Taylor looked around his room. Isaac sat at a wooden desk writing something. "Is Zac home?" Tay asked, sitting down on his bed. Isaac looked up. "No, he went to the pond with Andrew!" Ike replied, starring Taylor down. Tay closed his eyes and sighed. "Good! We need to talk..about Amanda." he whispered. Taylor had left my house around 3:30 that day, I told him I needed some time alone, and he totally respected that and left me. Isaac looked oddly at Taylor. "I can see that. When you ran to her house, almost killing me on your way out, I thought something was wrong!" Ike said, dropping his pen onto the desk. He turned and faced Taylor. "What's up?" he asked. Taylor pulled his hair back into a lose ponytail and fell softly against the bed, his feet still resting on the floor. "Well, I went to her house expecting to have a normal day. Flirting, talking, hanging out..you know." Taylor said softly. Isaac nodded, giving Tay the go ahead. "We fell asleep on her bed, and he dad and Moreen decided to cut their trip short so they could all go out and find a nice birthday gift for Kristi..." Taylor said, sighing afterward. Ike pondered for a moment. "Kristi Roderick? Her best friend?" he asked. Taylor didn't say anything and just sighed. "Yeah and..." Isaac pushed. "Kristi is coming to spend the week with Mandie, and her birthday is on Monday..the day after Amanda's! Anyway, Mandie's father and Moreen forgot it was her birthday this weekend, so after they go out and but Kristi's gift tomorrow...they're leaving for Vermont on Friday. Mr. Maxwell didn't even say anything about her birthday..all he talked about was Kristi and me and Amanda sleeping together in the same bed!" Taylor said, taking a deep breath. His mind reviewed what happened with us a few hours ago. Isaac gave a tight smile. "Yeah.." he said impatiently. Taylor placed his hands on his head and sighed. "While she was crying she said no one cared for her anymore..then I told her I did. She was basically blown away, and then she told me I was all she lived for! Them..I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I only kissed her forehead. I'm not sure if I wanted to kiss her because I wanted to comfort her, or because I've wanted to for a long time. A really long time." he paused, not waiting for an answer from Isaac. "I know she's my best friend, and we tell each other everything, and all..but could that lead us to a serious relationship..or what?! When we were talking about how different we looked I told her she wears make-up and she never used to do that before. And I asked who she was trying to impress, and a part of me wanted her to impress me!" Taylor said, taking a deep breath. Isaac was blown away. How could Taylor pour his heart out like that, without giving Ike a warning! =-) "Jezz Tay, if I knew you were this confused I would have taken notes!" Isaac said. Taylor turned his head and looked at him. "Ha ha Ike, very funny! I need help, what do I do?! Plus Kristi wants us to set up a surprise party for Amanda, and I'm left in charge of all that! So now I have to worry about Amanda, my feeling and now a party!" Taylor whined. Isaac pondered. "Well..I can see how upset and confused you are, so Zac and I can get the party done!" he paused. "You said you and Amanda are best friends right?" he asked. Taylor smiled at my name. "Oh! Ike..I didn't mean to offend you! Me and you are tight and all..but we're best friends in a different way than me and Amanda are!" Tay apologized. Isaac smiled. "OKay..now shut up so I can think!" he joked. "How about you call Amanda and tell her to come over. I'll take Wicket for a walk, so you guys can be alone. While I'm gone tell her how you feel!" Isaac said wisely. Taylor always knew Isaac wasn't the greatest person to turn to for advise, but what he said did sound pretty right. He sat up and searched the room. "Thanks Ike! But what do I say, should I take a shower?..change.." he trailed off, and his face fell. "What if she doesn't feel the same way?" he asked. Isaac snickered. "How could she now? Your 'perfect' Tay! She even tells you that, like everyday! Now please shut up and go call her!" Isaac said, rumpling Taylor's hair. Taylor watched Ike walk down the street with Wicket. He picked up the phoneand nervously dialed my number. "Hello?" I asked, sniffling. Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Amanda? Are you OKay?" he asked. I smiled at his concern. "No! I just was talking to Kristi about how they forgot about my birthday and Moreen was listening at the door, and she came in and we got into this huge fight., then Daddy came up stairs and started swearing and yelling at me for being so selfish!" I cried, sniffling again. Taylor felt his heart jump into his throat. "Oh, listen why don't you come to my house? I want to tell you something..but it can wait for you!" he said. I squeezed my eyes shut, releasing several tears. "Okay, I'm grabbing my back pack, coz I'm not staying here tonight!" I said, hanging up the phone and rushing out to door. I ran up to Taylor's front steps and into his arms. He stood waiting for me, a box of tissues in his hands. He took my backpack and we walked into the house. "Are you OKay?" he asked softly. Taylor caressed my back to soothe me. I looked up at him as we climbed the stairs and walked into his bedroom. After my backpack was put away, we sat quietly next to each other on his bed. I wanted to say so much to him, but nothing came out of my mouth. Instead I was staring ahead at his lego container. Taylor took my hand. "Amanda." he began softly. "What did you mean by you weren't staying at your house tonight?" he asked. I tried to move my eyes off the lego container but they didn't move. "I..I..Moreen and Father called a hotel and ordered me to stay there until Kristi came here!" I croaked. Taylor squeezed my hand and placed his other hand on my face. He pushed my face toward him. Our eyes met and we didn't sat a word. "I'm not letting you leave this house! They can't make you stay at a hotel, it's not human!" he whispered. I turned my body and rested my head on his shoulder. After a minute I spoke. "Why is it I don't exist anymore? It's like Moreen rules the world, and I have absolutely no parents that support and care about me! Now, I can't even stay at my own house?!" I questioned. Deep inside I knew Taylor didn't have the answers, but just being with him made me feel safe. He turned his head and looked down at me. "Moreen doesn't rule the world. And your father doesn't see that your not a little girl anymore, you've grown up and matured into a beautiful woman.." his voice trailed off when I closed my eyes. "If he or she doesn't know what their missing, I do! Your a great friend, a great daughter, and a great person! Don't let them hurt you!" he said. His voice was soft and soothing. My mind cleared and my heart raced. Both my hands were in his now, and I stayed quitet for a minute. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be placing my problems on you..what did you say you wanted to talk to me about?" I said, quickly changing the subject. His palms began to sweat next to mine, and his heart beated against mine. "Um...maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Your having problems, and I don't want to pile this on you unexpectedly!" he said, his voice falling to a whisper. I looked up at him, his eyes were shining and I almost wished he wouldn't tell me. "I can handle it. I think I've cried enough for one day!" I joked, pulling a few inches from him. His eyes looked deeply into mine and the sides of his lips twitched. "Remember how I said I cared about you..and everything?" he asked. I smiled, as I remembered that afternoon. "Hmmm.." I replied, not wanting to leave that moment. "I meant it..and I wanted to tell you I care so much about you! Our friendship means everything to me, and I wanted you to know I wished our relationship could go beyond this." he sighed quietly. I looked away from him. What am I going to do? Kristi didn't tell him I love him as more then a best friend, right? I asked myself. "Um..I..ugh." My mind went blank. "What am I suppose to say? Kristi told you, didn't she?" I asked. He looked at me oddly. "Kristi has nothing to do with this!" he whispered. I looked him in the eye. "I never imagined you could fall for me the way I've fallen for you!" I whispered in reply. He looked up. "You feel the same way?" he asked. Taylor always had my heart, and I knew Isaac and Zac always knew it. From the way I looked at Tay, the way I talked about him, I guess I wanted myself to believe he knew. Taylor looked at me and squeezed my hands. "I've wanted you for so long Tay, you can't even begin to count the years!" I said. He smiled at me and blushed. "What now?" he asked. I thought I was going to cry again, so I pulled my hands away and wiped my face. He took my hands suddenly while they were still on my face. His hands were cold and felt good on my hot cheek. I moved toward like I was being sucked in by a strong force. Before I knew it, his lips brushed mine, and I could feel his breath on my cheek. My mind stopped and my heart skipped a beat, causing to suddenly felt dizzy. After returning his kiss we pulled apart. Smiled were on both of our faces as we tried our hardest to hide them. When I was about to speak Taylor's ears seemed to perk and I heard footsteps. Zac's face appeared in the doorway, Isaac came second. Taylor's face turned red and mines I could feel turn pink. "Sorry guys, I kept him for as long as I could!" Ike apologized. I shrugged and looked at my back pack. Zachary made himslef comfortable on a green bean bag that sat on the floor. "Amanda is going to spend the night, alright guys?" Taylor said, wrapping one arm around my waist. Isaac looked at me. I think he noticed how my lips were wet. I blushed and smiled at him. "My parent's kicked me out, so can i crash here?" I asked. Zac smiled and jumped off the floor. He dove toward me and hugged me. "Nice of you to join the family!" he said, and turned back to the bean bag. Taylor raised his eyebrows and laughed. "We'll have to ask mom and dad, but i'm sure it's okay. Excuse Zac, I think he's high on something!" Isaac said with a laugh. Taylor and I went down stairs and left a message on my parents machine telling them I was here, I knew they didn't care so I didn't leave much detail.
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Chapter 2
Chapter 4
