I don't own anything.
A/N: Alright I'm finally back, mid-terms were kicking my butt. Right now I want to thank my reviewers from last week; lilmissmonique, chaylorXtraylorlover101, MermaidRam85, Phelycia, LunaSolTierra , HeartsWereNeverMeantToRace, Aud11, Tina, Sciencefreak2007, TraylorxChaylor and nayla1988. Thank you guys…I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and please remember to review.
Chapter Three
Troy sat silently eating his meal, while he looked at Taylor who was sitting directly across from him, Darius had told them both that in order for them to sing the song "Brokenhearted" they would have to get to know each other cause he was going to make them record it together, so it could sound heartfelt. Taking a bite of his fish, Troy looked her over. He had to admit, the woman sitting before him now at this moment was not the Taylor he remembered from his past. No this woman was Tay-Ann McKessie, a woman he had never met in his life, but one he was going to try his hardest to understand. Placing his fork down, he leant back in his chair and watched as Taylor lifted her head and looked at him pointedly before asking the question that was clearly on her mind. "You know I don't care that Darius wanted us to share a lunch…but I'm not going to sit here and watch you stare at me."
"Oh so you're looking at me too huh." Troy replied with a chuckle as he leant forward, Taylor rolled her eyes at him and just shook her head.
"What do you want?" Troy looked around for a moment before leaning back and crossing his arms back over his chest.
"Why did you change your name?" he asked, his tone taking on an accusing tone that instantly placed Taylor on the defensive. Sitting up straighter, she pushed her plate of salad away and looked at him pointedly before answering his question.
"Why do you want to know?" Troy shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head to the side before answering her question coolly.
"I just want to know, Taylor." He stated placing emphasis on what he deemed was her true name, Taylor narrowed her eyes at him and frowned while sucking her teeth at the offending way he had placed the name Taylor at the end of the sentence. It had taken her five years to get away from that name and that past, and she wasn't going to allow Troy Bolton to try and bring it back up. Not now, not when she finally could wake up in the morning and feel worthy. Shaking her head she looked back at him her eyes growing cold.
"I didn't change my name."
"Oh really…I mean you dropped the lor, and smash the rest with your middle name and you walk around with people calling you that on a regular basis. Yeah, you sure didn't change your name…just keep telling yourself that, whatever helps you sleep at night. Damn Darius must have really brainwashed you huh." The callous words, certainly struck a cord within Taylor who shot him a look of fury as he finished. The name change certainly helped her sleep at night. Taylor was name from a life full of nothing but sad and bitter memories. As the thoughts crashed into her consciousness, Taylor pushed her chair back and slammed her hands down on the table between them while catching the attention of every diner nearby. Troy looked at her in silent shock, before holding up his hands in a state of surrender. "Calm down."
"I will not calm down, Troy. Not while you openly disrespect Darius the only family that I actually have."
"He's not your family." Troy shot back quickly.
"Yes he is…he's the only person whose ever truly cared about me…none of you ever did, but he has. This is why Taylor Ann McKessie died five years. Tay-Ann McKessie is the phoenix that rose from the ashes of that miserable life." Troy looked at her in shock for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief.
"You're serious?" he deadpanned.
"I want you to focus on your career here at Dee records and not on my supposed past." She snapped as she turned around and picked up her purse and fished into it and pulled out a few hundred dollar bills. Tossing them on the table, she looked at him and sneered. "Good-bye." Troy raised an eyebrow as she marched out of the room. Pushing back his chair, he stood and grabbed the bills and looked at the approaching waitress. Placing a charming smile on his face, he looked at the woman.
"We'll be right back." He stated before jogging out of the restaurant, as soon as he hit the street, he saw Taylor trying to hail a cab. Walking over he grabbed her forearm and gave her a look before turning the cab driver who had slowed to a stop. "Not today." He stated his voice firm and full of authority and he closed the door. As the driver pulled away, Taylor turned to him in a rage, and slapped his hand away from her arm. Troy looked around for a moment before sighing and stepping closer to her.
"Look I'm sorry, Taylor…I'm sorry I overstepped by bounds back there." She looked up at him and blew out a breath.
"You most certainly did." She snapped back as she tapped her foot on the ground and looked away from him. Troy sighed and maneuvered himself so that he could remain in her line of vision.
"Look you gotta understand, I'm confused by all I'm seeing you like this and it's nothing…and I mean nothing like I remember." He explained as he moved his hands up and down as he looked at her taking in the revealing black cat suit like outfit that she was currently wearing. Raising an eyebrow at him she scoffed and shook her head.
"What Troy, do you want me to wear the conservative clothing that I used to wear back in New Mexico…the clothing that made me invisible…practically forgettable. That was part of the reason why my life as Taylor McKessie was failing."
"No you weren't Taylor. You didn't have it that bad." Taylor crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him with bitter amusement in her eyes.
"You never noticed me, no not until I became attached to Chad and then you still ignored me so please don't stand there and fix your mouth to say those lies cause they aren't going to work on me. Not now." Troy's eyes widened and as he shamefully realized that what Taylor was telling him was completely correct. He had done that in high school, but his reasons had been entirely different, and clearly not was she was making them out to be. Raising his hands in the air, he looked at her and sighed.
"Alright Taylor I'll play your game…I just want us to be able to work together." He admitted deciding that he should at least try to smooth things over with her now, because obviously this confrontation wasn't working.
"This isn't a game, Troy. This is my life, but if you want to have a good working relationship with me than I guess we can make this work."
"Good."
"But first I'm gonna have to set some ground rules." Troy's mouth dropped opened in shock as he looked at her as if she was simply playing again. Taylor stepped into his space and looked up at him and frowned. "Is that a problem?" Troy shook his head for a moment before sighing.
"No…not all please tell me what rules I'm gonna have to follow."
"First off I want you to stop calling me Taylor and call me Tay-Ann, second…no one should know about me back home, if you tell I swear you will regret it. Three, stop asking about the past because from now on I'm not going to talk anymore about it."
"Understood…Tay-Ann." He deadpanned as he rocked on his heels, reaching into his pocket he handed her the bills that she had tossed on the table earlier before storming out of the restaurant. "Here, now let's go back inside and finish our lunch cause I'm still hungry…and I know your little tantrum made you hungry."
"I should I have told you to stop messing with me as well."
"Where's the fun in that." He replied as he headed back towards the restaurant with a chuckle. Taylor watched him for a few moments before following behind him while shaking her head wondering how this was really going to work out.
~*~*~*~~*~*~*~
When they made it back to the studio, they found Darius and Carlos in an intense conversation; Troy walked them for a few moments before knocking on the door and opening it up just as their raised voices settled down. Standing aside, he watched as Taylor walked in and then followed her. Darius shot Carlos a look before turning to Taylor and smiled. "So how was your lunch?" Troy ignored Taylor's answer and looked over at Carlos who was now sitting down at the soundboard looking forlorn. He continued to stare at him while wondering what it was about this Darius that made everyone around him nervous. He had seen this before when he had been initially introduced to Darius by Julius. Julius had looked quite nervous during that meeting. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts by Darius who was now looking at him pointedly.
"Excuse me?" Troy asked as he turned to the man. Darius stood beside Taylor his arm slung over her shoulder.
"Did you enjoy having lunch with an icon?" Troy smirked and looked at Taylor who was watching him with just a hint of interest. Shrugging his shoulders he smirked and playfully tilted his head as if in thought.
"I don't know I've had a better lunch." Darius instantly broke out in a smile and shook his head while slapping Carlos on the back.
"This guy here is truly something else huh." He replied with a shake of his head as he looked back at Troy. "So Tay-Ann, are you going to help him adjust to the demanding world of the music industry." Taylor looked at Troy for a moment before glancing back at Darius and nodding her head.
"Yeah…I'll consider it community service." Darius whistled and smirked at Troy for a moment before chuckling.
"Geez, you to really got some chemistry; I hope we can get that all in a song because I know the fans will eat that all up." He rocked back on his heels, his eyes looking between Troy and Taylor for a moment. His mind quickly calculating how much interest they could grab with a well place interview, song and video.
"Yeah, I'm sure they will." Troy replied trying very hard to keep the sarcasm off his face. He just couldn't figure it out. All of his inner feelings were screaming out to him that this guy was nothing but a damn sleaze.
"What?" Darius asked, and Troy watched as the other's man's eyes darkened. Placing a charming smile on his face and just sighed.
"I was just saying…I bet they will. No one can handle my animal magnetism, and placing me with Tay…," he paused and looked at Taylor. "And placing me with Tay-Ann is just unfair to the competition." Darius nodded his head.
"Exactly…I have a feeling that this is going to a quite marketable endeavor." Troy glanced over at Taylor and wondered if she ever noticed how when he spoke of her, he was always talking about what she could for him money wise. Yeah, he certainly sounded like family…family anyone could do without. Darius smiled for a moment and the pointed at Troy. "Now, you…I was talking to a couple of my other artists and I think I want to put you on a track…singing the chorus, and I'll release that before you and Tay-Ann release that duet…I want the world buzzing about you," he paused and thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. Troy thought all that was missing was a light bulb going off above his head. "Well get you singing…but we won't show your face…just your body," he turned to Taylor and then smirked. "With Tay-Ann while you sing the chorus…and that will be lead in for the duet." Turning to Taylor he smiled brightly. "What do you think Tay?"
"Sounds good, right Troy." Troy blinked stupidly for a moment before meeting Taylor's stare and slowly shaking his head.
"I thought the song was Brokenhearted…how in the hell is that going to work with me and her in bed." Troy replied with sigh. "I'm sorry, but the video won't fit with the feeling of the song or the words. I know I only read it over a few times, but that song is about being hurt and-."
"Not that duet…," Darius exclaimed cutting him off. "This video will spark several more for you both…songs where you will sing together or apart. They'll be bridge songs; you know songs that fans can find on both of your solo albums. Now the song I had in mind to start this video mania is Marathon."
"Marathon?" Troy questioned, he hadn't heard about this song, and he damn sure didn't know anything about him having to sing it.
"Yes…Carlos' wife wrote that about year ago…and I think it's the perfect song to really introduce you both on. Tay-Ann this will be a reintroduction since it's been almost year since you released an album, and this will be your introducing song…it will show people that you can sing, and at the same time display your sex appeal which will gain you legions of female fans."
"So it's a sex song."
"Marathon, Troy." Taylor deadpanned as she looked at him pointedly, "I know you never had a sex marathon but it happens."
"I know it does…I have plenty of people who can testify to that." He shot back; he wasn't going to allow her to make fun of him to his face. Darius raised an eyebrow and smirked as he looked between the two of them.
"These videos are gonna be hot…Carlos get Troy the words to the chorus for the song "Something That I like," and then call Jamal and tell him we found someone to sing the chorus and that the video will shoot…Saturday." Troy raised an eyebrow and looked at Darius who was studying him. The man just rolled his eyes and sighed. "What? You're just singing the chorus…learn it, record it and be prepared tomorrow to act in the video…come Tay-Ann, let's leave them to their work." Troy watched as he strolled out with Taylor following directly behind him. Once the door closed, Troy turned towards Carlos and sighed.
"He's intense isn't he?" Carlos just nodded his head and leant back on the chair that he was sitting in.
"Yeah, he gets like that," he paused and picked up a notebook and flipped through it quickly. He stopped and pulled out a piece of paper before reaching out and handing it Troy. "Here you're going to need this." Troy looked it over, and then back at Carlos.
"This is what I'm singing."
"Yep, real simple isn't it." Carlos replied with a shrug, Troy looked at the man for a moment before speaking.
"So what's the deal between you and Darius." He asked nonchalantly as he sat down beside Carlos, who sighed as if he was a tire with a hole in it. Troy looked over at him and chuckled. "It can't be that bad can it."
"I really shouldn't be talking to you about this." Carlos replied as he started fiddling around with some of the controls on the sound board. Troy looked at him and couldn't believe that the man was actually fearful.
"Look I'll keep this between us alright, believe me…I won't tell your secret." Carlos looked at him and then sighed.
"He's controlling…and it's his way, or you're out." Troy's face took on one of confusion before shaking his head in disbelief.
"Are you sure that's what's going? Cause he is the boss and-." Carlos just shook his head and looked at him for a moment before chuckling bitterly. Turning in his chair, he looked at the other man before speaking.
"Julius told me you wrote your own songs…your own material, right." Troy nodded his head while wondering where he was actually going with this. "Well, you better get used to getting your things tossed especially when it has nothing to do with sex…Darius believes that's the only thing that sells. My wife, she writes songs…loves it actually, but when we joined Dee records, her writing was regulated to nothing by sexual songs. He kills creativity…for money and doesn't give a damn while he does it." Carlos finished and took a deep breath. Troy looked at him for a moment before shaking his head.
"How can Tay-Ann stand it?"
"We recorded a song with her behind his back recently…it was good, it really got into some of Tay-Ann's feelings about some things…well Darius was pissed at me and my wife for helping her with the song. But since he promised her that he was going to put it on the album he's trying to see if he wants to release a video for it. The song is good…has an anthem type theme to it, makes it really good, but he's worried about how he can make it sexy."
"That's why you were fighting."
"He was telling me that I better never go behind his back like that again or I would be fired." Troy nodded his head; he knew his gut wasn't lying to him before Darius was a sleaze that was happy making money off of Taylor's body as well as her voice.
"So he and Tay-."
"They're close…I don't know how close, but they are." Carlos exactly as he looked at him. "She's his number one artist, but I'm sure that's something you already know."
"Um, yeah…," he looked down at the paper in his hands, as he realized that he was going to stay here as long as he could to help Taylor escape the clutches of this man who he was sure had brainwashed her and turned her against her family and friends. "Thanks for talking to me."
"This remains between us." Carlos stated firmly.
"Of course." Troy replied, "So how does this beat go so I can get this in and go home, I've had a busy day." Carlos looked over at him and just chuckled before hitting play on the sound board and filling the room with the first beats to the song. Troy sat back and just listened for a minute before getting into his part.
~*~*~*~~*~*~*~
Taylor was quiet for most of the entire ride back to her home, and Darius definitely took notice. Looking over at her, he frowned and spoke up. "Everything alright, Tay-Ann?" he asked softly as he looked at momentarily before returning his attention to the road like he needed too. Shaking her head, she continued to look out of the window. "You know an answer would work best in these situations?" he snapped getting tired of her attention quickly. Taylor turned to look at him for a moment before sighing and just glancing over at him.
"I'm sorry…I'm fine, Dee."
"The hell you are." He replied back with a sneer. "Is it Troy? Has he done something to upset you." He asked as he put out his thoughts, Taylor gave him a look and shook her head.
"No, he hasn't." Darius watched her for a moment longer before maneuvering the car through the highway lanes until he was over on the side so he could pull his car to a stop. He ignored Taylor's frightened cries and slammed his foot down on the brakes and turned off the car. "Oh my god Darius what's a matter with you."
"No, what's a matter with you…you're sitting up here lying me. Like I wouldn't notice." He snapped out angrily as he looked over at her. "Do you know this guy? Why are you so openly hostile what is it? Just tell me and I'll handle it."
"No, Darius I don't know the guy." She lied, Taylor for a moment wondered why, but quickly shook off the questioning spirit. Troy hadn't don't anything wrong to her, and she would be low if she just allowed Darius to kick him off the label merely because she had knew him, and she knew he would do it. Darius sat there for a little while longer before nodding his head slowly.
"Fine…I believe you." He replied softly. "I'm sorry about all of this, but you know I can't…I can't take people lying to me. My father did it to me and my mother when I was growing up. You know I want nothing but the truth…I always want to the truth." He whispered bowing his head in shame, Taylor immediately reached out and pulled Darius into a hug feeling lower than low for lying to him. Darius was the only person who had cared for her for the past five years. He was there for her, when no one else was. She owed him her life, but for the life of her she just couldn't bring herself to tell him about Troy or their past. Darius lifted his head back up and looked at her, meeting his glaze Taylor didn't know how she felt about the look in Darius' eyes. Rubbing a hand over his face and releasing a sigh Darius started the car. "Let's get you home."
~*~*~*~~*~*~*~
Troy sat patiently on his bed as he waited for his mother to answer her private cell phone, she was probably the only person he stilled talked to regularly back home. His father never supported his decision to become a professional singer, and seemed to only support him and what he had deemed a hobby while he went to school. It wasn't till he told his father, of his plans that Jack Bolton completely lost it. His father had still wanted him to pursue basketball even when it was clear to everyone that his heart was no longer in that, but in singing. After a few rings, his mother picked up. "Troy, sweetie…how are you baby." She cooed over the line, with a smile Troy laid back and looked up at the ceiling.
"I'm fine ma…guess what I got picked up by a label, you're talking to a recording artist now." He replied his voice full of pride. He listened as his mother released a squeal and he knew that she was probably bouncing on the balls of her feet. His mother had always been his number one supporting fan, supporting him with no strings attached and he loved her for it. Lillian Bolton was the true definition of a mother. "Can I tell your father?"
"No…let him continue to think what he wants." Troy replied with a broken sigh, he didn't like the idea of his father knowing. He could hear his mother sighing over the line and knew that her good mood had been officially wiped away due to the distant between her son and her husband.
"Troy he misses you."
"Does he say it?" Troy asked his voice becoming firm. He knew his father; Jack wasn't going to say anything. He was probably just coaching harder and using him as a teaching tool for his players back at East High. He could hear his father now telling them, 'Don't get distracted by impossible dreams…focus on the attainable ones,' it was something that he had been told the moment he told his father of his plans to get picked up by a label. His father had told him in no uncertain terms just what he thought of his plans and his mental capacity.
"Troy, you know your father is to prideful…both of you are." She replied. "One of you really needs to step up to the plate and sallow your pride and just reach out to the other."
"Well mom that's just not going to happen…not with me at least." Lillian sighed at her son's words, but decided that she wanted to continue talking to her son, so she changed the subject.
"So, have you met any big artist on this label." Troy paused for a moment and his thoughts immediately went to Taylor…better known as Tay-Ann…better known as McKessie.
"Yeah, I met McKessie."
"Ohhh, is she nice." Troy shrugged his shoulders as he answered her question.
"Not really…but I guess I just have to get know her." Troy replied back with a chuckle as he thought about all the heated conversations that he and Taylor have had since he was brought back into her life. A life that she certainly didn't want him to be apart of, for a moment he contemplated telling his mother about Taylor and her being McKessie, but thought better of it. If Darius had such a hold on her that she wanted to forget being Taylor Ann McKessie and instead tried her hardest to be Tay-Ann McKessie. Getting her family involved now, could only lead to one thing. Her pushing away from them even more and him losing access to her. He was going to help her as best he could, he knew that. He just had to plan everything out. He knew her parents missed her as well, he had seen them when he had venture back home, and they both had looked absolutely miserable.
"Well you know how stars can be sometimes…they just push people away from themselves because they don't want to be used…or hurt. I saw something like that on television, they were talking about a recording artist too…I think it was on last week or something."
"Yeah maybe you're right…or she's just shy and that's a defense against new people." He stated as he rolled over on his side.
"Well people are all different." His mother replied softly. "So when are you coming back home I want to see you."
"Not anytime soon…the president…my boss Darius Combs has me working on two songs right now and then the production of my solo album that will be coming out so I'll be in the studio non-stop. He even has me living in one of his downtown lofts. It's pretty cool."
"Well, I'm happy for you." She replied with a sigh. "You just want sure to call me as much as you can…I don't like going months without talking to you."
"I'm sorry about that ma…I've just been busy."
"Oh I understand…but why can't you just give me a call or something. Just hello, ma…doing fine, ma…bye ma." Troy chuckled as his mother did an intimation of his voice.
"I do not sound like that." He replied laughing, soon after his mother joined in and laughed as well.
"Oh yes you do…I've always thought once you hit puberty you've been trying to make your voice deeper than what it actually is…and you're still doing it." Troy just smiled and shook his head for a moment before sighing.
"Okay fine whatever you say ma…look it's been nice talking to you but I gotta go. There's video shoot tomorrow and I need to be well rested."
"Well, alright then…you just make sure that you call me again…I don't want to wait as long." Troy nodded his head.
"Okay then…I promise that won't happen again ma." With that he hung up the phone and sighed as he tossed it over onto the nightstand. As he remained on his back he thought about Taylor and what he could do to make her understand that her parents loved her and that she still had friends back in New Mexico that missed her a lot.
~*~*~*~~*~*~*~
Taylor sighed the next morning, when Maria came into her room and tossed open the curtains allowing the sunlight to crash into the room and disrupt her sleep. Moaning she rolled onto her side away from the window. "Maria, please…don't do that…it's too early." She mumbled, her plea was immediately met by a manly chuckle. Peeking an eye open she turned and saw Troy Bolton standing in her room with his arms crossed over his chest with a smug look on his face.
"I really don't think me and Maria are alike…perhaps you need a review over general biology." He remarked as he chuckled again. Taylor openly glared at him and shook her head for a moment before turning back around.
"I swear if I didn't love Maria like a mother she'd be out of a job…you are not allow in here." Troy's face immediately dropped and he placed a hand over his heart and pretended to wobbled around on his feet in pain.
"Damn, Tay…that really hurt my soul. You don't want me in here." Taylor realizing that he wasn't going to let her sleep sat up with a huff and glared at him.
"Nope…I never want you here, and I thought that was understood the first day you did this." Troy nodded his head and walked over the bed and jumped on it. Bouncing Taylor up in the air as he landed. He chuckled at her expression, and placed his hands behind his head.
"Yeah it was understood, but that was before we came to our understanding…Tay-Ann." He replied smugly. "Now you need to get up…and we need to head out to the video-shoot. I don't want to late for my close-up."
"Close-up…oh my god you must be trippin." She replied with a shake of her head as she stood up and got out of the bed. Troy watched her from his perch for a few more moments before just shaking his head.
"You know I still feel like you don't really like me…and that hurts." She rolled her eyes at him and just sighed as she listened to his words.
"Get used to it…I'm not going to change my mind in minute about how I feel about anyone…you need to just get use to it, cause I'm not changing for you or anyone else." Troy watched as she walked into her closet and disappeared.
"Wow, do you have a cave in your room or what." He questioned as he got off the bed and followed her into the closet. As he stepped inside he realized he didn't see Taylor anywhere, cautiously walking deeper into the closet he called out to her. "Tay-Ann." He called out, and jumped back as she came around a corner with an outfit and matching shoes in her hands. Glaring up at him, she shot him a look; he knew would have killed a lesser man on the spot.
"Why are you still in my room?" Rocking back on his heels he looked at her and shook his head.
"Technically this isn't your room…it's your huge ass closet…and I'm still here because I'm taking you to the video shoot when you're finished. Julius called and told me Darius was handling some problem with Jamal…the guy was having a problem." Taylor paused for a moment before shaking her head. She should have known Jamal would act like some scorn mistress.
"He probably doesn't want me in his video." Troy raised an eyebrow at that and just shook his head for a moment.
"Why wouldn't he want you in the video?" he asked curiously as he reached out and placed his hands onto her shoulders, forcefully holding her in place so that she could look at him.
"None of your business…now please get out of my room and let me get dressed cause I'm certainly not doing that with you in here." Troy smirked and snapped his fingers.
"Darn…just ruin my dream why don't you," he paused and clasped his hands together. "Okay then…I'll be waiting for you downstairs, don't take to long alright." Taylor just fixed him with a stare and he chuckled.
"Fine…Fine…I'm gone." Replied holding up his hands as he cautiously walked out of the closet. Taylor waited till the door closed and then came out of the closet and headed towards her bathroom to get ready for the day.
Troy bounded down the stairs, and smiled as Maria came out of the kitchen with a bewildered look on her face. "So I take it…you woke her up and she kicked you out."
"Yeah, that's what happened." Troy replied with a bright smile as he jumped down onto the landing. Maria stepped back and looked up at him, she couldn't put her finger out on it but she knew that this man would be good for her Tay-Ann. She just knew it, he wasn't the type to back down and she just knew things upstairs had been less the pleasant up there. Especially since Tay-Ann wasn't in any form or fashion a morning person. Troy, however seemed to be energetic no matter what.
"Well thank you for waking her up." He smiled and shoved his hands in his pocket for a moment before grinning.
"No problem…really it was no problem. You shouldn't have to deal with that attitude, it's not good for anyone especially you. I can handle it." He replied smoothly. Maria nodded her head and smiled. Darius was probably the only one who went up there to wake Tay-Ann and there wasn't an ounce of romance in his blood for Tay-Ann.
"Well I cooked you both some breakfast-." Troy immediately raised his hands and shook his head.
"You didn't have to do that."
"Oh yes I did…you both are about to go and do a video shoot…you need something on your stomachs because Darius is going to keep you out there till it's all perfect." Troy raised an eyebrow at that and then nodded his head.
"Alright…I'll have that breakfast." Maria smiled at him and then turned and headed towards the kitchen.
"Good…follow me." Troy nodded and followed behind her, the good smell of the breakfast she had prepared hitting him in the nose and setting his stomach a rumble. The rumble was met with a giggle from Maria. All he could do was blush and shake his head.
"I know I know I'm hungry."
Taylor marched down the stairs with purpose. She had ever intent of telling Troy about himself and about barging into her room, however when she entered the kitchen she saw him sitting at the counter eating out of one of her plates. Eating a breakfast that, Maria had obviously cooked for him. Stopping directly in the doorway she looked at the scene before her and shook her head. "You fixed him breakfast." She accused as Troy and Maria looked up at her. Maria looked shocked while Troy easily played everything off and smiled. He finished chewing his food and pointed his fork at her as he turned slowly on the stool.
"No, she cooked us both breakfast…I've already told her thank you…how about you do the same."
"Don't you come in my home and start telling me what to do."
"Didn't think I would need to tell you to do what was inherently right." Troy pointed out, Taylor clenched her fists at his words, he immediately zeroed in on the action and shook his head. "Now calm down…say thank you, and come over here and eat breakfast with me." Turning towards Maria, Taylor took in her nervousness and sighed.
"Thank you Maria."
"No, problem…sweetie, Troy it was nice meeting you." She stated as she hurried out of the room. Troy watched her go and turned to Taylor who was walking towards him.
"That wasn't nice…Maria is a nice lady." Walking over to him, she snatched up his plate.
"Well you shut-up…and why are you eating my food." Troy hopped off the stool and quickly took the plate from her. Walking back over to the counter he sat the food down and gave her a look.
"I'm eating the food because Maria fixed it for me…it's not like she didn't fix you anything." He replied back coolly as he motioned with his head back over towards the microwave which held her plate. Taylor just grumbled and turned away from him and went over towards, refrigerator. Troy watched silently as she slammed items around and then grabbed a glass. With a sigh, he walked over to her and touched a hand to her shoulder. "Look Tay-Ann I'm sorry I upset," she jerked around and let out a quick scream as the hand that was currently holding her glass, which was full of orange juice, slammed into his chest and soaked his shirt. Troy looked down and finished his statement in shock. "…upset you."
"Oh my god…I'm so sorry." She exclaimed, with a giggled as she quickly walked over to the kitchen sink and picked up a dry dish towel while setting her glass down.
"Yeah, go ahead and laugh it up." He muttered as she came back over to him and handed him the towel. Troy looked down at it and sighed. "What am I suppose to do with this?" he asked with a wink as before he reached down and pulled off his shirt. Taylor gasped and quickly turned around.
"What da hell are you doing?"
"Taking off this wet ass shirt." He replied with a shake of his head as he held the thing away from him and dried his wet chest. He chuckled as he saw Taylor quickly turn her back to him as if she couldn't look at him. "Oh come on…I've seen your videos this is probably g rated in comparison." He called back with a smirked he finished and tossed the towel back towards the sink.
"Doesn't mean I want to see it." She replied without turning around, Troy smirked and just shook his head for a moment before sighing and going back over to the counter and sitting back down. Taylor turned around and looked at him for a moment before sighing.
"What are you doing?" she asked trying her best to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Troy looked up from his plate and Troy found it pretty hard to keep her eyes off his chest.
"I'm finishing up my breakfast…something you ought to do if you don't want to be late for the video shoot." She rolled her eyes and looked at him as if he was the biggest freak in the world.
"You need to go and put a shirt on."
"Like I carry around extras just in case a fangirl spills some orange juice on me." He replied as he gave Taylor a look.
"I am not your fan girl."
"You're absolutely right…you aren't my fan girl," he stated pausing as he looked at her before saying. "Yet."
"Whatever." She mumbled with a shake of her head as she looked at him, Troy just chuckled and started eating his food again. They both looked up as Maria came into the room.
"Oh goodness Tay-Ann are you alright." She exclaimed as she looked at Taylor before looking over at Troy who was sitting silently at the counter. "Oh my…what happened here?"
"Tay-Ann threw orange juice on me." He replied. Taylor gasped at his words and shook her head angrily as Troy lowered his head and laughed.
"No I didn't it was an accident." Maria just raised an eyebrow at their wordplay and immediately thought about her earlier ideas about Troy and Tay-Ann…they certainly had chemistry and he was good for her. They would be a refreshing couple, and she hoped he would get Tay-Ann out of the habit of just bringing men over for a few nights to satisfy herself. Tay-Ann needed a real relationship and she just knew that Troy would be the one to give it to her.
"I'll go and get you a shirt…Darius stays over sometimes in the guest bedroom…he has some clothes here…most importantly he has some tee-shirts here." Troy nodded his head as Maria left and then turned to Taylor who had gotten her plate and was starting to eat.
"You better stop her…if you don't want this chest covered up." Troy stated with a smirk as he leaned back so she could see all of him. Taylor just rolled her eyes and picked up a piece of toast and tossed it at him, which only caused him to laugh harder.
After eating their breakfast, Troy and Taylor headed out to his car. She paused as she saw the vehicle that he was driving and looked over at him. "What?" he asked with a shrug of his shoulders as he reached out and opened the car door for her.
"I didn't know you had a convertible?" Troy looked at his car and then back at her for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.
"Got it for a graduation present…you didn't seriously think I would still have that old truck me and Chad used to push around from place to place." At the mention of Chad he watched her face clam up and he inwardly winced. "Sorry."
"No…no…it's okay." She muttered as she slipped into the car. Troy watched her for a moment before closing the door and running around the hood so he could get in on the passenger side. Once inside he reached up and pressed a button. Taylor watched as the convertible top eased down leaving them just a little bit exposed. "What are you doing?"
"Don't you want to experience…a full convertible ride…with the top down…wind blowing through your hair."
"You mean messing up my hair." She countered, and as if nature was agreeing with her a strong wind blew and tossed her loose hair about. Troy watched silently for a moment before grinning.
"Doesn't look messed up to me…you look nice and I think that this is something you should experience…I mean aren't you famous and besides, won't the hair and make-up people at the shoot fix you back up."
"Doesn't mean I like my hair-." She squealed as Troy shifted the car into gear and pulled out of the driveway. Taylor shot him a look as he pulled out into the street. Chuckling he leaned over towards her and smiled brightly.
"What? Don't worry about your hair Tay…Ann just enjoy yourself." He called out over the wind before speeding off down the street his laughter floating on the wind.
~*~*~*~~*~*~*~
Darius tapped his foot on the floor rapidly while looking between his watch and the entrance to the sound stage. Julius stood nearby anxiously looking at his boss who seemed to be on the verge of literally imploding. Darius continued this routine for a few more minutes before lifting his head and looked over at Julius. "Where the hell are they?" Julius rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders.
"Maria told me that they had left some time ago." Darius turned away from Julius and tried to calm his anger, however Julius response had enraged him. If there was one thing he hated, he hated it when people who were suppose to be in charge didn't know what the hell was going on and Julius was constantly doing so and it was starting to become a habit he just couldn't ignore.
"You didn't call them on their cell phones." He snapped his voice becoming very heavier with rage.
"They weren't answering them, Darius." He replied with a soft sigh, he knew this type of news was really about to set his friend off. Darius started tapping his foot even faster as he slowly realized what he was talking about.
"What da hell do you mean, they aren't answering," he shouted just as the door to the room opened. They both looked up as Troy and Taylor entered both of them smiling and laughing together. Darius' eyes narrowed at that for a moment before shaking his head. "You guys are late." He called out hotly as he stood up and looked at her for a moment. He didn't even try to look over at Troy who stood silently behind her with his hands in his pocket. Taylor looked at him and then back at Troy a grin spreading out across her face as moments later a smile came across his face to match.
"I told you we were going to be late?" Troy looked down at his watch and then shrugged his shoulders.
"Fifteen minutes-."
"Time is money, Troy…I would think that since this is your first video shoot you would want to show up on time."
"I just wanted to talk to Tay-Ann about my car…I drove her around a bit." Darius didn't say anything else, he just looked at Taylor and then sighed.
"Come on…Jamal, been acting an ass lately especially about you joining the video. He's mad…but I talked him down." Taylor's good mood instantly dropped as she shook her head. She knew she should have never dealt with him, but he was close and for that time he was the only person she wanted to use to scratch her itch and he did it…did it well, but he seemed to feel like he had ownership of her as soon as the deed had been done and that just wasn't going to fly with her, in other shape or form.
"Good…I just want to shoot the video, hell it's not like I'm gonna be his video girl." She muttered with a shake of her head as she looked away from him. Darius nodded his head in understanding and looked over her head at Troy who was watching the exchange curiously.
"Alright…well everything is basically dressed out for the shoot except for you two…so we need to get you to wardrobe and make-up and then we can shoot your scenes together. Troy, hurry up…you are at the beginning of the video with Jamal…as a part of his posse."
"Posse?"
"Crew, posse, group…whatever term you want to use." He replied with a shake of his head. "Julius help him…I'm going to go with Tay-Ann." He replied smoothly, as he laid his arm around Taylor's shoulder and led her out of the room. Troy looked over Julius and sighed.
"He's mad isn't he?" Troy asked pointing in the direction that Darius and Taylor had just disappeared in. Julius turned and looked at him and gave him a look as if to say, what do you think. Troy just sighed and shook his head. "Of course."
"You've been getting on his bad side…he doesn't really like you around Taylor."
"Why not?" Julius gave him a look and then just sighed for a moment before turning away and heading back over towards the door where Troy would have to go to get himself fully prepared for the day. Troy stood there watching him for a moment, he glanced once at the door that Taylor and Darius had left through and then sighed before following behind Julius.
A/N: Alright I hope you guys enjoy this update and please remember to tell me what you all think.