Chapter Two:
Claire's POV
I heard a low knock at the door. I stood up stiffly from the couch, leaving my family while they watched TV. They didn't seem to notice that I had even moved. Odd.
Keeping to themselves, I walked out of the family room and made my way to the door. Opening it, I gasped.
It was Taylor?
I swallowed, now somewhat nervous with butterflies filling my stomach. Feeling really uneasy so suddenly.
He looked rather nervous himself - stuffing one of his hands in his pocket - though he smiled at me with a warmth to it, which made me blush.
Wait, no! I can't be falling for him.. I just... can't...
I bit my bottom lip, sensing the awkward silence between us. We hadn't even spoken a word yet.. He shifted his weight, looking down at his feet. I then leaned on the door for some much needed support. I didn't know why I was feeling this way all of a sudden.
He looked up slowly at me through those long dark lashes of his... I tried to resist... but his deep hazel eyes captured me within a second.
We were now staring deeply into each others eyes. Though it was dead silent. I felt as if we were communicating somehow through our eyes and minds.
I felt oddly connected; in sync with him. It was the most unreal thing I had every experienced in a very long time. My breathing picked up, as did my heart beat. Without warning, I grinned. Not even thinking about it. He returned it, adding a wink.
I would've started talking, but I had just figured out that all this... was a dream.
Rolling out of bed, still majorly drowsy, I hit the hardwood floor making a low thud. "Ahhh.." I moaned.
What was with all the pain now?
I rubbed my head and sat up slowly. It was pitch black in my room, except for the dim glow of the moon shining through my window. I then saw that I had slept in my clothes.
"Great.." I said sarcastically.
That got me wondering what time it was... I got to my feet quickly and grabbed my phone from the bedside table. "2:15 in the morning?" I exclaimed a little too loudly.
Yawning, I noticed another "awesome" thing I forgot to do. Unpack.
I got my jamies out and changed, then walked out of my room to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and got a bottled water, then made my way back down the dark hallway quietly - stumbling from time to time - and into my bedroom.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I thought carefully about my dream. Though I wasn't positive about what it meant, I knew that I had to admit to myself that I did have a slight crush on him now...
I couldn't stop thinking about him. His eyes... his hair... his... smile.
It was glued in my mind. Those two images of him were burned into my brain like nothing else. Him shirtless in the driveway, and smiling up at me from his backyard.
Minutes later, I had guessed that my mind wasn't working too properly. Due to it being late at night. Meaning, that the dream did tell me that I liked him in that way. Feeling all those weird things and him smiling at me that way...
While that part confused me, I just laughed at myself and climbed over towards the back of the bed, getting underneath the covers. As soon as I got comfy, I stared out the window.
Seeing the full moon had me thinking about how these two months would turn out now.
I didn't know what to even expect to happen tomorrow...
Taylor's POV
I stretched, my joints cracking with every movement and felt the slow breeze coming from my open window above my bed. I sat up, running my fingers through my hair glancing at the clock and saw that it was only 10:30am. I groaned and stumbled out of bed.
Yawning as I walked into the kitchen, I saw Mom and Dad sitting at the table eating eggs and bacon, while Makena was just finishing her last drops of orange juice.
"Oh, well good morning sleepy.." Dad welcomed me jokingly.
I half-smiled - still pretty much asleep - walking over to sit next to Makena. She made a face at me once I sat down; I returned it.
"What?" My voice sounding rough with sleep.
"Put a shirt on.." She crinkled her nose up.
I sighed, ignoring her, and placed my head in my hands. "You okay Taylor?" Mom asked, rubbing my back.
"Yeah, just tired..." I muffled into my hands.
We talked mostly about what we wanted to do today, thinking about going into town and just walking around.
Dad was also talking about barbecuing tonight for dinner... Which sounded great to me, if we were having steak. Mom then mentioned going next door and introducing ourselves, and also asking if they - first asked if they had any other plans - would like to join us for the day. How come my mom had to be so... I don't know....
Mom friendly.
I felt a lump forming in my throat while she spoke of them. I would often place my hand behind my neck and look down at the table, focusing on one spot of the wood. I think Makena noticed, cause she would either be looking at me funny or start giggling.
Dad got up from his chair taking his, moms, and Makena's plate and setting them in the sink. Mom then stood up, rubbing my wildly messy hair. I looked up at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Go get ready Taylor. We're gonna get going in about an hour."
I sighed. "Okay.."
After taking a shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked into my room. I dressed in the walk in closet, putting on a pair of jean shorts and a plaid olive green, white and gray button up shirt. I rolled the sleeves up a bit, and slipped on some brown flip flops. When I came out of the closet, I saw something so unbelievable.
The girl I had seen yesterday was changing right before my very eyes. Her window was wide open as she shrugged out of her T-shirt and hooked her bra on. Though her back was facing me, it was still... something else. Her curves were just as breathtaking as her smile.
I then stopped myself abruptly. Turning around to go back to the bathroom. From then on, I tried not to think about my little window shopping.
I gelled my hair and sprayed a little cologne on before heading downstairs.
I sat in one of the armchairs, while dad was sitting on the couch watching baseball. Mom came over with her purse on her shoulder and looked at me up and down. "You look nice.." She said softly.
I chuckled. "Thanks.."
"Ready to go?" I heard a high pitched voice coming from the hallway.
"Yup Makena!" Mom called. "Lets go guys." She spoke as she walked to where my sister was.
Dad stood up, turning off the TV and walked towards mom. I got up and followed.
Claire's POV
I was reading Eclipse on my bed, just for the fun of it. Laughing at all the funny parts in the tent scene and being interested when the Volturi come back to check up on Bella and the Cullens. I then heard some voices down the hall that I didn't hear a minute ago. I set my book down and walked down the hall quietly.
Heard my mom and dad talking with some other adult sounding voices. Laughs would occasionally come up and then get back to just a happy tone. I peeked around the corner to see the Lautners in the foyer! I was shocked beyond words to see Taylor standing in front of my brother. Talking? It was unbelievable! His smile lit up my face as he talked and laughed with Jordan. My heart jump started so quickly that I had to cover my mouth so that my hyperventilating wouldn't be heard. I ran quietly back down the hallway and into the bathroom. Leaning on the sinks edge, my breathing eventually slowed, as did my heart rate. I stared at myself in the mirror.
My hair straight and in a ponytail, natural make up on my face, jean shorts, and a turquoise American Eagle shirt.
I sighed and walked back into my room to get my flip flops. As soon as I had put them on, I heard a knock on my door.
I turned around to see it was my mom. I didn't notice how tense I was until I saw that I was gripping onto the foot board of the bed. I let go and looked back at my mom.
"Hey, so we're gonna go out for the day." She smiled.
"Oh cool." Was all I could say.
"Yeah. With a family that rented a house next door.. They have two kids. A girl named Makena, whose 12, and a boy about you're age, Taylor. They seem really nice and we thought it would be fun."
Once again, my heart started rapidly beating all over again. Damn. "Um alright." I muttered.
"So are you ready and stuff?" She asked.
I nodded slowly.
"Alright, then lets go. They're waiting in the foyer."
I swallowed. "Okay."
I was as nervous as I could ever be as we both walked down the hall - what was with this hall and I? - and saw that everyone had made their way outside and were waiting in the driveway. I let my mom pass me as we walked out the door, shutting it behind myself, and went to meet with them.
I smiled once I saw Taylor catch my eyes as I was walking down the steps and towards them. I stayed close to my mom as the parents discussed if we should walk or drive. Town wasn't too far from here. Maybe a mile or two.
Taylor had cleared his throat after a couple minutes of them just talking. Though only I heard it, I turned to him with a small smile.
"Hey, I'm Taylor." He said in a very husky voice, holding out his hand.
"Claire. Nice to meet you." I giggled under my breath as I shook his big hand.
When our hands met, it felt like the fireworks at Disneyland had just went off. There was a small spark that I felt between us already, even though we had only said hello. I let go of his hand and shoved it in my pocket, he did the same, but still with a big smile on his face.
Butterflies flew wildly around my stomach as we observed each other with interested eyes. I smiled and looked at our parents who were now far away down the sidewalk.
"Oh crap!" I laughed as I pointed to where they were.
Taylor laughed with me. "Didn't bother to let us know I guess. C'mon! Lets go!" He said running down the sidewalk.
I grinned to myself and ran after him, catching up with him easily. I smirked at him once we were in line with each other and sprinted forward.
I had thought I had heard him mumble "Damn" under his breath as I sped off. I laughed but then slammed on the brakes as I had already caught up with the group.
Makena looked back at me with a small grin on her little round face. She looked so much like Taylor..
Then finally Taylor caught up from behind me, his breathing heavy but controlled. I smiled at him as we started walking into town.