I don't own anything.
A/N: Alright it's another week and that means another update. First off I want to thank my reviewers from last week; cornique chaylor girl, beststoriesever95, Favor1234, baby2ludaris, LunaSolTierra, serena's girl 4-ever, Angel and Ani Thompson. I hope everyone enjoys this update and please remember to Review.
Baby S
Chapter Seven
After making sure that Jandro and Kerry would tell Taylor what they had seen, Troy headed off towards his gym class. As he entered the locker room, he saw his best friend Miguel at his locker already changed. "What's up man?" he said giving his friend a nod as he went over to his locker. Opening it up, he pulled out his gym clothes and spoke again. "What's wrong with you man…you're awfully quiet and I've known you to long not to know that that isn't normal." He said with a chuckle.
"Normal…you're one to talk about normal." Miguel said as he turned around and looked at Troy who was changing into his shorts. Once they were on, Troy looked over at Miguel and sighed.
"Man I'm not in the mood to play the guessing game with you…now what is wrong with you." Miguel looked over at him and just shook his head.
"The question isn't what's wrong with me…the question is what's wrong with you." Miguel said firmly as he looked at Troy who eyed him wearily.
"Nothing's wrong with me."
"Then does the name Taylor McKessie mean anything to you." Miguel snapped as he looked him. Troy froze and looked over at him and shook his head, as Miguel looked at him gauging his reaction. "Exactly what I thought…it does mean something to you." Troy just shrugged his shoulders and looked away from him as he put on his shirt.
"What's wrong with Taylor McKessie?"
"Geez, I don't know…how about how she's dating your enemy Chad Danforth, or oh this is an even better one. How about who she goes to East High, and last time I checked students from West High hated kids from East High."
"Look man, Taylor and I are friends…we work together at the center man. She was feeling down so I took her out for a dinner and a movie." He said as he slammed his locker closed. Miguel looked at him for a moment before shaking his head.
"She's still East High."
"Yeah, well I'm not going to let that worry me, besides it's stupid, and you know I've felt like that for the longest." Troy said as he looked at his friend. "I mean she's a nice girl, she's different from all those others East Highers, and I like spending time with her."
"Whatever man…you just need to remember whose side you're own, and last time I checked that side sure wasn't East High." Miguel said as he turned and headed out of the locker room. Troy watched him leave, and sighed sitting down on the wooden bench that ran down the middle of the locker room he released a deep breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding.
Taylor had just left her third period class, when she heard someone calling her name down the hall from behind her. Turning around she saw that it was Chad. Reluctantly she stopped and waited for him to catch up with her. Once he stopped he took a minute to catch his breath before he spoke. "Taylor, why haven't you answered my phone calls…I tried to call you earlier this weekend."
"Was that before or after you cancelled on me." She asked him, he looked at her and narrowed his eyes.
"Oh so you still got an attitude about that huh…I thought we discussed this already, cause last time I checked, I told you that it couldn't be avoided." He stated angrily as he looked at her. Taylor looked away from him and shook her head.
"Why am I the one in the wrong especially after the way you've been treating me."
"Treating you? Taylor, I've treated better than any girl I've ever been with. I've taken you to see my parents, I spend my money on you, I take you places you want to go. So please explain to me how I've been treating you."
"You wouldn't get it if I did." She said stubbornly as she turned to walk away.
"You know ever sine you took that stupid job that your mom got for you, you've been acting really different." He said as grabbed her arm. "So why don't you quit that damn job and get your attitude straight."
"Quit my job," she exclaimed snatching her arm away from him. "Oh I know you must have lost your mind now." She said angrily as she looked at him. Chad glared at her now and shook his head.
"I haven't lost my mind…I want my girlfriend back…and that job has changed you."
"Look, Chad I need to head to class." She said wanting to get away from him as soon as possible. Chad released her arm and sighed covering his face with his hands. His shoulders started shaking and Taylor heard the sound of a quiet sob. Turning to look at him fully she realized he was crying. "Chad?" she asked softly.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, as he lifted his face to look at her through red eyes with tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry…I know I haven't done right by you, but Taylor girl I love you so much. You make me want to be better than I am, and when I'm with you…I swear it's like that goal is within reach." He said as he wiped his face. "I know I made you mad with me canceling the date last Friday, but like I told you before I had to too."
"Chad, I'm not going to keep playing this game with you." Taylor said.
"What game?"
"Oh you know the one...the one where you hurt me and then you apologize…and then I take you back."
"Taylor…I'm not playing a game with you. This is me alright, I love you." He stated sincerely. "I love you…and I'm not trying to hurt you…I am just making mistakes." He said softly as he looked at her. Taylor just sighed and nodded her head in understanding. Chad smiled and looked down at her before kissing her forehead.
"So you forgive me?" he asked as he placed a hand underneath her chin and lifted her face up so that she was looking him in the eye. "You forgive me baby?"
"Yes," she whispered softly. "Yes I do forgive you." She whispered as she looked up at him. He smiled and leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He pulled away just as the bell rang; giving her a wink and a smile he took off towards his class leaving Taylor in the middle of the hallway wondering when she became so weak.
Troy looked at Trevor as he squared his shot up in the gym later on that afternoon, after making the shot Trevor turned to Troy with a huge smile on his face. "How was that Mr. Troy?" he asked, Troy reached out and ruffled his hair for a moment before catching a pass from Malcolm.
"That was just fine…are you going to go out for the basketball team?" He said as he handed him back the ball. Trevor took it and looked down at him for a moment before nodding his head.
"My mommy said I could…she thinks it'll be good for me." He said innocently as he looked at Troy, who nodded his head in agreement.
"That's true it was good for me too." He replied with a chuckle. "Now I want you to shot again." He said as he spied Jandro and Kerry coming his way. Looking back down at Trevor, he spoke quickly.
"Work with Malcolm for a little while I have to go and talk to Jandro and Kerry." Trevor nodded and shot the ball as Troy walked over to his friends who were standing at the foot of the bleachers. Coming over he looked at them and sat down. "What's wrong?"
"We haven't told her yet." Jandro said as he looked at Troy, who groaned and lifted a hand to massage the bridge of his nose.
"And why haven't you told her yet?" Troy asked after a minute of taking deep calming breaths. Jandro and Kerry looked at him and the shrugged their shoulders. "Oh so you mean to tell me you don't know why?"
"Yeah, look you're closer to her. Why don't you go tell her?"
"Cause I wasn't there when this happened, besides she knows I don't like Danforth. She'll probably think I was trying to ruin her relationship."
"From what we saw Friday night she doesn't have much of a relationship." Kerry said with a shake of her head. Troy sighed and nodded his head as he stood up.
"I agree with you Kerry yet the problem isn't what we think…it's what she thinks and if she thinks she has a relationship, well when I come to her with this. She'll just think I'm trying to ruin it."
"Well then come with us?" Jandro said.
"I don't know."
"Please…you could help console her and everything." Kerry said flashing Troy a meaningful smile, he shook his head at her and then looked over towards Malcolm who was still showing the kids how to shoot the ball. Seeing that his friend had everything under control he looked back at them and nodded his head.
"Alright let's go." He mumbled not sure if he was making the right decision. Jandro and Kerry led him out of the gym and down the hallway towards Taylor's room. Opening the door, Troy walked in first followed by Kerry and Jandro. Taylor looked up at them and smiled.
"Hey guys what's up?"
"Taylor…there is something that Kerry and Jandro want to tell you." Troy said not even trying to beat around the bush. Taylor looked over at them, and waited. Jandro nervously cleared his throat while Kerry just looked at Taylor as if she was a deer caught in headlights. Troy watched them for a minute before closing his eyes in frustration and calling out their names. Kerry was the first to speak.
"WesawChadandhewasataclubfridaynightandhewasdancingonsomegirlsandwethinkhe's cheating on you." She said taking a deep breath at the end of her statement. Taylor looked at her in confusion before shaking her head.
"What?"
"We saw Chad at a club Friday night and he was dancing real close to some girls and we think he's cheating on you." Jandro said more slowly this time, giving his girlfriend a sideways look. Taylor looked down at her desk and then back up at them and slowly shook her head.
"He isn't cheating on me."
"Then how do you explain him being at the club dancing on all those girls…he wouldn't do that if he was actually with you…if he actually cared about you." Troy said coming into the conversation for the first time. Taylor looked over at him and shook her head for a moment before chuckling bitterly.
"Oh so that's how you play your little game." She said looking accusingly at Troy, who stood up and looked at her as if she had just called him out of his name.
"Games…the only game I play is basketball. Now this is the truth, we don't have a reason to lie to you."
"Oh yes you do…you have a reason. You hate Chad, and you-."
"Yes that is true I hate him…but I would never use you as a means to get to him. I care about you Taylor and Danforth isn't good for you. He probably will never be good enough for you."
"And who made you the all knowing one. Chad is the first guy to ever want to be with me. He cares about me, he just makes mistakes."
"Well since I've known you that's all he's done." Troy shouted out angrily. "He's made mistake after mistake, and you've taken him back again and again. Your relationship with him sounds like a well played abuse story line for a movie on lifetime…I mean for god sakes Taylor I saw him grab you at the park and then the next time I see you, you're back with him as if he had done nothing wrong."
"He's just made mistakes…and that gives you no right to make up this story about him."
"This isn't a story…Jandro and Kerry saw him."
"And how do I know you didn't put them up to this." Troy slammed his hand on a desk beside him in frustration and looked at her.
"I care about you, and I know you're not used to it…but I don't want to make the 'mistake' of hurting you, because as a man I know better than that." He said as he looked at her. Taylor looked away from him stubbornly and Troy just looked over at Jandro and Kerry. "You know what I'm done…you can only tell someone something so many times before you just don't care anymore."
"Well if you would-."
"I'm telling you the truth, it's all on you if you chose not to believe what's happening right in front of you," he said as he moved towards the door. "I'm done though…you find out on your own…ask him where he was, and see what he tells you, but Jandro, Kerry and I have no reason to lie to you, and you know why…because we view you as a friend. Our mistake right, cause it's obvious you don't feel the same." He said opening the door. Jandro looked at him and called out his name trying to get him to stop.
"Troy man calm down dude."
"No…I'm though with this, I'm done with the entire subject." He shouted as he slammed the door and walked away. Jandro and Kerry watched as Taylor jumped at the sound of the slamming door. She looked at them and sighed.
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah…look Taylor we better go." Jandro said as he pulled Kerry with him so they could leave. Taylor looked down at the work in front of her and sighed. Lowering her head to the desk she closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry.
Jandro and Kerry ran after Troy who had stopped in the middle of the hallway bracing his arms around his head as he leaned against one of the wall. Jandro moved towards him carefully and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Troy?"
"It's so frustrating, Jay." He mumbled into his arms not looking up yet. "It's so frustrating, when you're telling someone the truth and they decide not to believe you." He said as he looked up.
"Yeah man it is."
"I'm though with it…I mean I have to be. It's causing me too much pain to see her everyday knowing she's with some punk that doesn't give a damn about her. It's just to frustrating." He said repeating himself again. Jandro nodded his head, unsure of what to do. He had never seen Troy act like this before.
"Come on man let's go back into the gym and you can-."
"No…I'm going to my office." He replied as he pushed himself away from Jandro. "I'm going to my office and I'm staying in there till it's time for me to drive everyone home." He said calmly as he looked at them. Jandro nodded and watched as Troy walked away from them. Kerry was still standing quietly by his side as they watched Troy leave.
Taylor was nervous about riding with Troy at that night. She still could remember everything that she had said to him earlier when he had come to her that afternoon with Jandro and Kerry. She hated the fact that he had said she didn't view them as friends, when the truth was she did. Troy barely spared her a glance as she climbed into the van. After making sure that all the kids were inside he climbed in and without any further ado, he pulled out. The first half of the room was driven in utter silence. Troy didn't look anywhere but the road and Taylor had her hands clasped tightly in her lap trying her best not to breakdown. As they came to a stop, Troy hopped out and walked one of the kids to the front door. Taylor sighed as she realized that the gang that usually harassed Troy was there. As he walking back, one of the guys called out his name.
"Yo, Troy…man have you made a decision yet." he said as he made his way across the street. Troy stopped walking and stared the man down as he made his way towards him. Shaking his head he looked at the guy and shook his head.
"Yeah, I made a decision."
"Then what is it, man."
"No…my answer is no and it will always be no, now get out of my face." He snapped not in the mood to deal with them. The leader of the small group shook his head and looked at him for a moment before saying.
"That wasn't an answer we wanted to hear."
"Well it's the only answer you'll hear." Troy snapped back. The leader drew back his fist, and before Taylor realized what she was doing she had gotten out of the van calling out Troy's name. The entire group turned around and looked at her. The boy lowered his fist and looked her up and down. The look was so disgusting that Taylor felt like she needed to have a shower right away.
"I see you've got a taste for the brown sugar." The main guy said. "And judging from that body over there I don't blame you."
"Get in the van, Taylor." Troy called out quickly. Taylor nodded her head and did as she was told, while Troy pushed himself away from the group of boys and headed towards the van. Getting inside, he started the van and drove off. Once they were a block or two away, he looked over at Taylor and said. "Are you out of your mind?"
"What did I do…I just wanted to stop them from hurting you."
"Well I don't need your help with that alright." He said quickly as he looked at her. She shook her and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh I see so you can help me out but I can't help you out." Troy looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.
"What just happened out there and what is going on in your personal life are not the same thing alright. Those guys could have hurt you…if you know what I mean." He said as he looked over at her.
"Funny cause from what I saw they were about to hurt you."
"Look Taylor I'm not going to fight with you on this alright, those guys were gangsters…I'm not sure if you guys have them on the East side but over here on the West Side their real, and I wasn't going to let you get hurt so yeah I would have gladly taken a punch or two to the face."
"I wouldn't want you to do that." She said with a shake of her head.
"Oh so you care now…I thought back at the center my words didn't mean anything to you." He said as he looked at her. Taylor looked down and sighed.
"I'm so sorry for snapping on you like that…I didn't mean to lash out at you, Jandro and Kerry. You guys are my friends it's just that well, I guess I didn't want to even think about Chad cheating on me."
"If you don't want to believe just ask the source." Troy said as he pulled up in front of her house. "If you don't want that to be a reality then ask Chad what he did Friday night tell him that some of your friends saw him at a club. Tell him that and see how he reacts." He said as he looked at her. Taylor looked down at her lap and sighed.
"I'm scared to ask." Troy nodded his head in understanding and then said.
"And that's why you have to ask."