Love Me Always

I had major difficulties falling asleep that night. Annoyed by Taylor's deep breathing across the room, I stared up at the ceiling, unable to get Leo off my mind. The last image I thought of before drifting off into a deep sleep was Leo's shaggy blonde hair hanging in his face, with his infamous devilish grin plastered from cheek to cheek. How selfish was I being, having my best friend pregnant and my biggest concern being the boy I'm interested in? I woke up with sinking feeling in my stomach, knowing I should spend the day getting my priorities in order. But then I realized that I had another day of school ahead of me.

I sighed and slowly rolled out of bed. Taylor was tossing and turning in my spare bed on the other side of the room, most likely having a dream about one of her one night stands. I watched her for a while, suddenly envious that she didn't go to college. She was a beauty school dropout, for Christ's sake. Her biggest worry regarding school was whether or not her haircuts were up to standards. I calmly shook her until she stirred; she opened her eyes and groaned when she saw me.

"What time is it?" Taylor groaned, covering her eyes with her hand.

"Eight in the morning, girly. Time for me to get ready for school. Unlike some people, I have to work hard to earn a serious living," I told her, opening my closet to pick out an outfit for the day.

"Hey, it's hard giving people with afros a blowout!" Taylor called as I pulled out denim shorts, a beige tank top, and a sleeveless white cardigan.

"It's also hard studying to become a nurse and dissecting bodies every day, but you're right, your job is so much harder," I teased, pulling on my clothes.

"It will be once the baby's here," Taylor sighed. I blinked at her, momentarily forgetting that she was pregnant.

"When are you planning to go to the doctor?"

"Soon enough…hopefully once I tell my parents, I can set up an appointment."

"You should do that today," I told her, "the sooner the better."

"Yeah, yeah, easier said than done. I need a cigarette," Taylor muttered, rising up from bed.

"No, you don't," I snapped, resisting the urge to push her back onto the bed. "Pregnant women shouldn't smoke. Are you unaware of the hazards of pregnancies?"

"Not unaware, just oblivious," Taylor shrugged. "This still doesn't feel real."

"It probably won't feel real for a while, Tay. At least not until you see the first ultrasound."

Taylor flinched at the sound of that. "Will you come with me for that?"

"There's no place I'd rather be," I reassured her. "Now come on, let's go eat some grub."

…

My parents were surprised to see Taylor sitting at the dining room table, to say the least. Though to be honest, they seemed to be more shocked by her ragged appearance. We were all used to seeing Taylor so put together and perfect; it was definitely a surprise to see her so worn out. Brett, whose huge crush on Taylor was well known to everyone, seemed to be most flabbergasted.

"So Taylor, when did you come over last night? Kat let you in?" My mom asked, reaching over to place a plate of toast in front of her.

"About 10ish. I hope you don't mind me staying over; my parents and I got into a huge fight over my beauty school degree. They haven't been too happy with my decision." Taylor was always prepared with a lie; it was unbelievable that she was able to lie to my parents' faces so easily. She noticed Brett staring at her and she smiled. "Hey Brett, why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer."

Brett muttered "sorry" and looked down at his plate of food. He ate the rest of it in silence.

"It's no problem; you're always welcome here," my dad chimed in, taking a swig of orange juice from the mug Brett and I bought him for Father's Day. Then he turned to me and smiled. "How was your date last night, Kat?"

"What date?" Taylor asked in disbelief, dropping her fork and letting it clatter noisily to the floor.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. "I didn't really get a chance to tell you, considering you were crying about your parents and all," I told her through clenched teeth. "But it was good. He's nice."

"What's his name? Liam, right?" my dad asked, always mixing up names.

"Leo, but close enough."

"What the heck?!" Taylor shrieked. "I need to see pictures of this kid. I'd also like some background information, including address, phone number, and social security number."

I groaned and stood up from the table. "I gotta get going," I told everyone, grabbing my planner and laptop from the corner of the room. "Taylor, I'll talk to you later about this."

Taylor let out a dramatic sigh and stood up as well. "I guess I must be going too. Thanks for breakfast and everything, Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester. And see you later, Brett." She tousled my brother's hair and followed me out the door. Her car was parked behind mine, so it was a good idea for her to leave the same time I did.

"I expect details later," Taylor said, reaching out for a hug. She squeezed me tight and whispered, "Thanks for everything. I love you".

"Love you too," I said, pulling away. As she got in her car and drove off, I couldn't shake off my sudden annoyance. I sank into the driver's seat of my car and slammed the door shut. I rubbed my fingers to my temples to relieve my random headache. Too much Taylor for one night, I figured. But as I let the images of Leo sink through my mind, the headache quickly subsided. I didn't even realize how hard I was smiling as I drove off to school.

…

I walked into Mrs. Holland's classroom with butterflies in my stomach. I glanced around and finally spotted familiar wavy blonde hair from the back of the room. Leo was turned away from me, talking to some jock guy whose name I didn't catch. I sat next to Farrah again, hoping Leo would notice my arrival soon enough. He must've turned around and recognized the back of my head because a few seconds later, I felt his strong grip on my shoulder. I looked to my right as Leo slipped into the empty seat next to mine. He didn't let go of my shoulder as he smiled at me.

"Good morning, lovely," he grinned. Was there ever a moment he wasn't smiling? My heart melted faster than I ever thought it could.

"Morning," I said softly, feeling myself blush. Leo loosened his grip on my shoulder and stroked his thumb under my eye.

"You didn't get much sleep, did you?" Great, he noticed the bags under my eyes.

"Not really," I admitted, feeling my face turn red in embarrassment.

"Hey, that's not such a bad thing," Leo quickly reassured me. "I meant that you look very natural this morning. A sleeping beauty."

I let out a laugh and shook my head. "Sure, Leo. Way to save yourself."

Leo's mouth dropped in faux astonishment. "What?! I'm serious, girl!" he drawled out, making me laugh even harder.

"Thanks," I smiled, patting the top of his hand. Before I could pull away, he turned my hand over and held it tightly.

"You're welcome, pretty." I felt myself blush once more as Mrs. Holland walked into the room. As she took attendance I stared ahead, trying not to notice Leo's fixated stare on me.

As Mrs. Holland gave the directions to choose a lab partner, Leo clutched my arm and raised his hand. "I claim this girl right here!" he shouted, drawing attention to the two of us. Mrs. Holland sent me an apologetic look; I couldn't help but laugh.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, this experiment will determine my view on each and every one of you for the rest of the year. It's a basic lab that I always start off the year. It will determine how well each of you follows directions. Please read through the packet I handed out, collect the necessary tools to perform this experiment, and begin."

"I'll grab the materials," Leo said, pushing his chair back. He ran to the front of the room and grabbed a microscope and a few unfamiliar instruments. When he came back, we started following the directions to dissect cells from our saliva.

"So, did you enjoy our date last night?" Leo asked, rubbing a toothpick in the inside of his cheek. He pulled it out and smeared it on a glass plate. I placed it on the microscope stage and turned the adjustor in order to focus the lense.

"I enjoyed it a lot," I told him, peering into the eyepiece. I took notes on my observations and slid the microscope towards Leo. "How about yourself?"

"I enjoyed it as well," Leo grinned. He scribbled a few notes on his paper and pushed the microscope away from him. He glanced up from his paper and looked into my eyes. "I'd like to do it again."

"Name a time and place; I'll be there," I promised, filling out the rest of the packet.

"How about your house?" he asked abruptly. The bluntness of his suggestion caught me off guard.

"Mine?" I asked in disbelief. I never had a boy ask to come to my house within the first few days of dating each other, let alone meeting each other.

"Yeah, yours. You do have a house, right?" Leo smirked.

"Well, yeah. But my family will be home…" I trailed off, not understanding what he was hinting at.

"Exactly. I'd like to meet them," he said triumphantly.

I was taken aback. "Already? We've only been on one date though…" I reasoned.

"So? I like you, you like me; I'll end up meeting your family one day anyway, so why can't it be today?" Leo shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal.

"I mean, sure. I guess you can come over. Give me your number and I'll text you my address," I said, handing my phone to him. He punched in his number, saved his contact, and handed my phone back to me.

"Great; I'm looking forward to it," he grinned. I smiled back faintly, a weird feeling suddenly overcoming my body. Mrs. Holland walked around the classroom and collected our packets. As she dismissed the class and everyone rose from their seats, Leo whispered to me, "See you later", and walked off. I gathered my belongings and began to walk out the door when Mrs. Holland grabbed my arm.

"Yes?" I asked, wondering if I was in trouble.

"Not to be nosy, but I overheard your plans with Leo tonight. He's meeting your family?" she asked, peering at me over her glasses.

"Yes," I answered, fidgeting with my planner.

"Well, I don't know him all that well yet so I can't pass judgment, but it seems to me that you will have your hands full. Good luck, sweetheart," Mrs. Holland said sincerely. "Now hurry off to your next class; I don't want you to be late!"

I left her class in a daze, her words ringing in my head. You will have your hands full. For some reason, I couldn't help but believe that she was right.