MIDTERMS HAD PASSED and finally, all the worries were gone, now everyone was going home for their break. Tara and her gang were going back to California while Y/n and her group were going back to Washington State. It wasn't as exciting as New York but she had to see her family.
The car ride to the childhood house was silent between Y/n, Rose, and Kane. She's thought about her last conversation with Kane for months and she still hasn't concluded yet. She wasn't sure if she ever would. Tara was super nice but Y/n was already lying to her.
If Tara ever found out, she would lose her.
She went into this not knowing who she was but now she liked having Tara around. She considered her a real friend, she felt like she's known Tara all her life and she's only known her for six months. Now she feared Tara wasn't just a friend, but maybe something more. This could be something real if she just talked to Sam and quit.
From what Y/n has seen so far this year, Tara didn't need anyone to watch over her. She could defend herself and that was one thing that Y/n admired about her, there were a lot of things she loved about Tara. She just loved her. There it was, the word that had popped up a lot for her recently.
Love.
The question though is in what way did she mean it? That's what she was trying to figure out. The group had arrived at their destination, Kane tipped the driver before getting out of the car and then gave him five stars on the app they had used. "Welcome home, everyone," Kane spoke with a smile and helped carry everything into the house.
"My children are home!" Their mother, Elena, spoke excitedly as she walked out of the kitchen. She practically ran toward her daughters, quick to pull them into a hug. "I'm so happy to have you home. Frank, our kids are home!" She yelled up to their father, he was most likely solving another one of his puzzles.
Frank had made his way downstairs and waved at his daughters with a grin. "Welcome home children." He spoke before hugging them both. While the family had a little reunion, Kane took it upon himself to take all the bags upstairs and to their respective rooms.
The family had gone to the living room to sit and catch up on each other's lives. With work and school, it was merely impossible to make time for a phone call or video chat. "Tell me about school," Elena spoke with an interested tone, she wanted to know everything.
Y/n had considered all the places where she could start, she just knew to avoid the whole Tara thing. "School has been pretty great, I made some new friends-"
"Which she is lying to." Rose interrupted. Their mother looked at her, confused by what she was saying. She didn't know what she meant. "Her friend's sister asked Y/n to become friends with her and report back every month with payment."
"Oh, Y/n!" Their mother was now shocked and upset. She never raised her daughter to be that way, especially after Y/n's past.
"Rose told me to do it!"
"Oh, Rose!" This was just the beginning but now she didn't want to hear anymore. This was too much for her to handle. "Rose, tell me about your experience so far."
Rose went on to talk about her job and her relationship, soon talking about the friends she had made at work. Elena was interested in everything she had to say. She had a lot to think about.
She had to make sense of everything.
Over the past week, Y/n had texted Tara to check in and chat about whatever they could think of. They had the occasional call or video chat too. Tara felt the need to see the smile on Y/n's face when the would say something she thought was funny but didn't laugh.
Very soon, occasionally became frequent. That's what she spent most of her break doing, video chatting with Tara and looking at her with such joy and love. There it was again, the word that snuck up on her.
Love.
Still no signs as to what way she meant it. "We should hang out the second we get back to New York." Tara's voice came through the phone, her face displayed on the screen. It was another video chat, the second one today. "I miss you." She added, her tone sounding sad.
"I miss you too," Y/n replied with a slight frown, she truly did miss her. More than she thought. "I should be flying back in a few days, I could be there to get you from the airport." She offered, her tone happier now. Tara smiled at the offer and that's when Kane walked into the room. "Hey, I gotta go. I'll call you later." They said their goodbyes and then ended the call.
"Offering to pick her up from the airport? Things must be getting serious." Kane teased with a slight chuckle. Y/n was quick to flip him off before shutting her laptop. "Have you thought any more about that situation?" He questioned curiously and walked closer to the bed, soon sitting at the foot of it.
"The word love had been popping up in my thoughts a lot."
"I knew it!" He shouted like he had just answered the hardest question in the last round of jeopardy. Once he was finished with his small celebratory dance, he cleared his throat and sat back down.
"I still don't know how I meant it." She further explained, still unsure about her feelings. She never thought it would be this confusing, it was more complicated than she thought. If this was what adult relationships are like, she didn't like it. Was Tara experiencing the same thing she saw?
Kane nodded with understanding, he had felt like that before. He felt the same thing with Y/n's sister, now here they are together for two years and in love. Maybe this was the same thing with its slight differences. That being that neither of them lied to the other about their friendship or being paid fake their friendship for that matter.
"Does it get easier? Do I ever figure out what I feel?" She questioned curiously and glanced over at her sister's boyfriend, searching for some reassuring answer. She might also be looking for the answer, the one that told her what she was feeling and how to proceed with it.
"Maybe not now, but eventually. Don't rush it though. Just live in the moment."
Don't rush it. She had plenty of time to figure it out but time goes by quickly. How much time did she have?
Y/n sat in the airport, watching the time on her phone. She was waiting for Tara's plane to land. She promised her that she would, she never went back on a promise. Her deal with Sam should prove that enough.
She looked up from her phone to see people walking toward their friends and loved ones, pulling them into hugs. Some of them even cried. Yet, Tara was nowhere to be found.
She thought that she had got the day wrong. That was until she heard Tara's voice yelling her name. She stood up and looked in the direction of the yelling to see Tara with a smile on her face. She ran toward her, soon pulling her into a hug, and spinning the two around.
Tara missed her more than she thought. "I'm so happy to see you," Tara spoke happily as she pulled away from the hug, that was when Sam, Chad, and Mindy walked over with their bags. "We're hanging out today right?" She asked curiously.
"Aren't you exhausted?" Y/n questioned and then looked at Sam with a slight grin. She waved at her before turning her attention back to Tara. "We can still hang out though if you're up for it."
The smile on Tara's face was enough for Y/n to get the hint. She seemed happier than usual, what happened while she was home? "You guys go ahead and put everything in the car, I gotta chat with Y/n for a bit," Sam spoke with a grin.
Tara and her friends took the bags and carried them out to their Uber. Sam and Y/n were left alone to chat about their deal. "She thinks of you as one of her best friends." Sam pointed out as she pulled out some money from her pocket. "You're doing great, I'm glad I hired you."
"Glad you think so." She replied and quickly put the money in her pocket once it was handed to her. "I'll be using this to hang out with my friend. I'll see you later, Sam." She smiled and then made her way outside to get Tara.
The plan was to get lunch and then go to the arcade. That was one of the spots she wanted to check out while she was here for college. "Ready to go?" Y/n questioned and wrapped an arm around the shorter girl, looking down at her with a grin.
Tara nodded in response and then the two began the walk to the restaurant they had picked out for lunch. They talked about what they did over break and laughed at a few stories, truly enjoying each other's company, and that's when it hit her.
Y/n knew exactly what she was feeling.
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brooke speaks!
i love this story so much,
that's all i gotta say. will sob
if there's mistakes