A/N: Yo! The idea of writting a series of moments in Taylor's life came to me after remembering a similar Naruto fanfic from ages ago where the author wrote various moments in Sakura's life after her marriage to Sasuke.
I'm aware that in real life, Taylor wouldn't be this upset - she seems too headstrong, right? I would say I'm making her OOC here, but everyone reacts differently to breakups. I was so headstrong, independent and carefree when I was with my first boyfriend, and I even contemplated breaking up with him many times as I just didn't feel the same - fast forward a year to where he breaks up with me and I turned into the most emotional, dependent, utter train wreck of a person for the next two years. But anyways, in an ideal world Chad and Taylor stay together forever :-)
Enjoy!
Ghosts
x
17th June, 2008
i.
She's leaning against the tree with a smile on her face. It's a little past ten pm and the stars are peeking out from the swirls of the clouds.
"So, why did you call me out here so late, Chad?"
The warm summer breeze is spinning around her body like a warm blanket, but she's already blissfully content.
He's glancing at the ground, biting his lip.
"Is this to do with Gabriella wanting to break up with Troy? I guess it will be hard for them since they are going to different universities, but she's worked so hard for this - they both have!"
He averts his gaze back up to her and swallows a lump in his throat.
"You said that high school relationships don't last, right?"
Her smile falters a little, but she quickly covers it up.
"Oh...you overheard me talking to Gabriella."
"Yeah."
She shrugs. "I was only repeating what my big sis told me."
"...You heard me saying it's a bad idea going into college with a girlfriend too, right?"
She slowly begins to panic when Chad's body language starts to become distant. He's turning his head away from her and creasing his brows.
"I mean, I heard you saying it to Troy but I didn't think anything of it at the time..."
He shakes his head and she can see he's clenching his fists.
"I'm sorry, Taylor. I hope you understand."
He sighs and turns to leave just as a strong breeze hits her cheek like a slap in the face. The air is somehow a little colder, and she shudders when a drop of rain hits her chest.
Her heart is breaking as she stares at his back walking away for the last time and she's struggling to breathe and she can't feel her face and she can only hear her blood roaring in her ears-
...wait. She's supposed to be a strong, independent woman, damn it. How could a soon-to-be Yale student like her break down in the middle of the street like this? Especially over a boy. Taylor McKessie never cried, and definitely not over basketball-heads.
Nevertheless, she finds herself walking home in the rain and crying on her front porch for a good half hour - head in her hands as she watches cars and couples go past through blurry eyes, with a blurry heart and with blurry emotions.
5th August, 2008
ii.
''Oh, Kelsi? Kelsi!''
Gabriella's pulling her hand as she's running over to the other side of the street.
''Kelsi! What are you doing here?''
Taylor finds herself facing a tired-looking Kelsi with multiple bags of shopping in her hands.
''Gabi? Taylor? Fancy seeing you here! What are you both doing in New York?''
Gabriella's animatedly talking to the wind-swept piano prodigy, but Taylor can't quite focus on anything she's saying. Her ears are ringing and her hands are sweating.
''Well, Taylor and I decided to go to New York. It was kind of impromptu, to be honest with you.''
Of course it was - she needed to get away from everything. She would cry everytime she walked past his neighbourhood; she'd cry when her mother accidently mentioned his name; she cried whenever she heard just how well he was doing without her.
And here she was, on the verge of tears and she looked Kelsi in the eye. Her innocent face was all-too-familiar and symbolised everything about her time at East High.
''Really? Well, Ryan just went off to buy coffee. He'll be back soon.''
If he was going to haunt her, he should have to decency to do it right, and not through the means of Kelsi.
14th September, 2008
iii.
It's her first week at Yale University and already she's been asked out by two guys in her politics class.
They're smart, educated, sophisticated and into politics - everything she thought she'd ever wanted in a guy. She was always telling Chad to brush up on his politics and read newspapers, so what was the problem? Plus, they didn't carry around a stupid basketball everywhere they went. No, they carried around books and essays and everything else Taylor thought she wanted in a guy.
Except it wasn't.
She found herself purposely looking out for that particular frizzy hairstyle, that particular goofy smile, and that particular annoying-but-familiar trademark of a dirty basketball underneath a dirty, muscled arm.
But who was she kidding - there's no-one like that here in Yale, and she knew it all too frustratingly well.
''What's your ideal guy, Taylor?''
She blinks, taken aback by the question her classmate just asked her.
''I know! I bet Taylor's into really clever guys. You know, braniacs. Future-president types. I mean, she needs someone who can keep up with her intelligence, right, Kelly?''
''Yeah, I agree. Taylor is just too intelligent for anyone, really,'' Kelly laughed. ''I bet Taylor wouldn't go for those doofus athlete types.''
There's a flare in her stomach and she opens her mouth to speak up - but then decides against it. Why was she so angry that they were saying she wouldn't date a person of lower intelligence? Weren't they complimenting her? So why was she so offended?
''Yeah, you're right. My boyfriend's a soccer player at a sports college in California, so he's pretty different from the guys round here.''
''No way, seriously? That's so cool! I've always secretly wanted to date a sporty guy, but my dad definitely wouldn't approve...''
She wishes she could still boast about her premier-basketball-boyfriend and prove them all wrong about her 'good girl' image, but she can't. It'd be pointless reliving the impossible past, especially since he has probably had countless blonde cheerleaders at his sports college already - she wasn't dumb, she knew the attention he got just at East High alone and she was well aware of the bitchy comments she got from jealous admirers.
But that was the past.
''We should all just follow in Taylor's footsteps. Maybe if we're lucky, we can snag a future-president, too.''
She'd rather be carrying ten million piles of essays and notebooks than carry this burning, heavy pile of grief in her chest.
29th October, 2008
iv.
She sits silently with her eyes closed, her head leaning back comfortably. There is a cup of coffee in one hand, a pen in the other, and she is listening to the sound of people coming in and out of the little world of the coffee shop. It had been almost two months since she last visited Albuquerque.
Another stroke of thunder belts from the sky.
October had been dreary, but hopefully November will pass without a hitch; after all, Gabriella said that the rainy weather would lighten up once the eleventh month hit.
She hears the sound of rain pouring outside and traces her finger over the tattered pages of her notebook, eyes still blissfully closed. She had began writing little pieces of poetry here and there whenever sudden waves of sadness hit her (the miserable weather did not assuage her misery), but she had noticed that writing kept her from crying. It was hard to bawl your heart out when you were busy finding a rhyme for 'vacantness'.
Whilst the pain was no longer an overwhelmingly painful stab to her entire being, thinking of him still brought on a wave of familiar tingles through her bones.
Ching!
She doesn't bother to open her eyes when the bell chimes loudly to signal another foreigner coming in from the outside world.
Perhaps she could go and find Sharpay later on, see what she's doing. Ryan said she'd been doing really well so far-
"I'm not ready to order just yet, thanks."
The blood flowing through her veins still momentarily and she finds she can't quite breathe just right.
"Okay, sir - give me a shout when you are."
"Thanks."
She knows she shouldn't, but she cracks an eye open anyway.
There he was.
He's looking as nonchalant as ever, a bag slung over his shoulders and a calm expression on his face as he scans the menu.
Her grip on her pen tightens and she's already on the verge of getting up and leaving.
She knows it'll pass. She knows that there will come a day where her lungs won't collapse on her when she sees his face, when her throat won't burn when she clocks his old habit of biting his lip and when she won't be unable to hear anything over the roaring in her ears when she notices he's no longer wearing the necklace she bought him.
And then he's talking again; the sound of his voice ordering a hot chocolate, brownie, and two pretzels hurts her even more than words he said to her the night he left her because he sounded fine. He sounded happy.
He turns around and she holds her breath. He takes a bite out of his brownie - face devoid from any signs that he had been mourning, bewailing, regretting, losing himself during her absence for the past few months - and leaves.
It's only after the door clicks shut that she can hear everything again and her heart is nestled peacefully between her ribs.
She wonders if she'd imagined it all.
25th December, 2008
v.
She hates it so much when they'll just randomly blurt out his name as if nothing has ever happened between them before.
''Gabi, when's Troy getting here?''
''Oh, in a few minutes. He's running an errand first.''
She still couldn't believe that Troy made the big decision to go to the same university as Gabriella in the end, but she was happy for them both - although she still felt a pang of jealousy whenever Gabriella mentioned it.
The sound of the doorbell interrupts her from her thoughts.
''That must be him,'' Gabriella excitedly squeals and both girls run down the stairs.
When the front door opens, Troy steps in with a bouquet of flowers and a gift in his hand.
''Merry Christmas, Gabs.''
Taylor's peeking at them exchanging a quick kiss from beneath her lashes, uncertain whether to run back upstairs or stay put.
''Where were you, Troy?''
''Oh, I ran into Chad and Sierra outside his house and they invited me in for a coffee.''
''Danforth Chad? Or Sharpay's next-door-neighbour Chad?''
''Danforth Chad.''
It was like someone punched the life out of her entire being. As soon as those three stupid syllables left Troy's mouth, every stupid little thing she loved (and regrettably, still loves) about him came rushing back to her.
''Ah, I know Sierra. Didn't they meet in his first week at college?''
''Yeah, they did.''
''I've seen photos of her, she's insanely pretty. I haven't had the chance to meet her yet.''
''I have to admit, she is pretty attractive. She's a cheerleader.''
Whilst Taylor is flattered that they both think she's independent and strong enough to have gotten over him - she hasn't. Not at all. The conversation was only highlighting everything she wasn't, and everything she was wasn't right for him.
A science nerd and a superstar basketball player? Funny.
''Chad said she's spending the Christmas at his, you know, to get to know his parents and stuff.''
She's wavering; her chest is pumping blood at an alarmingly dangerous rate, her throat is closing and opening and it's as if someone stuck a lump of coal down there, her hands are shaking and-
''Taylor? Taylor! I haven't seen you in months. How's it going?''
She feigns a smile.
''Hi, Troy.''
1st August, 2009
vii.
She's looking at him with an annoyed expression on her face.
No, no, no - it was all wrong.
His hair - his hair is way too short, and it's lacking the curls she so desperately wants. It's a shade or two too pale, and she feels almost disgusted looking at it.
His eyes - his eyes are not the right colour at all. She wanted simple - dark and brown - easy enough, right? With the majority of the population having brown eyes, you'd think it'd be a piece of cake, right? But no. He was staring back at her with light, ice-blue, gorgeous and sparkling blue eyes. It was so wrong.
But he was into sports, so that's good, right? The football he was holding in his grip was glaring back at her, and she was glaring back at it with all the frustration she was bottling up.
''Tay, you alright? You don't look so good.''
''Oh, I'm fine,'' she giggles. ''Can't I admire my boyfriend in peace?''
23rd May, 2011
viii.
''I'm breaking up with you, Josh.''
She hears the sound of him holding back a cry on the other end of the line.
''B-but, why? What did I do, Tay?''
She glances around the room for a good reason other than 'I never loved you', but she's not a dick.
''I just dont feel the same anymore.''
Correction - she never felt the same.
She hangs up the phone abruptly and sidles further down into the duvet, her emotions calm after dumping her boyfriend of the last two years.
It was only when she realised that this overwhelming sense of relief is what Chad must've felt on the night he left her, did the tears then start to flow freely, and very violently -
- her roommate thought they were tears for Josh.
4th January, 2013
ix.
It's her 5-year-high-school-reunion, and she's nervously sitting in the old cafeteria.
She's been anxiously waiting for him to turn up, but she's been so preoccupied with congragulating Gabriella and Troy on their unexpected pregnancy that she barely notices him coming through the doors from the east entrance.
He's looking as cheerful as ever with Zeke and Sierra (they're still together after all this time?) trailing behind him in conversation. He's slowly approaching her table and she turns away slightly out of embarrassment.
His cheeks are red and his eyes are sparkling with laughter - surely he's putting a front on, right?
How could he walk past their old classroom and not reminisice about their first conversation? How could he peer into the science lab and not falter at the memory of their first kiss in the stockroom? How could he just casually stroll pass the table where he infamously asked her to prom and-
Sierra sits herself down onto the seat she once sat in and she can faintly hear Chad say, ''I'm going to buy some snacks. Anything you want, babe?''
She wishes she could say ''Ha! I sat in that seat way before you, honey, and he asked me to prom instead of what snacks I wanted to eat!'' but, obviously, she couldn't. It would be stupid.
Instead, she stands up to go to the restroom - and ends up bumping into him.
''Oh, Taylor? Man, it's been so long! How have you been?''
The smile on his face shows he has no problem talking to her - he's calm, composed, and waiting for her answer.
She, on the other hand, is experiencing a war between her ribs. She's sweating, afraid, tongue-tied and manages to utter out a simple, ''Good.'' She looks down at the floor and breathes out. It took all her strength to utter out that one short word.
''That's good. It's been so long since I've been back to East High.''
She almost jealous at the fact he's obviously fine without her - he's running words from his mouth about seeing everyone again freely and carelessly, not scared if he were to mess up or stutter and have to repeat the sentence all over again.
She's dying - a simple 'me too' unable to leave her lips in case she says something out of line.
He smiles at her once more before patting her on the shoulder and walking away. ''See you around.''
2nd July, 2013
He couldn't be getting married - he always told her how he didn't want to get married until he was at least 30.
''Do you, Sierra Hayleigh Forrest, take Chad Michael Danforth to be your lawfully wedded husband?
''I do.''
She didn't know why she was torturing herself like this really - to be invited to your ex's wedding was one thing, but to actually attend even though you still weren't over it was another.
Sierra was looking at Chad with a big grin on her face, and Taylor couldn't help but frown.
Firstly, her hair was too light - Chad always told her he loved the colour of her hair and the way she'd push it out her face when she was concentrating on her homework.
Secondly, she was way too tall. Chad always said she was just the right height for him - he'd wrap her arms around her and tell her that she was the only girl in the world for him.
''Do you, Chad Michael Danforth, take Sierra Hayleigh Forrest to be your lawfully wedded wife?''
Thirdly, no way did he actually like her figure - she hardly had any breasts. When she and Chad were together, he said that-
''I do.''
25th March, 2015
x.
She's moving to Iowa after landing a job as a journalist for a politics column at a small newspaper company. It's not really what she had in mind career-wise, but everyone has to start somewhere. She was 25-years-old now and needed to start her adult life.
''Old receipts, train tickets, birthday cards...'' she mumbles as she sorts through the masses of paper that she found in an old shoe box underneath her bed. She'll admit, packing wasn't easy, and she didn't have the heart to throw away sentimental things that reminded her of her childhood.
''Ah, me and Gabi at Disneyworld...'' she grins when an old photograph showing a seventeen-year-old her and Gabriella posing in front of a ice-cream stall. She laughs and puts the photo away in the box labelled 'keep'.
She proceeds to pick up another batch of paper when something falls out and drops to the floor. Confused, she bends down and retrieves the fallen item.
She examines it for a moment and in a split-second, hears a familiar voice she knew too well.
''Happy birthday, Taylor. I got this from New York.''
It's the brown bracelet Chad gave her for her eighteenth birthday.
She's glancing back and forth between the bracelet and the 'keep' box, struggling to fight off the urge to just put the bracelet on her wrist. After all, Chad said it suited her skin tone perfectly.
But he was a married man now, and (from what she heard at Sharpay's birthday party) was expecting his first child.
She closes her eyes and almost wants to laugh bitterly at the fact that, despite breaking up with her almost ten years ago now, he still haunted her when distinctive fragments of him still appeared in her life.
Opening her eyes, she takes one more look at the bracelet before throwing it into the 'discard' box. The small 'thump' emphasised it now lay wedged between sweet wrappers, old movie tickets, and stained receipts from Dunkin' Donuts.
12th May, 2017
xi.
''What are you doing to wear, Kelsi?''
''Maybe like a blue, green dress? Ryan said he likes that colour on me...''
''Check you out! I was thinking of wearing white, but I don't want to clash with the bride.''
She's got her head in her hands and she's supressing a sigh.
''Didn't you go dress shopping yesterday?''
''Yes, I did, but I didn't find any nice dresses.''
''Oh, that's a shame. I was thinking of going tonight.''
Tears are forming at her eyes and she's trying not to let them fall.
''Maybe we could go to that new shopping mall that opened up near that golf club?''
''Oh, that one! Yeah, sure. I have nothing better to do anyway.''
There's a choke that's about to come out of her throat and she puts a hand on her chest to stop it. She feels like everything around her is collapsing, and she can only watch helplessly as she lays in the rubble.
''Taylor, are you okay? You're not looking too keen on your wedding plans. Jake will be here soon, we can't let him hear these details.''
She smiles and nods.
''Chest pains, that's all.''
Fin.
A/N: sorry if these appear rushed / poorly written - that's because it was sort of rushed :-) I needed to write this in the very small time slot that I had free, but I'm satisfied with how it came out :D