Let Me Know That You're Alive

-Taylor's POV-

"Justin and Andrew. Alexis and MaKenzie. Mike and Taylor."

Mike and I glanced at each other, grinning as our Biology teacher read off partners for our project. The two of us had been hanging out a lot the past two weeks since he moved here. He'd even helped me make some new friends, Kellin, Alex, Jack, and Josh. Mike was like the brother I always wanted. He liked a lot of the same things as me and was really easy to talk to.

As the bell rang, I gathered all my belongings and waited for Mike by the door so we could walk to our lockers together. When I walked with Mike, people didn't mess with me as much. Sure, Mike was a little bit intimidating, but he was practically harmless.

"So when are we starting that project?" he asked, smiling at me.

I shrugged. "We could start today. But I'd rather do it at your house. My aunt has friends coming over later." I looked down, seeing him nod from the corner of my eye.

"That's fine," he said. "Vic can drive us there now, if that's alright with you." He smiled, and I couldn't help but return it, even though my stomach did flip-flops at the sound of his brother's name. The few times that Vic had given me a ride home with him and Mike, he'd been really sweet to me. He always asked me how my day was and he would wave at me if he ever saw me in the hallways. And, not to mention, he was really cute.

"Yeah," I started, "that sounds cool."

He smiled, shutting his locker. I shoved my books into my bag and shrugged it onto my shoulder as we made our way outside. I followed Mike outside and to his brother's small, sleek car. The two of us waited for Vic to come outside. It didn't take long for him to emerge from the crowd of teenagers exiting the school and make his way towards us.

"Hi," he chirped, unlocking the doors so we could all get in. He turned around and smiled at me. "How was your day?"

I fought the blush creeping up to my cheeks.

I played the day back in my mind, trying to forget about how Annie had called me names and said mean things to me in music class, the only class that I didn't have with Mike. "Fine, I guess," I said, shrugging a little. He nodded, still smiling.

"Cool," he said, and started the car, taking us to his and Mike's home.

Once we got there, I looked around Mike's room. Posters were put up on the walls, covering most of the white paint. Stacks and stacks of Alternative Press and Kerrang! magazines sat on his book shelf. His room was surprisingly similar to mine, some of his posters even being duplicates of mine.

"You can sit down if you want," he said, slipping off his shoes and kicking them to the corner. I sat on the edge of the bed and kicked my shoes off before sitting criss-crossed on his blue comforter. He sat across from me with his science book in tow. "Where do we start?" he smiled.

During the time we were there, we didn't get much done for our project. The two of us just talked and messed around. We talked about the bands on his posters, looked through a few of his magazines, and I teased him about the haircut he had in an old picture on his dresser. Most of our time was spent laughing.

It was nice though. It was nice to know that I had a true friend. I hadn't had a lot before. It was nice though. I felt like I could really trust Mike.

After a few moments of silence, I glanced at my lanky best friend, and we couldn't help but laugh again. A knock on the door quieted us down. The door opened and Vic stood there, sporting a pair of loose basketball shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I couldn't help but stare at tan, muscular arms. A blush crept to my cheeks when I looked up and saw him looking at me expectantly.

Mike nudged me and chuckled, "Are you good with pizza?"

I blushed harder and nodded. "Yeah, pizza's cool." He laughed and Vic joined him before exiting the room again and shutting the door behind him. I looked up at Mike and hit him in the arm gently. A snort of laughter escaped his mouth again. He knew that I thought Vic was cute. He knew about my small crush on him. And he teased me about it all the time.

He smiled at me innocently. "Let's go get ready to eat," he said, standing up. He extended a hand to help me up and I took it. I smiled at him and just shook my head, following out of his room.