i saw the end.

He was half expecting to hear a name of someone they knew in common, whether that be a producer or someone who Hayes changed their engine on the side of the road. What he wasn't expecting was a nickname he hasn't heard since pre-k. It took him a few seconds to fully register what was happening but then he was smiling. "Tierney!" Hayes said finally. "Hey how are you? It's been...literally so long."

He was half expecting to hear a name of someone they knew in common, whether that be a producer or someone who Hayes changed their engine on the side of the road. What he wasn't expecting was a nickname he hasn't heard since pre-k. It took him a few seconds to fully register what was happening but then he was smiling. "Tierney!" Hayes said finally. "Hey how are you? It's been...literally so long."

˙ ˖ ✶ Hayes

Raising an eyebrow, Hayes straightened his shoulders a little bit. He wasn't going to hide the fact he knew he was hot, but it amused him a little how this new person was reacting to him. "Ducky huh? Interesting." Taking a swig of his beer he shrugged. "I work a lot so thsi is the first time in like...months I've been able to get out."

"If you say so," Hayes said with a smirk. He watched as the other woman studied him, blue eyes narrowed as the redhead tried to figure out who he was. Hayes knew so many people around town from various different jobs he's done, or the music industry people that have tossed his name around, this wasn't a new occurence for the blonde. So with a light shoulder shrug, Hayes hummed. "Probably," He admitted. "'m Hayes Porter. Sorry, I didn't catch your name either."

"If you say so," Hayes said with a smirk. He watched as the other woman studied him, blue eyes narrowed as the redhead tried to figure out who he was. Hayes knew so many people around town from various different jobs he's done, or the music industry people that have tossed his name around, this wasn't a new occurence for the blonde. So with a light shoulder shrug, Hayes hummed. "Probably," He admitted. "'m Hayes Porter. Sorry, I didn't catch your name either."

who: open starter Location: Broadway

Broadway wasn't really his go to spot. Especially not this late at night on a weekend in the summer. Tourists were clogging the streets and having a beer at home would be better than dealing with this. But one of his friends - who he helped make an EP to sell to record labels - had finally been picked up and he was performing at a bar popular with tourists, so Hayes was going to support. And he did, but as the night went on and the crowds around them grew, Hayes had to tap out. So with a goodbye to his friend and a puff of his vape pen he was out of the bar heading down the street.

who: open

"Wow," Hayes said, eyebrow raised as whowever was next to him continued her speech about the proffered straws. He only ever used straws in his drinks when he was at work and spilling could be catastrophic. Every other time he's chugging his iced coffee as soon as possible. A straw only gets in the way. "What if a turtle walked in right now and heard you talking about wanting them dead?" He joked, grabbing his own coffee off the counter and taking a sip before fully turning to face her, and to see if the joke landed or not.

who: @hayespcrter

His hangover was kicking his ass today. Making a mental note to never let his cousin convince him to go bar crawling down Broadway when he was in town ever again, the blonde pushed forward as the line went achingly slow. Hayes finally placed his order and was leaning against the wall, day dreaming about the huge iced coffee he was about to chug and the muffin he was going to eat in his car when he heard someone talking to him. Glancing up, Hayes recognized Hallie Harris pretty quickly. He's been over her apartment to hang out or fix whatever was goign on enough times. "Well," He said. "When you put it like that it sounds weird," He said, chuckling a little. "It's definitely hanging...trying to stay awake this morning, what about you, Hallie?"

If it weren’t for Hayes, Chloe’s not sure if she’d be here, recording an album. Everything in her life had been decided for her, especially when it came to her career — Now that she had the control, she was able to have someone who actually cared about her and her music by her side. Not just what will boost sales and trend on tiktok. Plus, her cousins presence eased any anxieties that popped up. Eyes roll as he speaks, “Maybe,” she suggests, shrugging a shoulder. “I guess if this album doesn't work out, I'll have career in auto tune. I can be a Cher impersonator." She hates the sudden weight that comes with her joke -- If the album flops, she's not sure she'll have a place at Applause Records anymore.

"Hey," They could joke and shoot the shit, but Hayes could tell when Chloe was genuinely concerned. And he doesn't blame her. It's the only thing peopel want to talk about, if her next album will be successful. What will happen if it isn't. Which was bullshit to the blonde man sitting at the sound board. "It'll work out." It wasn't even a you're my cousin I have to say that, comment either. Hayes saw how hard Chloe worked, and he heard the results. It was going to be good. "People are going to love this album and you're gunna take me to the Grammys and thank me in your Record of the Year speech." Raising a teasing eyebrow, Hayes leaned back in his seat. "Unless there's something you wanna tell me..."

For a minute, she forgets about all the reasons why she shouldn't be kissing him. Gia has gone up and down an extensive list of pros and cons — her insecurities and fears always far outweighing anything else. Their friendship is important to her — and he's Chloe's cousin. What's going to happen if they go down this road and it all blows up in their faces? Gia's track record with romance isn't something to brag about. She's had a handful of relationships in her life, most of them burning hot and fizzling out fast but the one that had actually gotten serious had ended in a heartbreak she sometimes still doesn't think she's fully recovered from, nearly three years later. But it's like all those thoughts go completely out the window when he leans forward and kisses her now, her brain going fuzzy around the edges and none of her thoughts making any sense because all she can focus on is the thumping of her heart and the flip of her stomach. She pulls back just enough she can breathe when her lungs start to burn, fingertips lingering against his cheek — when had she moved her hand? "We shouldn't..." she sighs quietly, but she's not moving. Her forehead is pressed against his, nose brushing against his as she speaks and she doesn't know if she wants him to agree with her or argue. "It'll make things weird if it doesn't work out."

They were practically chest to chest by the time Gia pulled back from him. Ringed fingers splayed across her lower back, finger tips sweeping underneath the hem of her shirt as the sound of the two of them trying to catch their breath filled the small space between them. Her fingers were against his cheek and he wondered if she could feel the burn of the flush that was crawling up his cheeks as his breathing slowly started to even out again. Foreheads pressed together, nose brushing with each rise and fall of their breathing, Hayes could almost hear the way both their hearts were racing. Hayes felt like he should say something. Anything. But he didn’t want to break whatever spell was between them. So instead he sat there, thumb tracing small circles on the skin of her lower back as he watched brown eyes, waiting for a clue. He wanted to just lean in and kiss her again and he was about to, when she finally broke the silence. We shouldn’t. Gia’s words didn’t match her actions. She was trying to deny this, but her forehead stayed pressed to his. Blue eyes studied brown ones, trying to figure out what to say.  

Sky raises an eyebrow in his direction as she entertains herself. She's not going to blame Hayes. She tended to be more into one person at a time rather than exhausting herself chasing after more than one. "I'm not going to make you say it again. I heard you," she shrugs, sending a side-eyed look his way. "You should help and I'll keep my questions to myself," she adds, sliding some of the wristbands over to him to start handing them out. "You put on the wristbands, I'll check the IDs, how about that?" Sky is thankful that Diego's starting to get to the age where activities like this are something that he might remember. That's also why she's pushing to ensure that Wes is around for these moments. Maybe Diego wouldn't know about a day when Wes wasn't there as a baby, but now, he'll start to see it. "Only if you can get me some sound protection for the kid. I'm not looking to head to the ER tonight for a busted eardrum, even if Wes'll be here. And all these dumbass parents are clearly not thinking that far ahead."

His cheeks were burning, he didn't need to see his reflection to know, he could feel it, but he felt himself shrugging as he grabbed the stack of wristbands from Sky. "You can ask," he said. Hayes was aware that he was sometimes a little obvious when it came to his feelings so there was no point in him trying to keep it a big secret. "But if there's any mention of cheeks or the action of pinching said cheeks, I'm calling those love birds back here to give you an encore performance." Fastening a wristband onto a teenager with more tattoos than he had, the blonde scoffed. "Of course I got sound protection for the kid. They're covered in Ninja Turtle stickers though hope that's okay."

Closed: @hayespcrter

Hayes had been thinking about Brenna's offer a lot. Wondering if maybe he shoudl stop taking odd jobs and settle down with a big name studio. It might not be as free as he preferred, but it was steady. It was what he liked doing, and he could negotiate touring into his contract. But if he did, he would miss out on jobs like this. Sitting in Studio Session listening to a band who despite his best efforts, was sounding like they've never been on stage before. Sighing heavily as Azra joined him, Hayes dropped the headphones from his ears. "They absolutely do. Hand me that, will you?" The blonde asked, moitioning to the backpack on her other side. "They did give me a backing track but somehow they're both ahead of and behind it...how the fuck did you even find them?"

Gia has seen a lot of shows, from a lot of different view points. She's been in the nosebleeds of the crowd, in the wings backstage and she's been front and centre on stage. But this is new. Not necessarily better or worse, but she appreciates the new perspective. But she gives up on pretending to do anything with the soundboard about halfway through the show, instead leaning back against Hayes and letting him do his job while she watched with a newfound appreciation as to everything that goes on behind the scenes. Of course she's always known that a tour is nothing without a good crew, but she feels like she understands it a bit better now. Her grin mirrors his own, shifting to look at him as the band waves to fans and the crowd goes nuts. She snorts, shaking her head but doesn't move to pull back like she'd done earlier in the night. "I barely did anything," she admits with a laugh, "I don't know if it counts as being a natural when I had you giving explicit step by step instructions." She appreciates it though and before she could give herself a chance to think better of it, lets a hand fall to land ontop of one of his, squeezing gently. "This is what you do every night? No wonder you're always itching to go on tour."

He almost said something when Gia's hands lowered from the soundboard. She really was doing well for a first attempt, and he was going to tell her that much when Hayes felt her back lean against his chest. The intimate closeness, and the energy around them kept him from saying anything. Instead, the blonde forced himself to focus on work until the set was over. As he nodded his head to the music, muttering the words to the songs under his breath, one of his hands rested on her knee. Only moving from it's position to flip a switch after a light cue; work rough fingers splayed across her leg, drumming to the beat of the song through the speakers. As the band left the stage, Hayes snorted as Gia spoke. "Okay, well everyone's gotta start somewhere right? Last time I was observing, the intern cried." He wasn't looking up. Not trusting himself to be able to focus on the last few tasks he had to do if he looked into the brown eyes looking down at him. Flipping some switches, the blonde hums at her question. "Yeah pretty much," He said. "I do this or the stuff in the studio, which is just as cool but less energetic. Tour though...I could be on tour every night and never get tired of it," He said, twisting his hand underneath hers, fingers lacing together as blue eyes finally met hers. They were so close, and the energy he got from the live music he worked on was still coursing through him, so he didn't really think about the way he was leaning in until their noses were brushing before he finally closed the last bit of distance between them.