Chapter 7

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(Luke's POV)





These past few days have been agonizing. Taylor has been bringing Brian everywhere we go and I'm stuck sitting idly by watching the two of them. It's absolutely horrible. And the worst part is that Brian is a really cool guy. What a dick. Watching her be all flirty and kiss another guy right in front of me is enough to make me want to shove knives into my eyes. I'm being overdramatic but you get the point.



Why didn't I make my move sooner? Why didn't I realize my feelings for Taylor before it was too late? Now I'm stuck watching what could've been my relationship. It sucks.



We're at the beach right now and it takes all of my strength to not look over at Taylor. I plug my headphones in, lie down on my towel and tune out everything.



(Taylor's POV)



These past few days have been fantastic. Brian has been tagging along with me when I hang out with my friends and they all seem to get along really well. Luke has been acting a little standoffish lately and I'm not sure why. Calum said it's nothing and I shouldn't worry.



We're at the beach today. Amanda and Ashton have wondered off somewhere and Mike and Calum are in the ocean. Luke is asleep on his towel.



"Babe, I'm so excited for tonight" Brian whispers in my ear and I giggle. We're not doing anything special tonight, just watching TV at his house, so I don't really know why he's so excited but it's really cute.



"Me too" I kiss his cheek and lie down on my towel. I feel hot air being blown in my face and open my eyes to see Brian hovering over me, his elbows supporting himself on either side of my torso.



"Brian what are you doing?" I giggle as he leans towards me. He presses his lips to mine and I feel uncomfortable, but kiss him back.



I pull away "Brian, we're in public!" I sigh as he moves his lips from mine and latches them onto my neck.



"So?" he breathes



"So, people will stare. Save it for later when we're alone" He looks at with a smug look. "We will definitely be having our fun later" He winks at me and rolls off. I turn my head away to hide my blushing and make eye contact with Luke. He's sitting up; he must've seen the whole thing. The thought of Luke witnessing my PDA makes me blush harder.



"Shit, Luke I thought you were asleep" My cheeks are burning and I hear Brian laugh behind me.



"I... I uh I was" He stutters before running off to the water to join Calum and Michael. I recover from my public display of embarrassment and turn to Brian.



"Let's go in the water!" I exclaim and he shakes his head.



"Not now, babe. I'm tired"



"Suit yourself, I'm going in" I peck Brian on the lips and jog over to the ocean



"Hey guys!" I beam at Luke, Calum and Mike and they smile back.



"Where's Brian?" Luke asks me.



"He's being lame and staying at the towels" I sigh





We've been acting like complete children during our time in the water; I don't think I've ever laughed harder. We've been playing different games, raced and contests. I'm proud to say that I won the handstand contest.



"Ok, piggyback race. Rules are simple. One carries the other to that buoy over there" Michael points to a buoy about 30 feet from the shore. "First team to go there and back wins!"



We team up: Calum and Michael vs. Luke and me. Michael hops on Calum's back and I hop on Luke's back. We ask a little girl to count us down and she obliges



"3...2...1... GO!" And we're off.



Luke and I are in the lead and I haven't stopped laughing the entire race. All I can hear is poor Luke panting and Michael and Calum yelling at each other.



"Luke, will it help if I kick?"



"Yes" he breathes. I begin to kick and we move faster



"Move faster, Cal!"



"Fuck off, Michael. I'm going as fast as I can!"



"Calum they're getting away. MOVE!"



"Why don't you help out you lazy ass? Don't just be deadweight, kick!"



I turn around and see team Malum speeding up.



"They're gaining on us!" I scream and Luke and I kick faster.



We reach the buoy and turn around. I stick my tongue out at Michael as we pass them and he flips me off.



The water begins to get shallow and Luke starts running.



"Shit!" I hear Luke mutter before my head is under the water. Damn, Luke tripped.



I feel an arm snake around my back and pull me towards the surface. There's water in my eyes and I can't see. This water is too deep for my short height and I can't stand. I grab onto the body that's currently holding me up and wrap my legs around them.



"Dammit, Luke" I laugh while rubbing my eyes



"Don't do that, it'll make it worse" I feel a hand wrap around my wrists and pull my hands away from my eyes. "Just blink a few times"



I blink until my eyes stop burning. I open them and see Luke's face inches from mine. My stomach automatically twists in knots and I suddenly feel uncomfortable. What is going on?



"You good?" Luke stares in my eyes and I notice how truly blue his eyes are. I blush and nod my head



"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks" We both stop talking and just stare at each other. My legs are still wrapped around his waste. My arms are hung over his shoulders and his arms are secure around my back. The butterflies in my stomach are going crazy and I'm confused as to what's going on. Luke and I are snapped out of our gazes by the screams of Michael and Calum.



"YEEEEES!!! TEAM MALUM BITCHES. YOU LOST HA!" Michael and Calum are jumping around the sand and high-fiving each other.



I untangle myself from Luke "This is your fault for being so clumsy!" I tease and Luke shrugs his shoulders "Oops."



"How was the water? I could hear your adorable laugh from all the way over here" Brian hands me a towel. I wrap it around my body. He hugs me from behind and rests his head on mine. We stare at the ocean and I instantly forget about the weird sensation I felt with Luke before.

"It was really fun. I wish you came in" I turn around to face Brian and pout. He dips his head and whispers in my ear



"I'm saving my energy for later" He nibbles my ear and I gasp. Later? What does he mean? I look at him with a confused look and he winks.



"I'm gonna head out. I'll see you at 7" Brian hugs me goodbye and leaves



_~_



I'm currently in my room getting ready for my date with Brian. He seemed so excited about tonight earlier and I'm getting weird signals. I feel like something big is going to happen tonight, which is conflicting with my outfit. I was planning on wearing sweats but something tells me I should wear something a little nicer. I settle on a tank top and shorts. Nothing too fancy, its casual but I really like it. I apply concealer, foundation, lipstick and mascara; tie my shoes and head out the door.



Brian and I have been watching TV for an hour and I'm confused. Why was he so excited for tonight, we're just lounging. Maybe he just was looking forward to a quiet night in; we've never done this before. It is really nice. I kiss Brian on the cheek and his hand stops me from turning my face.



He cups my face in his hands and brings his lips to mine. The kiss becomes passionate quickly and Brian tugs on my waist, pulling me on top of him so I'm straddling him. His fingers grab at the bottom of my shirt and pull it up. I pause for a moment but let him take it off. My heart is pounding; this is going so fast. Brian shifts and lays me down on the couch. He rips his shirt off and begins to unbuckle his belt.



"Woah. Brian, wait" Brian stops unbuckling and looks at me



"What?"



"What are you doing?"



"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm unbuckling so I can take my pants off."



"Why?"



"You need to be pantsless to have sex, babe" He chuckles and resumes unbuckling. SEX?



"Sex? What are you talking about? I'm not comfortable with this, Brian"



"Don't think too much about it. You'll enjoy it."


"Brian, no" He lifts himself off me and I sit up.



"Stop being such a baby, Taylor. It's no big deal"



"Well, it is for me. I've never had sex before and I'm not ready. And I don't appreciate being called names"



"Leave" Brian's eyes turn cold and I stare at him in complete shock.



"What?"



"I said leave. Unless you're gonna stop being a whiny bitch" My shock turns to anger



"A whiny bitch? Because I don't wanna have sex with you? Fuck you, Brian. I'm leaving" I run out of his house before he can see me cry.



I fumble for my phone and pull it out of my back pocket. I go to call Amanda when I see I already have a text from her.



From: Amanda

ASHTON ASKED ME OUT TONIGHT!!!! WE'RE GOING ON A DATE OMG TAY. Have fun with Brian tonight!



Amanda's out. I have nowhere to go. I can't go home now; my parents will ask too many questions that I don't have it in me to answer. I call the next best person I can think of.



I hear the dial tone and the phone is answered on the second ring. "Hello?"



"Hi" I sniffle



"Taylor, are you ok?"



"No. Can I come over?"



"Yes, yeah. Definitely. Text me when you're here"



I arrive and send the text. A minute later the door opens and I see Luke's concerned face scan mine. He doesn't say anything; he just embraces me in a hug and I sob. We stand in the doorway in each other's brace while I sob in Luke's shoulder. He rubs soothing circles in my back and I calm down.



"Wanna come inside?" Luke asks and I nod. I follow him upstairs to his room and he closes the door. We sit on his bed and he looks up at me.



"What happened?" and I tell him everything. He stays silent the entire time and lets me explain the whole story. He's an amazing listener. When I finish I look up at him. I can't read his facial expression.



"Taylor, I'm so sorry. No one deserves to be treated like that. Especially you" I smile at his kind words



"Thank you, Luke." I lean forward and hug him. His embrace is so comforting I don't ever want to be without it.



"Can I stay here tonight?" I mumble into his shoulder and I'm surprised by my request. I can tell he is too because I feel his body tense up.



"Of course" I sigh in relief. I couldn't face another rejection tonight.



Luke lets go of me and walks to his closet. He returns with a tshirt and boxers and hands them to me. I thank him and go to the bathroom to change. When I come back into Luke's room he's sitting against the headboard scrolling through his phone. I close the door and he looks up at me and smiles. I smile at him and crawl into the spot of the bed he reserved for me.



"Thank you for everything, Luke. I really appreciate it. You're an amazing friend" I peck him on the cheek and lie down.



"No problem. I'd do anything for you" Luke confesses and lies down next to me. An overwhelming desire for his comfort washes over me and I move closer to him. I snuggle into his chest and moments later I feel Luke's arm pull me even closer. I feel myself relax in with arms, already feeling better from tonight's horrific events.



"Good night, Luke" I whisper into his chest

"Good night, Taylor" He kisses the top of my head and I fall asleep.



_~_



(Luke's POV)



I wake up and immediately check on Taylor. She's still cuddled into me sleeping. She looks so peaceful, so perfect. Last night's events flood my thoughts. Taylor turned up here crying and, although I had no idea why, my heart broke in a million pieces. When she told me the story it took all my strength to not yell or punch a wall. Brian is a dick and didn't deserve Taylor. Taylor deserves someone who will treat her right. Like me.

"You're an amazing friend." But it won't be me. She thinks of me as a friend, just a friend.

I feel Taylor stir in my arms and her eyes flutter open.

"Good morning" I greet her with a smile.

"Good morning, how'd you sleep?" she smiles back and in that moment I want to kiss her so badly. I want to be able to wake up with her in my arms every morning and kiss her whenever I want. I want to be able to call her mine. But I can't.

"Great, you?" I say

"Me too" she replies.

I don't want this moment to end, but I know it has to. I let go of Taylor and she sits up. We walk downstairs and see the boys in the kitchen. I look at her and I know we're sharing the same thought: they don't know she slept over. Well, this is going to be awkward.



"Good morning" I say and they all mumble their greetings into their cereal bowls. Calum looks up; his eyes find Taylor and fill with confusion.



"Taylor? What are you doing here?" Calum questions and Ashton and Michael shoot their heads up.



"I uh stayed the night." She slowly continues down the stairs towards to kitchen



"Where did you sleep?" Calum asks still completely confused



"With me" I reply, grabbing a bowl. They all look at me and I give them the "I'll-explain-later" look.



But truthfully, I don't know if I can even explain it to myself.

___________________________________________________________

HELLO! i really enjoyed writing this chapter so i hope you enjoy reading it!

i already started the next chapter so it should be up shortly!

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