Brynn Kishbaugh mumbled and rolled over onto her side. The ground was hard and she was unbelievably uncomfortable. She opened her eyes to see Holly laying next to Isaac. His hand was holding onto hers and she would have questioned that if anybody else was a wake. Zac was laying on the couch with the lower half of his body on the floor. She laughed to herself and then she remembered Taylor. She rolled over slowly and smiled to see him staring at her. Normally that would have freaked her out, but with Taylor, the way he was looking at her, made her completely content.
"Good morning." He whispered to her, looking over her shoulder making sure not to wake everybody else.
"Hi. What time is it?"
"It's early." He looked down at his thick black watch. "7:05."
Brynn yawned and rolled over onto her back. "How long have you been awake?"
"I'm not sure."
She smiled. "Ok, then how long have you been staring at me?"
He blushed. "I don't know that either."
Brynn glanced to her right again and then looked up at the ceiling. "I still can't believe you're here."
"Ditto."
"Yeah I bet it's weird for you to be here too."
"No..." Taylor sat up and looked down at her. "I meant, I can't believe you're here. I've never woken up next to somebody as beautiful as you."
Brynn closed her eyes and smiled, trying to keep herself from blushing wildly. "You're crazy."
"Maybe. Maybe not." Taylor wasn't sure what else to say. He was confusing himself. He'd never talked to a girl like that before, let alone a fan he'd just met. Out of all the dates he'd been on, and all the girlfriends he'd had, he managed to screw things up within a day. He felt differently about Brynn and he just wasn't sure why.
Taylor looked over at Holly while she rolled onto her stomach, slapping Isaac in the face. Isaac sat up with a start and Holly yelled "OW"! Then he held his cheek and looked over at Taylor and Brynn.
Brynn laughed with her eyes closed. "See, Ike, that's what you get for sleeping next to her. She slaps people and then blames them."
Isaac mumbled to himself, called Taylor a morning freak, and then went back to sleep.
Taylor peered down at Brynn again and watched her lay peacefully with her eyes closed. Her hair was messed and her sleeping bag was pulled up to her chin. She took a deep breath as if she was falling back asleep. What Taylor did next came out of the blue. He didn't know why he did it, but he did. Leaning over gently, he closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers. When he realized what he had done, he was sitting up again, staring at her. Her eyes were still closed and he was almost relieved she was asleep.
He sighed and laid back down on his back, closing his eyes.
"Taylor?"
His eyes shot open and he blushed.
"Why did you kiss me?"
He stayed silent and Brynn felt nervous for him. She rolled over onto her side and moved closer to him so that she was laying within inches of his body. "Do me a favor..."
"What?"
"Don't go to the Erie concert. Just stay here for a week or so."
Taylor laughed and instinctively put his arm around her shoulder. Then, he placed his other arm around her waist, pulling her close. "You could always come with me."
"Yeah right."
"Why not?"
Brynn smiled at the offer and closed her eyes again. Before she had a chance to answer, they were both asleep.
Zac woke up within the next hour. He fell off of the couch and landed on the floor on his stomach. Grumbling to himself, he suddenly realized where he was. Then, he pulled himself back onto the couch and looked down at the floor. "Ok that's just not fair." He growled looking down at his brothers who were both laying on the floor, fast asleep, with two girls that weren't Zac's. Then he noticed Taylor and Brynn. Brynn was fast asleep on her side, leaning against Taylor who was on his back with his arms around her. "Hmm. Cozy much?"
Sighing, he remembered what Brynn had told them all the night before. "If you wake up before us, make yourself at home and fix some breakfast. There's a timer on the coffee pot so there will be coffee ready." He pulled himself off the couch and made his way to the kitchen. He grabbed one of the clean mugs from the sink and practically dumped the coffee into it. He put his head down on the table and sighed.
"Hey, Zac." Holly came into the kitchen wearing her pajamas, with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She sat down at the table across from him. "What's up? You look perturbed."
Zac laughed lightly. "Perturbed. That's another word."
"Well, if you wanna talk about it... I don't know you, and you don't know me, so there's no way I can judge you."
Zac smiled. "I just miss people at home."
"Special... girl people?"
"Yeah."
"Oh. Well then that sucks." She sighed along with him. "I can only imagine the kind of stuff you go through, leaving your girlfriend at home while you go on tour to make thousands of strangers happy. It's gotta be hard."
"You know I have a girlfriend?" He asked, surprised. He thought they'd kept that a secret.
She shrugged. "I guess I've just always figured you did. I mean, it's not like there's rules against you guys being human. I'm glad you have a girlfriend though. It'll keep you strong while you're away from home."
He nodded. He couldn't believe how down to earth she was, and all the while she was thinking the same thing.
Taylor opened his eyes, surprised that Brynn was still in his arms. He'd never been more comfortable with anybody and that scared him. What was going to happen when he had to leave? When would he ever see her again. He shook the thoughts out of his mind and decided to enjoy the couple days he had with her. He hugged her lightly and her eyes fluttered open. She smiled up at him. "Did I fall asleep again?"
He laughed. "Yeah, I did too."
She looked around the room. "Where's Holly and Zac?"
"I don't know. I think I heard them in the kitchen a minute ago." He yawned and sat up, letting go of her. "So do we have any plans for today?"
Brynn sat up too and faced him. "I'm not sure. I was thinking we could go to the mall or something. Holly's going to have to take out Mackie or he'll have a conniption."
"Well I have an idea, how about if we make it a double date?"
Brynn smiled. "Mackie won't mind?"
"Nah, we'll tell him it's something normal couples do."
"Sounds good to me, but what about everybody else?"
"Oh they'll be fine. They'll probably go out somewhere and go shopping. Zac and Isaac... well I don't know. They might just take these couple days to be lazy."
"Well then, there ya go." She smiled and looked down at the floor.
"What? What are you thinking?"
"Nothing..."
"No, come on, tell me."
Brynn admired his stubbornness. "Well... I was just thinking about how lucky I am right now."
Taylor smiled. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing." Again, without thinking, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. After their lips met, he thought about how he was probably being too clingy and forceful, but he just couldn't hold himself back. He shivered when they parted and Brynn wrapped her arms around him tightly. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. Taylor sighed too, never feeling more whole in his life.
Hearts of Fate
Go see Brynn and Holly
Stories