Once upon a time
I believe it was a Tuesday
When I caught your eye
We caught onto something
I hold onto the night
You looked me in the eye
And told me you loved me
Taylor Swift, "Forever and Always"
Chapter Two
"Hello?" Taylor called out to an empty foyer as she walked into her house after the taxi dropped her off.
When she got no answer, she sighed, dropping her keys onto the side table near where a mirror hung and guessed that no one was home because otherwise she would have been greeted by either her parents or younger brothers.
"Great," she said aloud to herself. "Why is it that when I want privacy, everyone is around and when I want to talk to someone, I am all alone? This totally sucks."
She could never understand the concept of her family.
Just then she felt her phone vibrate through the pocket of her black skinny-leg jeans. Fishing it out of her pocket, Taylor read Annie's name on the caller I.D, a grin appearing on her face at the thought of hearing from her best friend so soon after returning home. She couldn't wait to see her and catch up on all the gossip she missed while she was in New York City.
"Hey, Annie," she said into the phone when she answered the call as she walked into the fairly spacious kitchen, her heeled shoes sounding on the marble floor.
"Hi, Taylor, I wasn't sure if you'd answer your phone. I figured that you may or may not still be on the plane so I was just going to leave you a voicemail but I am so glad that you're home," Annie replied. "I missed my best friend."
Taylor could barely hear her friend over the excessive noise on Annie's end of the line. She guessed she was out somewhere, but she was also glad to hear from someone she cared about-even if it wasn't her mother and father.
"Thanks, I missed you too. Where are you?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm at House of Java with Brittany, Chloe, Grace and Abigail."
So she'd go and meet her friends at House of Java. She may need a rest and that meant to sleep but right now, she also didn't feel like being alone. She had sat alone on the plane with no friends or family to talk to for three weeks. She missed them. She'd catch up on her sleep later.
"Cool, then I will meet you there. I'm on my way now," Taylor said.
"No, we'll come to you. I'm sure you're exhausted. There's-"
But Annie was cut off when Taylor said bye and ended the call, sliding her phone back into her pocket, placing her bag down onto the floor near the entry to the family room. She'd unpack later. Then she picked up her keys and with a brief look around the house as though she was realising that nothing had changed, she walked back through the hall and was out the door.
Five or ten minutes later, Taylor paid for her taxi fare and emerged into House of Java, spotting her friends sitting on one of the purple plush seats in a corner booth. They were laughing about something when she joined them.
"Hi, guys," she said. "What are we talking about?"
Grace was the first to rise to her feet and embrace her friend with a hug.
"Oh, it's so glad to have you home. I've missed my chats with you."
Taylor looked sceptical, prompting Grace to continue. "No, seriously, you're the only one who actually understands Brittany when she's talking."
Brittany just narrowed her eyes, looking scornful while the others laughed, including Taylor. She and everyone else who knew Brittany loved her and her eccentric ways of life.
As she said hello to each one of her friends, sitting herself down in the only vacant spot beside Chloe, Taylor let her eyes wander ahead towards another table, falling onto someone particular sitting there-Conner. She couldn't see his face, but rather the back of him only, though still, she knew what he looked liked-well the back of him anyway. She did go out with him. But it wasn't that seeing her ex boyfriend again in a little over two months that gave her the chills up and down her arms.
It was the fact that he was whispering into the ear of a girl she didn't know. Who was this girl with red curly hair? What was her name? How did she know Conner? All these questions began running through her mind at a fast pace and the fact that she didn't know the answers to them bugged her. Was this girl the new girlfriend? It was all she could think of. There were not nearly enough words to muster the courage to say anything.
Annie and Brittany followed their friend's gaze until their own fell on Conner and the curly haired girl, whoever she was.
Annie then turned back to Taylor, her face showing concern for her friend. "That's why we thought we'd come to you."
So there had been a reason as to why Annie had wanted to suggest she come to her. Taylor loved that her friends had tried to think of her feelings in this whole situation but Taylor figured that at least she was finding out now before she put her heart on the line for a guy who had already moved on without her. She didn't need heartbreak all over again. Okay, so she hoped she and Conner would find their way back to each other but obviously he had alternate plans-separate from hers. It was no big deal. There were plenty of fish still in the sea. So why did she feel like she had just had her heart ripped out from beneath her all over again? Why did love have to hurt so much that she couldn't breathe and think properly?
"Love stinks," Brittany said, trying to make her feel better.
You got that right, Taylor thought to herself.
Chloe sat in sympathy with her, hugging her gently. "I'm sorry, sweetie."
Brittany crossed her arms on the table. "Apparently they met in rehab so-" Brittany was harshly stopped mid-sentence when Abigail scolded her silently, gently punching her in the shoulder.
But Taylor didn't want her friends to feel sorry for her. She wasn't the kind of girl who needed people to feel sorry for her. She took it in stride that if it was supposed to end a certain way then it was going to happen. End of story. And apparently, God had other plans for her. She just wasn't supposed to be with Conner at this point in time.
Taylor sat up, gazing back over to Conner's table, this time, smiling at Tia who was smiling back at her after noticing her in the café. She began to rise to her feet and looked around at her friends. "Whatever. Can we just go now?"
"Yeah, okay," Grace said, looking at the others, searching for reason within them. Annie shrugged her shoulders. No one knew what to say but they went along with their friend's suggestion. None of them wanted Taylor to feel uncomfortable knowing she was sitting a few tables away from her ex boyfriend and his new girlfriend. She was their friend and they all knew that Taylor didn't want to be here when her ex was also here.
The others followed her out of the booth as Taylor watch Tia usher over to their table but Taylor respectively declined, shaking her head and waving goodbye as she turned and headed out the door.
"So do you know who she is?" Taylor asked Brittany. Word was that Brittany knew who was dating who and which two were hooking up. It was why Taylor had asked her. There was not a doubt in her mind that she didn't think Brittany wouldn't know the name of the red haired girl.
"Her name is Alanna," whispered Brittany. "And she has nothing on you. You and Conner made a hotter couple than he does with her."
And as Taylor took one last glance back at Conner, she realised that Brittany was right. This Alanna girl did have nothing on her because she had everything on her. Conner and Alanna were more alike than she ever would be. She and Conner were just not meant to be. It was as simple as that.
Conner looked over at Tia, following her gaze and found out who she was waving to-Taylor. He had been told by Megan that she had travelled to New York to partake in a dance program at a top dance school but he hadn't even known she had arrived back in town. Now he couldn't begin to imagine how she must be feeling when she saw him and Alanna together. No, he knew exactly how she'd be feeling-hurt. He could read her like an open book. Sure, he and Taylor had called it quits but he still cared about her very much. He probably always would because she was his first real relationship. He could never really forget about her. Conner never intended to have Taylor find out about Alanna this way. He had planned to tell her face to face and had he known that she was here, he would have talked to her. He just hoped he'd get a chance to talk to her-and soon.
Taylor was sitting in her bedroom at the desk in front of her laptop as she wrote the English paper Abigail had told her about that was due next week while she listened to music on her iTouch.
Then her cell phone lit up and vibrated from its position on her desk.
"Hi, Tia," Taylor said into the phone when she answered the call, reading the caller I.D.
"Hey, girl, how was New York? Run into any Gossip Girl stars out and about?"
Taylor could almost see Tia's face turning into a smile as she asked her.
"No, I didn't. I was a little too busy dancing to go scouting for celebrities. Besides, I think they had already finishing filming the show by the time I arrived there."
"Damn. What about Chace Crawford? I heard he's in a new movie and they're shooting it in New York."
Taylor refrained from cracking a laugh at her friend's expense. Gossip girl was one of the only shows Tia could stand to watch anymore besides Grey's Anatomy so she was kind of obsessed when it came to style stalking the stars of the show.
"Yeah, I didn't see anything, Tee. Sorry," she said. "But what's up?"
"That's a shame, but anyway, I assure you, there is a reason as to why I call you on a Saturday afternoon when I could have just walked next door to you..."
Taylor could barely make out Tia's voice as she tried to listen to music, write a paper and talk on the phone all at one time. Therefore, she turned down the music as she focused on her friend.
"So we're going to a bonfire down on the beach tonight and I thought you might like to come too so that you can see everyone before school on Monday."
Taylor had an inkling suspicion of who we were. She figured she meant everyone she hung out with which meant that there was a good chance Conner would be there too. And if so, then he'd probably bring his girlfriend with him too. Taylor guessed that she had started to hang out with his friends as well since she began going out with him.
"I don't know." Taylor weighed in on her options, chewing on whether or not she should go to the bonfire and risk seeing her ex boyfriend and his new girlfriend together. It was bad enough that she had been a witness to it at House of Java. She really didn't want to have to go somewhere, knowing they'd be there all along. It wasn't her style to make small talk with an ex and his girlfriend. That just wasn't how she rolled.
"C'mon...it'll be fun," Tia attempted to persuade.
Taylor tried to toy with the idea but as hard as she had tried, she couldn't get the image of Conner and Alanna out of her head. She didn't want to see them together. It was going to be bad enough to have to see him in school-when it was just him-she couldn't begin to see what it'd do to her state of mind if she saw them together.
"If you're worried about seeing Conner with Alanna then I wouldn't panic because he might not be coming anyway."
There it went-AGAIN! And just when she had come to grow sick of thinking about those two names together, she had heard them in the flesh through conversation from her friend. He might not even be there. Might, as in there was a chance he would be there and she couldn't take that chance if he was. Not right now anyway. She knew there'd be a time when she would need to talk to him but if there was any chance of her putting it off for as long as she could then she would take that chance rather than risk it. It was better than having an awkward conversation with your ex boyfriend and his new girlfriend. She had seen One Tree Hill last season and for the record, she was team Peyton all the way. There was no denying who she had been rooting for in the end.
"Tee, it's nice of you to think of me when Conner and I are not together anymore but I really can't come. Although, I'd love to catch up with you, I also have an English paper to write and according to my parents, that has to come first. Sorry."
So she had lied to one of her nearest and dearest friends but she didn't know what else she could do or say. There was no way she'd put herself out there and purposely go out of her way to see Conner and Alanna together.
"It is cool. School comes first, especially when you've missed three weeks. Actually, I've got a history paper due that I should be staying home to finish but what you going to do." Taylor heard Tia stall for a moment and she could have sworn she had heard a male's voice in the background but didn't think anything of it. She figured it was probably Trent or Andy. She had heard from Jessica through a text message while she was in New York that Tia had started dating Trent. That they were keeping it low key but that they were still a couple.
She wouldn't let something overrated get to her. It was probably nothing anyway.
After Taylor and Tia said their goodbyes, Taylor placed her phone down on her desk and stared at the computer screen in front of her, contemplating what to write next. It wasn't that she wasn't good at English because she was but she just didn't have the energy to find the words to spur an essay. And if she did then she was afraid it wouldn't be up to the high standard she usually put into her assignments. She drummed her fingers against the keyboard.
"So the rumour is true. My favourite cousin is finally home." Taylor looked over to the door and saw Melissa standing there with a smile on her face.
"Liss!" Taylor jumped up from the chair, pushing it back and bounced as best as she could with a cast on her leg toward her cousin, embracing her with a hug.
"How was New York?" she asked as the two girls hugged. Melissa pulled back and looked down. "On second thought, don't tell me. I think I can make it out myself. You broke your leg. Did you missed me that much? You had to break your leg?"
"Fractured actually," Taylor pointed out. "There is a difference. And it's not my whole leg, just my ankle."
With the help of Melissa, Taylor hopped to her bed and sat down while Melissa took a seat at the chair Taylor had previously been sitting on.
"So how'd you manage to 'fracture'," Melissa air quoted, "your ankle?"
Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "During a dance rehearsal, I hurt it by moving it in a way I shouldn't have, refused to seek treatment in which I continued to dance knowing my ankle was limited to movement and then in the midst of a class, the pain suddenly became too overwhelming that I could no longer stand up let alone dance and I collapsed. In other words, as the doctor told me, it's a simple injury made into a bigger problem brought on by me who refused to seek medical aid when I hurt it in the beginning."
"Taylor-"
Taylor raised her hands in surrender. "I know. Please, I don't need another lecture explaining how I did the wrong thing. I got it from the doctor and the dance instructors and then again from my parents an hour ago. I don't need it from you too. Believe me, I've learnt my lesson, but at the time, I honestly thought I'd be okay. That the pain would go away on its own and that I just needed to rest it with an ice pack."
Melissa stared at me, her brown eyes watching me carefully. "Obviously you didn't rest it enough."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so why exactly are you here?" Taylor asked her, changing the subject. She didn't need to be told by everyone that she was stupid to continue dancing on her leg after hurting it the first time.
Melissa rolled her eyes, stared at the computer screen then back at Taylor, resting her hands in her lap. "I'm here because we're going to a bonfire tonight."
"We?" Taylor asked. Hadn't she just gone through this with Tia? Who were we?
"Yes, we, as in you and I," said Melissa. "And Will. He's waiting out in the car."
"Look, Tia already called and invited me to the bonfire. I said no to her and I'm going to say no to you too."
"You did? Why?"
"I'm tired. I don't feel like sitting around another famous bon fire on the beach to bitch about people I don't like. I really just want to have a quite night at home with my family. Besides, since when do you and Tia talk to each other?"
"Really? Yeah, I'm sure you do. And I'm sure there's somebody you'd like to bitch about." She examined her finger nails carefully. "I wouldn't go so far to say Tia and I are friends but I guess we both have something in common-you. So we've learned to tolerate each other for your sake. We won't be the only two there. Most of the senior class were invited and probably some of the junior class who talk to the seniors. There will be plenty of people for you to talk to."
So Melissa was right. Taylor had been given an extension-but by one week. It still didn't give her a lot of time to write a 1500 word essay on the effects of Loss though she had plenty to say on the topic given she had experienced loss in her life.
"I-" Taylor tried to say.
Melissa stood up, pursing her lips together. "I can't." She mocked her cousin, knowing the words that were going to come from her mouth. "Yes you can. That's not the Taylor I know. The Taylor I know never says I can't. I don't think the word is even a part of her vocabulary much does she know the definition of the word because if I can recall, she defied all the doctors who told her she'd never walk again because she was determined to walk rather than face life as a paraplegic. Now, unless I'm thinking of another Taylor who looks like you, I could have sworn that that was all you."
"I get it. I don't say I can't, but this time is different. I haven't lost movement in my legs. I just don't want to see my ex boyfriend and his girlfriend together at this present time. I'm sure you'd feel the same if you knew Will was dating some other girl."
Taylor figured she'd be strong enough to get past the initial shock of seeing Conner with someone else and having her heart break all over again. After all, she had been through much worst than a meaningless break up so she knew that she had the courage to pull herself through and survive a broken heart but she also knew that the less she saw of Conner and Alanna together, the better she'd be in the long run at getting over him.
Melissa stormed to Taylor's walk in closet, pulling out her sandals then crossed the room back to Taylor.
"I am not taking no for an answer." Melissa tossed her shoes at her cousin. "You're coming with us."
Taylor gave up arguing with Melissa. She knew it wouldn't get her anywhere. Instead, she slipped her shoes onto her feet and rose to her feet with the help of her crutches. Melissa did a quick once over in Taylor's full length mirror as she passed it on her way out of her room.
"So earlier you said Will was waiting in his car. Did you guys get back together?"
"Yes."
Taylor couldn't figure it out. She had only been away for three weeks and those three weeks felt like a life time. A lot had happened and a lot had changed in three weeks. She hadn't expected to come home to change. Sure, she had expected that not everything would be the same as it was when she left but she did not expect the people she knew the most in town to change as well.
And all that Taylor could say was, "I wasn't gone that long. What else happened while I was away?"
