JAKPLAZA Haley was seated in the chair provided in the closed side lobby of the JakPlaza, talking to her side man, Gregory. And then, he walked in, notebook in hand.
She stopped midsentence. "Haley," he said, looking in the direction she was, "Stop drooling," he said just loud enough to get her attention. She smacked him on the arm, embarrassed. Gregory just laughed and walked out. Justin sat down, chuckling on the inside and blushing. Trace pulled up a chair too.
"So, let’s get this started," he said to her quietly, smiling.
“Y-you own William R-rast?” she stuttered, surprised to be in front of him again.
He chuckled, fixing the glasses she realized he wasn't wearing this morning. “Sorry, my eyes started to get irritated from the contacts. Yeah, my buddy Trace and I started this awhile back. We felt fashion was a way to express ourselves. You know, besides my music.”
He noticed her look down at her notes, seemingly nervous. He could kind of tell by now she was also a fan. “Um...”
“Hey,” he touched her hand gently. “Just take a breath and go slow. Like we’re just three friends talking.
She smiled gratefully at him and cleared her throat. “S-so, why did you guys start William Rast? Considering you're already doing music, acting, a restaurant.”
“Well, Trace has done some of the better stuff I’ve worn in the past and we found a cool way to show and promote our style, sort to say.”
“How did you create the name?”
Trace picked up the answer on this one. “We wanted something that meant a lot to both of us and his grandfather’s first name is William, my grandfather’s last name is Rast. So we put it together and it fit.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” Haley smiled, certainly not missing the beam from Justin. “Guys want the style you guys possess and girls want something sexy so let’s run through some stuff in the line.” Both men nodded for her to continue, glad she finally got her footing. “What’s some of things you have?”
“Um we have kind of a casual/dressy look with the blazers and the free bird tees. Paired with the John Cargo Jeans; which are named after Trace’s grandpa. If you want something a bit more dressy you can wear slacks and dress shoes instead.”
“You can take the windbreaker and Tennessee Kid t-shirt with the Billy Jeans; so J’s grandfather. The windbreaker is one of my favorites.”
“What about the jeans, what do you think’ll be hot this season?” Haley asked.
“Well, a lot of women seem to like the Savoys which have the upside down yoke. And the Capris.”
“Yeah and for the guys, all the jeans seem to be popular,” Justin added. “And we have some new stuff coming too.”
“Can you give us a hint?”
“A little hint,” he answered goofily while squinting his eyes and making everyone laugh. “Anyway, I personally feel there should be a suede jacket to go with the new denim splash low riders we’re putting in the line.”
“Sounds hot! I’ll certainly be interested in those. Ok, well that’s all the questions I have,” she wrapped up. “Thank you very much for both of yours time.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Trace smiled charmingly. He walked to the door where their guards and Rachael waited. Justin stopped Haley as she stood up on her crutches that she must’ve used out of her wheelchair.
She turned to him as he said, “hey, when I saw you this morning at the coffee shop and I – well, we were looking at each other and I couldn’t help thinking I wanted to know you.”
The stunned look on her face said it all. Why would a handsome, not to mention busy and popular, man ask her out? She felt like she was back in high school again. She was nervous, shocked, and not to mention a fan of his for crying out loud!
He saw the wheels of her mind turning and smiled warmly. He didn’t exactly do this all the time – he would tell a girl he liked her but not just ask her out after seeing her once. “Just lunch, maybe talk?”
She finally smiled in return and nodded. His smile grew, if possible, and he walked out.
“Dude! Did you just do what I think you did?” Trace asked. When he didn’t get an answer he looked up at his best friend. Justin had an enormous smile and was humming. The same one he was writing in the studio. “What you smiling for, J?”
“Oh, nothing. Just figured out the lyrics to my new song.” Finally he would get to know the mysterious girl that caught his eye that morning.
---
TEN MONTHS LATER Justin and Haley enjoyed lunch that day she had interviewed him and Trace. It was so strange how he was intrigued by her but he couldn’t help it. It was like something pulled him in. Well, he was glad it did because they found they had some things in common. They both had different social circles during their school years and Haley wasn't anything close to the celebrity he was. But she’d become well-liked in her adult years, and had a good job. No matter that her boss was a jerk.
Lunch soon turned into a date, which turned into phone calls and seeing each other when Justin wasn't busy. That soon turned into deeper feelings and they continued to date. Now they’ve been together for eight months. Haley hadn’t ever felt like this; that a guy would love her and want to stay with her. As cheesy as it sounded, she’d never thought Justin would be the guy for her, that they’d fall for each other. She always thought he’d walk out like every guy she liked did. But nope, not him. He constantly surprised her.
She wasn’t like the normal actresses or models he dated. She was far from it. She wasn’t one someone would call pretty at first glance, but he found her beautiful. Her short height brought her up to just below his collarbone, her skin almost as pale as his, and her dirty-blonde hair naturally curled when it was down. She was handicapped, the disability affecting certain muscles in her body; primarily her legs. It wasn’t too bad, she lived with it all her life, but it required use of crutches and sometimes a chair.
Tonight they were at a club with their friends. Trace, Rachael, Nick, Tony, the other Justin, Esmée and Haley’s friends Sammy (Samantha) and her side man from the magazine, Greg. And of course Tim was DJ-ing, occasionally bringing Justin up with him. As the booming bass and fast-paced song became quiet, Tim’s voice could be heard over the mic. “Ok, how’s everyone feeling tonight? Nah, nah, I said: HOW’S EVERYONE TONIGHT?!”
This got the whole club cheering and jumping. “Alright,” Justin chimed in. “We’re going to slow it down a bit. This is ironically one of my own songs, thanks to Tim,” he snickered. “It’s called ‘Until the End of Time’ and it’s for all the ladies out there.”
He made his way through to the VIP section, saying hi to a few people until he reached his girlfriend. He pulled her out of her seat, making sure to keep his hold since her crutches were left at their table. He pulled Haley to his body, whispering the words to the song in her ear. She smiled against his neck and gently kissed him. Towards the end of the song, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He groaned in annoyance but knew he should take it. “I’ve got to take this, Baby. Sorry.” He sat her back down at their table, their friends having scattered on the dance floor.
Not even five minutes after Justin was gone, a strange man walked up to Haley. He was handsome, tall, long brown hair. Pretty green eyes. Had she not been dating Justin she might have thought this guy was cute. But something was off. “Your new here,” he shouted over the music.
“Um not really, I’ve come here before with friends.” She was getting nervous.
“Nah, I would’ve noticed you. you're to fine.” He then leaned in close. “I’m Nate. Let’s dance.”
“Let’s not. I’m here with someone.”
“Oh, come on. Someone as pretty as you should be on the floor,” he continued to flirt.
“She said she’s with someone. Back off,” Trace’s voice came as he moved behind her. Nate smirked, like he could take him if he wanted her enough. But then the others walked up.
“Maybe next time, sweet thing.”
The girl rolled her eyes, a bit creeped out, and sighed in relief as Justin came back to her side. He noticed the disgusted faces of his friends and asked, “what’s wrong?”
“Some jerk tried to hit on Hales,” Rachael answered.
“Did he hurt you?” he asked the girl in front of him, squeezing her shoulder.
“No, Jus. He was just flirting. The gang came to my rescue.”
“Well, I’m sorry I wasn't here. I’ll never do that again.” She scoffed off his comment like it didn’t bother her and he helped her up.
The group filed out of the club, surrounded by guards, and past paparazzi. Once in the car, Justin saw Haley smirking. “What's so funny, girl?”
“He was kind of cute.”
He looked at her suspiciously before a smile tugged at his lips. “Are you dating other people?”
“Haha, I don’t think you have to worry about that. I’ve got a very good man.”
“Oh, do you?” he smiled.
Chapter End Notes:
AN: chapter3 may be a wait cuz its the hardest part to sort out & write.
Story Tags: williamrast
