thank u 2 everyone who read and reviewed my fic. i'm glad that everyone liked it. everyone is giving good guesses at who miss gossip could b. dont worry, bu the ed of the fic you'll find out. ok this is a long one. this is the longest that i've written. it took up 16 pages on microsoft word. but i dont like it much. not much is about her and chad. its mostly about her and her family so if u want to skip it u can. ok, on with the fic.

Taylor pushed herself angrily away from her computer. She couldn't concentrate. That wasn't like her, no matter what was going on she was always able to concentrate on school work. She tried everything, but nothing worked. She knew why she couldn't stay focused on her work; what happened with Chad on Monday. She thought about it constantly even though she tried not to. Anytime she got a free moment, and sometimes even when she didn't, she remembered what they did and how she felt when they were doing it.

Getting up from the chair, she went to her stereo. Searching threw her c.d.s, she tried to find anything that she wanted to listen to. Finally, she picked an old album and put it in her stereo. Laying back in her bed to listen to it she thought about what all had occurred this week after what happened between her and Chad. Tuesday threw Thursday was the usual, hanging with Gabby, work, and school. Nothing was out of the ordinary until Friday's issue and Gossip World. Sighing, she took the latest issue of the column from her nightstand and re-read what the issue had said in her head.

Oh EHS, how I love Christmas. All the snow, (even though we don't get any) presents, and television shows. It also means that we get out of school for a good three weeks. Not to mention the Christmas dance we have before we go off. Only two more weeks, and six more issues incase anyone is wondering, then it's freedom. But to get to the reason why anyone reads this, the gossip. It seems like it wasn't a fluke like I reported when Sharpay Evans was seen actually being nice and talking to Zeke Baylor. Please except my most humble apologizes. She was seen walking with him threw the halls for most of the week, even to go as far as having conversations with him. Maybe I was wrong when I said that she wouldn't make a good Penny Pingleton. She seems to have forgotten Troy Bolton, much to his happiness I'm sure. While we're on the subject of one of our favorite basketball players, he was seen on numerous occasions talking to Gabriella Montez. Obviously cliques only hanging with their own cliques is over. I wonder if love is in the air. Speaking of love, Jason Cross seems to be pre-occupied as of late. Is it because of a girl? Or maybe something else like school. If it is a girl, I can only wonder who it is. Don't worry EHS, if it is a girl, I'll tell you who. Chad Danforth was seen arguing with Becky Sterling. Again. I'm as clueless as anyone when it comes to why they stay together when they obviously don't get along, but it seems like he isn't arguing with Taylor McKessie. Thinking it was nothing more than the silent treatment, I failed to report how they have been walking past each other without bloodshed. But it has been a whole three days without so much as even a backhanded comment. With the utmost concern, I ask, are you two feeling well? I wouldn't know what to do in a world where those two didn't argue, and I believe that I would have to retire. On to news happier than those two…

Putting down the paper, Taylor lay down again on her bed and covered her eyes with her arm. Miss Gossip didn't miss anything. What she wrote was true, after what happened on Monday, her and Chad hadn't even spoken one word to each other. She laughed a little when she remembered what happened Tuesday. She was walking with Gabby towards their lockers and she saw Chad and the others walking from the opposite direction. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second before they looked away and walked past each other without a word. That had stopped Gabby, Troy, and the others in their tracks. Taylor and Chad had stopped and looked at their friends. "Is something wrong?" She had asked her.

Gabby has just stared at back and forward between them not saying anything. Taylor was sure she was trying to figure out what she had missed. Jason, doing the same thing, was able to voice his opinions on the matter. "What's wrong with the two of you? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine. Let's go or we'll be late." Was all Chad had said to his friends. After they had walked away, Gabby had looked at Taylor with a probing stare.

"Did I miss something?" She asked suspiciously.

"Not that I know of." Taylor was able to say innocently enough.

Narrowing her eyes, Gabby said, "I've known you for almost a year Taylor, and in that year there hasn't been one occasion where you haven't argued with Chad. What's going on?"

Rolling her eyes, Taylor said, "So since I didn't pick a fight with Chad 'something is going on?'"

Making a sound of disbelief, Gabby said, "You might have been able to get away with that if it was only you not saying anything. But both of you didn't say anything to each other. Something happened between you two, I know it."

Shaking her head, Taylor had replied, "No it didn't, I swear. Maybe it's that we realized how childish and juvenile it is."

"Yeah sure Taylor." She could tell that Gabby was far from convinced.

Taylor felt bad about lying to Gabby. But she just couldn't tell her friend about what happened. It took her a long time to convince herself that it actually happened and her mind didn't play a cruel joke on her. And then there was the not so little fact that Chad had a girlfriend. Despite her earlier thoughts about not feeling bad about what happened, Taylor still did, even if it was Becky. She wasn't proud of the fact that she helped Chad cheat on her. She was a hypocrite, as much as she hated them she was one. She never understood why girls or guys went after someone when they knew that that person had someone. But just look at her, she was in the exact same position. She told herself that Chad had kissed her and not the other way around, and that it was a one time occurrence. Still, Taylor conceded to the fact that she had kissed him back and if something like that were to happen again, she wasn't able to say if she wouldn't give in or not.

Taylor thought about her moral dilemma until she heard her bedroom door open. Before she could look to see who it was, a body landed on top of her. "How's my favorite baby sister?" A voice asked her.

Pushing Tiffany off of her, Taylor sat up. "I'm your only baby sister." She said peevishly.

"All the more reason for you to be my favorite. If you weren't something would be wrong wouldn't it?"

Rolling her eyes, Taylor laughed. "I guess so. But to answer your question, I'm fine. I didn't think that you were coming until next week or the weekend."

"My teachers let me take my finals early. But the rest of them should be coming in the next few days." She watched her sister freeze as if just realizing something. "Oh my God. Is that Britney Spears?"

Taylor hadn't even been paying attention to the stereo playing. "Yeah, so?"

"Not even new Britney Spears, but old Britney Spears. One kiss from you? That's her second album." Her sister said with disgust.

Before Taylor could defend her music, Tiffany suddenly penned her with an intense gaze. "What's wrong?" She asked seriously.

"What do you mean?" Taylor asked her.

"Don't give met that. You only listen to old pop when something's bothering you."

"That's not true." Taylor said defensively.

"Oh, it is too." Her sister shot back. "When Toby had to be rushed to the hospital, all you did was listen to every Backstreet Boys album you had constantly. You drove us all crazy."

Taylor remembered that. Tobias, or Toby he made everyone call him, her youngest older brother had to be rushed to the hospital to have emergency surgery to have his appendix taken out. Taylor was sick with worry and tried to listen to music to take her mind off of it. She didn't realize that it was the Backstreet Boys though. "That was just one time." She said defending herself.

Sighing, Tiffany said, "How about the first time you took your ACT? When it was time for you to get your scores back, all you did was listen to Jessica Simpson. Or when Mom-"

"Alright, you made your point. I listen to old pop music when I'm worried." Taylor told her sister.

"So what's wrong?" Tiffany asked her. I almost did it on the classroom floor with the boy I've been crazy about forever who happens to have a girlfriend. Not that she was going to tell that to her sister, or anyone else for that matter. So all she said was, "Nothing. I couldn't concentrate on my homework so I just put something in the stereo."

Giving her sister a knowing look, Tiffany grunted. "I don't believe you, just to let you know. But you won't tell me so I can't make you."

Not knowing what to say, Taylor changed the subject. "What did you get me for Christmas?"

Getting up, Tiffany said, "You know that I won't tell you."

Throwing her pillow at her sister, Taylor whined, "Why not? I'll tell you what I got you."

Throwing the pillow back at her, Tiffany said, "You better not or I won't forgive you. You know I like surprises."

Ignoring her sister's grumbling, Tiffany asked her about school. "Same as usual. I think that I'm getting senioritis though."

Laughing, her sister said, "Yeah, I remember that. I had it bad. What about Gossip World? Is Miss Gossip still going on strong?"

Making herself not glance at the latest issue Taylor said, "Stronger than ever. I wonder if it's more than one person writing that gossip column."

"Why do you say that?" Tiffany asked.

"How can she know everything all the time? It has to be more than one person."

"Maybe your right." Tiffany said shrugging her shoulders. "We'll never know. Have you talked to our brothers and sister lately?"

"Yes I have. Trevor and Trey said that they're coming sometime tomorrow, and so is Toby. And Timberly said that she'd come either Saturday or Sunday, she wasn't sure."

"I wonder if she ever forgave Mom and Dad for naming her that." Tiffany said off-handily.

"I doubt it." Taylor said. "But she's made them pay for it since she was born." It was known that the oldest McKessie daughter hated her name and when the Hey Arnold! shows started, she hated it even more. Toby wouldn't ever let her forget it either. For months he made everyone call him Gerald and he was determined to find a boy named Arnold so she could have a crush on him. Their parents always said that they suffered for naming her that because she was the worst of the six. Which was say a lot, since they never could keep a babysitter when they were younger for more than a week.

"Remember when we got banned from the movie theater?" Tiffany asked her laughing.

Joining in she said, "Yes. Mom was so mad. She never did figured out how I got into the popcorn machine when the workers weren't looking."

Laughing harder, her sister said, "Our excuse was that you kept asking for popcorn so you got some."

"I remember. The only reason that we didn't get into trouble was because none of us would tell who put me in there."

"I still say that you put yourself in there." Her sister told her.

Taylor made a sound of disgust. "I was four. How could I have put myself in there? It was Trevor and Trey who put me in there. They had you, Toby, and Timberly make a diversion, then the next thing I know, I'm a this big thing of popcorn I had been screaming for. What else would a four year old do but eat it?"

"What about the time that Trevor and Trey tried to convince Mom that she was mixing them up? It almost worked too." Tiffany said. Shaking her head, Taylor thought about her identical twin brothers. They were the oldest with Trey being older by two minutes. They were the worst after Timberly. She couldn't wait to see them again. After the laughter died down, Tiffany asked her, "How's Gabby?"

"She's fine. She's coming over on Sunday." Taylor said.

"Are you sure she's going to be able to handle all of us?" Her sister asked.

Smiling at her sister's joke she said, "I don't see why not. She has nerves of steel, even if any other normal person who go insane."

"If you say so." Her sister said as she moved back to Taylor's bed. Sighing as she got up to go to her computer, Taylor went to save her report when she heard her sister say, "You aren't what?"

Turning to her sister, Taylor saw that Tiffany was reading the Gossip World paper that she had left on her nightstand. Berating herself for not putting it away, she decided to play stupid. "I'm not what?"

"What happened between you and Chad that you aren't arguing?" Her sister asked her like she had just been caught stealing from her purse

"Nothing happened." Taylor told her. "I just don't feel like arguing with him anymore and he feels the same way. We are seniors in high school you know."

Tiffany gave her the exact same look that Gabby did. "That's bull and you know it."

Sighing, Taylor said, "Why doesn't anyone think that I can't go a day without arguing with that boy?"

"Maybe because you can't." Her sister told her pointedly.

"Yes, I can." She told her defensively. "I haven't argued with him in almost a week."

"All the more reason to know that something's up between you two. I know something is, so spill."

Rolling her eyes, Taylor said, "I can't 'spill' anything because there isn't anything to spill. We haven't argued because we don't feel like it. Well, I don't know about him, but that's why I'm not arguing with him. I have to hear about this enough at school, so can we drop it?"

"No we can't. I know how much you care about this boy. Now why I don't know-" She was cut off by Taylor's loud groan. "Do we have to have this conversation again? You've already told me-many times I might add-that you don't understand or see why I have the feelings that I do for him. I thought that we agreed to disagree."

"Alright, I'm sorry, but don't try to change the subject. I know you Taylor, so don't lie. What's going on between you and Chad?" Taylor could so the compassion and worry in her sister's face, she almost gave in and told her everything right there on the spot. But at the last moment she stopped, she couldn't tell her sister. Not that anyway. She didn't think that she could tell anyone.

"Nothing, Tiff." She lied. "I just haven't felt like arguing with the lunk head. That's all, I swear. I mean I think that it's past time for us to stop. We've been going at it for how long?"

"Forever." Her sister said dryly. "Speaking of fro-magnum, how is that going Helga?"

"Go to hell." Taylor said glaring at her sister. "Not now, or have I ever, or will ever have a shrine made of bubble-gum or his used personal items in my closet." Taylor hated when her sister called her Helga from Hey Arnold! She was nothing like that little girl who should have been put in either prison or a mental hospital. She vaguely thought that her family had a weird thing for that cartoon as she told her sister, "Other than us not arguing, nothing." Taylor was amazed at how easy it was to lie to her sister. "We've only recently stopped arguing. Before that it was insults abound."

"You know, you should probably just tell him that you're in love with him," her sister said.

Taylor froze. She shouldn't be surprised by what her sister said, but she still was all the same. They had just talked about that fact that Taylor more than liked Chad. She had never, and she went out of her way to stress never, told her that she loved Chad. She wasn't saying that she didn't. She thought that she did anyway. It was either be in love with him and be obsessive over him, so she picked the lesser of two evils. "Never have I told you that I loved Chad." She said evenly.

"You don't have to. And that doesn't mean that you don't." Her sister said simply. Taylor had nothing to say to that remark, so she didn't say anything. Sighing, her sister changed the subject. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's go down stairs and eat."

--

"Your brothers and sisters seem really nice." Gabby said to her two days later as they walked threw the mall. Taylor had to pick up the last of the Christmas presents for her friends and Gabby wanted to do some last minute shopping.

"That's because you haven't lived with them for your whole life." She said as they walked out of the novelty shop where Taylor picked up the last of her gifts.

"Did you find something to wear for the dance on Friday?" Gabby asked her.

"Yeah. My sisters went shopping and I went with them yesterday and I found a dress. Did you?"

Sighing Gabby shook her head. "Not yet. I was going to look while we were here. I don't think that I'll find anything. I've looked everywhere. This is my last resort."

Laughing at her friend, Taylor said, "Don't worry. There's something here that you can wear, I'm sure of it. You're still coming to my house to get ready aren't you?"

Seeing her friend nod, she continued. "Timberly said that she would do our hair for us, but I'm not sure how long that's going to take so just come to my house when you get out of sch-" She stopped when she bumped into someone. Looking up to say sorry, her voice died in her throat when she looked in Chad's eyes. Stepping back from him, she was able to get out, "Sorry. I didn't see you."

"No problem." He told her back. Looking away from him before she did something embarrassing, Taylor saw Troy. "Hey Troy." She said. "What are you doing here?"

Holding up the bags in his hand, Troy said, "Shopping. I had to pick up a few more gifts for everyone. You?"

"The same." She said holding up her own bags. "Well, for me anyway. Gabby needs to find something for Friday."

Turning to her, Troy said, "I didn't know that you were going to the dance."

Gabby shrugged her shoulders. "I wasn't here yet for last year's, so I decided to go to this one." Taylor tuned them out as it became clear that they had forgotten that she and Chad were there. Looking at him, she saw him look at his friend, roll his eyes, and shake his head. Then he turned and caught her staring.

Trying not to blush, she said, "So…how's your weekend been?" She couldn't remember the last time that she had spoken nicely to him, and she had a feeling that she never had. And it wasn't made any easier by the fact that the last time she talked to him, she had her tongue in his mouth a few minutes before.

Chad seemed surprised, but he answered, "It's been fine. Other than this and basketball practice, I haven't done anything." Looking at his friend, Chad shook his head again. "He could at least try not to make it so obvious." He said dryly.

Smiling, she said, "My thoughts exactly." Giving her a smile that gave her the hugest wave of butterflies she ever felt, he asked her, "What about you?"

"Not much more. My family came down from college, but other than that, nothing."

"That's right. You have two sisters don't you?"

Nodding her head yes, she said, "And three brothers."

"There's six of you?" He said in disbelief.

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Since we're getting along for once, I'll ignore that. But yes there's six of us. My two twin older brothers, Trey and Trevor, are four years older than me. That's why you never met them I guess. Then there's Toby, whose three years older than me. Then Timberly and Tiffany who are two and one years older than me."

After that statement, there was an awkward moment of silence that Taylor didn't know how to fill, so she didn't. But it left her wishing that her friend would speed up the flirting with her crush. "So…" She heard Chad say in an obvious attempt to cover the silence, "Are you going to the dance?"

He asked her. Nodding her head yes, she said, "I might as well. I didn't go to Homecoming, so I'm going to this one. You?" Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I go to all the dances. I don't really have a choice."

"Let me guess," She said sneering. "Becky is making you go to see and be seen."

Narrowing his eyes at her tone he replied, "Not that's its any of your business," He said coldly. "But Becky can't make me do anything that I don't want to."

Taylor knew that he had a point; it wasn't any of her business. Even though she knew that, she couldn't prevent herself from saying, "Spare me. Becky makes it a habit of telling everyone that she had you wrapped around her perfectly manicured finger."

Eyes flashing, he said, "Jealous, McKessie?"

Of course she was, not that she was going to admit it out loud.

"Of Becky the Bitch? Please. What is there to be jealous about Her Vapid-ness?" Folding his arms, he smirked at her. She vaguely thought that Troy and Gabby had to be in deep conversation not to sense them fighting.

Coming out of her thinking she heard him say, "When it comes to you, everything. She's prettier than you, more popular than you, she has more friends than you, and she's dating one of the most popular boys in school. You know you want to be her."

Making a sound of disgust, she said, "Get over yourself, or should I say her. She's prettier than me? I doubt that, but to each his own I guess. If she didn't wear twenty pounds of make-up on her face everyday, she'd probably look like Sloth from the Goonies. I'm glad that she's more popular than I am. Half the people who flock to her Majesty are either just as fake as she is, or as stupid. She has more friends than me? Unlike her, I have real friends and quality is more important to me than quantity. And as for dating one of the most popular guys in school," She looked him up and down with obvious disdain. "If I wanted you, I would have you, but I like boys with intelligence. And that's obviously not you."

It was Chad's turn to look her up and down. "Like I would ever want something like you. Flat as a board all around, no fashion sense, and it seems like you have a bad air day everyday. If I wanted you, I wouldn't just be lowering my standards, I'd be getting rid of them."

Taylor copied his exact movements from before, and folded her arms and smirked. "That sure didn't stop you from shoving your tongue halfway down my throat on Monday, now did it?" Taylor said it low enough where only Chad could hear her. She saw him freeze for a moment, then he looked her up and down once more and said in a voice as low as hers. "What was I supposed to do? Even if I did kiss you first, you threw yourself at me right afterwards." At her gasp he gave a little laugh.

"You know, if you give it for free, people are going to take it. I wonder how long it would have taken me to get you on the floor if Kelsie hadn't shown up. My guess is five more seconds. And I don't even want to think about afterwards. I wanted to scrub with bleach, but we ran out at my house. I had to make do with taking five showers to get the horrible smell off of me."

Taylor thought that Chad's insult was just the same as a slap to her in the face. She knew it was her fault, she had brought it up, but also she knew that that was one of the meanest things that he had ever said to her. Covering her hurt up she opened her mouth to blast him, but Troy and Gabby had finally realized that hostilities were being traded. Before she could say anything, Gabby grabbed her hand and said hurriedly, "Didn't you say that you wanted to try the outfit on for the dance?" Not giving Taylor a chance to answer, she quickly said, "See you guys in school." After she had pulled Taylor away, they stopped when they turned the corner. "What the hell was that about?" Gabby asked her.

Yanking her hand away, Taylor said, "Excuse me if I cut into your flirting time with Troy."

Her friend glared at her. "Look, just because you're pissed at Chad, it doesn't give you the right to bitch at me because of it."

Taylor's temper dissolved in an instant. Sighing deeply, she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, its just that me and Chad got into a really heated argument."

"I could tell that much." Gabby said dryly. "Why though? You two seemed to be getting along just fine when we first saw them. Then all of a sudden, we see you looking like you're about to jump on him."

Sighing again, she said, "I know. It was my fault. We were getting along just fine, talking about our weekend and the dance. Then I said that Becky had him wrapped around her finger. He didn't like that, and I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Shaking her head, all Gabby told her was, "Come on, I still have to find something to wear."

Walking with her friend, Taylor's earlier good mood disappeared. Why did she have to pick a fight with Chad on the one occasion, that most likely would be the only, that they were actually getting along? And she had to pick a fight about Becky. If Chad couldn't tell that she was jealous before, he had to now. Glumly she thought about the situation as she watched Gabby go threw the clothing racks of the store they had entered. It wasn't that she was jealous because of Chad that didn't make Taylor like her. She was truthful enough to know that she was jealous of her, but that wasn't why she didn't like her. She got along with Chad's ex-girlfriends. But Becky really was what she liked the call her: a bitch. She was the female embodiment of every negative stereotype about high school. Only caring about popularity, and things of that elk, she didn't care about who's back she stabbed, who she walked over, feelings she hurt, or what lies she told. Sharpay was a walk in the park compared to her. But Taylor had to concede the fact that she was smart about it. None of the boys in the school could tell her for what she really was. They saw as a sweet girl who had a jealous and mean streak, but they wrote it off as faults that everyone has. Any time she and Taylor got into it, they saw it as her taking up for her boyfriend. But thankfully, every girl was able to see threw her, even her friends. She just didn't understand why they continued to be around her.

"What about this one?" Gabby said pulling her out of her thoughts. Looking at the outfits that her friend held up, Taylor said, "The dress. I don't like the ruffles on the other one." Seeing her friend go back to the clothing, Taylor's mind replayed the argument. She never thought that Chad was what his reputation said he was. Taylor never let herself believe that he was as much of a player and womanizer as he was made out to be. If she really thought that then she would never have gotten feelings for him. But she couldn't deny the evidence; he had a girlfriend and she didn't seem to cross his mind once when they were kissing. And she had to take into account what he had said his self, if it was free, he was going to take it. That had Taylor wondering if he ever cheated on any of his girlfriends. Lord knew that girls threw themselves at Chad and his friends everyday.

Taylor stopped that line of thought. She already had to deal with hiding her feelings from Chad, to keeping what happened between them a secret, to praying that she wouldn't have to hide Kelsie's body if she ever thought about telling. She didn't want to add that, the boy was had been crazy about for as long as she could remember, wasn't the person that she thought he was at all to the list. Taylor knew that if what happened between them ever made that infamous gossip column, she wouldn't ever live it down

--

The week flew by for Taylor as she waited for the approaching dance. It wasn't really a surprise to anyone that she and Chad had resumed their arguing, and of course Miss Gossip had to mention it.

…In other news, it seems like Chad Danforth and Taylor McKessie are back to arguing and everything is right in the world again. They were seen in the mall over the weekend with their friends Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. It was said that they were even getting along for awhile. Now, to believe that or not is up to you, but I'm still skeptical about it. Even if they did get along, it wasn't for very long because Gabriella was seen jumping in between them and pulling the other girl away. It's also reported that Gabriella and Troy were seen in deep conversation for a undetermined amount of time, one can only guess what about…

As Taylor pulled into her driveway, she thought about the upcoming night. It was finally Friday, which meant the dance, not that it was the main attraction of the night. Everyone at EHS knew that everything would happen at the after party that night given by Ryan and Sharpay Evans. She got out of her car and waited for Gabby to catch up. She hoped that it wouldn't take forever for Timberly to do her hair, but knowing her sister like she did, Taylor figured that even if they started from the moment she woke up, they would still be late for the dance. Seeing her friend finally pull up, she walked to the car to meet her. "Are you ready to be pinched, poked, curled, and painted?" She asked her.

Laughing as they made their way to Taylor's house, Gabby said, "It won't be that bad. You don't have to wear any makeup if you don't want to, and we'll look great by the time we're done so stop complaining."

As they walked into the house, Taylor went to announce that she was home, but didn't have the chance because her sisters appeared in front of her, and grabbed her and her friend. "What are you-" She began, but was cut off as Timberly said, "Come on, we don't have much time if you want me to do you two's hair."

"Its only twelve o'clock, the dance doesn't start until seven." Gabby told her confusedly.

"I know we don't have much time." Tiffany answered her. "But Taylor refused to stay home, maybe then I might have enough time to finish. I might still be able to if I rush." Timberly said as she and Tiffany pushed them towards the stairs. "Have fun at the dance tonight sweetie." A voice from them sounded. Turning her head Taylor answered her mother. "I'll try. That is if I can still be able to move by the time your daughters are done with me."

Smiling at her daughters, Mrs. McKessie said, "I'm going to be leaving soon to go to the hospital. I won't be home until tomorrow morning, but your father should be here by the time you get back. Don't stay out to late. You have fun too Gabby."

Neither girl could answer the women because they were hauled unceremoniously up the stairs. She barely had a chance to say hello to her brothers before she and Gabby were pushed into her room. The next hours passed in a blur as Timberly and Tiffany obsessed over every little detail about Taylor and Gabby's appearance. The first time she got to think was when she walked out of her bathroom five hours later, shivering. Timberly had told her that she was not to take a bath with hot water, not even warm water. She had said that she wouldn't ever forgive them if they let their hair get ruined because they couldn't handle something as small as cold water. Taylor and Gabby saw it more as freezing cold water, but kept their mouths closed. As she walked back to her bedroom, her brother came around the corner and bumped into her. Before she could apologize, she heard him yell and jump back. "What's wrong with you?" She asked him.

"You look like Swamp Thing." Trevor told her.

Glaring at him, she said, "It's a sea weed facial mask. It's good for the skin." Taylor wasn't really sure about that last part, but that's what Tiffany had told her when she had approached her with it. It had taken a good ten minutes to finally convince Taylor to put it on.

"You still look like Swap Thing." He told her. Taylor got ready to say an insult back, but Trevor turned and went back around the corner yelling, "Toby, Trey, come quick! Timberly turned Taylor into a sea monster."

Glaring at where her brother just stood, Taylor continued to her room. After barely stepping over the threshold, Tiffany grabbed her. "Finally. Come on, we have to decide what makeup you're going to wear." She said.

"That should be easy." Taylor told her. "I'm not wearing any."

Turning away from Gabby, who was getting her own makeup applied, Timberly said, "What do you mean you're not wearing any? You have to. I won't feel like my job is complete if you don't."

Shaking her head firmly, Taylor said, "No. You know I hate wearing makeup and I usually rub or sweat it off within an hour. I'm not wearing any."

"Taylor please." Her sister begged. "You have too."

"No." Was all Taylor answered.

"At least meet me half way. Just some lip gloss and eye makeup. Is that fair?" Knowing that her sister wasn't going to stop until she gave in, Taylor folded. "Fine, but nothing else. And don't try to sneak it in either. I'll take it all off if you do."

"Deal. Now go wash that off your face so I can do it. We don't have much time left."

"We have plenty of time." Taylor said. "It's just five. It shouldn't take that long." She saw her sisters give each other a look that clearly said, 'She's hopeless.' Ignoring it, Taylor walked back to the bathroom to wash Swap Thing from her face.

Two and a half hours later, Taylor stood corrected. The dance had started thirty minutes ago, and her sisters had just finished with her and Gabby. She'd never know how it had taken all the time to put on makeup and put finishing touches on her hair. As she finished putting on her dress behind the screen in her room, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The moment of truth. Taylor or Gabby haven't been allowed to look into the mirror after Taylor had washed her face. When they asked why, her sisters said that they didn't want them to get pre-dance jitters. When they were asked to explain, they said that if they saw how they looked, they would criticize and nit-pick about the way that they looked. They even put a towel over the bathroom mirror.

She stepped from behind the screen at the same time Gabby stepped from behind the one they had taken from her sister's room. "You look gorgeous." They said at the same time. Taylor didn't know about her own appearance, but she didn't think that she looked as good as Gabby did. Gabby had finally decided to get a strapless black and white polka-dotted dress that stopped just below her knees and she was able to find a pair of high-heeled shoes that matched her dress perfectly. Timberly had put her hair into a French twist with a curl on each side of her face at the temples. Unlike Taylor, Gabby was convinced into putting on the makeup that Taylor had passed on. She knew that her friend would be the best looking one there.

"You both look gorgeous." Tiffany said. She held out her hand and Timberly slapped hers down on it, saying, "Job well accomplished." Sighing at the same time, they threw themselves down on Taylor's bed. Absently waving to them, Timberly said, "You two can go look in the mirror now. Walking to her door, Taylor was hard pressed not to run to the bathroom, and when she glanced at Gabby, she saw that the same was for her friend. When they got to the bathroom, Taylor jerked the towel away from the mirror and she and Gabby looked at their reflection. She was speechless. She didn't recognize the girl looking back at her. Taylor never thought she was ugly, but she didn't think that she could ever look this good either. Whatever the gunk that her sisters had her put on her face, she made her skin glow. The eye shadow and eye liner that shad had made her usually plain dark brown eyes look two shades lighter. As her gaze traveled down, she stepped back to see herself more fully. Her dress was a black hater-dress that had red embroidery that reminded Taylor of a bandana. The embroidery was around the neck and the bottom of the dress, which stopped an inch above her knees.

She looked back at her face. Timberly had given her spiral curls all over her head that looked elegant and full. She started to get a smile on her face. She looked great, and she knew that she would owe her sisters for the rest of her life. Looking at Gabby she said, "Is that really us?"

Laughing, her friend replied, "It has to be. No one else is in here but us." Taking a deep breath, Gabby said, "You ready?" Nodding her head, Taylor answered, "It's kind of chilly outside, and they always have the gym freezing so we should bring a sweater or something."

"You are not wearing a sweater over anything and ruin our hard work." Tiffany's voice came from the doorway, Timberly behind her. Rolling her eyes, Taylor said, "Calm down. We won't wear them for long we promise. If it's going to get a little cold, I want to be prepared." Giving her an intense look, Timberly finally nodded. "Fine, but if I find out that you wore a sweater over your dresses, I'll kill both of you."

"Yes ma'am." Gabby said jokingly as the four of them walked out to the hallway and made their way to the stairs.

Hearing his sisters and their friend come down the stairs, Trey looked up. "Hey Tay, do you still look like-" He voice died in his throat when he saw her. "Go change. Now." He said angrily.

"What? Why?" Taylor asked confused.

"There is no way in hell that I'm letting you out of the house looking like that." He said.

"And what's wrong with the way she looks?" Tiffany said defensively.

"What are you yelling about Trey? We could hear you from the kit-" Trevor said, then his voice broke off just like his twin's did. "You aren't wearing that." He said bluntly.

"Why not?" Taylor asked in the same tone that Tiffany had just used.

"What do you mean why not? It's too short for one thing, and for another you're about to fall out of the top of it." Trevor said

Looking down at her chest, Taylor said hotly, "I am not. Nothing is going to fall anywhere. And this dress isn't to short. I've seen the two of you with girlfriends who've worn shorter things."

"That's not the point. I'm not letting you out of the house dressed liked that." Trey yelled.

"It is too the point and you know it." Taylor yelled back. "You're being a hypocrite. If you don't want your sister to dress like this, then why would you want your girlfriends to dress like it?"

"Sisters and girlfriends are two totally different things. Any guy who sees you is going to be on you like white on rice. You aren't leaving the house unless you change." Trevor said to her.

"Why aren't you yelling at Gabby, huh? She looks just as good as I do." Taylor said.

"This isn't my fight." Gabby said holding up her hands. "Chicken." She heard Timberly whisper.

Giving a quick glance to Gabby, Trey said, "Gabby isn't my baby sister."

"Neither am I." Taylor told him hotly. "Younger, youngest, and little, but not your baby sister. I'm a senior in high school and this time next year, I'll be in college. You can't tell me what to wear." Grabbing Gabby's hand, she gave a quick thank you to her sisters, and went to the closet by the door, getting sweaters for her and Gabby.

"Toby," Trey said to their brother who had just walked out of the kitchen with a plate in his hand. "Do you see how your sister is about to leave the house? Back us up here."

Taylor rolled her eyes, and waited for Toby's overly protective remark. She was surprised when she heard him say, "You look great Taylor. You too Gabby. Have fun at the dance."

"What!" The twins yelled.

"You don't think that anything is wrong with what she's wearing?" Trey yelled to him.

Looking her up and down, Toby said, "I wouldn't have a problem if I saw anyone else dressed like that, so why blow a gasket over Taylor?"

"Because she's a baby sister?" Trevor said hotly.

"Like she pointed out earlier, she isn't a baby anymore." Toby said shrugging his shoulders. "But I'm not saying I agree with you about her wearing it though." He added at the end.

Giving all three of her brothers a glare, Taylor a walked with Gabby to the door, but Trevor stopped her. "If you leave, I'll…I'll tell dad." he folded his arms and gave her a superior look. Folding her arms and giving him a look of disdain, she said, "And I'll tell mom. She already saw my dress and didn't have a problem with it." She saw her brothers open their mouths but her sisters cut them off. "Why don't you leave her alone? She looks great and you know it."

Turning to his other two sisters, Trey said, "I can't believe you two would let her walk out of the house like that. You should be ashamed."

Folding her arms, just like Taylor had, Timberly said, "You pulled the same crap when I went to my senior prom, as a matter of fact I was almost late because of you."

"What did you expect?" Trevor said. "Your dress was an inch away from showing your ass crack."

"It was not!" Timberly shot back. "After mom finally told you to shut it, and that I was wearing what I want, you told my date that if he got to carried away, you'd kill him."

"It worked didn't it?" Trevor asked.

"Actually it didn't. We were the last couple in the limo that night. I have fond memories of that night."

"What!" Taylor heard all three of her brothers say to Timberly's comment, but the rest was lost as she closed the front door. She'd have to thank her later for giving her a chance to get away. "You know," She heard Gabby say. "I always wanted a older brother until now."

"Yes, well try having three overly protective ones and being the youngest. You can have them if you want." Shaking her head vigorously, Gabby replied, "After what I just saw, I'm kind of glad that I don't have any brothers."


ok dont worry. the next chapter is much better. well i have to go to work. if u have ne other guesses to who it is, just tell me. i'll update the next chapter when i get home cuz this chapter is really a waste. i dont no y i wrote it honestly. and there might b errors cuz i wasnt going to re-rea it all again.

kialajaray