"If music be the food of love, play on." 

– William Shakespeare

Asher POV

The sandwich shop might've been the best idea I've had in a while, the sandwiches were fucking insane and no one but me and Hailey were inside eating, there were only a few customers who had ordered for taking away and only half of them had recognized me, luckily none had come over and disturbed us as I ate with Hailey.

I couldn't believe my luck when I saw her this morning walking towards the elevator, I was in the process of knocking on doors, some had told me to fuck off considering it was early in the morning, half were trying to invite me in for a cuppa tea or coffee, which I declined, obviously, my mind was set on finding Hailey's room, I was serious about not half arsing anything.

Last night as I sang my last show of the tour, all I could think about was getting it done with so I could go back to the hotel and find her, it was near impossible and wishful thinking, my bandmates dragged me to some club and the whole night was a disaster, I couldn't sit and enjoy myself, all I could think about to slipping away and banging on doors until I eventually find hers.

Thinking about it now, it was probably not the best idea to knock on doors, but I'm way too interested in this girl, and I'm starting to hope she's seeing it too, I mean I can barely get her out of my fucking head and now here we are, sitting across from her eating a chicken sandwich.

She looks unreal in the flowery dress she's wearing, I have to actually restrain myself from staring at her for too long, part of me is fucking convinced if I turn away she's going to disappear like she did last night when we got crowded by my team and a bunch of people.

"What you got planned for the rest of the day?" I ask her as she wipes her mouth with a napkin.

She blushes and clears her throat. "I was thinking of window shopping, maybe check out the sights... I really don't have a plan." She laughs nervously. 

What the fuck is window shopping? I hum. "Sounds good." I say awkwardly.

We're back in awkward silence and I fucking hate it, I want to desperately invite myself to whatever the fuck she is doing but I don't want to come off too strong, she already looks uncomfortable being around me, I don't think people noticing me when we were walking helped the situation, I'm used to it but she's not.

"You can come, unless your busy.. I understand if you're not, sorry- ignore me." She mumbles shyly and avoids my gaze.

Yes, yes, fuck yes. "I'm not busy, I'm totally free and would love to, it's been a while since I've just walked about."

She laughs and I love the sound of it, does strange things to my fucking head.

We both get up and I make my way to the front door, Hailey follows behind me and I open the door wide for her. "Ladies first." I smile at her.

She smiles back. "Thank you, kind sir." She says humorously.

I don't know exactly where the fuck we are, but I at least brought my phone this time with me so we don't get lost, I'm walking beside Hailey with my hands in my jean pockets, it's warm today and I'm glad I brought my cap and sunglasses, not wanting to get noticed too much as I walk around with her.

"Did you manage to get a phone yet?" I ask curiously, secretly wanting to get her number.

She shakes her head with a frown. "No.. I.. er, I can't afford one right now but I did get the number you left for me last night." 

I'm so fucking close to just buying her one, it's killing me that I don't have it, the second we walk past a phone shop I'm going to get her something, she did mention she was paying student loans, I'm guessing she can't afford one, would she mind if I bought her one? People get so weird about money, I don't have a fucking clue, we'll see.

"That's good, I totally forgot to ask what room you were in, I do still owe you a three-course meal." I say jokingly and she laughs.

"That's true! And I'm in room 410 on the fifth floor." She says smiling.

Noted, no more knocking on strangers doors at 8 AM in the morning

We walk past some shops and I notice Hailey look at a few things with interest at the one we're currently stood outside of, she's looking at a dress and I can see her looking great in it but she's not going inside, so I do what I must because this girl isn't going to go inside otherwise.

I walk past Hailey and head inside the shop. "W-Wa- Asher?" I hear her but ignore her and walk into the shop and glance around, taking my sunglasses off I walk over to the woman section where there's a bunch of woman stuff, dressers, shirts, everything.

Hailey comes into the shop and I can tell she's trying not to glare at me as I grin at her, she comes up to me and I shrug innocently. "This isn't window shopping Asher." She whispers, embarrassed.

I smile at her and shrug. "I can't get you a birthday gift window shopping though." I say with a wink and she blushes.

"You don't have to get me anything, you don't even know me."

I fake hurt and put my hand over my heart. "Ouch, I thought we were friends, I shared my Redbull with you." 

She rolls her eyes and I grin. "Seriously, pick whatever you want, it's my treat." I pause. "I'll be right back, ten minutes tops okay?" 

She looks at me confused but nods her head, I walk over to the woman behind the desk who is staring at me with hungry eyes as I make my way towards her. "Hi there, my friend over there looking at the dresses." I hint towards Hailey. "When she's ready to pay, can I leave my card with you?" I say smiling at her, working my charm.

She nods her head. "O-Of course! That isn't a problem Sir."

"Thanks love." I give her a wink and leave my card on the desk.

I head out without giving the woman a second look, instead, I sneak a peek at Hailey as she picks up a dress, I focus my eyes on the shop across from me, it's an apple store and I saw it as soon as we got to this side of the shopping district, I couldn't help myself when I saw it, going inside that shop and leaving her there was a plot to head over and buy her a phone.

I cross the road as people stare at me, whispering and taking photos of me as I turn my baseball cap and put it lower, covering my face slightly as I make my way into the apple store. Once inside I head straight for the front desk and ask for the latest model of iPhone, not caring about the price or color, as long as it functions I don't give a shit.

As I wait for them to set them up I keep my eyes focused on the shop I left her in, over the road from the phone shop. People have already noticed me, meaning I need this guy to hurry the fuck up so I can get back to Hailey, without people following me. I turn my back to the people staring at me and watch as the man comes towards me with the phone packed in the back.

I pay with my second credit card and ask for a set of those wireless headphones, I have come back to my hotel, this way if she ever wanted to listen to music she has some wireless ones. Once everything is bought and paid for I grab the bag and keep my head low as I walk out of the shop, and past all the people looking at me, taking photos, I make my way back to the clothing shop I left Hailey at without sparing anyone a glance.

I will admit, I'm super fucking excited to give this to her, I know it's just a phone but secretly I hope she doesn't freak out and think I'm doing this for pity reasons, I just want her to have a phone, it's that simple.

Once I make it back to the shop I see Hailey at the checkout with shock on her face, I walk towards her as she speaks to the woman I left my card with her, by the looks of it, everything she picked up has been paid for.

"Hey, ready to go?" I ask, coming up behind her.

She jumps slightly and nods her head, I get my card back from the woman and wink at her and say thank you, as she smiles widely at me. I hover my hand over Hailey's back and let her walk in front of me as I walk behind her, out of the shop.

"You didn't need to do that Asher." She says quietly, a hint of confusion in her voice.

"I wanted to." I pause. "Want to grab a drink?" I ask, hinting at the beer garden down the road.

She frowns slightly than after a short pause she nods her head. "Sure."

I feel the air around us grow tense and I can sense that she's slightly upset and confused as to why I paid, we walk in silence together down the street side by side until we make it to the beer garden, theirs around twenty people chatting amongst themselves, and since it's a weekend, people are starting early on the alcohol. 

I walk over to a table and sit down, Hailey sits in front of me and I smile at her widely, hoping she buys into my charm, not wanting a few clothes to ruin what I'm trying to build with her.

People have noticed who I am almost instantly as I walked in and they are now talking openly and loud to each other at my sudden presence, it makes Hailey uncomfortable so I nudge her leg with mine under the table, to make her focus on me and not them. 

"Want to go somewhere else?" I ask, hating the fact she's uncomfortable, this isn't exactly how I pictured today would go, the last thing I wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable.

"You don't want to stay?" She asks quietly. "We can stay, I don't mind, really." She says more confidently, even if her facial expression is anything but.

I glance around swiftly, my cap low, and nod my head, a waiter comes up to our table and smiles at us. "Hi there, what can I get for you today?" The young woman asks me first.

"I'll have a Duvel, thank you love." I say.

The woman writes it down then asks Hailey the same thing, to which she just replies with 'the same please'. Once the waiter writes down our order then says she'll be back in a second with our drinks, I decide this is the best thing to give Hailey the phone.

I place the bag on the table and she eyes it curiously. "Now don't be mad cause... I did this for me, not you, but mainly for you." I say jokingly, passing her the iPhone box.

She gapes at me and stares at me dumbfounded, before she could speak the waiter from before comes back to our table with both of our drinks, with two bottles and two glasses filled with ice, I say thank you as Hailey processes her current state of shock, once the woman leaves again I clear my throat.

"This is too much Asher, I can't accept this." She says slowly, passing the box back to me across the table.

I knew she would say this, but I'm nothing if not persistent. "Well, that sucks because I threw away the receipt." I say seriously and she looks at me like I've grown three heads.

I pour my drink into the glass and smirk at her as I move the box back across the table towards her, loving the look on her face right now, which is speechless beyond words, so far my favorite look on her, beside her smiling and laughing face.

I take my phone out and see a missed video call from my mum, that was ten minutes ago, I also see Hailey from behind my phone as she glares at the iPhone box as she sips on her drink and I can't help but fucking love the look on her face, most people would be ecstatic to get anything out of me, and here she is, trying to avoid me paying for anything.

Her nose scrunches up every time she takes a sip of the beer and I can't help but laugh, she glares at me when I laugh out loud, catching the attention of the tables around us as they begin to stare at our table.

"Stop laughing." She whispers yells at me behind her glass of beer, as she kicks me under the table with her leg.

And just like that I knew, I'm seriously falling for this girl.

I know it's only been two days of knowing her, barely a few hours within those days, and I'm sat here wondering how the fuck is this even possible, she just needs to look at me and my stomach does fucking summersaults.

I've bought her food, clothes and now a phone, it's so obvious, I don't want to be some guy she met on Vacation and in an elevator, I want to see where this will go.

"I'm glad you invited me, Hailey, I've had fun." I say truthfully, staring into her eyes and putting my glass on the table.

She smiles nervously, nodding her head. "Me too, I just.. I'm not used to this.." She says, hinting at people staring at us and the gifts I got her.

I swallow nervously and smile apologetically. "Would you believe me if I said I've never done this before?" 

Her brows raise and I smile. "Want to get out of here?" I ask suddenly, standing up from the bench.

She laughs and stands up. "More than anything." She says with a bashful smile.

Thank fuck, I grab the bags and lead her out of the beer garden, which was not one of my most successful ideas, I was too focused on her to really pay attention to anything else, I want to enjoy spending time with her but it's more complicated then I thought to walk around like a normal person when you're anything but.

"I hope I didn't ruin your day, I thought the cap would work." I say lamely as I walk beside her.

She laughs and smiles widely at me shaking her head. "Sorry Asher but you stand out in a crowd full of people, maybe wear a wig next time?" She says jokingly.

I snort. "Deal, if it means we can do this again." 

She looks up shyly at me and I grin down at her. "Let's take these back to the hotel." I pause for a few seconds. "How about dinner tonight with me? I promise no more beer gardens." 

My palms sweat as I wait for her to say something, she looks at me with a look I can't place, sadness? fear? 

"I don't know Asher.."

I swallow my disappointment and smile. "Okay, but my offer will always be there for that three-course meal." I say, dangling the carrot in front of her, hoping she bites.

She chuckles. "Thank you.. and thank you for the gifts.. it's ..wow, I'm a little mad at you but, I will get you back one day." She pauses. "When is your birthday?"  

I look at her smirking. "July 14th."

I see her take a mental note as we walk through the hotel doors together and make our way towards the elevator. We don't get to wait long for the lift as it's already on the ground floor, there's a comfortable silence between us as we stare at each other whilst we ride the elevator up to ground five, her floor.

When the door dings open it takes everything to tear my eyes away from her captivating ones, I could write a whole song just about her eyes, easily, maybe even an album, if not for the fact that would be creepy as hell, I wouldn't think twice about doing it.

We walk silently down the hall until we make it to her door, room 410, she scans her card and the door opens, I drop the bags in her doorway and watch her hang her bag up behind the door, she turns and smiles at me and I desperately want to come inside but I hold off and back away.

"Thanks for keeping me company Hailey, I had fun." 

"Me too... I'll text you?" She says smiling and I nod greedily.

"I'll be waiting." I say earnestly, my eyes never leaving hers as she closes her door, as we silently say our goodbyes with our eyes, both knowing that this is definitely not the last time we will see each other again.