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Harbor
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When she is fifteen and experiences her first major fight with her boyfriend, he sees her hurrying off to the bathroom, her face clouded with a messy disappointment. He follows, if only because he's a nice guy and she's the girlfriend (or, he supposes, possibly ex-girlfriend) of one of his best friends.
She comes out shortly before lunch ends, blowing her nose and dabbing her eyes on cheap, roughly textured toilet paper. She looks surprised to see him, but he doesn't say a word – he only offers her the remainder of his lunch, which consists of four cookies, all baked by him and wafting a highly scrumptious aroma.
She asks him why he's giving up the rest of his delicious food for her.
He simply shrugs and says she probably hasn't eaten the whole day.
She takes them slowly, her eyes still fixed on him, and then she manages a small smile and thanks him. He's a good friend, she informs him, and his gesture means a lot.
He shrugs again; he's just not one to take (well-deserved) credit for his good deeds.
The bell rings and he waves, telling her to feel better and not to worry, and that he'll call her later to see how she's doing.
Even after he's hurried off to his next class, she's still standing there, staring at the spot where he had been standing and wondering how anyone could be so kind.
Later that night, she receives a telephone call and it's him, asking her how she is and if she's worked things out with her boyfriend. She sounds absolutely overjoyed as she tells him all about how he apologized, and how everything's alright again.
He laughs and tells her that he knew they would work it out, and that she can call him up anytime there's a problem.
She says she will, and then she happily thanks him again for everything. She's so lucky that they're friends, she says. He's a great guy.
He remarks that he's always happy to help.
It's the start of a beautiful new friendship.
--
When she is twenty and her boyfriend (well, fiancé, now) proposes, he is the first one she calls.
She's gushing as she spills all the details to him. It was a traditional proposal; he brought her to one of her favorite fancy restaurants, and got down on one knee and asked her right after a truly delectable dessert (though, as she tells him graciously, he, as in renowned sought-after chef Zeke Baylor, could probably have made one just as mouthwatering). He recited her favorite romantic poem and even prepared a speech, declaring how much he loved her. It is everything she has ever hoped for, she continues, and she can't be happier. She knows they're young, and normally she's very conventional and cautious, but she loves him so much and she just knows in her heart that she wants to marry him. She can't wait to be Taylor Danforth.
After her long-winding speech, he just laughs and tells her that if she's happy, he's happy too. She's going to have a wonderful wedding because Chad is a great guy, he says loyally.
She thanks him, and suddenly she's sobbing, because she says she knows that Chad is going to be a great husband and she's just so happy. She says he's an amazing friend, and of course he's going to make sure that he can come to the wedding, right?
He agrees and promises to save the date, before she apologizes and says she has to go, because she really has to call Gabriella and Troy and her parents and everyone else and spread the news.
After they hang up, he has no idea why there's a tiny crack in his heart.
--
When she is twenty-one and it's the night before her wedding to her high school sweetheart, she calls him up, the phone shaking in her hand.
She cries and snivels, saying that she doesn't mean to bother him, but she's so scared, because what if Chad doesn't love her after all? What if they're not meant to be? What if it's a mistake? They're so young, and she doesn't want to do anything stupid. She expresses a million more worries, most of them unintelligible to Zeke, who can barely understand her over her racking sobs over the phone.
Nonetheless, he assures her that it's going to be okay and she's going to be so damn happy with Chad because they love each other, and that this is all typical pre-wedding jitters.
And she worries and he comforts, because that's what seems to be happening a lot lately.
She gasps unexpectedly and whispers that her fiancé is home, and she's fine now, really, she is, and she has to go. She'll see him tomorrow at the wedding, and like so many times before, she thanks him multiple times because he's honestly, truly, seriously the best friend she could ever ask for, and she doesn't know what she would do without him.
In response, he just laughs and says that she would eat fewer cookies, but after he's all alone in his room without the sound of her voice to erase the quiet, he wonders why the crack in his heart feels significantly larger.
--
When she is twenty-three and she finds that her husband has cheated on her, she calls him up in the middle of the night, apologizing for calling so late but telling him that she really needs to talk to someone right now. He promises that it's fine, and listens to her revelation, complete with heaving sobs and endless snivels. He says he's so, so sorry that this has happened to her, because she doesn't deserve it and it's Chad's loss anyway for being such an asshole.
She can't stop her crying, and she says brokenly that all she wants to know is what she did wrong. Why isn't she good enough for her husband? Of course she is, he soothes her. Chad's the one that's not good enough for her. He'll talk to Chad, Zeke offers. He'll set things straight.
Taylor won't let him, because it's their problem to fix and she doesn't want to get Zeke involved; it wouldn't be fair, she insists. She'll be fine, it's just shock. He's hesitant to let her take care of everything on her own, but she swears that she's a big girl now and she can handle it. She just needed someone to talk to, she says, and thanks him for everything.
He makes her promise to call him again tomorrow and she does, before hanging up, claiming she's had a long, exhausting day and she just wants to sleep. She's staying at her mom's place in Albuquerque, miles away from her and Chad's place. He lets her sleep, and he realizes, when he's settled into bed himself and he's just staring at the ceiling, that behind the fury at Chad and sympathy for Taylor, there's a tad of jealousy and an almost irreparable crack in his heart.
--
When she is twenty-five and it happens again, Taylor McKessie decides she's had enough. She's an intellectual and confident woman, and she is no longer going to take any fucking bull shit from the man who says he loves her but can never show it. No, she's definitely had enough. She packs her bags and tells Chad Danforth that she's done and he can fuck whoever he wants now, and though it stings oh so badly when Chad does not even argue or beg her to stay, she walks away with her head held high and her dignity intact.
She goes to Zeke's place, and when he opens the door, he invites her in (even though it's five oh something in the morning), and she collapses on the floor and sobs and says it's not fair, she'll never get her happy ever after.
And Zeke Baylor has also had enough. So he holds Taylor in his arms and tells her everything he's always wanted to say to her: how he loves her so much and will never, ever hurt her, how Chad's a jackass and she deserves so much better, how he promises he'll do everything in his power to give her everything she's always wanted.
He looks her in the eye and vows that he means it, and Taylor kisses him and cries, even harder than before – tears of happiness, she assures him, and finally, finally, finally, they both got their happily ever after.
--fin
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I'm back from vacation!
Thanks for reading! Zeke/Taylor...a pairing that I've wanted to write for so long. It's not my usual stuff, and damn, it's pretty cheesy at the end, but I figured Zeke deserved a happy ending for once. I know it's not exactly deep stuff and it's not half as great as what Jen and Robin (StarVitamin and TehFuzzyPenguin) have been putting up lately – by the way, go read their stuff – but I'm still a bit drowsy and I tried!
Review, per favore!
--Disclaimer.
It's not mine.