Taylex fanfiction Poprocks & Coke
Chapter 1: "You're More Than A Friend, I Knew It From The First Sight."
Taylor Jardine was a straight A student. She had fantastic grades and never misbehaved at school in her 15 year old life. "Above Average" in every subject on every school report, ever. Never got with the "in" crowd. Well, never got with any crowd, really. She had her one, best, friend, Lyn-Z Ballato, and that was enough, for her.
But all this also meant that everyone was so busy praising her that no-one noticed her depression. Well, people noticed, of course, but the wrong people. The kids at school saw her tears, her self-harm and labelled her. "Emo" was the worst. "Freak", too.
But somehow, Tay managed to keep her parents completely in the dark, and her teachers remained oblivious. She wiped the tears, covered the cuts, faked a smile and hid all pain, all the sadness from everyone. Until Alex, that is…
It was Monday again. Tay hated Home Room on a Monday. But today, there was a slight buzz in the air. Apparently, there was going to be a new student, a new boy, a boy called Alex. The boys were wondering if he was any good at football, whereas the girls only cared if he was hot. Tay, however, didn't care, as long as she wasn't asked her opinion, or forced to speak to him. Why should she be bothered? Miss Dawson, the form leader, stood up to address the class.
"Good morning, class!" The woman almost screamed with a jump and a clap of her hands. A less than enthusiastic "Good morning, Miss" droned back, but the vibrant, energetic science teacher wasn't deterred by her student's lack of interest. Miss Dawson was wasted on a stupid group of teenage miscreants, Tay thought. With her bright blue eyes; platinum blonde, almost white hair; youth and natural beauty, she could have been a model, or at the very least, a children's TV presenter.
The speculation from earlier had passed, and Tay tuned out from the usual, boring banter around her about what radical parties had commenced over the weekend and who was going out with who this week, putting her feet up on the empty seat next to her. Leaning her back against the wall, she began to silently assess her classmates in her head. (Jennifer's clearly wearing extensions, she was obsessed with how she had her hair cut last week; and Frank's wearing that shirt, but he probably couldn't name a "Nirvana" song if I paid him…)
Tay's arms stung in a constant way from the way her jacket rested on the covered cuts on them, and her wrists ached from the amount of bracelets on them. Slowly, carefully and with much expertise, she took her jacket off, and instantly felt much better.
Suddenly, and without warning, the classroom door swung open, and a boy stood in the doorway, sort of nervously. This boy was so scene, he made every other scene kid ever look like a chav. He was wearing black skinny jeans to match the black "Bring Me The Horizon" band shirt that fitted him like it was made specifically for him. His hair was mostly dark brown, with the obvious exception of the bright pink streak in his fringe, and was tastefully messed up at the back.
Although several other girls' reactions were like "Skinny jeans on a boy? Ew." And "Pink hair? What the fuck?" Tay found him quite attractive. But she was never going to admit that out loud.
"Ah, Alex, come on in!" Alex looked scared of the class, stepping in gingerly, as if he was entering a lion's den covered in meat. "So, class, this is our much discussed new student, Alex Gaskarth. Alex, you can sit…" As Miss Dawson's eyes surveyed the class studiously, Tay prayed that she would overlook the spare chair next to her, but she had no such luck. "Ah, next to Taylor!" The teacher pointed at the seat. Alex smiled awkwardly, and Tay groaned inwardly. Great. This was all she needed. A really cute boy to sit next to her, a day after she last cut.
As Alex arrived at the chair he had been instructed to sit in, he caught full sight of the girl the teacher had named as Taylor. She had on a dark outfit, consisting of a black and red pentagram shirt and skin-tight black leggings. She still had her red Converse sneakers up on the chair he had to sit in. She had dark brown hair, that was obviously not dyed, that was cut into a droopy emo fringe.
"H-h-hi?" Alex stuttered, visibly nervous from the pressure of the class watching the two, and the fear of embarrassment. Tay smiled sweetly.
"Yes? Can I help you?" Tay's eyebrows were raised in faux innocence. The class began to laugh at them. Miss Dawson tutted, but didn't say anything.
"Are you not gonna let me sit down? Is that what's happening here?" The boy was actually shaking. Tay began to think that maybe this was maybe a little cruel, as he clearly had self-confidence issues, but she decided not to care.
"No, I'm sorry. You're gonna have to come back another time." Tay looked down at her fingernails, not wanting to see the pained expression on Alex's adorable face.
"Please, Taylor, is it?" Tay looked up, at the sound of her name, and found his eyes. He was looking at her in a way that made her want to scream and shout and curl up and cry at the same time. Time seemed to freeze, and so did the sarcastic reply Tay had ready, as she felt she couldn't say it without crying. She managed to nod mutely and drag her feet down.
"Thanks" Alex said, relief flooding his voice as he sat in the seat next to Tay. The rest of the class looked away, disappointed, and Tay looked away, too, trying to remember how to breathe. "Hi. You're Taylor, then, I guess." Tay couldn't see, but Alex couldn't stop smiling at her. He found her sarcastic sense of humour quite attractive, really.
"H-hey." She raised her head slowly, not quite into the normal routine of breathing. "Well, yeah, my name's Taylor Jardine, but call me Tay, alright?"
"Tay." Alex repeated, in a way that would be creepy on just about anyone else, but only managed to be cute on him.
"You're Alex, right?" She attempted to smile back, but it felt forced and fake. Not that it wasn't every other time. Tay raised her arm to move her fringe so it covered her face.
"Yep. That's my name, don't wear – woah!" Alex grabbed Tay's arm suddenly, sending shocks of pain from the fresh red cuts on them through her entire body. ('Well,' She thought. 'So much for the touch barrier') She mentally thanked God for the bracelets on her wrists. "Woah, woah, wo… ah. Tay, dude, what's this? Is this what I think it is? Do you know what I think this is? What's this? Are you okay?"
He was rambling, but there was no doubt he was genuinely concerned. He took a big breath, clearly not aware he said all that in one breath. "What's this?" He whispered. Tay sighed. She didn't want to lie to him, really, but they'd only just met, and it wasn't really any of his business. This time, the smile she faked hurt her.
"Nothing!" Her voice was falsely bright as she murmured something inaudible about accidents and cats and sharp brambles. The usual lie just slipped off her tongue. "Anyway… BMTH, huh? So, you into rock music?" She grabbed her arms back, wincing slightly from the pain and shoved them, quite violently, into her Glamour Kills jacket. With cutting, Tay liked to keep it need-to-know. And Alex definitely did NOT need to know. He watched her with a look that told her he knew she was faking.
"Tay, I know this is a bit forward, but please take your clothes off." Alex laughed at his own joke but she just looked away again.
"No. You don't need to see, Alex. It's nothing, seriously." Tay pulled her jacket sleeves down over her hands protectively. "Do you like 'Twin Atlantic'? I like that song of theirs… 'Free' is it called?"
"Will you just show me your arms, please?" He was now talking with a sense of desperation, and it was clear that his patience was wearing thin.
"I want to believe…" Tay sang trying to distract him. "I set my body on fire so I could be free…"
"I'm not a bad person, Tay. I ain't gonna hurt you, I wouldn't even dream of it. I just wanna… I don't even know… protect you, almost." He sat closer to her, practically begging her.
"What about that 'Nickelback' single? I thought I didn't like them, you know, like the rest of the sane people in the world, but that song's okay…" It was beginning to get to Alex, all this talk of music. In itself, it wasn't that annoying, but when he was trying to talk to her…
He grabbed her hands and held them in his tenderly. He looked into her dark green eyes and held them too.
"In fact, I won't do nothing, not if you don't want me to." Alex was pleading now, properly begging her. He might as well have been on his knees. Give him a few more minutes, and he probably would do just that.
"What's it called? I keep thinking it's 'This Is War', but I'm pretty sure that's 30 Seconds To…" Tay had been talking with a sense of innocence, and it was like they had been having two separate conversations, and Alex had just about had enough, when the bell signifying end of session rang, loud and unexpected. "Mars." Tay finished, a little bewildered.
"Show me, Tay. Tell me." Alex stood up quickly, before Tay, and blocked her path.
"Alex…" Tay moaned, pushing a little at his shoulder. "No. Do you even know anything about any of this? Wait, I'll answer that for you; no, you don't know me. For God's sake, we met, like, 10 minutes ago!" She tried to push past him, more because she didn't want to be late for Geography, next, than the conversation, but either way he wasn't moving.
"Yeah, you're right. You're absolutely 100 percent correct. I don't know you, personally, yet, though I'll probably get to know you after today. But you're also wrong. I do know what you're going through, if that's what I think it is, and you're actually doing that. Hell, I've been there, sweetheart!" Tay was sick of him looking at her like that, and that 'It's okay, I'm here' tone of voice he was using. It made her want to cry and tell him everything, which was probably what he wanted. "So, just talk to me, please."
She was so close to breaking down, right there, and clinging to him and telling him everything, all about cutting and the intense depression she felt.
In desperation, she jumped suddenly onto the tabletop, deliberately squeaking the rubber soles of her sneakers, and jumped off the other side, but Alex stopped her before she got to the door.
"'This Means War',* Taylor Jardine!" Tay shook her head and tutted as she stalked out of the door, 'Green Day' bag swinging.
*If you didn't get it, that was the title of the 'Nickelback' single she couldn't remember earlier… meant to be a bit of a joke? No? Forget it.