Change

I woke up the day after Taylor and I's date around 2:00 in the morning. My eyes shot open and I was disoriented, trying to figure out why it was so dark. I rolled over and when my blurry eyes focused on the clock, I inwardly groaned. I rolled onto my back, folding my arms on my stomach and closing my eyes. I immediately felt the throbbing of a headache pounding on the right side of my forehead, and I winced. The next thing that I noticed was that my throat was incredibly dry, and I was freezing. I pulled the covers up to my chin, rolled back onto my side, and drifted off into a restless sleep.

I woke again an hour or so later, my entire body burning. I threw off my sheets, pressed my fingers to my forehead where there was now an ever bigger migraine, and eventually drifted off into another sleep that left me feeling completely unrested when I woke the next morning around 11:00.

I groggily rolled over to glance at the clock. My eyes then flickered to my cell phone, which was resting on top of the alarm clock. It was flashing, which meant I had at least one new message. I clumsily reached for it, squinting my eyes at the screen as I flipped it open, trying to ignore the pain in my head. 3 text messages, 2 missed calls. I opened the first message.

Morning.

I smiled slightly, resting my head on my arm and switching to the next message.

Are you really not up yet? I'm going to call you around 10:00.

The third message said:

Don't mess with me. I'm worried.

All from Taylor. I checked the missed calls: Both from Taylor. One at 10:00, one at 10:30. The last text message had been sent at 10:31. I sighed and dialed his number, bringing the phone up to my ear. I had to pull it away slightly, as the ringing went right to my headache and made the pain even more prominent.

"Hey." Taylor's voice flooded the phone. I grunted in response, reaching my hand up to cover my eyes. Taylor paused. "What's up?" I grunted again, but this one ended with a slight groan. "You okay?"

"Sick," I mumbled.

Taylor didn't say anything for a minute. Then he repeated, "Are you okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "No."

"Can I come over?"

I shrugged, then realized he couldn't see me. "Yeah. I won't be fun though."

Taylor promised me he'd be there as quick as he could and we hung up. Ater what seemed like hours, but what really turned out to be only about five minutes, I slowly got up and made my way downstairs. As I waited for Taylor, I headed into the kitchen, trying to think of what I could eat for a somewhat breakfast. I wanted chicken soup, but it probably wasn't best first thing in the morning. I clumsily took out two pieces of bread from the bag, put them in the toaster, and leaned against the counter, my head down on my hands. The toast popped up a few minutes later, scaring me, and a moment later I heard a knock at the door. I made my way to the door, opened it, saw it was, indeed, Taylor, and turned around almost immediately. Taylor followed me into the kitchen, where I reached for the toast.

"You look horrible," Taylor commented. I raised my eyebrow and turned to him with narrowed eyes.

"Thank you," I replied sarcastically.

Taylor tried not to smile. He took a step towards me. "You just look sick, that's all."

He reached forward to press his palm against my forehead and I rolled my head back with a sigh before pressing it into his hand.

"You're not my mom," I grumbled.

"You're hot," Taylor said with a frown, ignoring my previous comment.

I smiled slightly, closing my eyes, and I heard Taylor chuckle. I pulled away from his touch and headed towards the fridge, but instead of opening it, I rested my forehead against the cool exterior.

"You should lie down."

"No, I can do it." I started to pull away from the fridge in order to open it, but Taylor interrupted me.

"Vee, go lie down."

I made some kind of incoherent noise, and the next thing I knew, Taylor was gently pulling me away from the fridge. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me into the living room. I plopped down across the couch, turning into the back of it. I closed my eyes, listening vaguely as Taylor headed up the stairs. I heard him come back down and I was curious to see what he had done, but I was too lazy. I felt a blanket fall across my body, and then I felt the cool touch of Taylor's fingertips gently brushing my hair away from my neck. He sat down on the edge of the couch, and I turned to look at him. I gave him a tiny smile, and he returned it before going to the kitchen. I heard the clanging of utensils, and I heard the fridge door open and close. I heard more clanging, drawers opening and closing, until finally I heard his footsteps growing near. I rolled over and pulled myself up into somewhat of a sitting position. Taylor sat at the end of the couch, holding out a plate with the freshly buttered toast on it, along with a glass of orange juice. I thanked him and began to slowly eat. Taylor leaned back into the couch, and I lifted my eyes from my eating mission to look up at him. He had his arm resting on the back of the couch, and he was staring in front of him.

"Tay?" I smiled slightly as his lips turned up. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry I'm not fun today."

"It's not your fault." Taylor paused, and appeared to be thinking before he met my eyes again with a grin. "Well maybe it was your fault. We had our date yesterday, and if I recall, someone thought it was a good idea to jump into the water."

I made a face at him, setting my piece of toast on the plate and resting the plate on my knees. "It was fun," I protested.

Taylor nodded. "It was, but look at you."

I sighed. "How come you're not sick?"

Taylor shrugged. "I don't know."

I finished my food and took one huge gulp to down the juice. Taylor took my plate and glass back to the kitchen before coming back. I was now sitting up, and he sat next to me, pulling me into him.

"Taylor, we shouldn't. You're going to get si-"

Taylor shushed me and I began to protest when he pulled me even closer into him. "I think you need sleep."

I sighed and Taylor lay down behind me, his back against the couch. I tried to fit in beside him, but there wasn't enough room. I started to laugh. "I'm sorry I'm so fat!"

Taylor let out a frustrated sigh from behind me and I bit my lip. He sat up again, and then stood up, holding out a hand to help me up. "You're not fat."

"It was a..." I met Taylor's eyes and shrugged before looking down at my feet. "Sorry," I muttered.

"You want to go to your bed?" Taylor instantly changed the subject.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I nodded. "Might be best."

We headed upstairs and as soon as I reached my room, I climbed under the sheets and pulled them up to my chin. I shivered. Taylor slipped under the blankets beside me, and I didn't hesitate to cuddle into him, making sure to keep my mouth and nose down, so as not to breathe my germs on him. His arms wrapped around me, and I fell asleep to the rhythmic thumping of his heart. It might have been my imagination, but as his hands ran through my hair while I drifted off, I could swear his heart rate was going faster than it should have been.

***

I watched the cloud shape change from that of a heart into some kind of deformed animal. I listened to the water in the pool gently lap against the sides, and a light breeze blew through my hair. I couldn't help but turn my lips up into a contented smile. I turned to my left, rested my head on Taylor's arm, and looked up at him. His arm was around my shoulders, and he had his eyes closed.

"What are you looking at?"

I let out a laugh as Taylor questioned me without opening his eyes.

"Nothing." I closed my eyes, expecting the peace and quiet to continue. It didn't last long as Taylor reached over and began to tickle my stomach.

"Tell me."

"No!" I began to shriek with uncontrollable laughter as Taylor continued to tickle me. I laughed so hard that eventually, a pig-like noise escaped my nostrils. I internally panicked. I was hoping Taylor wouldn't notice, but as soon as the noise left me, he stopped tickling me and stared. His eyes squinted together like they did when he laughed, and within seconds, a full-on grin had spread across his face.

"Did you just snort?"

I cleared my throat. "No." I sat up and rested my elbow on my knee, trying to hide my embarassment.

"Yes you did," Taylor said. I could hear the amusement clearly evident in his voice. "You just snorted."

I ignored him, staying silent, and I felt him reach forward to put his arm around me. I shrugged him off, leaning forward to rest both my arms on my knees. I heard Taylor try to hold back a chuckle.

"Aw, babe, come on. It was cute."

My eyes widened as his words settled into my brain. I slowly turned my head towards him. "Did you just call me babe?"

It was Taylor's turn to look surprised. "Huh? ...No." We stared at one another, and I could tell he was panicking. "Sorry, Ronnie, I-"

I hastily turned my body into his, my arms and knees falling, and kissed him. We fell gently back onto the pavement and I could tell Taylor was surprised. I pulled away from him, blushing, and rested my head on his chest. I was pretty much lying on top of him. I felt Taylor laugh underneath me and I turned to glance at him with a sheepish smile. His hand reached up to run through my hair, stopping at the base of my neck and pulling my lips to his once more. He gently rolled us over so that I was with my back to the ground. Taylor's arms were on either side of me on the concrete, and my hands found their way under his to curl around his back. He finally broke from my lips and pressed a quick, gentle kiss to the side of my neck before smiling down at me, kissing me once more before laying down beside me.

I nearly laughed at our breathlessness that was clearly heard in the silence of the afternoon. Taylor's hand found mine, and he entwined our fingers, gently stroking my skin with his thumb.

"Sorry," I managed between breaths. Taylor chuckled, but didn't say anything.

We eventually decided to get up. I sat down on the side of the pool, using my hands to lower myself down into the cool water. I was wearing a baggy tank top, since I was still concerned with the way Taylor would judge my body. He had seen my bathing suit before, but I hadn't known he was coming. And no matter how many times he told me he didn't care, and that I was beautiful, I just couldn't deal with that kind of pressure. Not yet.

"It seems swimming is our thing," Taylor commented from behind me. He had grabbed the towels from the kitchen table and was now standing by the side of the pool. He didn't hesitate to pull his shirt over his head, and I looked at his stomach for a fleeting moment before looking down at the water. I heard him chuckle and I glanced up.

"What?" I tried to play it cool, but I could tell he knew what I was thinking.

Taylor shrugged. He mimicked my position from before, sitting on the side of the pool to lower himself in. I watched as he effortlessly slid into the water. He looked up at me and grinned as I stole a glance at his arms. I rolled my eyes and lay on my back, letting my now soaked hair swirl around my face. I could faintly hear Taylor approaching.

"You're not helping the whole 'nice guy' image by showing that you know you're hot," I commented, my body still floating in the water.

"I know no such thing."

I lifted my head and raised my eyebrows at him. "Right."

"Seriously," Taylor laughed. He reached out and placed both arms under my back. I kicked my legs up and he held me there, floating. I closed my eyes and sighed with a smile. I felt his skin against my exposed back and my skin tingled. My eyes opened to find Taylor looking down at me. I narrowed my eyes in mock anger.

"What."

Taylor didn't say a word, he simply pulled me upright, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me to him. He kissed me firmly, only once. I bit my lip and grinned up at him.

"You are hot though."

Taylor burst into laughter and was pulling me in again when we heard the screen door open. We both looked over and pulled apart almost immediately.

"Sorry, hun," my mom grinned sheepishly. "But the people who are going to clean the pool are going to be here soon."

I nodded, blushing.

"It's okay, Mrs. P," Taylor spoke up from beside me. "I have to show Ronnie something anyway."

I raised my eyebrows at him. I had heard nothing about this. But Taylor ignored me, wading away to the steps at the end of the pool.

***

"Keep your eyes closed," Taylor instructed. I had no idea where we were, I just knew we had gone inside a building and down steps. Taylor had had me blindfolded since we had left my house. He waited for me to nod in agreement before letting go of me. I felt him walk in front of me, and I laughed.

"Taylor," I protested. I reached my hands out in front of me, finding nothing but air until Taylor's warm hands gripped onto mine.

"I'm here," he assured me. "Okay. You can open your eyes now."

My eyes shot open. They widened as I looked around. We were in Taylor's basement. Taylor let go of my hands and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. My jaw dropped slightly as I took in the sight.

The TV was moved to where the DVD shelf had been, and the couch was turned, facing the TV. The shelf was now where the TV had been. It looked like a completely different room. I took the changes in, a lump forming in my throat.

"I thought that maybe if I changed it around, you wouldn't hate it down here so much. And we wouldn't have to always be at your house, bothering your parents."

Taylor's voice in my ear snapped me out of my staring. The emotion was overwhelming me. The fact that he had even thought about it... I turned to him, stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his. His free arm wrapped around my waist, and he pulled me into him, kissing me firmly but gently. We broke apart and he pulled me into his chest. I took in a deep breath and smiled up at him through blurry eyes.

"I love it."

He grinned back. "Good." He leaned towards me and connected our lips once more. My heart was pounding, and I couldn't stop smiling.