PART ONE: Big City Dreams

"Big City Dreams" - Nevershoutnever

Letting go of her was extremely painful to him. Taylor was his sanity, his conscience, the reason why kept believing in humanity. And setting her free was difficult, after two years and six months of being around her. But Dave knew very well that Taylor had to go and deserved to go because it was her dream and she had always wanted to do that. He imagined being at work in the Vans shop and listening to the radio as a song of Taylor's came on. Baltimore was an amazing place and he knew very well that Taylor loved her birth town but if she wanted to follow her dreams she had to go to LA. And it was not like she was too far away but he was terrorized by the idea that she'd forget him and that he wouldn't have the chance to be with her the way he was before.

Taylor was a short redhead that loved singing. Ever since she was in the first year of high school, Dave noticed that the girl with big green eyes had one of the strongest and the most beautiful voices he had ever heard. Her pretty full lips were always moving delicately, letting out the sound as she hummed to herself or sang out loud. He could see something deeply fascinating in her but did not know how to talk to her. The irony was that a teacher paired them for a project and they continued spending time together ever since.

They decided to keep talking on Skype and that they'd keep in touch and see each other weekly. But that was not as certain as it seemed. Dave was convinced that he wouldn't be able to do any of these because of her getting-famous schedule. Her manager hated him for some reason and he heard that LA changed people, it made them act different, in the Los Angeles style.

After watching the plane take off, Dave started walking towards the exit, a strange feeling pressing down his soul and he had that kind of panic inside his brain, trying to figure out his life without Taylor. Dave's eyes weren't sparkling anymore. Every day ever since that school project, his eyes kept sparkling even if he was away from her. But now, his big, grayish eyes were dull, without life. The blonde boy looked exactly like a dead man walking. He felt forgotten and neglected. He knew that he didn't have to feel that way because Taylor was happy and he felt happy for her but in those moments when he was walking out of the airport, Dave was the most selfish person in the world. He didn't want to see her famous and successful and happy with what she'd hoped her entire life for. He wanted to have Taylor near him, with him, every day, every minute, always.

That night, Taylor didn't call like she promised and neither did she reply to all of his messages

PART TWO: "Hey There Delilah" - Plain White T's

'Dave! Where's Taylor? Damn, I told you she'd dump you, mate. Dude, she's never loved anybody or anything but music. Never, ever.' Robert shouted towards Dave as he pushed his skateboard onto the ground, chasing him. 'Dave, wait!'

'Oh hey Robo.' Dave said lifeless. Robert's nickname was Robo because he was a master in street dance, especially robot dancing. Robert, however, hated being called like that and that's what motivated the boys to keep him the nickname. 'How's it going?' he added in the same voice.

'C'mon dude, let's go for a walk.' Robert said as he grabbed a skateboard and handed his own to Dave. After getting far enough from the skate park, Robert stopped. 'Okay, so look I might not be the right person to talk to you about girlfriends and stuff like that but I'm your only true and best friend so you really have no choice. For Pete's sake, Dave, people make movies about impossible and distance relationships, you'll live. And if you ask me, if she truly loved you, she would have invited you to stay with her for the weekend and you'd return on Monday but seriously, she left you here in Baltimore and she's there, in LA and dammit, did she even look back before leaving?'

Dave rolled his eyes and snapped his gum. He knew Robert kind of disliked Taylor. Still, he did not turn into a complete jerk when Dave told him he was finally dating Taylor. 'It was… Difficult. Her parents decided that it would be better for both of us to take a break, till she settles down in L.A and figures out a few things. I'll visit her, frequently.' he finally said, trying to encourage himself. He wasn't one hundred percent sure about the frequency of his visits to L.A. He wasn't even sure if he would ever go and see Taylor ever again. She promised they'd see each other on Skype but her company could not be replaced with a webcam.

Robert returned at the skate park after walking with Dave around the city centre, leaving him think about the whole situation. Dave was so deep in thought that he barely noticed his phone ringing. 'Yeah?'

'Dave! Finally you answer your damn cellphone! I'm here and I'm okay and the city is fascinating. I love it here so much, and the best part is that they've got my time all planned out so I just have to drive to certain places with no worries. It's really a lot like I've imagined, my life in L.A, if it's not better. They're all nice and helpful and the band dudes are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!' Taylor said in one breath, her voice showing the excitement and happiness. 'Dave?'

Dave was smiling with all his face, his heart racing at the beautiful sound of her voice. He was happy that she was happy and that she was okay. He finally realized that the beautiful, melodic sound had stopped so he choked on his 'yeah I'm listening' just to keep her talking.

'Oh my God! We've been talking for one hour.' Taylor said after catching her breath as she kept telling Dave about her new life. 'And I have to go have dinner with my producer and his family. So yeah… I really hope we can meet soon. Love ya!' she said before ending the call.

Dave's heart came back to his chest. He was feeling happy again after talking to Taylor. He was mostly happy that she got over leaving her friends, her life, in Baltimore, but he was also happy that he heard her voice again.

*
'Oh, hello Robert! Such a pleasure to see you!' Dave's mom said excitedly as she opened the door to see the tall, fit dark haired boy standing in front of the door dressed up in his usual tee and Vans jeans and shoes. 'Dave's upstairs.' she added as she looked over her shoulder to the cooker before excusing herself and saving the turkey from bringing in the oven.

Robert climbed up the stairs and as soon as he reached the first floor, he heard Dave playing a cover of "Hey there Delilah" but replacing Delilah with Taylor. 'Heya.' he said so suddenly that Dave jumped a little.

'Hi there. What's up?' Dave asked as he put his guitar aside, getting up to put some music on his laptop.

'Someone's in a good mood?' Robert said as he threw himself onto Dave's bed, watching him smile and go on about Taylor's call, and about how happy he was. Then there was a long, awkward silence in which both were thinking. That kind of silence that let the doubts overwhelm your mind. 'I don't know, man… What if she's cheating on you?' Robert asked finally. 'I mean, she's in California! Have you ever been there? God dammit, it seems like every single person there is attractive, and popularity makes them even more beautiful. Who knows? Maybe her manager presented her to a band guy and I don't know…'

Dave thought about it and there was a possibility that she might cheat on him. It wasn't even cheating actually. It was her carrying on with her life, having him as her best friend. He didn't even know what he was, who he was. But he insisted on believing that she still loved him and only him. 'She didn't seem like the type of girl who cheats. I mean, I don't think she'd do that.' but all his hope had gone when he saw Robert frown.

'Let's hope she doesn't cheat. But if she does, don't be surprised.' Robert said as he got up and looked around the room. 'Well, I'm gonna go. Good luck, Romeo.' he joked before getting out and emerging out of the room and then the house, speeding up on his skateboard towards the skate park.

PART THREE: "Sick Little Games" - All Time Low

One year had nearly passed since Taylor left. It was now Christmas, and Dave was still in Baltimore, spending his holidays with his family, not with Taylor, as they planned. He hadn't seen her for months, except for the pictures of her that filled his Tumblr dashboard. She kept telling him that she was busy and that she had to stay away from the paparazzi. The pictures he saw were pictures from the concerts where she was the opening act, and her face did look a little bit tired.

It was impressive how the band, Eternal Humans, was embracing such a massive success. They had been working on an EP album which came out a couple of months before. They had their own style, even though their album was often found in the alternative rock or indie rock section. It was very easy to relate to their lyrics and Dave reckoned that they were written by Taylor herself. He loved the band and felt very proud of it. He had already ordered band t-shirts even though they still hadn't come to Baltimore. He was a true fan and had huge arguments who whoever said anything bad about them.

On the first Christmas morning though, while he was zapping through the very boring tv channels with a cup of tea in his hand, a news on MTV made him choke on the gulp of hot liquid he was about to swallow. 'Bass player John McSimms of Eternal Humans was spotted last night getting out of the restaurant called Jasmine's holding hands with the singer of the same band. Paparazzi were able to take photos of the two as they were kissing and holding hands at a separate table in the corner of the restaurant. The two then emerged out of the restaurant, heading towards John's car, before going to the club Zipper in the south of L.A. Sources say that the two had chemistry from the very first meeting and were best friends by the second week of going to the studio every day. "Taylor fascinates John and he always seems to get more protective whenever he's with her. They would always be holding hands and tell inside jokes. He is her boyfriend and best friend and she is the same for him. They have a very relaxed relationship but love each other a lot and they're the ones that gave the band energy at 12 o'clock at night when they're still working on their album." another source says. The two have been dating for almost five months but preferred to keep it secret. Stay tuned for more news '

Dave have never felt so abandoned in his life. No, he wasn't feeling abandoned. He was feeling forgotten or maybe he was feeling something stronger than words. It was as if all the walls of the house had fallen on him. It was like he was falling down and he finally reached the bottom which smashed his bones and broke his lungs. His eyes filled with hot tears as he went upstairs to his room. He cried. Not because he was left alone, but because he was not even worth a goodbye, an explanation, a last hug. Taylor was the thing he loved the most, with all his heart. He never imagined they'd end like that and it hurt even more that Taylor said absolutely nothing. He jumped on his bed and thought for what seemed like hours. But all of a sudden, Robert broke the silence as he entered the room unexpectedly. 'Dude, have you heard about Taylor?' he asked as Dave automatically jumped up to his feet.

'Uh,yeah. It really, really sucks.' Dave said before his breath was taken away by an unexpected, terribly awkward brotherly hug from Robert. 'Oh,wow, ouch. I never though you do hugs.' Dave said as he looked at his best friend who looked, for once in his life, like he actually did have feelings. His face was changed from the usual harshness to something more like sorry and compassion.

'I don't. It's the first and probably last hug I've ever given to anybody. So consider yourself lucky. You could actually make a t-shirt with the text: "I was hugged by Robert. Be jealous".' Rob answered with a smirk as he flipped on the bed. 'You know what? Call her. Make her feel bad. Make her feel guilty and sorry for dating that guy. You're worth twenty of John or whatever his name is, just saying.'

Dave shook his head. 'I couldn't do that. She's happy, and that's what she deserves.'

Robert rolled his eyes. 'See? You never care about yourself, which sometimes is good but in this case nobody cares about you either. So just shut it with all these martyr like words, okay?'

Dave did not reply to that because Robert was right and contradicting with him was useless, as he always seemed to have the best arguments to support his opinion.

'Call her, okay? Call her and say good bye. Have a proper breakup, even if it's on the phone. Talk a lot. Talk it all out. Leave no words unspoken, okay? Tell her all your feelings. Say everything you want to say and when you close the phone, feel like there was nothing else to say. Promise me? Okay, see ya tomorrow.' Robert said as he left the room.

Later that day, Dave gained enough guts to call Taylor. They talked a lot. They cried. They laughed. They fantasized about their future lives. They opened up to each other after so long. They cried again. They talked it all out till there was nothing to talk anymore. They talked about their friends, and how they were doing.
'Goodnight, Dave.' said Taylor in a voice that you could tell she was in tears. 'And Merry Christmas. Have a nice holiday, okay?' she added. 'I'll miss you.'

'There is no need to miss me. Just remember that when everybody turns their backs at you, I'll be there for you. Always.' Dave said in a comforting voice. He could gear Taylor crying heavily so he decided they should stop talking for the night. 'Goodnight, Tay. And Merry Christmas to you too. I love you. ' and then he hung up.

The End