You Belong With Me

Taylor's P.O.V.

Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like this school year was going by with lightning speed. Before I knew it, it was the end of February. The sun was out and the snow was permanently melted into the ground. It seemed like winter had just started, yet there I was getting out my clothes for spring. Where has the time gone?

It blew my mind that some people had already started thinking about who they were going to take to senior prom. I mean, it's still February and prom is not until the end of May. I guess some people just like to think of things really far in advance. As for me, I definitely could not think that far ahead. Who knows what my life will be like in a few months? I could be a completely different person. Besides, I'm not sure if I even want to go.

Prom is all I heard about when Alex and I walked into school that Friday. All that week, students had the opportunity to vote for which theme they wanted and it seemed that disco had won out over everything else. I laughed as I pictured guys showing up to prom in bell bottom pants Saturday Night Fever style.

“I can't believe people are already thinking of prom when it's not even spring yet,” I said. “I can't even decide what I'm doing tomorrow, let alone three months from now.”

“People are insecure and want to make sure they can get dates before anyone else. It's like one big competition,” he responded as we walked through the hallway together. It had become a ritual for him to walk me to homeroom if he had enough time.

“Yeah, I guess that's true especially with girls. They are usually the ones that have a harder time getting dates since most of them want to be asked instead of doing the asking.”

“Speaking of prom, are you going?” he asked.

“I'm not sure yet,” I said honestly. “I mean, I honestly don't see the point in spending hundreds of dollars on a dress that I will only wear once, a ticket that I will only use once, or a limo that I will only have for a night. I mean, I'm sure it's great for the memories and stuff, but I'm just not sure it's worth it. You know what I mean?”

“I guess, but it's something you will never forget and it's fun. There are dresses and limos you can find for cheaper prices. It'll be one of your last high school memories with your high school friends.”

“Yeah, I guess that's true. I would have to find a date though. My parents would never let me go to prom alone. They are way too old-fashioned, which gets on my nerves sometimes.”

“Trust me, I'm sure you won't have a problem finding a date.”

“You really think so?” I asked, turning to look at him quizzically. His face seemed to develop the slightest blush when I looked at him.

He gulped and then said. “Yeah, I really do. Any guy would be lucky to have you as his date.” His face turned even more red as he said this. I could see the sincerity in his eyes.

“Thanks, Alex,” I said as I smiled up at him. I still wasn't used to him paying me compliments like that.

He was about to say something in response, but he was saved by the bell. He looked at his watch. “Oh shit!” he exclaimed. “I'm going to be late for homeroom!” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then ran down the hallway. I lifted my hand to touch the spot that he had kissed on my cheek and then looked at it with an incredulous expression on my face and felt the butterflies going crazy in my stomach. He rarely ever kisses me on the cheek and, if he does, there's usually a specific reason for it. This time, however, it was just random. I walked into the classroom in a temporary state of shock.

My morning passed along as boring and slow as usual, but I couldn't get that one simple kiss out of my head. For some reason, it made me extremely happy. I tried to convince myself that it didn't necessarily mean anything, but when I thought about his lips touching my cheek, I got tingles up and down my spine.

Four hours later, it was finally time for lunch. I didn't know whether to look forward to this time anymore or not. For the past few weeks, Jack and Alex have been acting slightly weird toward each other and sometimes even toward me. Don't get me wrong, they were still friendly toward each other and they still joked around and picked on each other a lot, but something was different and I just couldn't put my finger on what it was. It was as if there was some kind of line that neither of them was willing to cross. They were being careful around each other.

Another thing I noticed was that, when all three of us would hang out together, they would not go anywhere near me. Usually, one of them used to put his arm around me or hug me or something, but not lately, at least not when the other was around. It just wasn't normal.

A few days ago, I had been thinking about it and it was really starting to bother me, so I called Kara thinking that maybe she would have some new insight.

“Hello?” she said when she answered the phone.

“Hey girl, it's me,” I responded.

“Oh hey, Tay. What's up?”

“I need your advice about something.”

“Ok, go for it.”

“Alex and Jack have been acting kind of weird lately. It seems like there's a new boundary or something between them and they are trying their hardest not to cross it. I can't really explain it, but they've been different lately.”

“Hmm that's strange. I don't think it's anything that would be a really big deal though. I feel like if it was really something big, then they would tell you.”

“Yeah, I don't know, maybe I'm just reading too much into it.”

“Maybe. I know that they are getting ready to start actually recording soon, so maybe they are just nervous about that. They practiced with the producer for a few weeks, but maybe they are still nervous about the actual recording process. Also, they might know things about the album that they aren't allowed to tell you or something. Rian told me that there are some things that they are required to keep under wraps.”

“I'm sure you're right,” I responded. I felt relieved. What Kara was saying made sense. “I know I'm nervous for when I meet up with my producer soon and I'm not even ready to think about recording yet.”

“See,” she said soothingly, “I'm sure there's nothing to worry about.”

“Thanks Kara,” I smiled even though she couldn't see me. “You made me feel a lot better.

“No problem, babe. I will see you soon.”

“Yeah, definitely,” I responded and then we said our goodbyes and hung up.

Now, as I walked in to lunch, I saw that Alex had gotten here before me for once. He was sitting at the table with Jack and they were both eating in silence. Normally, this would have struck me as odd, but they have barely said a word to each other lately. I guess nerves can really make a person do strange things. I decided to shrug it off. I packed lunch today, so I went straight to the table and sat down.

“Hey, guys,” I said as brightly as I could. “What's up?”

“Nothing much,” they both said as they continued to eat.

“How are your days going so far?”

“Fine,” they both responded again.

“Ok, stop saying the same thing at the same time. It's freaking me out.”

“Sorry,” they both said and then laughed when they saw the look on my face.

“Anyway, I think I want to go to the mall today to pick up some new clothes. Would either of you gentleman like to escort a lady?”

“I'd be honored,” responded Jack.

“Why, thank you, good sir,” I said in a fake British accent.

“I can't,” replied Alex. “I have voice lessons right after school so that my voice can be ready to record the songs. We start recording tomorrow.”

I let out a long, drawn out sigh. “Ok, I guess Jack and I will just have to make due without you. I don't know how we will do it, but somehow we will manage.”

“I know I'm better than Jack, but, unfortunately, you can't have me all the time. There's only so much of me to go around,” Alex joked. Jack pretended to be offended.
______________________

A few hours later, Jack and I were in his car on our way to the mall. Alex had taken his car to school, so we didn't have to worry about dropping him off.

“So are you nervous?” I asked as the car zoomed past the trees outside.

“Nervous about what?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the road. Despite his crazy attitude, he was a really good driver.

“Starting to record tomorrow,” I responded, turning to look at him so that I could study his face.

“Oh yeah that. I'm pretty nervous. I keep thinking the record company is going to hear our finished product and realize they made a mistake in signing us. That's my biggest fear.”

“That's not possible,” I said. “You guys are amazing. Any record label would be lucky to have you. They wouldn't have signed you if they didn't think you could make it big. Besides, if they don't like what you record, I'm sure they would just tell you to go back in and do it again. It's not as big of a deal as you'd think it would be. Also, the producer helps you with the sound of the song, so it would partly be the producer's fault if the company doesn't like how it sounds.”

“Yeah, I guess that's true. I feel like I'm going to be so nervous tomorrow that I'm going to keep on fucking up my part though.”

“Everybody messes up their first time. It won't be a big deal.”

“I know. I guess I just want to show everyone that I'm worthy of something. I want to show my parents that I can do this for the rest of my life. They still want me to go to college, but I want to do this. They don't think it's a stable career for me.”

“Think of it this way: if for some reason, this doesn't work out, you can always decide to go to college later on in life. You have a lot of time and you will be able to use that to fall back on. And I thought your parents supported you in this?”

“They do, but they want me to consider all my options. They would prefer it if I went to college and got a real job, but they understand that this is my dream. I just want to prove to them that I can make it without having to go to college.

“Don't worry, Jacky-poo. It's all going to work out.”

“How do you know?”

“It's just this feeling I have. It's all going to be ok.”

“Oh. I like how you think.” I chuckled at the simple way he said this.

He turned into the huge, confusing parking garage of the Towson Mall and we parked near the food court. He graciously opened the door for me as we walked into the mall. Usually, he went in first and held it for me behind him, but, this time, he let me go first. He was acting like such a gentleman, which was extremely unusual for Jack. Don't get me wrong, he was never rude or anything, but he had never really gone out of his way to do things for me before.

“It feels so good to be here,” he said, breathing in the mall air. “This is one of my favorite places on earth. It's almost as good as going to a Pokemon convention.” I guess I should mention that Jack likes to shop, therefore he loves malls. Jack is like my gay best friend except that he's actually straight.

“Where do you want to go first?” I asked.

“Lets go to Hot Topic!” he said and he started to jump up and down excitedly. I rolled my eyes and started to walk over to the down escalator.

“Why did I even bother to ask you that question?” I wondered as we went down. “You always want to go to Hot Topic.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? It's my favorite store.”

We got off the escalator and walked over to the store. He immediately walked over to the skinny jeans and picked out a pair of purple ones. Then, he went over to the band t-shirt section.

“One day, there are going to be All Time Low t-shirts here and the first day I see them here will be one of the best days of my life because then I will really know that this is all real,” he said, turning to look at me.

“I can't wait for that day to happen,” I said smiling at him. He looked at me for a second too long and my eyes awkwardly moved to the floor. He grabbed some shirts and hoodies to try on and then headed over to the dressing room. He showed me each outfit combination and I told him what I liked and what I didn't like. Again, shopping with Jack was like shopping with my best girl friend or my best gay friend. Awhile later, he came out of the dressing room for the last time with a huge pile of clothing in his hands. I waited patiently as he paid for it.

“Ok, now it's your turn to choose,” he said as we walked out of the store. “Where do you want to go?”

“Hmm,” I said thinking about my answer. “I think I want to go to Macy's. I was in need of some new sweaters and Macy's always had some cute and comfortable ones.

“To Macy's it is!”

Five minutes later, we made it to the main entrance of Macy's. When we got there, I stopped dead in my tracks. It took awhile for Jack to notice my trepidation because he kept walking and then turned around and saw that I was far behind him, so he walked back toward me with a confused look on his face.

“Taylor, why did you stop?” he asked.

I pointed to the display window. “Look at those,” I said in a dazed voice. His eyes followed where my finger was pointing.

“What are you looking at?” he asked. “The dresses?”

I nodded. “They are so beautiful.”

Simply looking at the display in that window practically made me change my decision about going to prom. Three dresses stood side-by-side. The dress all the way to the left was a baby pink strapless satin dress with a ruffled skirt and a shaw to go around the shoulders. The dress that stood all the way to the right was a baby blue strapless dress with jewels at the top and a straight, but puffy skirt. Both of these dresses were attractive, however, the dress in the middle was what made me stop. It was a simple whit lace strapless dress with silver jewels that wrapped around the top, but something about it reminded me of Cinderella. I knew that, one way or another, I would come back here and buy that dress. I had to have it.

“Girls and prom,” Jack said as he rolled his eyes at me. Then, he looked at me seriously. “Hey, are you going?” he asked.

My eyes never left the perfect dress in the display case. “At first, I wasn't so sure, but now I think I want to go,” I answered. “My parents won't let me go without a date though.”

“Who do you want to go with?”

One name immediately popped into my mind, but I thought that it probably wasn't the best idea to mention this to him. “I don't know,” I lied.

His expression was thoughtful for a second. “I have an idea. If neither of us can get a date in like a month or so, how about we go together?”

“Sounds like a deal to me,” I smiled. Jack was one of my best friends. Going to prom with him definitely would not be boring. When I said this, he did a happy little hop and I laughed at him. He was one of a kind.