around in excitement, continuing to cry. “You smell like you.”

“Thank you?” He laughed, squeezing his arms around her before picking her up. He held her up like it was nothing, she wrapped her legs around his waist and continued squeezing herself as close as she could to him.

Haiden’s tears fell on his neck, he heard her breathing in his ear, her hair tickled the side of his face and all he could do was smile. “I love you, so much.” He mumbled into her neck, swaying slightly back and forth.

She sat back, he caught her by her bottom and she continued to hold around his neck. “What?” He questioned, watching her look at him.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” She whispered, leaning her head towards his, touching their noses together. “But you’re here.”

“I wanted to come home.”

“But you’re at my apartment.” She pointed out.

“You’re my home, Haiden.” He whispered, “I hated being gone. I hated not being with you. I wanted to tell you everything. I wanted you to be there. I wanted to be here.“ He explained, looking up to see her eyes closed and a tear falling from one. “Since the day I met you, you’ve made me smile. You make me a better person. You are the first person to… give me butterflies when I look at you.” He nervously laughed, “You continue to give me butterflies and make me happy and make me excited and I think, I think that’s what home is.”

She leaned back and opened her mouth to talk but stopped because she was holding back tears. He felt her take a deep breath, “You’re my home too.” She choked out, “Never leave me that long again, okay?”

“I promise.” He smiled, leaning into kiss her.