Drake's POV
I walked into my Pod and took off my boots and threw them in the corner of the room. I peeled off my jacket and slung it over the door hook. I had lost all sense of purpose tonight and I knew I wouldn't get anything done so I sat down on the couch. I had never been so glad to see this beat up old couch in my life. I slumped over laying down on the couch on my stomach staring at the far wall.
The events of today seemed like they had gone on forever ago. There was no way Taylor and I had just been at that party yesterday. There's no way that I had also been given a spot on the football team, got in a fight with Eric, hurt Taylor, had lunch with Taylor, asked her out on a date, and then been told we weren't going on that date anymore all on the same day. I shut my eyes because my head was starting to hurt from trying to figure out what was happening.
As these thoughts began to settle down some dark voice in the back of my head whispered.
Is it worth all this drama Drake?
I sighed and ran a hand over my face. Of course it was worth it. No one had ever been able to see me as something other than a worthless piece of crap. Not even my people saw me as worth anything. Taylor was the first one to really see anything in me. Of course our relationship had started out as a physical thing but we were getting to know one another and I was falling for her in more than that physical way.
I drifted off and was in the middle of a really good dream-memory about my mother and father, but someone came and knocked on my door. I groaned and almost thought of ignoring them but they knocked again louder this time. I got up and opened the door. I looked out my door to see the familiar seal of the SEU guards. I saw another figure behind the guard so I looked behind him and saw Taylor standing there. I stared at her for a minute before realizing the guard had said something to me.
"Sorry I didn't catch that," I said widening the door a little.
"I said you have a visitor," He said gesturing to Taylor. She smiled weakly at me when I looked at her. "She has to leave at curfew." He turned around and left without saying anything else.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. Real smooth Drake. You're a freaking genius. I thought to myself.
"Gloria said you wanted to talk to me. She signed off on a Sector Pass for me," she held out her arm and I saw a wristband there.
"I never said anything like that," I said confused. Taylor's face scrunches up for a second before her expression becomes unreadable.
"Well then I guess I'll go find that guard again and go home," She said turning around
"No!" I shout at her and she flinches. I quiet my voice down and say more calmly, "Would you like to come inside?"
"Would your family be ok with me coming in?" she asks attempting to look past me into my Pod.
"There is no other family. I live here alone," I say briefly thinking about how they took my mother away.
"Oh." is all she says.
I open the door wider and step back so she can enter. She walks inside and looks around. I'm a little upset that I didn't know she was coming over otherwise I would have tried to clean up the place a little.
"This is cozy." she said sitting down on the couch I had occupied a few minutes ago. I sat down close to her but not so we were touching. She folded a leg up under her and turned to face me.
"I'm sorry about-" we both started saying at the same time. I laugh and she joins me.
"What were you going to say?" I ask when I can finally control my laughing.
"I'm sorry about today," she said playing with her hands in her lap. She turned a small ring around her finger.
"No, I'm sorry about today," I said and her hands still in her lap. She looks up at me and I see tears welling up in her eyes.
I hold my arms open and she scoots closer until I can wrap my arms around her. I want her even closer though and I sweep her up into my arms and reposition us so she is cradled against my chest with our legs stretched out along the couch.
"I think we both pushed too hard too fast to make this relationship work and ended up in a bad situation." I said softly pressing my cheek against her head and inhaling her vanilla scent.
"I know. I just wanted everything to be perfect and it just ended up as a really big mess."
"Why don't we just start over?" I propose.
"Won't this be like our third restart?" Taylor asked looking up at me. "At what point do you give up on trying to make something work that clearly isn't meant to work?
"As long as you still want me I will never give up on you," I say looking into her eyes and leaning my forehead against hers.
Taylor's POV
I rushed home and fled up the stairs to my room before anyone could question me about my day. I just wasn't feeling up to anything this afternoon. Nothing I seemed to think about would stop the tears freely flowing from my eyes. So I gave up on trying to distract myself, threw myself face down onto my bed, and just let myself cry.
Once my tears had started to slow I looked up at the clock and saw it was long past time for dinner but no one came and got me. I rubbed my eyes and looked in dismay at my smudged makeup. I reached out to my backpack to get my makeup bag but there was a knock at the door which stopped me. I looked up and saw my mom poke her head through the doorway and look around. She spotted me on my bed and opened the door a little wider.
"Hey sweetie, can I come in?" she asks already half in my room, but I knew if I said no she would respect my wish and leave. I nod and she pushes the door open the rest of the way. "What happened today at school?"
"I don't really know what you mean," I dodge her question because the pain of answering is still too fresh.
"I got a call from Mrs. Garcia saying you ran out of her office. She sounded quite upset that you left so suddenly," my mother said slowly.
"I just wasn't in the mood to keep talking to her about the integration program," I lie, well I sorta lie.
"Oh what did she want to know?"
"She wanted to know how I felt about the program. Whether or not I thought it could succeed." I continue telling her half the truth.
"And how do you feel about the program?" she asks looking genuinely concerned about the answer.
"It's fine. They seem nice and we haven't had problems with any of them," I say this and my mother gives me a look that tells me she knows that's not the truth.
"Is that so? Then why is Mrs. Garcia downstairs on my livingroom couch asking to see you?" Crap. I really didn't want to explain to her why Gloria was here. "It's ok, you don't have to tell me." She patted my knee and stood up leaving me alone. I sat there staring after her and finally stood up. I fixed my makeup and then walked down to the living room.
"Hello Taylor," Gloria greeted me as I sat down beside her.
"Hi," I said back softly.
"I just wanted to let you know that Drake and I talked and he wanted to apologize to you, but he had to take the bus back to the Sector," she says and pauses letting me soak in the information, "If you'd like I can arrange a meeting in the Sector for you."
"Why would I want to go to the Sector? Why do I have to go to him?" I ask not particularly in the mood to argue but not wanting to show that I didn't care about what she was saying.
"You know he can't come to you. The Sector has a very strict rule about the curfew," Gloria looks at me disappointed and I feel bad for a second before I realize she isn't just here to get me to see Drake and talk to him.
"What do you really want?" I ask studying her face and trying to read her emotion.
"I want you to talk to Drake and really look at what your relationship could be if you both just ignore all the drama of what people would think of you." I nod taking in her words. "If you want to talk to Drake all you have to do is put this on," she holds up a wristband with a code on it, "and drive to the Sector and show it to the guard."
She sets the band on the table between us and waits for me to take it. I don't give her that satisfaction though so Gloria stands to leave. I stand up too and walk her to the door of my house. She smiles kindly at me and turns to leave but pauses, "I know you'll do the right thing Taylor." She smiles at me with what I guess was supposed to be warmth but I could see she wasn't really happy that I didn't jump at the chance of seeing Drake.
I walk back to the living room and pick up the band in my hand. I turn it over and over before I finally make up my mind. I grab my purse and car keys and walk out the door.
I pull up to the Sector gate and turn my car off. I pull the band over my hand and settle it around my wrist. I walk up to the Sector guard booth and hold out my wrist.
"Who are you here to see?" the guard asks me.
"Drake…" I pause trying to remember his last name and then I realize I don't know it.
"And does this Drake have a last name?" the guard asks rudely.
"I don't know what it is. He's part of the Atrian 7 though," I say hoping the guy will understand who I'm talking about.
"Johnson!" the Guard yelled at someone standing inside the gate, "Take her to Zone B number 451"
The man who I assumed was Johnson walked forward and motioned me to join him. I walked behind him trying to keep up with his large strides. Unlike when I had visited the Sector before this time was much darker and because of that darkness was scarier. I was relieved when we finally got to a door and Johnson raised his hand to knock on the door. No one answered at first and I thought maybe we had the wrong unit but Johnson raised his fist again and pounded on the door.
Finally the door opened and Drake stood there. Johnson said something to Drake and neither of us caught it because we were staring at eachother.
"Sorry I didn't catch that," Drake said widening the door a little.
"I said you have a visitor," Johnson repeated gesturing to me. I smiled weakly at Drake when he looked at me again. "She has to leave at curfew." He turned around and left without saying anything else.
"What are you doing here?" he asked,
"Gloria said you wanted to talk to me. She signed off on a Sector Pass for me," I held up my hand so he could see the wristband.
"I never said anything like that," Drake said confused. I scowl not sure of what's going on but I know Gloria set me up. I recover quickly and wipe the expression off my face.
"Well then I guess I'll go find that guard again and go home," I said turning around
"No!" Drake shouts at me and I flinch at his harsh tone. Drake lovers his voice and says more calmly, "Would you like to come inside?"
"Would your family be ok with me coming in?" I ask attempting to look past him into his Pod.
"There is no other family. I live here alone," Drake says softly and his eyes glaze over a little.
"Oh." Is all I manage trying to think of something better to say.
He opens the door wider and step back so I can enter. I walk inside and look around realising this is the first Atrian Pod I've been inside. It's not the cleanest house but to his credit he didn't know I was coming over. The house was simply decorated with some art like I had seen in the market when I had visited the Sector before.
"This is cozy." I said genuinely, sitting down on a couch. Drake nods at the compliment and sits down close to me but not so we were touching. I fold a leg up under me and turn toward him to see him more easily.
"I'm sorry about-" we both started saying at the same time. Drake laughs and I join him alittle out of nerves and a little because its funny..
"What were you going to say?" Drake asks when we can finally control ourselves.
"I'm sorry about today," I say wringing my hands in my lap. I catch a glimpse of a ring my family had given me and begin turning it around like I do when I'm nervous.
"No, I'm sorry about today," Drake says and I look up at Drake. I can feel the tears start to come and I try to hold them back.
Drake sees my face and holds his arms open for me in invitation. I can think of nothing I want more than to curl up in his arms and sleep. I scoot closer until Drake can wrap his arms around me. I want to be even closer and Drake must have had the same thought because he sweeps me up into his arms and reposition us so I'm cradled against Drake's chest with our legs stretched out along the couch.
"I think we both pushed too hard too fast to make this relationship work and ended up in a bad situation." Drake says softly pressing his cheek against my head and I hear him inhale. I do the same and inhale Drake's woodsy smell.
"I know. I just wanted everything to be perfect and it just ended up as a really big mess." I sigh.
"Why don't we just start over?" Drake propose.
"Won't this be like our third restart?" I ask looking up at Drake. "At what point do you give up on trying to make something work that clearly isn't meant to work?
"As long as you still want me I will never give up on you," He says looking into my eyes and leaning forward until our foreheads are pressed together. I smiled into his warmth and tilted my face up to give him a small kiss.
Drake kissed me back and our sweet kisses started turning a little harder, a little more aggressive. I pulled on Drake's lip and he moaned a little. I smiled as he turns me around so I am straddling his waist so he can kiss me better.
I gasped as Drake grinds against me and I remember our first time together. I remember the feeling of his skin against mine and his strong arms holding me against him and I want him. I pull away for a second looking into his eyes seeing if he feels the way I do. I see no hesitation in his eyes and I notice he's searching my eyes too. I catch a glimpse of something glowing behind Drake and notice it's clock. I see the time and groan. It's already 9:30 and I know my time is almost up. Drake looks up and looks in the direction I was looking and sees the clock too. He sighs and runs his hands over his face. I smile apologetically at him and begin to move away. His arms wrap around me and pulls me closer. His lips are so close I can feel his breath on my lips and I almost lunge forward to close the small gap between us when there is a knock on the door.
"Damn it!" Drake and I both yell and then dissolve into laughter again. I pull myself away from Drake and stand up. I adjust my shirt a little and walk toward the door. I glance back at Drake and kiss him swiftly before opening the door. I walk outside with the guard and smile looking back at Drake.
As I drive home I am glad I went to see him. I know we still have issues to work out but I think as long as we remember what we are fighting for we'll make it out alive.