I don't own anything.

A/N: Okay I know I haven't posted in awhile I've just been busy with school, I'm just going to post this real quick and get back to work. I want to thank all my reviewers from last time. I'm sorry I can't give you guys the proper shout out. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please remember to review and hopefully when I'm done with this major presentation I have to do I'll be back to posting on a regular basis.

Baby S

Chapter Seven

Troy slowly pulled up into the studio parking lot and laid his head back on the seat and sighed for a moment while trying to ignore the soft giggling that was currently coming from the passenger seat next to him. Not even attempting to open his eyes and look over at her, he lifted a hand and rubbed it over his face and released another deep sigh. Again, the soft giggling broken through the silence of the car choosing to ignore it again, he lifted a hand and felt the damage of done to his clothing. Rubbing a finger over his right shoulder he felt his finger slip inside of the ripped sleeve. Unfortunately, that was the sight that caused the giggling to turn into full blown laughter. Rolling his eyes heavenward, "Yeah, go ahead and get it all out…cause I'm not walking up in there with you laughing at me like this." Shaking his head he took his head away from his sleeve and looked over at Taylor who had bowed her head unable to hold it up any longer as her body shook from her laughter. "You know I could have been seriously hurt, injured, or killed." Taylor snorted at his reply and just laughed harder as she looked over at him. Lifting a hand she wiped the tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes away.

"I'm sorry," she choked out as soon as she become calm enough to talk, but her voice still shook with laughter that was threatening to come out. "But you have to admit that it was funny." Troy closed his eyes as he imagined the legions of crazed fan girls that had rushed him when he exited the car. He had forgotten that it was Saturday and that they weren't in school, but shopping instead. His thoughts or daymare was interrupted by Taylor's laughter. "Your face was so funny…you looked so freakin' scared."

"That's because I was." He replied darkly, just as Taylor started laughing again and leaned against his shoulder as she trembled with laughter. "Oh just laugh it up."

"Oh believe me…I am…I can't believe you did that," she paused and shook her head good naturedly. "I told you that people know who you are now. You can't just go waltzing into places now like a regular old joe." Troy looked at her, and then back down at his shirt before sighing. He always thought he was ready for stardom, but this morning's events had him second guessing thoughts beliefs.

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am, Troy." Taylor replied with another giggle, and for a moment Troy was reminded of the Taylor he knew back in high school, the one who used to playfully gloat when she had told him and Chad something that they just should have known. He remembered how, Chad used to think it was sexy to see that look her face when she gloated, and Troy now found himself agreeing. Chad had been wrong about a lot of things, and disrespecting Taylor had to be one of the biggest ones but he was right Taylor did look rather lovely when she was gloating about things.

"Whatever, Taylor…damn, I can't walk in there like this." He stated with a groan already thinking of things Darius could say to him. To make a long story short, he would tolerate Taylor's playful joking but he wouldn't take it from Darius cause he knew for the most part the asshole meant every word. "Matter of fact I won't." he mumbled as he reached up and pulled the shirt off his body, which only left him with a plain black tee.

"Troy, what are you doing?"

"Taking off this shirt, don't worry I know what the sight of my chest does to you and I want put you through that ordeal of seeing such greatness so early in the morning." He replied with a smirk as he looked over at her and caught the small blush that filled her cheeks.

"You know what I'm not even going to respond to that."

"You really don't have too. I already know what you're thinking and believe me its okay; I'm used to be admired all the time."

"Whatever Troy…," she replied with a smile and a shake of her head. "Did Darius tell you what song you'll be doing today?"

"He said he would tell me that when we got here." Troy replied with a shrug of his shoulders as he opened the car door and got up. Closing the door he walked around and opened up Taylor's door. With a smile she accepted his hand and allowed him to take her out of the car. \

"You know a girl can get used to this."

"I don't have a problem with that." He replied as he stepped back and she slammed the door shut. She instantly winced, just as Troy jumped by herself and shot her a look. "Hey!"

"Sorry." She replied as she reached out and rubbed his car door while looking over at him with a small smirk on her face. "See she's all better…she's okay." He rolled his eyes at her response and just shook his head.

"Should have never told you, that I named my car."

"No, what you should have did was never naming your car in the first place." She replied as she stepped forward, dragging a reluctant Troy with her. As they neared the entranced to the studio Troy decided to reply to the earlier statement.

"Hey, just because I have an attachment…"

"An unhealthy attachment, let's get it right Troy." He rolled his eyes and opened the door to the studio and followed behind her and down the hallway.

"Whatever, Taylor…" he paused as she turned quickly on him and gave him a look. He sighed and shook his head. "My bad…whatever Tay-Ann. Just because I named my car doesn't make me weird or anything. Besides I think you're jealous of it."

"Of your car…come on get real, Troy. I mean seriously."

"I am serious…you're just jealous right now." He replied with a smirk as he looked down at her and wiggled his eyebrows. "But that's okay; believe me I'd take you over my car any day." She cut him a rather cool look and shook her head for a moment.

"Sure whatever you say." She replied with a shake of her head as she walked back to him and looped her arm through his. He just gave her a look back, but decided against saying anything else. As they neared the door to the recording studio, Darius walked and paused as he saw them. They both missed the narrowing of his eyes as he saw just how close they seemed to be while they greeted him.

"Hello, Tay-Ann," he paused and gave Troy a look. "Troy." He stated with a coldness that he always had toward the one man who was on the verge of threatening everything he had ever worked for. "I was just wondering what was taking you both so long…I just came out here for some fresh air."

"And to check to see if we were here right." Troy replied coolly, as he looked at the other man, his eyes narrowed for a moment before shaking his head. "Or to see what was taking me so long with Tay-Ann."

"Exactly." Darius replied as he lifted his right wrist and flashed Troy his multi-million dollar watch. "Troy, do you know that you're wasting my money." Troy eyed Darius and then the wrist which was currently holding up his watch.

"I don't think you need any help with that." he stated meeting the hateful stare head on from Darius as he finished his sentence. Instead of replying, Darius just stepped back into the studio holding open the door.

"Well come on we don't have all day." He replied with a shake of his head as he allowed them to enter the area first. Troy sighed and motioned for Taylor to enter first before following behind her. Once they were inside, he greeted Carlos and Alisha.

"Hey, guys how are you doing this morning." He asked as he flopped down onto a nearby sofa. Carlos turned and looked at him and just offered him a quick smile before waving hello to Taylor who walked over towards the sofa and sat down as well. Once everyone was in the room, Darius closed the door and walked over to the front and sat down in the place that everyone knew was basically his chair.

"Now that we have our artist here…we can get to recording." reaching out he handed Troy a piece of white paper. He watched as Troy took the paper and looked it over for a moment before speaking. "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah…what is this?" he asked as he lifted his head and looked back at Darius who seemed to be practically smirking.

"It's your song Troy…I know how much you missed your girlfriend after she left you, so I decided why not let you sing your heart out about it." Darius replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I remember what you told me," he paused as he watched the frown on Troy's face. "You know about a song meaning something…about a song being about feelings and emotions, and not just about sex." He replied ending his statement in a mocking tone as he tried to imitate Troy's voice. Shaking his head, Troy tossed the paper aside and shook his head.

"This has to be a freakin' joke…I'm not singing about her." Darius sat forward and narrowed his eyes as he openly glared at Troy as if he should have known better than to question him.

"You're wrong, this isn't a freakin' joke…this is what I want and as your boss, you have to do what I say because guess what you don't have a choice, especially if you want to remain on this label." Troy's jaw clenched painfullly as he stared at the other man for a moment before shaking his head.

"Man…I don't know what your problem is but-"

"My problem is that you are wasting my time and most importantly you are wasting my money. Stop fighting with me and go in that booth and sing that damn song." Darius stepped, Troy eyed him a little longer and then reluctantly got up and headed towards the booth. Darius watched him go and then looked over at Taylor who was watching him silently. Standing up, he walked over to Taylor and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry I lost my temper." He whispered as he draped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"Well, when it comes to you two, I don't expect anything different." She replied with a shake of her head. Darius just nodded and looked up at as the beat began. Troy glared at him for a moment before looking back down at the paper so he could start singing.

mama
i wanted to take u home to my mama
i wanted to take u home to my mama
i wanted to take u home to my mama but no
what we had was awesome,
until he came and took you out my life,
i even had thoughts of making you my wife,
and i thought this dough would keep her by my side,


i cant call her even though the boy's in need,
but needing her wont bring her back to me,
and i can't believe this girl ain't by my side,
this shit ain't right

Darius studied Taylor's facial expressions as Troy sang the song, and felt her tense up against him. He knew that this was one of her fears, being with a guy that didn't want her…being with a guy that was just using her, one that didn't want her. "This is about his ex-girlfriend." Taylor asked her voice soft, but Darius could hear the tremble in it, the pain that he knew was there beneath the surface. Darius looked back at Troy who had continued singing.

"Yeah, she's like his main inspiration for his songs…in fact he wrote a pretty good one for her when we signed him to the label. He's been pining after her for awhile," he paused and turned to look at Taylor and sighed. "I knew you two were getting close…and I just, I just don't want to see you get hurt, Taylor." He stated, whispering her real name between them. A tactic he hardly ever used unless it really called for. Taylor looked back at Troy and sighed.

"I should have known." She replied.

"You went against my rule…didn't you?" Darius asked as he reached out and lifted her chin up so that she was looking him in the eyes. "You started catching feelings didn't you?" Taylor looked back at Troy as he continued singing his song.

"Yes." She replied softly, her voice so soft it seemed to Darius that she was scared to actually say it aloud. "Yes I did," she looked back at Troy and then stood up. "Excuse me." She whispered as she quickly left the room. Darius watched as she left, and then looked towards Troy who had stopped singing and was watching him with a murderous glint in his eyes. The look was so intense that, Carlos and Alisha turned and looked at him. A moment later, Troy stormed out of the sound booth and made his way towards the door.

"Excuse me but where do you think you're going."

"After Tay-Ann…I don't know what you said but I'm gonna fix it." He replied his voice rough as he looked at the man he was growing to hit more and more each day. Darius shook his head and stood up, pointing back over at the booth.

"You need to go back in there and finish the song."

"Fuck the song." Troy replied as he stormed out of the room with only one thought, which was to find Taylor and make her understand that whatever Darius had put in her head wasn't the truth.

~*~*~*~~*~*~*~

Troy looked up as Carlos jogged over to him, it had been about twenty minutes since he stormed out of the studio in search of Taylor, and he had yet to find her. He had actually been all over the area asking guards if they had seen her at all. He didn't know what Darius told her but if he were to go by Taylor's reaction he was pretty sure that whatever it was it was pretty bad. "Troy." Carlos called again as he came to a stop and bent down at the waist to catch his breath. "Man…you need to come on back to studio and-"

"I'm not going anywhere until I find Tay-Ann alright." He replied pointedly while shooting the other man a glare. Carlos sighed, and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck.

"She couldn't have gotten that far away man…especially if you drove her, and I know her…believe me she isn't the one for taxis." Carlos replied with a small smile not knowing how much his humor would be appreciated at the moment. Troy looked over at him and shaking his head and walking back into the main lobby of the studio. Heading over to the desk, he quickly got the attention of a security guard.

"Excuse me…I'm look for Tay-Ann McKessie and I was wondering if you have seen her…anytime soon." The man looked at him and then shifted his eyes over towards the ladies room. Troy followed the glazed and had to resist the urge to knock himself on the forehead. Of course she would go there.

"Thank you." He replied as he turned and headed over towards the bathroom. The guard gave Carlos an alarmed look and quickly spoke.

"Um, that's the ladies restroom sir…you can't go in there."

"It's okay." Troy called back before jogging towards the entrance. Opening the door he was greeted by the frighten screams of women who were at the mirrors looking themselves over, however he didn't really pay them any attention. His eyes only looked for Taylor and he saw her sitting down on a sofa that was in the restroom. "Excuse me ladies…" he trailed hoping that they would understand that he needed to be alone with someone. The women all gave him a shocked look before quickly leaving. Once they were gone, Troy reached behind himself and locked the door while keeping his glaze on Taylor who was more watching him with what he could only describe as haunted eyes. They both looked at one another for a few more minutes before he spoke. "So are you going to say anything?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Whatever it is that's on your mind." He replied as he leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. Lifting a hand he pointed to his temple. "I want to know what's going on inside of here."

"I'm trying to figure out if you're like Chad." She replied softly, as she looked up at him. "I'm wondering if…if you aren't really as interested in me and you're just using me to get by here until a better prospect comes along."

"First of all I'm not like that… I wouldn't use you like that ever." He stated quickly with a dismissive shake of his head. "I'm never going to do you like Chad, Taylor…I wouldn't wish that on you…not again. Not when I know what it did to you the first time." He stepped away from the door and looked at her for a moment before sighing. "And I'm interested in you…more than you could know." He whispered as he looked into her eyes and saw the undeniable shock there.

"You don't mean that," she snapped out angrily. "What about Gabrielle? Darius told me that you still carry feelings for her and that your songs were based on her." Troy shook his head in disbelief; he just couldn't believe this guy. How could he purposely set out to hurt Taylor, when he claimed day in and day out that he was the only person who cared about her. The truth was, Darius only cared about the money that Taylor was bring in to the label, and nothing else.

"Gabrielle…is married to another man, and she left me for him. I don't have any feelings towards her or her husband. I've been over it. I might have wrote some songs down in order to get my feelings out about the situation but that doesn't mean she still matters here." He replied placing a hand over his heart. "She left, and I don't pine."

"I'm not going to a consolation prize."

"Who da hell made you feel like that…cause you're not. I walked out of a recording session…Darius is probably thinking of neat little ways to kill my career but I left anyway because you're more important…my friendship, and whatever it is that's between us is more important to me than releasing an album. Achieving your goals doesn't mean anything without someone to share it with." He replied his voice growing deeper as he walked towards her. "So forget whatever Darius told you…you're the only woman on my mind….my only subject for inspiration." He stated tossing his feelings out there between them. He watched as Taylor looked up at him and covered her mouth with her hand.

"You mean it."

"More than you'll ever know." He replied as he walked across the bathroom towards her, reaching out he waited for Taylor to place her hand in his and pulled her to him and held her tightly. Taylor snuggled against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist while he held her and rubbed her back soothingly. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes and then slowly lowered his head and brushed a kiss on her forehead. He saw the flash of disappointment cross Taylor's face and lightly chuckled. "I'm sorry, Tay…but I'm not really keen on the idea of having our first real kiss in the ladies room at Dee records studios, but don't worry I plan on making it up to you later." He stated as he lifted his head and looked down into her eyes again, Taylor just shook her head and giggle as she tucked her head beneath his chin and hugged onto him tightly. All the while, she was thinking that maybe Darius was just being a bit over protective and that he had simply misjudged Troy.

~*~*~*~~*~*~*~

After their conversation in the restroom, Troy had decided to take Taylor home. He didn't feel like trying to complete the song and he told Carlos take as he led Taylor out to his car that was in the parking lot. Once they arrived at Taylor's home, Troy parked the car and looked over at her. Every since they left the bathroom back at the studio Taylor had remained quiet. "So, here we are…are you going to stay anything now." He questioned wondering what she could possibly be thinking about. Taylor settled back on the seat of the car and looked up at him.

"I'm just thinking about us." Troy smiled and leaned back in his seat as well, before addressing her.

"And thinking of us makes us quiet." He asked softly as he looked at her for a moment, Taylor looked back at him and just shook her head. "Then what is it?" he gentled asked, wanting to know why the knowledge of his affection for her made her silent. He knew she felt the same why back, so he didn't understand the silence.

"It's just that…I haven't felt this way since Chad and-." Troy nodded his head for a moment and reached out touching her hand. Chad was his friend…they weren't as close as they used to be but they were still friends but Troy knew for a fact that he didn't want the mistakes that Chad had made to come back to haunt him in his brand new relationship with Taylor.

"Don't think about him, Taylor."

"Troy, it's just that…it's weird…," she shook her head trailing off, and flashing him a smile. "Do you want to come on in." Watching her, Troy wondered just want that look…and where that sentence was headed. Shaking his head, he sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"No…I can't stay but I'll walk you to your front door." Taylor smiled at the thought and shook her head.

"What…afraid that someone might jump me from the five step walk from here."

"Eh, something like that." He stated as he got out of the car and quickly went over to her side to help her out of the car. "Madam." He playfully stated as he performed a mock bow and smiled as she placed her smaller hand into his larger one. They quickly made their way to the front door, and Taylor turned and looked at Troy.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in." she asked again her voice taking on a seductive voice. Troy stepped forward and Taylor eagerly retreated until her back was about the door, placing his hands on either side of her head. He looked at her for a moment before sighing.

"I don't want to move to fast Taylor…that isn't something I want…cause if we don't our relationship won't be as deep as it should be."

"We already know each other Troy."

"Yeah, but there's a five year gap and I'm sure you've grown just like me. So let's catch up to one another before," he paused and sighed. "Look I want this to be special. I want every moment for us to be special." Taylor bit the bottom of her lip and looked up at him for a moment before nodding her head."I don't want to rush you understand right."

"I do." She whispered softly as she looked back up at him, Troy lifted his hand and placed it beneath her chin and sent her a soft smile.

"Now…I think this moment is the perfect time to share a first kiss." Taylor blinked and shook her head. The scene Troy was creating for them was just too romantic; he tilted his head as he saw her display and sighed. "What is it?"

"I…it's just that…all of this is romantic and Darius said…-"whatever she was about to say was silenced by Troy placed his forefinger on her lips. He sighed for a moment and then spoke his voice low and serious.

"When it's just us…I don't want to hear about what Darius said," he whispered as he looked at her. "I'm a romantic guy…I want things to be special and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Don't let him cloud and distort the good things that can come to you in life."

"Okay."

"So do you trust me?" he asked softly as he looked at her. "Do you trust me with this," he reached out and laid a hand on her chest directly above her heart, and then he reached out and placed her hand on his chest above his heart. "Cause believe it or not I trust you with my mine."

"I trust you Troy."

"Good." He whispered before leaning forward and capturing her lips with his, he pressed her against the door as he kissed her passionately in her doorway. After a few minutes, he stepped back and released a breath and smiled at her. "Wow."

"Wow is right." She replied as she blushed beneath his glaze. "He chuckled at the sight and just shook his head.

"I…I better get going, but I'll be here tomorrow to wake you up bright and early."

"Bright and early…why we don't have anything to do." Troy smiled at her question as he walked towards his car and opened up the driver's side door. Once inside he started the car and rolled down the window, and shouted out one last thing that pretty much set a smile on Taylor's face for the rest of the evening.

"I don't need a reason except wanting to see you."