Plink. Plink. Plunk. I woke up in the middle of the night to strange noises at my window. Bang. Something hit the glass. A cold chill ran up my spine. Just before I went to bed, I had been watching Unsolved Mysteries. I was totally freaked out. Plink. Oh God, is it the Highway Killer? Or that crazy guy who eats people’s tongues? What if it’s the Ghost of Miller’s Pond? Plunk. I jumped. What should I do? Deciding to be brave, I peeked out of the corner of my window. There was someone down there. Maybe it was just Heidi... maybe she got locked out... maybe it was Dave and Travis playing practical jokes (Heidi and I had gone to every one of their shows since that one three weeks ago, and we were good buds by now). Clouds cleared from the moon, and I was able to see the person’s head.
Opening the window, I whispered outside, “Taylor?! What the hell do you think this is, Dawson’s Creek?”
He laughed, “We just got home like, twenty minutes ago.”
I turned around to look at the clock, “It’s four AM, are you freaking psycho?”
“It’s cold as hell down here... Are you coming down or not?” he laughed.
“Be right there,” I whispered. Yanking a sweatshirt over my head, I crept silently down the stairs, skipping the third stair from the bottom, which creaks. I padded softly along the cold linoleum floor of the kitchen.
“How long are y’all going to be home for?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a peck on the cheek.
“The weekend... it’s my grandfather’s birthday... we’re throwing him a party.”
“Awesome... What possessed you to wake me up at four AM?” I said, releasing him.
He laughed, “Well... I figured since it’s Friday night...”
“It’s Saturday morning now,” I yawned. “It’s cold out here... come inside...” I pulled him by the hand into my house. I put my finger to my lips to signal him to be quiet. We padded softly to my room.
“So what have you been up to?” Tay asked when I’d safely closed the door to my bedroom.
“Remember that time you called and I said I was going to one of Heidi’s shows at college?”
“Yea, I guess.”
“We made friends with the band. They’re really good. The lead singer, Travis, is a really good singer.”
“Better then I am?” he asked.
I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. “Umm... Anyway, you should come see one of their shows. I think there’s one tonight. Dave said-”
“Who’s Dave?” he interrupted.
“The bass player,” I said, looking at him weirdly, “Anyway, Dave said that sometime soon they’re having this concert-”
“What’s the name of their band?” he interrupted again.
“What’s your damage?” I asked, “Why do you keep interrupting me?”
“Sorry,” he blushed slightly.
“It’s called Total Concept.” He was acting strangely. At the mention of my college friends, he seemed to wig out. “So anyway, what did you guys do?” Tay then told me stories of all their travels... how Zac ate all the snacks in the hotel snack bar thing and threw up all over everyone in the car... how Ike hi-jacked their dad’s van in order to get some much-sought-after Wendy’s... how Mack had fallen asleep in the sauna... how Avie and Zoe painted themselves with fingerpaint... how Jessie did her ballet routine in the aisle of the airplane... and how he had been utterly perfect.
“I’m sure you weren’t perfect,” I laughed.
“I was,” he smiled.
“I’m sure you persuaded Zac to eat all those potato chips, or paid Ike to get you Wendy’s or something.”
“Nope.”
“You’d like me to believe that you’re just like, so absolutely perfect...”
“Yes.”
“Well I don’t.”
Tay pulled me into his lap, “You’re smart.”
“I know,” I smiled, resting my head on his chest.
“You wanna know what I really did?”
“Yes.”
He laughed, “I lost Avie in the airport.”
“You lost her?”
“I was supposed to take her to the bathroom, but while she was in there I went into this gift shop... I guess she tried to find her way back to our gate or something... My parents were ready to kill me. They had to call security.”
“You idiot!” I giggled.
“I ran into the women’s room looking for her. I surprised this old lady...” I bust out laughing. “It was pretty funny...”
I heard footsteps in the hall. “Tay,” I whispered, “Get in the closet!” I jumped off his lap and shoved him into my closet. Then I flipped in the radio and hopped onto my bed. Heidi knocked on my door.
“Hey, Tay,” she said when I admitted her in, “Are you going to the show tonight?”
“Umm...” I stuttered, “I don’t know... I guess...”
“I’m going out with a bunch of people from school,” she said, glancing at herself in my mirror, “I’ll be home about a half an hour before show time. If I’m not there, Oscar or Travis will drive you.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, can I borrow that hemp purse of yours?”
“Umm...” I pondered on what to say... the purse was in my closet. “Sure...” I got up and approached my closet door. Tay was in there, hiding behind my winter coat. He was holding the purse that Heidi had asked for. I took it from him and tried not to giggle as I handed it over to Heidi.
“See you later, Tay,” she said, exiting the room. I locked my door behind her and told Taylor it was safe to exit the closet. Just as we were het-hem... getting comfortable again, I heard more footseps in the hall. “My mother! Get back in the closet!” I whispered, pushing Tay. My mother knocked on the door. I botled over to it and unlocked it. “Yes?”
“I have to go into the office again today...” she frowned. “You can invite Odessa over or something,” she suggested.
“Good idea.”
“I’m taking a shower,” she said, walking into the bathroom.
“Okay.” When I heard her click the doorknob shut, I danced back into my room and whispered, “Come out, Tay, now’s our chance!” Tay opened the closet doors. I pulled him by the hand, tip-toeing into the hallway, quickly padding down the stairs, and leading him outside. “I’ll be out in a minute,” I said, kissing him.
“ ‘Kay,” he smiled.
I darted back inside, dressed, and called out to my mother, “Hey Mom, the Hansons are home! I’m going over there!”
“So early?” she asked from the bathroom.
“Tay invited me.”
“All right.”
“Oh, and is it okay if I go to the punk show again tonight?”
“If you get home at a reasonable time.”
“Okay.”
I stamped my feet into my shoes and dashed outside.
