Here We Go Again

I woke up the next morning completely out of sorts. My knees were pulled up to my chest, and I was turned onto my side. My arms were tangled up in a duvet, my fingers clutching the material. I rolled onto my back before opening my eyes, and feeling my heart jump a bit.

Where was I?

I sat up straight and looked around the room. There was guys' clothing in the closet, and a few shirts and such thrown around the room. I took in the otherwise plain room, eyes wide, before my gaze landed on a familiar set of suitcases. I took in a deep breath, before letting out a light laugh. Right.

It still didn't feel like I was actually in Edmonton. In Taylor's house. As I swung my legs over the side of the bed, I thought, for the millionth time, how crazy this was.

Instead of actually standing up, I sat there for a while, looking around Taylor's room. Nearly every object reminded me of something, whether it be a shirt I had worn or something he had shown me over Skype. I bit my lip. In order to stop my mind from wandering even further down memory lane, I stood up and headed for the door.

I was running through a quick self-check in the mirror on the dresser by the door when my eyes fell on a familiar brown frame, resting on torn wrapping paper. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I carefully picked up the photo.

When had he opened it? When had he put it in his room?

My eyes ran over the image. It was a picture of the two of us my mom had taken in front of my house. Taylor had an arm around my shoulders, and he was mid-laugh. I stood beside him, one hand on his chest as I gazed up at him, a huge smile on my face.

I remembered the moment perfectly. I had wanted a nice, serious photo, but of course, Taylor insisted on being goofy. My mom had snapped this picture when Taylor had been laughing at my frustration towards him, and I had finally caved in to his contagious laughter. The picture showed how fond we really were of one another... My hand on his chest, my loving gaze; His arm pulling me into him as tight as he could.

So much for not taking a trip down memory lane.

As soon as I opened the bedroom door, I smelled bacon. My stomach rumbled and I took a deep breath before heading down the hall to the kitchen.

When I turned the corner and my eyes landed on Taylor's back, my mind flew back to the photograph. My stomach lurched and I looked away.

"Hey!" Taylor's surprised voice made me look up. Our eyes met for a moment before he gestured towards the food on the table. My eyes followed. It looked really good. "I made lunch." He paused before letting out a chuckle. I glanced at him and he added, "Well, breakfast for some of us."

I looked at the clock on the stove behind him and then gave him am embarrassed smile. "My bad." I paused, glancing around the room.

"It's fine," Taylor replied. "Ebs and I had practice so you would have been by yourself anyway, if you were awake."

I nodded. "Where's Jordan now?"

"He's out with his girlfriend." Taylor's statement was followed by an awkward silence. He finally rubbed his jaw and placed a plate of bacon on the table before taking a seat. I stood in the doorway awkwardly, scratching the back of my neck. "There's plenty for both of us."

I looked up again as he spoke. Taylor motioned at the seat across the table from him before he continued to eat. I willed my feet to move, and thankfully, they decided to comply. I carefully pulled out the wooden chair and sat down, my movements awkward. I stole cautious glances at Taylor, who continued to eat, before I finally picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite.

Wow. One thing I hadn't known about him - that he could cook up some mean bacon.

I took the fork from beside my plate and lifted an egg onto it, along with some more pieces of bacon. It didn't take long for me to be as into the food as the man across from me, and we ate in silence.

About halfway through our meal, Taylor stood to grab a carton of orange juice and two glasses. I was impressed - the two boys seemed like they could definitely take care of themselves. He poured us both a glass and I thanked him quietly. Orange juice was my guilty pleasure - I loved it. And Taylor knew that.

I downed the first glass in seconds, and when I set it down to grab the carton of juice, I noticed Taylor smirking at me. I gave him a look in return and began to pour. When I went to pick up the glass to take a swig, my hand misjudged the distance and I ended up knocking the glass over. Before I could react, it had slid over the side of the table and onto the bottom of my shirt and my pants. I sat there, stunned, as Taylor began to laugh.

I looked up at him, my eyes wide, my mouth open. I watched as Taylor laughed uncontrollably, his eyes squeezing shut and his head tilted back as his shoulders shook.

"Not funny," I exclaimed. Taylor attempted to stop his laughter, but within seconds, he was doubled over again. And, just like in the picture, I found my frustration fade away as I watched the scene before me. In moments, the two of us mirrored one another as we laughed. I felt the tension that had been surrounding us since we had first seen one another fall a bit off of my shoulders. There was still tension - no doubt - but in that moment, I felt as though some of the awkwardness had melted away. And that was a relief.

"That was great," Taylor said as we calmed down, the wide grin still on his lips. I let out a couple of giggles and nodded.

"I am such a failure," I sighed, before another wave of giggles hit me. Taylor shook his head before standing up, grabbing a towel from a drawer by the sink, and tossing it to me. He sat back down as I cleaned myself and the table off.

"I see you're the exact same," Taylor said.

I bit my lip and shrugged, a tiny smile still playing on my lips. Instead of answering his question I replied with a different one. "Why am I here, Taylor?" The question came out softly. He was silent for a moment before he replied.

"I was hoping we could be friends, if anything, Veronica."

I played with the cloth in my hands, biting down on the inside of my lip and taking a deep breath. "I see you put my present in your room."

If Taylor was surprised by the changing of subjects, he took it gracefully. "Yeah. It's a great picture." I nodded. It was quiet again, for what seemed like the thousandth time that morning, but it was okay. I didn't look up as Taylor pushed his chair back and started to put away the dishes.

"I can hel-" I began to offer, but Taylor shook his head.

"I'm good." I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, and he spoke again a few moments later. "A few people are getting together at a restaurant tonight downtown. I didn't know if you wanted to, but I thought it would be nice to ask."

I looked over at Taylor's back as he spoke. He didn't turn to me, and I found my stomach flipping over and over at the thought of meeting his other teammates. Did he want me there? Or did he just think he had to ask because I was staying with him? Would I be an inconvenience? Could I even handle that? Was-

"You don't have to," Taylor spoke up again as I remained silent, interrupting my slew of thoughts. "I thought you might like to see some of Edmonton, though."

I inhaled a sharp breath before exhaling as I replied, "Yeah. I'll go."

I watched as he replied, still not looking over at me. "Awesome." Although I couldn't judge his face, I knew that the reply had been genuine. The thought made me smile... At least a little bit.

"I'm gonna go call my mom," I informed him as I stood up.

"Okay." I had almost reached the doorway when he called out, "Veronica?" I glanced back to find him looking at me, and I raised my eyebrows questioningly. "I really hope you stay for at least a couple of days."

I nodded. I didn't want to promise him anything, but I could be truthful.

"I'll do my best."