Taylor and I lay still and silent for several minutes, just enjoying being so close to each other. Words weren't needed with us. We just loved being with each other. After a while, I checked my watch and realized it was five till seven, almost time for dinner. I honestly didn't want to move and walk back into the cold; Taylor was the perfect heater.
"Okay, Wolf boy, we better go," I announced sadly, pulling away from him to get out of the tunnel.
He sighed and reluctantly let me go. "Alright."
We both climbed out of the tunnel and made our way back on the sidewalk to get back to my house. This time, he didn't give me a piggy back ride; I was mostly warm from him holding onto me for so long. We soon turned the corner onto the sidewalk on my street, both of us as silent as before.
The thing with Taylor is, there was never an awkward silence. Sometimes we talked until we were blue in the face, and sometimes we were just silent, and when we were, there was never an awkward moment. We've known each other too long. Sometimes, we even know what the other is thinking.
As I was daydreaming again, Taylor took my hand and held it tightly in his. He didn't say anything as I looked up at him – nor did he look at me. He just kept walking with me like it was nothing. I turned away from him then to hide my burning cheeks and the small smile on my lips.
Soon enough, we made it back to my house and once we stepped inside, Taylor dropped my hand to help me take my coat off.
"Nice of you to join us," my mom, Jen, joked from the living room.
"Sorry, mom," I said, feeling kind of bad.
My dad cleared his throat. "Well, now that the teenagers have graced us with their presence, why don't we start-"
"HAYLEY!" Makena, Taylor's eleven-year-old sister, shouted as she and my sister Melanie ran towards us.
"Makena!" I shouted back, opening my arms for a hug.
She latched onto me tightly. "I missed you, Hayley! You and Melanie should move back to L.A. with us when the break is over!"
I let her go and ruffled her hair, knowing it would annoy her. She didn't seem to care though. "I wish we could, but we have to stay here with our parents."
"You can all come!" she begged.
"Oh my god, mom, can we?" Melanie begged, turning to Jen.
"We'll talk about that later, okay, sweetie?" she replied.
"Why can't we talk about it now?" she whined.
"Hey," I said, gently yanking some of Mel's long, dark hair. "Don't whine. It's not a good emotion on you," I warned, not wanting to hear my own eleven-year-old sister whine.
"Oh, shut up, Hayley," she said angrily, sticking out her tongue at me.
"'Shut up, Hayley'," I mimicked, sticking out my tongue as well.
"Mom!" Melanie yelled.
"Mom!" I yelled.
"Hayley, stop messing with your sister, Melanie, stop being dramatic," dad warned us. "Now come on, dinner is ready."
Makena and Melanie walked away from us and followed Daniel and Deborah, Taylor's parents, and my parents into the dining room.
I turned to Taylor who seemed to find me and my sister bickering amusing.
"Oh, shut up, Taylor," I sighed, pulled him with me towards the dining room.
"'Shut up, Taylor'," he mimicked with a laugh.
"I mean it," I said warningly with a laugh.
We walked into the living room where we sat down next to each other as Jen and Deborah served us all. Soon enough we all had steak, potatoes, and some kind of greens on our plates, with tons or more options set before us on the long table. The adults took interest amongst themselves as Makena and Melanie talked about stupid eleven-year-old girl stuff. I couldn't really relate because when Taylor and I were eleven, we talked about stupid eleven-year-old boy stuff.
Taylor and I remained silent, either looking up and glancing at one another or kicking slash nudging one another under the table. This went on for a few minutes when my phone vibrated from my shoe. I reached down under the table, Taylor giving me a weird look, and pulled it into my lap to check to see who texted me. Scarlet. Oh shit, I forgot she was in my room.
How is it going? She texted.
I quickly texted back, Awesome and sorry I left you up there :[
I looked up at Taylor, who was still giving me a strange look, and cleared my throat. I was going to eat a spoon full of potatoes when my phone vibrated again.
It's okay. I'm taking advantage of your DVR.
"So, Hayley, your mom tells me you got a job since the last time we saw you?" Deborah suddenly said, making me jump a little.
"Oh, um, yeah. I work at Arnie's Bakery and Restaurant after school and on weekends," I explained. "I've been working there since February, I think."
"Well, good for you, Hayley," Daniel said, smiling at me. "Did you guys have to get on her about it or did she find it by herself?" he asked my parents.
"No, she decided it for herself and applied to Arnie's. A few days later she got the job," my mom explained, her pride in me evident. I couldn't help but crack a smile. "Elizabeth really wanted her there."
Elizabeth was my boss and she was good friends with my dad's mom, who was also a baker. She was apart of our family.
"And how is theatre going?" he asked.
"Good. We just did Wizard of Oz and I played Dorothy," I said happily.
"Awe, well, good for you, sweetie," Deborah said sweetly. I loved her. She and Daniel were pretty much my second parents.
"And how come we haven't seen it yet, Eric?" Daniel joked, turning to my dad.
"I have the DVD in my office if you want to watch it later," he offered.
After a while, they finally turned back into their own conversations when Taylor nudged me. "You never told me that stuff."
I shrugged and picked at the vegetables in my plate. "I didn't think it was important. And besides, you were probably too busy to even care," I mumbled.
He seemed to understand me anyway. "No matter how busy I get, I will always make time for you. I promise you that, okay?" he whispered in my ear.
I looked up at his serious face and nodded. "Okay."
When dinner was over, we all walked the Lautners to the door. The parents went on and on about how much they missed each other and all of the stuff they have to do while they're in Michigan. I hugged Taylor goodbye, as well as Makena, and before I realized it, they were all gone. It wasn't really a huge deal because they still owned the same house next door and that's where they were staying for the break.
When I was finally off the hook to go upstairs and chill, I walked hurriedly into my room to find Scarlet spread out on my bed, sleeping soundly. I wouldn't have minded if she slept over, but she had a modeling interview in the morning that she didn't want to miss.
I walked over to my bed and shook her awake gently. "Scar, honey, time to wake up," I said softly.
"Five more minutes, Hayl," she mumbled sleepily.
I rolled my eyes and shook her again, this time not as gently. "You have that modeling interview tomorrow that you'll miss if you sleep over here," I warned gently.
At that, she shot up and grabbed onto my arms. "Oh my god, you're right. I need this interview, Hayley!" she exclaimed, jumping out of my bed and quickly putting on her coat. "I love you bunches and I'm sorry I can't stay to hear about the dinner, but I'll call you after the interview and we'll meet for coffee and talk okay?" she managed in one breath.
"I understand."
"That's why I love you!" she sing-songed, and kissed my cheek. "See you later, sweetie pie."
"Bye, Ginger," I waved slightly.
She closed the door behind her after sticking out her tongue. I laughed and walked into my walk in closet and quickly stripped off the dress and put on my comfortable purple Paramore shirt and black sweatpants. I love sweatpants.
After putting on my pajamas, I stepped out and walked into my bathroom to brush my teeth, and then finally climbed into bed. I began flipping through the channels until I got to NickNite, which was having a Fresh Prince marathon. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was one of my favorite TV shows. I watched episode after episode until I finally dozed off somewhere in the middle of the all night marathon.
My eyes flew open when I heard soft tack sounds on my window. I checked the time. 2:34 am. "What the hell?" I mumbled. Tack.
I climbed out of my bed and meandered over to the window. I opened it and looked down to see a half naked Taylor standing by the tree that led up to my window.
"I'm guessing you want to come inside?" I asked.
"Please?" he asked.
I nodded and stepped away from the window, giving him a chance to do what ever he did to get up to my second story window in merely seconds.
Once he got up and in through the window, he smiled down at me. "Couldn't sleep," he said innocently.
I smiled back. "Want to make a fort?" I asked.
He nodded happily.
I went over to my closet and brought out two sleeping bags, a few extra pillows, and a few giant blankets. I threw the sleeping bags and pillows at him, which he caught flawlessly. He rolled them out next to each other in the middle of the floor as I began to spread the blankets in mid air and tie the ends to each other and to the end posts of my bed and desk legs, making a perfect fort above the sleeping bags.
Taylor and I each occupied a sleeping bag and laid on our sides to stare at each other. We were silent for a few minutes.
"I miss being here with you. And doing all of the things we did when we were kids," he spoke up.
"I do too," I agreed honestly.
"Remember the time we went wandering in the woods and almost got lost, but you had that lame compass on you and actually knew where you were going with it?" he asked.
"Hey, that compass saved your werewolf ass, okay."
"No, I think you did," he said seriously, staring fiercely into my eyes.
I looked away and nodded. "Yeah, but all the other times, you were saving me. Whether is was from the stupid 3rd grade boys who wanted to pick on me, or the 3rd grade girls who thought I was a disgrace to all girlhood," I said sadly, still looking away.
"Hey," he sighed, taking my chin into his large hand. "You may not be like other girls, but that's what I loved about you and what I still love about you. You understood my quirky boy nature that other girls didn't. You didn't think I had cooties," he laughed.
I finally met his eyes and nodded. I expected him to let go of me, but he didn't. Instead, he kept staring at me, and tucked a loose hair behind my ear with his other hand.
"What are you staring at?" I finally asked, suddenly becoming nervous.
"I-I...uh..." he leaned in and kissed my cheek sweetly. "Get some sleep," he told me, letting me go finally. "You look exhausted."
I nodded once more and laid my head down onto my pillow, and closed my eyes. He did the same, but pulled me close to him, my head resting against his chest. His steady heartbeat was the most beautiful lullaby I could have asked for.
The next morning, when I woke up, I was no longer in Taylor's arms. In fact, Taylor wasn't even next to me. I frowned and climbed out from under the fort. I ventured downstairs to find Taylor, Makena, and Melanie at the bar counter in the kitchen all eating pancakes as my dad cooked them in front of them. Taylor heard me walk in and smiled at me.
"Hey, sleepyhead. I'm taking you to the mall today, so go get ready," he smiled.
I smiled back and nodded. "Okay."
"Want any pancakes, Hayl?" my dad asked.
"No, I'm good," I passed as I began walking back upstairs and into my room to get ready. I took a fast shower, blow-dried my hair, flat ironed it, and quickly applied light eyeliner. I wore a simple black hoodie that said 'LOVE' in big white letters and some skinny jeans. Once I made my way back downstairs, Taylor was on the couch, watching Saturday shows with Melanie and Makena. They were watching Hannah Montana which actually made me giggle.
"Ready, Taylor?" I asked, walking down into the foyer to get my bag.
"Yep," he said, and jumped up from the couch. "See you guys later," he said.
"Bye, Taylor, bye Hayley," the two said in unison, not taking their eyes from the screen.
I laughed and pulled him with me outside and to my '04 Nissan Altima, named Padfoot from Harry Potter. He was an older car, but I loved him with all my heart.
I climbed in the driver's side as he climbed in the passengers side. "Are you sure it's safe for you to go to a mall...or really in public in general?" I asked.
"Hayley, it's 10 am. What teenage girl goes to the mall at 10 am on a Saturday?" he asked, buckling his seat belt.
"Good point." I put on my own and started the car. I pulled quickly out of the driveway and sped off to the mall.
Once Taylor and I got inside, it was pretty deserted since it probably opened just 15 minutes before. It was good though, because it meant that Taylor and I could have a good time without any crazy fans.
We walked around until we found something of interest, which was Hot Topic. We went inside and went through all of the Eclipse merchandise they had. I whipped out my camera and took a bunch of pictures of Taylor holding a bunch of Jacob Black merchandise. Once we did that, we went into Dillards where he convinced me to try on dresses with him. We picked out a bunch of frilly prom dresses in our sizes and tried them on in the same dressing room, due to the lack of assistants. Taylor had a big pink lacy dress with a bunch of bows while I had a long and slender aqua colored one. We laughed at each other and took a bunch of pictures of us in the dresses.
In the several hours we spent there, we just goofed off in random stores and took silly pictures. Then, when we came across a photo booth, we got inside and took even more silly pictures, each one of us with our own copy.
"I still can't believe you put on a dress just so I would," I laughed, eating a french fry. We finally got tired and hungry and decided to get food and sit in the food court.
"I still can't believe you stripped that mannequin naked in the store window," he laughed, throwing one of his own at me, referring to the mannequin in Victoria's Secret.
"Oh, Scarlet works there and lets me do what ever in there," I laughed.
"So, when do I get to-"
"Oh my god, Taylor Lautner!" a girl a few feet away exclaimed to her friend.
"Great," I said sarcastically, just knowing that this would happen.
The two girls approached our table, looking very nervous. "H-Hi, Taylor, can we get a picture with you?" one asked.
"Of course," he said sweetly, and stood up and began taking pictures with them.
Very slowly, the crowd grew bigger and bigger. As I watched all of these girls faun over my best friend and latch onto him like he was some kind of God, I couldn't help but get a little bothered. He was my best friend way before Jacob Black and they were all gaga over him for his hotness and muscles. They didn't know him like I did – they probably thought they did, but they don't. He was my Taylor way before he was anybody else's.
I waited until a little after midnight before I decided to venture over to Taylor's. After Taylor and I went to the mall, we hit all of the local shops in downtown Grand Rapids, and when we came home, we were stuck babysitting our sisters. My parents and his parents decided that they wanted to double at a fancy restaurant and catch up without us kids. It really wasn't that big of a deal because all we had to do was make sure Mel and Mak ate something and weren't doing anything dangerous or stupid. Ever since I sent Melanie up to bed and Taylor took Makena back to his house, I've been stuck in my room waiting for Taylor to come back. I gave it a good two hours before I decided to slip on my Paramore hoodie and black moccasins and climb out my window and into the tree. When Taylor and I were younger, we climbed trees all the time, so I had no problem getting to the ground from my two story window. I walked to the gate in my back yard fence that led into Taylor's backyard.
I found the tree that led up to his window and stopped to see his window wide open. I smiled to myself and began climbing the teen aged tree. It took a few minutes but I finally climbed through the window and plopped on the floor with a 'thump'. I tucked the hair in my face behind my ears and looked around his room. His door was shut and he was sleeping silently on his bed. I smiled to myself when I realized he still had the same blue paint on the walls, motocross and muscle car posters, mini basketball hoop on the door, and a few huge weights and martial arts equipment in the corner by his desk that looked brand new and never used (even though it was purchased years ago before he moved), he had before he moved to L.A.
I smiled once more and crawled over to his bed and after kicking off my moccasins, I climbed in next to him. I maneuvered myself under the covers and rested my head on the pillow next to his.
"I was wondering when you were going to get here," he mumbled without moving or opening his eyes.
"It took me a few minutes but I finally caught on."
He chuckled and wrapped his bare arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze. "Come here. I've missed you so much."
"You saw me a few hours ago?" I frowned.
"I meant since I last saw you two summers ago."
"Oh. Well, I've missed you too," I whispered, resting my head against his bare chest.
"We need to hang out as much as we can while I'm here."
"I know and we will. Just not as much tomorrow. I have to work from 8 to 3."
"I have work to do with my publicist in the morning, so we can do something in the evening."
I sat up and grimaced.
"What?" he asked, his eyes now open and staring into mine.
"You're on vacation," I whined. "Why are you doing publicity stuff?"
"I'm not very happy about it either, Hayl. It's just this one thing. I promise."
I sighed and laid back down against him. "I hate that I have to share my best friend with the world. You were mine first. You were my first best friend. Do you know how important to me that is?"
"Hayley, come on. I'm here now for a month. Let's make the most of it, please?"
By the look of his eyes, I knew he wanted me to drop it for now. "Okay."
We both remained silent for several minutes and before I knew it, Taylor was sound asleep. Before I let myself drift off to dream land, I set an alarm around 4 o'clock on my iPhone to wake me up so I could get back to my room and make sure no one found me in Taylor's room, sleeping by him.
After putting the alarm on vibrate so it wouldn't wake up Taylor, and shoving it into my pocket, I let myself fall fast asleep. When my alarm finally went off, it felt like no time passed from when I first set it. I honestly didn't feel like getting up; Taylor was so warm and comfortable. I knew I had to and after a few minutes, I finally climbed out of his bed, slipped my shoes back on, and climbed out the window and back into the tree. I made it safely to the ground, then hurried back to my room.
After shutting my window and climbing into bed, my phone vibrated. A text from Taylor.
You didn't have to leave.
I shook my head and quickly texted back.
Yes I did. Our parents would be weird if they found us like that.
Like what? We're just best friends. It's not like we're in love or want to have sex.
I frowned, a little caught off guard at the last part.
Go to sleep. I'll see you later today.
His lack of a response told me he did what I said, which put me at ease. I hooked my phone up to my alarm clock and finally let myself catch a few more hours of much needed sleep.
Well, get go you shovel
And we'll dig a deep hole
To bury the castle, bury the castle
Ba da ba ba da ba ba da
"Brick By Boring Brick" blared from my clock at 7 o'clock a few hours later, Hayley Williams yelling at me to get up and get dressed for work. I slammed the giant play/pause button with my fist and groaned. I really didn't feel like going to work today. Despite my teenage laziness, I got out of bed and disappeared into my bathroom. I stripped off my clothes, stepped into the shower, and let the soothing hot water run down my body. A morning shower is the best way to wake up when you're pretty tired.
I cut my shower short, threw on my black pants and white v-neck shirt mandatory for work and pinned my hair up into a neat bun. When my boss Elizabeth first interviewed me for the job, she told me that normally, hair like mine wouldn't cut it since it's bright orange and yellow. But since we were like family, we compromised on keeping my hair very nice and neat, which I am more than happy with. She knew how attached I was to my hair color.
While putting on a small amount of eye liner and mascara, Scarlet called.
"Hello?"
"Hey loser, meet me at Starbucks in five. Whoever gets there first orders coffee." She hung up before I had a chance to object or even get another word in besides 'hello'.
I sighed and shoved my phone in my pocket and grabbed my bag from the chair in the corner. I quickly hurried downstairs and was about to run out the-
"Morning, Hayley," my dad called from the kitchen.
I mentally cursed and shut the front door, which I had barely opened before he stopped me. "Morning, dad," I said, entering the kitchen.
"Where are you off to?" he asked, making pancakes on the stove of our huge island.
"Going to meet Scar for coffee and work at 8," I explained, sitting at one of the bar stools across from the stove. "Didn't you make pancakes yesterday?"
"Yes."
"So, why are you making them again?"
"I make good pancakes, Hayley." He seemed annoyed. "And they're for your mother and sister, who, to answer your next question, are still sleeping."
"Well, excuse me." His tone pissed me off. He sounded like a teenager. I got up from the stool and headed to the door. That was one of the things I kind of hated about my dad. He was sarcastic and acted like he was annoyed with me all the time. He wasn't like this when I was little, but it started when I was about twelve and went to middle school. I wonder if he'll start doing it to Melanie. She was turning twelve soon and she's in sixth grade...
"Hayley," he sighed and turned off the burner. "Come here," he said gently.
I did what he asked and once I was close enough, he gave me a huge hug.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled.
I nodded and pulled away, not even bothering to hug him back.
"Want me to drive you to where ever you're going?" he offered kindly.
"No, I'm fine. I have my car," I mumbled. I quickly hurried to the door and outside before he could get another word in. I let out a huge sigh, then peered over at the Lautner's. It looked deserted just like it does for most of the year when they are in L.A. Knowing Taylor was with his publicist, I wondered what the rest of them were doing. The rental car wasn't in the driveway.
I pushed the thought away when I realized that I need to get moving or Scar was going to have my ass for being late. I quickly jumped in my Nissan and sped off to the Starbucks by the bakery. By the time I got there, I could already see Scar sitting in the window table with two drinks in front of her while doing something on her iPhone. I opened the door and quickly sat across from her.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to talk to Powell for a few minutes," I explained, and reached out for the cup in front of me. "Green tea, unsweetened?"
"Yup."
"Thank you," I said, digging into my pocket for money to pay her back.
"Don't worry about it," she protested, not looking away from her phone.
"Well, then I'll be the early one next time."
"Sounds good to me." She put down her phone and gave me her full attention. "So, what's up with Hayley today?"
I shrugged and took a sip of my tea. "Not much. Just working and probably going to see Taylor later."
"Sounds fun," she commented when her phone vibrated.
"Who are you texting?" I sighed.
She picked up her phone and began texting away. "Will."
I rolled my eyes and put my head on my arms on the table. "Scar..." I groaned. "He's a no good bastard that loves you one minute and cheats on you the next. You need and deserve someone a lot better."
"I know," she sighed, and put her phone back down. "But he's just so hot and he's sweet when he wants to be, plus he's amazing in-"
"Please don't say it," I groaned.
"In bed," she finished.
"There's more to a relationship than sex, Scarlet," I lectured, meeting her eyes.
"I know, Hayl."
"Do you?"
"Yes, now can we please talk about something else? Like what did you and Taylor do yesterday?"
I sighed and tucked my hands under my hands under my chin. "Let's see, he dragged my ass to the mall at ten o'clock in the morning, went to all the local shops downtown, and babysat Melanie and Makena when we got home so our parents could go out together. And...that's about it."
"Hmmm, fun," she widened her eyes to accompany her sarcasm.
"It was, okay?" I laughed, suddenly thinking of the mall. "He put on a really frilly prom dress just so I would. And he was being really silly. It was hilarious. And he's just so much fun to hang out with him. And babysitting Mel and Mak was nothing. We were just there to make sure they were okay," I explained.
"So, no one noticed Taylor at the mall, or downtown?" she asked, emulating my smile.
"Well, not exactly. When we were in the food court, all of these girls started coming up to him, asking for a picture or autograph. It was really weird and it really pissed me off," I explained, taking another sip of my tea.
"Um, Hayley? You're best friends with Taylor Lautner. Of course that's going to happen when you go out in public with him," Scarlet tried to explain, even though she knew I didn't care who he was or how famous he was.
"Yeah, but they don't know him at all like I do. All they see is a cute face and a hot body and what seems like a cute personality and BAM! They're in love with him!" I whined.
She looked down at her coffee and started fingering the lid while a smile took over her lips.
"What?" I sighed quietly.
"So, what's your reason, Hayl?" She looked up at me with a coy smile, obviously amused.
"What's my reason for what?"
"Why are you in love with him?"
I bit my lip and looked down. "I'm not...in love with him. It just pisses me off that all of these people that don't know him assume they do and love the person they think he is, and I'm aloud to be upset as a best friend." I looked up at her with the most serious face I could muster up. I didn't want her to think she had my feelings for Taylor all figured out. Even I wasn't completely sure about them.
"Okay. Forget I said anything."
"Excuse me?" a little voice piped behind me.
I turned around to find a small little girl maybe eight or nine. She had long blonde hair tied up in pigtails with green bows, and the biggest and bluest eyes I had ever seen. She was accompanied by her mother who I recognized as a regular from the bakery.
"Hi, sweetie," I smiled. "What'd you need?"
She held out the December issue of Teen Vogue with Taylor on the front. "Aren't you Hayley Powell? Taylor talked about his best friend," she mumbled, opening the magazine to the interview and photo shoot with Taylor, "and I'm pretty sure this is you." She held out the magazine again where a picture of Taylor and I taken earlier this year was pasted in the margins.
I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's me."
"Really?" A bright smile of her own appeared on her sweet face. "Can I have your autograph?"
I laughed and nodded when she held out a sharpie. "What's your name, sweetheart?" I asked, taking the sharpie and magazine from her.
"Isabelle," she smiled.
I grinned once more and silently signed next to my picture, careful of the interview:
To Isabelle, my first ever fan. Love, Hayley
I handed her back the sharpie and magazine to let her read it. "There you go."
She quickly read it and looked up at me with an even bigger smile. "Thank you!"
"Thank you, Isabelle."
"Come on, Isabelle. It's time to go," her mom said, pushing her gently in the direction of the door. "Thank you, Hayley," she smiled genuinely.
"No problem," I smiled back. I turned back to Scarlet who had the biggest grin on her face when they left. "What, Scar?" I laughed.
"That was so cute!" she gushed. "You have a fan! And Taylor talked about you in a magazine interview."
"Yeah," I smiled. "I guess I do and I guess he did." I glanced down at my watch and realized it was getting close to eight. "Oh shit, I have to go."
"But I didn't even get to tell you about the modeling interview!" she whined.
"I'm sorry, Scar. Tell you what. Come in when I'm on break and we'll talk over lunch at Arnie's?"
"Text me when to come over," she sighed with a slight smile.
"Love you, Ginge. Thanks for the tea." I slipped the strap of my purse on my shoulder, stood up, and grabbed my tea. "Bye."
"Bye. Love you," she smiled.
I hurried out of Starbucks and made it into work with a few minutes to spare. I quickly slipped on my apron and lost myself in bakery sales, bitchy customers, and loving co-workers which my shy self disabled me from talking to.
By the time I was ready to go to lunch, it was around eleven o'clock. Scarlet met up with me and we had lunch while my friend and coworker Morgan served us. Scarlet told me how she got the job at the modeling agency and she's going to be one of the models in the upcoming Detroit Fashion Show. She told me that she mentioned to the director that I was an amazing make-up artist and that the two of us have an appointment to meet with him next week. I was ecstatic because if I got the gig, it meant major brownie points for theatre in the costume and make-up department.
After an hour of lunch with Scarlet, I paid the bill and she had to leave to go to work. I went back to the bakery and after a couple hours of waiting on customers, Morgan came over to me and threw her waiter apron at me while I was folding boxes.
"Table six requested you wait on them," she explained, a huge smile on her face. "It's Taylor."
Every one at school and work knew I grew up with Taylor and that we were best friends, but they still got weird over him when he came into town.
I took off my apron, gave it to her, and slipped hers on.
"God, he's so gorgeous," she sighed, looking at him in the restaurant.
I rolled my eyes and reached for her pad of paper and pen and entered the restaurant. I grabbed a few menus and silverware and found my way easily to table six, putting on a smile for Taylor and who I assumed was his publicist.
"Hey, Taylor," I smiled, setting menus in front of him and his publicist.
He smiled and got up to hug me. "We had to come see you for lunch."
"Well, I'm glad you're here," I smiled as he sat down.
"Hayley, this is my amazing publicist Evelyn, and Evelyn, this is Hayley," he introduced.
I stuck my hand out to Evelyn and smiled shyly. "Hi. It's nice to meet you."
She took my hand and shook it gently. "It's nice to meet you too, Hayley. Taylor has mentioned you several times before," she smiled, glancing at Taylor who blushed.
"Oh he has, has he?" I asked, glancing at him as well. Evelyn and I shared a laugh when Taylor got even more red. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Water for me, please," Evelyn said politely.
"Make it two, please," Taylor said.
"Okay, I'll be back in a few."
I went to go get their drinks and put their meal order once they ordered. It only took them a little less than an hour to eat and before they left, Taylor gave me a quick hug and told me that he would be ready to hang when I got back home. I didn't have to close today so I was able to leave right at three when I was finished with my last customer. I got home a little after three and found my house surprisingly empty.
I closed the front door behind me after walking in and paused. There weren't any cars in the driveway and the only car in the garage was my dad's which he only used for work when my mom wasn't working (my mom Jennifer was a teacher at EGR High as well; she taught French and Arts and Humanities) because they just used hers most of the time.
Taylor's house looked deserted as well, so I figured I had the house to myself.
I started heading for the stairs when I heard a faint female voice coming from my dad's office. It was my own voice. I frowned slightly and redirected myself to his office. When I got to the doorway, I could see Taylor sitting in the chair in front of my dad's desk and my dad behind the desk, both of them concentrating on the DVD of one of my last performances as Dorothy in The Wizard of OZ on the flat screen on the wall in front of the desk, the scene where I sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in Kansas playing on the screen.
"You just had to see it, didn't you?" I asked Taylor.
He turned to me and immediately smiled. "Even I can agree that your voice is more real and beautiful than most of the artists out there."
"Oh shut up," I blushed.
"And your acting is pretty good. Hayl, if you really wanted, you could be famous." He turned back to the TV and stared at the Dorothy me for several minutes.
"Taylor's right," my dad mumbled in the background, focused back on the screen.
"We'll see after Columbia."
Taylor got up and turned to me. "So what are we going to do?"
"Want to make and decorate cupcakes?"
He smiled. "You just got off work from a bakery and you want to make cupcakes?"
"Bakeries change you," I laughed. "I've picked up decorating from Arnie's and I love it."
He laughed and followed me into the kitchen.
