Author's Note: So, hey. Sorry for the long update! This chapter is dedicated to RandomnessSmiles because of the story alert and the persistent review! Really, thanks a lot for that. It made me feel so special. :D Well, here's your Christmas present! It's 2:30 AM on Christmas Eve and I.. can't type much more cuz I'm leaving in a few hours to travel. I should probably sleep more, but I was typing late into the night to give you the longest chapter yet. I mean, I had no idea it would turn out this long! So, Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays, if you prefer) and let me sleep! I'm kidding- I love you guys anyway.
Disclaimer: Well, I think it's pretty obvious.
I woke up next to Jackson to the sound of his voice whispering in my ear.
"Mel…" he said sleepily in the tent.
"Mmhmm?"
"Shut up, I need to sleep," Eric moaned before rolling over. I heard a thump through my sleepy daze.
"Ah! Eric, watch your leg!" Nathan exclaimed.
"Watch your face," Eric retorted sleepily.
"You're the one who can't keep his legs to himself."
The silence was awkward- but, oh! so sweet- before Eric broke it.
"That was so wrong, dude."
"Why do you have to think so negative?" I heard another thump and Eric swore.
"Now look who can't keep his hands to himself!" he exclaimed.
"Eric? Can you get your hat off of my face?" Lex's voice was slightly muffled.
"We should've woken Mel and Jackson. I should've never let Lex sleep in the middle of you all," Daley muttered.
"Da-ley! I'm fine!"
There was no response from her, and I realized she had fallen asleep again. Lex seemed to realize it, too. Jackson turned over to check on him before mouthing, "He's asleep" to me. We waited until we were sure everyone was asleep again. He grinned before leaning in to whisper into my ear.
"Mel, I- "
"Eric. Look, we can be reasonable about this. Either you tie your legs together, or sleep outside with this blanket," Nathan said, attempting to be civil. As usual, it wasn't working.
"Uh, I don't think so."
I groaned inwardly.
"You don't think, period," Nathan retorted.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a minute. Chill, Nathan. I'm not the one who's so low he has to insult people."
If Nathan could splutter half-awake, he would have. Eric took advantage of his silence and adopted a Dr. Phil tone.
"Now, Nathan. Why don't you calm down and tell me: Do you insult people because you're insecure about your looks?"
"My looks?"
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, Nathan. Truth is the first step to healing."
"Insecure? Me? You're the one who hides behind that stupid hat all the time," Nathan retorted angrily.
"Your denial is making this more painful than it needs to be. And I don't hide; it's a fashion statement! When we get rescued, this hat will be the style, baby."
Nathan snorted. "'Fashion statement'?"
"At least it stays on my normal hair! It probably couldn't stay on your bird's nest-thing." I could hear the smirk in Eric's voice and sighed.
"Did you just insult my hair? You are such a girl!"
"Can you two shut up? Some of us actually want to sleep!" I heard Taylor's voice from somewhere on the other side of me. The boys subdued, and I sighed in relief.
OK, so maybe Taylor could be useful. But I still hated her.
Jackson, after realizing that talking to me in the tent was probably not the best idea, dragged me outside.
"This had better be good. You know I hate getting up this early!" I complained.
"Early?" he asked incredulously. "The sun's almost halfway in the sky! It's practically noon."
"I don't care. We went to bed late last night," I said stubbornly. Jackson's face formed the beginning of his smirk. "All of us did," I added hurriedly.
Look. We didn't do anything last night, you hear? Sure, there may have been some lip action, and there's a possibility that maybe hands were moving a little more intimately than a handshake… and, ok, so maybe there were words… but we didn't do anything! Got it? OK, good. Proceed.
"Mel. You're whining."
"Well, yes, that tends to happen when I realize that even after all this time, Nathan still can't get over himself." I rubbed my eyes tiredly.
Jackson stayed silent. I hate it when he's right. I bit my lip before sighing.
"Oh, all right. Sorry for being a bi-"
Jackson swooped down- randomly, I might add- and swallowed my words with a kiss.
So, of course, I was going to say something sweet to make the moment more romantic, like, "You should do that more often," or, "Maybe I should whine more often," or something super corny that involved a glorious sunset, but someone cut me off. Let's face it. Corny romantic moments coupled with sunsets just don't happen anymore.
"Shut. Up," Taylor said from behind me. It's probably important to let you know that Jackson was still kissing me. Mmmmmm… oh, sorry.
"Um," Jackson looked up suddenly, his hands gripping my arms tighter than what was strictly necessary.
Taylor stood before us, hands on her hips, her foot tapping as if demanding an explanation for… well, I really didn't know what for, but what really matters was that she was demanding.
"You're together?" she exclaimed in horror.
"Well, geez, you don't need to be so surprised." I could afford to be gracious every once in a while.
"Yes I do! One minute you're totally into me and the next you're eating her face off?"
Jackson wore his universal WTH expression.
"What are you talking about? Did you not notice that we were sleeping to- I mean next to each other? Or that Lex had a map of all of the couples and their favorite kiss spots? Did you really think that Jackson was so hung up on you he couldn't think of anyone else? Really, Taylor?"
She met my eyes with an even stare, one eyebrow quirked up as if she was amused. "I was so sure that Jackson of all people wouldn't go to you for cold comfort."
"Cold comfort?" I barely managed to say the words because of my anger. She only smiled.
If she would only stop smiling that stupid, superior smile that made me want to cower, I would've said something heroic. Instead, for the first 10 seconds, I just leaned into Jackson for support. But I wasn't the one to defend myself. My silent knight was the one to (finally) speak up.
"Taylor, you're better than that. You know I'd never do something like that, don't you?" his voice had an almost pleading tone to it. I saw the flicker of regret and uncertainty pass over her face. I saw the way she reacted when he spoke to her like he used to. I'd forgotten that time. I'd forgotten that, once, she was mature and actually cared a little. Maybe I'd forgotten because in one heartbeat she'd reverted to her old self.
"I- Melissa, I…" she trailed off helplessly. I got it, though. For the first time, I'd remembered who she used to be, and I wanted to give that person a chance.
"Jackson, can you leave us alone for a minute?" I asked him after taking a breath. He squeezed my arm reassuringly before walking away.
It was like a scene in some sort of corny movie. Taylor and I even sat on a log, but we kept more than a foot's distance between us.
Taylor stared straight ahead, her blonde hair up in a messy side ponytail. She seemed to fit in everywhere she was, no matter what she wore. She fit in at Daley's sixth birthday party in a pink, sparkly dress complete with a tiara that far surpassed the glory of Daley's T-shirt and jeans. Even then, no one dared to make fun of her or act like something was wrong. But now, here on this log, she seemed ill at ease. It was like she was afraid of me, but I felt the same way about her.
"You're not over him," I surprised myself by saying. She looked startled for a moment before regaining her composure.
"I was never into him," she scoffed with a toss of her head.
"I kinda miss you," I mused thoughtfully. What was I saying? She was my rival, not my old best friend! Well, not anymore, anyway. Not since Daley's sixth birthday party. That was when… well, you know, every diva starts to be snobby at one point. For Taylor, it was at one of her friend's birthday party.
"Miss me?" Taylor asked with a dismissive, but forced laugh. She paused. "I thought you hated me."
"Hate," I corrected, trying to return to my normal, sane, Taylor-hating self. She licked her lips uncertainly and reached up to unsuccessfully smooth her hair.
"Oh."
That one syllable made me feel so horrible, like I'd been too harsh or something. But what had I done? I asked myself. She's the one who went after Jackson even when she knew I liked him. She's the one who changed into a diva! She's the one who became her old self and made me hope a little before turning back to the brat I had hated for the past few weeks. I mean, sure, I was mad that she had changed and attracted Jackson, but I'd hoped that she'd at least stay different for a long time. Island life is a disappointment, if you haven't realized yet.
"Well," I tried to amend, "I don't actually hate you; I just don't like you very much. I mean, I can tolerate you! No, wait, wrong word. I don't dislike you that much- "
"Shut up, Melissa. I get it." She resumed staring emotionlessly ahead.
"It's Mel," I said without thinking. She smoothed her hair again and bit her lip, but didn't respond. "Taylor?" I asked hesitantly. She swallowed visibly before turning to me and managing a tentative smile.
"It's Tay."
"That was a long time ago," I answered after another awkward pause, looking away from her. I saw her nod from the corner of my eye.
"I know."
It was my turn to swallow uncomfortably.
"Mellie and Tay-tay," I murmured to myself. She sniffed.
"Like you said, a long time ago," she said with a tone of finality as she turned away. I bit my lip, wanting to say the words. My will won.
"Not that long ago," I tried. Taylor turned to me again, her eyes flashing.
"Will you make up your mind? Either you hate me or you don't!" she exclaimed angrily.
"I'm trying! You make up your mind- either we make up or we hate each other for the rest of our lives!" I answered just as angrily.
"Maybe I wish things were back to the way they were before that stupid birthday party!"
"Maybe I do, too! Did you think about that? No, you probably only care about that stupid, ruffled, pink, sparkly gown thing you wore to that party!"
"They made me wear that!"
There was a long pause as we stared at each other, unwilling to break the silence her words had caused. Finally, I spoke.
"Whose 'they'?" I asked in a tone that I hoped was gentle. Taylor's bottom lip quivered before she masked it with her defiant façade,
"My parents. They wanted to prepare me for the social life at a very young age." She sniffed delicately. "They wanted me to know the finer things in life. And the value of them," she emphasized. "You never did apologize," she added. I sighed.
"Taylor, I definitely sent you a 'I'm sorry' card, had my parents call yours, and gave you money to pay for the dress! I even tried to wash the tomato sauce out!"
Yes. We started to hate each other when I accidentally spilled my spaghetti on her dress. Daley stood up for me, but Nathan just watched. That was probably why Taylor had no problem dating Nathan.
"You still never said sorry to my face," she said stubbornly, refusing to look at me.
"I'm… sorry?"
"Are you sure? 'Cause you don't sound too sure." Geez, she was so particular!
"I'm positive. I'm sorry."
"For?" she persisted.
"For… spilling my spaghetti on accident on your dress." I rolled my eyes.
"And?"
"What else is there?"
"I don't know; I thought you did."
"Taylor!"
"It's Tay," she giggled childishly. For a moment, we were like we once were: two giggling little girls with nothing to care about in the world. Then we remembered again, and the world- our world- crashed down on us once more. Taylor swallowed again, nervously smoothing out her khaki shorts and straightening her shirt.
"Why did you…" I trailed off, trying to find the right word.
"Get like this? Like the way I am now?" When I didn't respond, she continued bitterly. "How did Daley say it once? 'A spoiled, selfish brat who's never worked a day in her life!' or something like that. You wanna know why I became that? You've got a problem with who I am now?"
I took a breath. "Well, I just… I miss the way things used to be, you know? There was no rich or poor or anything. We were just friends. I miss the way you used to listen to people- like really listen to what people had to say. I miss the way you never gave a crap about how messy your dress was after we played. And now- and now- I thought you were back for once. I came close to halfway forgiving you for stealing Jackson except you changed again in one night. What happened to you, huh?" I asked her in frustration.
"People stopped seeing me." I drew back from her.
"I ask you all of that and you barely have any answer? I should've known this would never work."
"No! Just... listen to me, okay? When I was five, parents started telling their kids that I was a very rich girl who lived in a huge house. And all of those kids all came to be my friends so they could get cool gifts and stuff."
"I wasn't one of those- " I began to protest.
"No, you weren't. Thank God or else I would've started cut- um… culinary arts or something," she interrupted evasively.
"Cooking?" I asked skeptically.
"No, cu- culinary arts!"
"That's cooking, Taylor."
"I knew that," she said, fluffing her hair. "I just wanted to make it sound better."
"Sure."
"Now, before I was rudely interrupted, I was talking about those manipulative brats who only were my friends so they could get stupid gold tiaras and diamond rings," Taylor continued in disgust.
"Wow, that is pretty screwed up," I said, trying to sympathize with the plight of the rich. Don't get me wrong; I did feel bad for her. But not all of us were quite as privileged as Taylor Hagan.
"Well, yeah! I mean, why would you go through all of that trouble for only a solid gold tiara? They didn't just use me; they used me for stupid stuff that's not even that great!" She shook her head, blonde hair swishing free of her ponytail. I stared at her. I'm pretty sure that my eyes were bugging out.
"S-s-stupid g-gold, y-yeah. S-stupid," I ventured shakily. Solid gold?
"Would you stop interrupting me? It's not all about you, you know," she huffed. Before I could even come up with a good comeback (which probably would've sucked), she continued. "So," she said, clearing her throat, "that's how I became a socialite. I don't know even half of them- I barely talked to a single person on my own. I always had a little possum."
I looked at her in confusion. "You have a possum?"
"Geez, Mel, where've you been?"
"I mean, I knew you had a dog. But a possum? Isn't that a little eccentric?" I asked her, trying to comprehend this information. She glared at me.
"Look, my possum may not be that nice, but you don't have to be mean and act like they're dogs!"
"What? You have more than one possum?"
"Are you even listening to me? I guess you could say I had more than one since they were always switched up…" Taylor mused.
"What are you talking about? Did you show your possums in public?" I asked, rubbing my forehead. She looked at me like I was an idiot; I felt like one, too.
"Of course. What else are possums good for?" she answered matter-of-factly.
"Um, setting free! Possums aren't for public display; they belong with their families in their natural habitat!"
"Geez, Mel, I know I kept them with me really late at night in parties- " she began while I gawked- "but I didn't, like, kidnap them or anything! They went home every night. A lot of them didn't even stay for an entire party!"
"You let your possums loose?" I asked.
"Of course not! Even if I did, they would've stayed with me so they could check out all the cute guys," she sniffed. "They didn't want to be let loose. They wanted to be my friend."
On a hunch, I rolled my eyes and sighed before asking, "Taylor? What's a possum?"
It was her turn to gawk.
"You, Melissa Wu, Asian student extraordinaire, don't know what a possum is? Ha! I knew you weren't that smart!" Taylor gloated. Oh, the price I pay to understand her mind…. "Well, I'll just tell you then. Possums are groups of people that hang out with you 'cause you're cool and hot and stuff. Kinda like friends, but you can't trust 'em much." She smiled knowingly. I pursed my lips before answering.
"You mean a posse?" I asked slowly. She froze.
"Um… aren't they, like, the same thing?"
"No," I said, dragging out the word.
"Well, they are to me!" she sang. And that was that.
"So, why didn't you have true friends?"
"Because you spilled spaghetti on my dress and made me hate all of you."
"Alright, forget that, okay? I am sorry. I didn't know any better."
She seemed to hesitate before nodding. "Fine. But if you do it again, I'll- "
"I don't like spaghetti anymore."
She cocked her head in surprise. "But you loved spaghetti!"
"Not anymore."
"Why? When did that happen? What happened? We called you Mellie-Noodle!"
I winced at the nickname. OK, stop laughing. You probably had a worse nickname!
"Yes, I remember." Unfortunately. "But spaghetti made one of my oldest friends yell at me and say she hated me when I was little. So, I didn't want that to ever happen again. Now, I can't even stand the smell of tomato sauce."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Me?"
I nodded.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Taylor looked away from me, staring straight ahead once more. Her hands were folded in her lap, completely still. I saw her visibly swallow before she opened her mouth to speak.
"You're right."
"About what?"
"I'm not… completely over Jackson."
I looked away.
"That's nice," I said awkwardly.
"No, I don't mean like that! It's just… how do you feel when he talks to you?" When I didn't respond, she answered herself. "Like he wants to know you, right? Like he cares, right? Because he does. It's like he wants to actually make an effort and know you, like, for real. And he used to talk to me that way."
She turned to me sadly, biting her quivering lip.
"Taylor, I- "
"No, it's fine. I knew you liked him and I went after him anyway. I'm sorry. But," she took a breath, "I wanted to know what it was like to have someone actually know who you were even when you didn't know. And I thought- I thought Jackson would do that for me." She swallowed again, uncomfortably.
"Didn't he?" I asked tentatively. She sniffed before squaring her shoulders and looking me in the eye with a gaze so fierce it was almost frightening.
"No. He just wasn't that into me enough. He just kinda wanted cold comfort, and I wanted, um, what's the word…"
I bowed my head, knowing what she meant. "Love?" I suggested softly.
Taylor paused.
"Love." She nodded. "It's hard to feel loved when it seems like everyone who's nice to you only wants your money."
"Well, you should know that I don't want your money at all. Or your clothes," I said with a straight face.
She giggled a little. "Yeah, I bet! I wouldn't let my clothes anywhere near you!"
"Ha ha, very funny."
"It is!" she exclaimed. I waited for her to stop giggling, taking that time to think about what she said before. Something was bothering me.
"Taylor," I began, "why did Jackson need cold comfort? He doesn't seem that type, you know?"
"Oh. Well, I think he wanted to have a girlfriend or something like that to make him feel good about, um, well, I don't know exactly. I think he always liked you first, Melissa. But, you know, that whole 'love' thing… I don't know. Doesn't it seem a little fast? Couldn't we all just be attracted to each other 'cause we're surviving something together?"
I bit my lip, realizing her point.
"I mean," she continued, "what happens when we get home, huh? Do we pretend nothing's happened to us? Do I break up with Eric because he's not a part of my game?"
I realized where she was going, but I wanted to avoid it. Who wants to ruin a good thing, right?
So I sidetracked. Because I'm stupid. And because I'm still only a scared little girl.
"Game?" I asked carefully.
"Game. My life is like a careful game of chess. I move all the pawns just right, crush the others, send out my minions, and guard my king from other queen wannabes. I have to be the queen, not the minion, 'cause I'm a Hagan, and Hagans rule."
"What?" I asked, surprised. Egotistical much?
"I have to protect myself- let no one else have the throne- or else I'll never be good for anything. Queens are beautiful, but they can't be smart. They get into good schools because of their power and money. Queens can only be smart when they're crushing people, and they can never be nice. Nice queens don't get respect, and nice queens get cheated on by their stupid boyf- kings. It's a game, Melissa," Taylor said bitterly, turning to fix me with a hard stare, "A very hard game that can only be played one way. Who can stay at the top the longest? Who can keep her minions from fighting her? Who's the strongest? Who's the most beautiful? Who plays the game right by the rules? There are only two ends to the game. One, you stay on top forever and live the perfect Hollywood life. Two, you say that the game is hard and you can't take it anymore and you take a gun and you put it to your head and you- " She burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders heaving with her every breath as she covered her face with her arms.
"It's a game, Melissa!" she exclaimed wildly through her sobs as she turned again to me. Her hair had escaped from its ponytail and flew around her face, and her eyes were afraid. Suddenly, she put her hands on my shoulders before crying again, "I have to play it! Me! You think you know what a hard life is? You've got Jackson and friends who love you for who you are. I had someone who dated me 'cause they thought I liked football. I have minions- people who hate me and talk about me all the time! I have a gossip vine that can destroy my enemies and destroy me! Don't you see, Mel? I wasn't ever the bad guy in school. I was the victim."
I let her cry more into my shoulder, using her sobs as an excuse to be silent and think. This was a whole new side of Taylor Hagan that I had never seen. I'd always thought of her as cold and untouchable, but now, I was beginning to think that she was touched the most.
"You… you do have Jackson, you know. If you'd just show this side, I'm sure he'd be happy to be your sincere friend."
"No, Mel. No, no, no. Don't you see?" she echoed, straightening to face me again. "Jackson isn't part of the game. He's too nice, too sincere. My friends have to love power and want to use it. That's how the game goes. Jackson would be like the queen's secret consort," she said.
I cringed. Consort?
"Well, not a consort, but a secret friend that isn't accepted in society or something," she amended. "He… I just wanted to know what it's like being you," she said sincerely. "But now… It turns out I can never escape the game, not even on a deserted island far away from my, um, castle." I bit my lip in thought. Either Taylor was delusional or she was right and I had been blind. I wanted the first to be true, but at the same time I didn't.
"I hated you, you know," she said, interrupting my thoughts. She'd calmed down and had returned to staring into space. Her arms locked around her knees in a kind of embrace, and she trembled slightly.
"You hated me?" I couldn't keep the note of incredulity out of my voice.
"Yeah. I hated you because you seemed to have it all. Nathan's a good guy, ya' know. He really is. So, when he asked me out, well," she sighed, "I didn't think it was for something so superficial like sports." I smiled weakly, patting her shoulder awkwardly.
"He'd kill you if you said that to him," I said, trying to force cheer into the conversation.
"I bet he would; I wouldn't put it past him," Taylor answered morosely.
"I hated you, you know," I said, echoing her words. Taylor shrugged with a sigh.
"I know."
I blanched. Sweet heaven, had I been that obvious?
…
Yes. Yes I had. Oops. I nearly did a facepalm right there, but that would have ruined the moment.
"How did you know?" I asked tentatively.
"Well, it was kinda obvious. I mean, you could never just smile at me, could you? Really, Melissa, you aren't that brilliant of an actress as you may think," she replied rather huffily.
"I-" I began pathetically before sighing for like the zillionth time that day. Could we get any more depressing? "Taylor, can't we just be friends?" I asked softly. "Forget all this ever happened between us?"
She turned to me, a sad smile on her face, before shaking her head slowly. "No, Mel," she said gently.
"Come on. Come on, Tay," I tried. "It was only spaghetti."
She pursed her lips slightly before closing her eyes.
"No, Mel," she repeated. "It's more than just spaghetti." Taylor paused for a moment, looking down and running her hand up and down her other arm as if to warm herself. "We're different, now. We're grown up. And sometimes, it's nice to just think that the only reason we're apart now is because of spaghetti. But you and I both have new lives and new baggage. The moment we try to be friends again… I'm afraid you'll find out more about me than you want to know. I'm afraid that you'll become just like all my other friends. What if you change and get greedy? No, Mel. We can't be friends," she said with finality.
"We can!" I persisted. "We were once; we can be again. You don't have to play that stupid game if you don't want to. You know you'd still have us as your friends!"
"Would I, Mel? When we get home, would we all be like we are today? Would Jackson be as open? Would Daley be less bossy? Would Nathan be as, um, not bigheaded? Would we talk to Lex like we respect him? Would you stop being a pushover? Oh, shut it, Mel, you know it's true," she said, dismissing my protests before I could voice them.
"I'm sure Jackson would- "
"No, he wouldn't. He'd go back to thinking we're all rich kid brats who don't know the world outside of our sheltered cocoons or something. He'd be uncomfortable with us, especially since he doesn't wanna go home anyway."
"Well, Daley has- "
"What? Are you out of your mind? Daley's only quiet 'cause she respects Jackson. If Jackson goes back to his old self, so will she. Besides, she's student body president," she said, pronouncing the last three words mockingly.
"Um, well, Nathan was never really- "
"Nathan always thought he was the best. What makes you think he'll stop? OK, maybe he'll be less bigheaded. But you know that if Daley goes back to being her regular witchy self, then he'll go back to tryin' to impress her."
"He wasn't trying to impress her at school!"
"Oh, please, Mel, he was always trying to be better at every frickin thing. That's how boys are when they like someone. Most boys, anyway," she said, eyeing my reaction.
"We wouldn't get to see Lex as much, but I'm sure we'd respect him."
"We barely respect him now!" she protested.
"Would I go back to being a pushover?" I asked myself. Oh, no. That would be the worst horror of all. Was it possible that I had gone through all of that painful change and revelation for nothing?
"Maybe not you. I'm not so sure about any of us, really. I guess it's just… I can't ever change permanently. I'm stuck as queen of the court, and people adore me or loathe me or shower me with things, but they don't really love me. Me, me, I mean. The real me. I really do plot and do mean things, but I am a person, too. Jackson just wanted the nice me. But, we've all got our dark sides, ya' know? I mean, he killed someone!" I frowned at her. "OK, OK, he got into a fight, same diff, Mel. Geez, don't take it so seriously. My dark side is that I really kinda do like all of that plotting. I mean, yeah, I only like it within certain limits. If someone deserves it, I mean. And heck yeah, I felt so, so bad when I embarrassed you that day by playing your video diary all over camp, but I do like plotting. I kinda like being bad, but just as long as I'm doing good by it. That doesn't happen often, so I'm stuck feeling guilty."
"You know, there's someone who likes you for you. He likes your bad side and your good side.'Said it made him feel energetic to plot with you," I said, nudging her with my elbow. Taylor smiled a little, scuffing her foot in the sand. She was practically blushing!
"Eric," she said with a little laugh.
"Yeah, Eric. He likes you a whole lot."
Taylor tried to hide her smile, and I grinned.
"And apparently, you like him too!" I exclaimed.
"Shut up, Mel, it's just a crush," she said, nudging me back. Almost unconsciously, she reached up to finger her necklace. I leaned in.
"I don't remember that charm on your necklace," I noticed. With good reason, too. The necklace was silvery with four little diamonds and one slightly bigger sapphire pendant. Well, actually, all of the gems had disappeared. That tends to happen when rich people wear valuable necklaces to eco-camping trips. In the sapphire pendant's socket there was instead a little anchor tied of coconut husk. It was incredibly simple and coarse, especially on such a beautiful necklace.
"Well," Taylor said, smiling a little shyly, "Eric made it for me. Gave it to me and said that it was a good luck charm since he's, you know, charmed." She laughed, fingering the anchor more. "It's really beautiful, don't you think?"
It was so coarse, so simple, so rough and callow, and so-
"Beautiful."
We were silent for a moment, looking at her necklace.
"I think we can be friends, Tay," I tried again. She gave me a weak smile.
"I wish we could. But when we go back, who says I'll be wanted by you all? The odds are that Eric will follow me wherever, which is fine, because it's normal for a queen to have an obsessed, hot king. But in the end? In the end I go back to who I was. People don't expect me to change. If I do, they won't trust me. You're a good person, Mel, but after a few months, you'll give up on me, too. It's too late for me to get out of this game, because in the end, it's not a game. It's a trap."
"So, if we can't be friends," I said while getting off the log, "can we have a truce?"
"I'd like that," Taylor said, her mouth twisting in a morose smile. She walked in front of me, back to playing her game, when I stopped her.
"Friend or no," I began, "I'll still be here for you. You know that, right?" She smiled genuinely this time.
"Right."
That evening, Jackson and I walked away from our tree after doing… well, nothing bad, I promise! I just had to ask him about something that had piqued my curiosity that morning.
"Jackson?"
"Yes?" he answered, sliding his hand into mine. I had to control myself from hyperventilating. He was the guy, and he held my hand! Eep!
Ahem. Moving along…
"This morning, -"
"What?" he asked, tense. "Did Taylor say something?"
"No," I laughed and he relaxed. "We're fine. I was just wondering about this morning. You know, when you kissed me all of a sudden? Like, randomly? While I was in the middle of insulting myself? You just kinda swooped down and didn't let me finish." As much as girls like guys to be super romantic, Jackson just wasn't the type of guy to shower kisses at every waking moment. Just every other waking moment, and I had absolutely no problem with that.
"Yes?" he asked tightly. I noticed in alarm that he had tensed again.
"Um, why? You're not normally the type of guy to just swoop down and kiss a girl."
"Hormones," he answered gruffly after a short pause. I tilted my head in confusion.
"Hormones?" I asked. He took a deep breath.
"You, uh, you bit your lip. In front of me. And I, uh, well... hormones," he said in a clipped tone, refusing to look at me. I tried to keep back a smile, but it burst forth anyway as a wide grin. Still grinning madly, I stopped him and turned him to face me.
"So… I bit my lip, and it turned you on?" He nodded.
"Look, Mel, I'm a teenage guy, and things like this are bound to happen, so it would be easier for both of us if you'd- " he stopped, his eyes widening considerably. I think it had to do with the fact that I was chewing my lip. And, yeah, I did lick my lips just a little. And heck, yeah, I was enjoying the way his blue eyes were darkening so much and how I was feeling tingly again because of it. And just when I figured he was about to randomly kiss me or something…
Or something being the key phrase here…
I ran from him, laughing all the way. I swear, sometimes I wonder about my sanity.
Let's just face it. Even good girls aren't immune to hormones.
AN: Hey, if I tried to adultnap Johnny Pacar, who else would join me? No one? I don't know; I guess I'm just a little slaphappy after typing til' 2:30 AM... Yeah, I just wanted to shower you with more guilt. :) lol. Anyways, I gave you my Christmas gift, so will you give me one, too? All you need to do is click that gorgeous green button done there labeled "Review". Do it. Do it do it do it. Now. Right now. Please?
