My Heart Belongs to You

Laughing and joking as they ate, Taylor found herself gradually forgetting about what had happened earlier that day. Watching as Tammy started playfully arguing with Kevin, she smiled in amusement and finished her dinner in silence.

"Mom, can I borrow the car?" Kevin asked, collecting the plates off of the table and putting them in the sink.

"Why do you want it?"

"I was thinking of taking a drive to the sea front with the girls."

"In that case you may," Mrs. Weaver said as she dismissed them with a wave of her hand, "Go have some fun and be careful."

"Shotgun," Tammy shouted as she ran out the front door.

"I've changed my mind," Kevin told his mom, staring at the front door in disdain, "You can keep Tammy... I'll just take Taylor with me instead."

"Come on," Taylor stated, grabbing his hand and pulling him out to the car with a chuckle.

Climbing in the back seat, Taylor fastened her seatbelt and sent her mom a text to let her know where she was. Spending the drive singing along to the radio, Taylor exchanged a few more texts with her mom and then put the phone away in her pocket.

It only took them half an hour to get there and they all climbed out, taking in the scene around them. Taylor had always loved the beach, the mixture of aromas and cacophony of sounds seeming to awaken something inside her. Leaving Kevin to lock up the car, Taylor and Tammy headed towards the wall that separated the carpark from the sand on the other side. Taking off their shoes and socks, they made their way down to the water's edge.

Seeing the mischievous grin on Tammy's face, Taylor knew that she was up to something and squealed in surprise as water hit her in the face. Glaring at Tammy for a few seconds, Taylor suddenly sprinted forward and laughed as her best friend took off down the beach.

"I'm sorry," Tammy called back over her shoulder, "The dark side was calling and they promised me cookies, I'll do anything for cookies."

"Kevin," Taylor added through her laughter as he caught her around the waist, spinning her around and setting her down in the water, "You're going to get it."

Splashing water in his direction, Taylor retreated back onto the sand and sat down. It wasn't long before Tammy and Kevin joined her, staring out at the slowly setting sun in silence.

"It's beautiful," Tammy commented with a smile.

"It sure is," Kevin agreed, although Taylor noticed out the corner of her eye that he was watching her and couldn't help the heat that rose on her cheeks, "Shall we head to the arcades for a bit?"

Both girls quickly agreed, putting their shoes back on and crossed the road to the arcades. Tammy and Taylor spent most of their weekends at the arcade, but it never got boring. Setting up an air hockey championship, they spent about an hour competing against each other and then wandered around to see what else was there.

Buying herself some candy floss, Taylor followed Kevin as she ate and held out the bag for him to take some. Standing behind Tammy as she shot zombies, Kevin placed his arm around Taylor's shoulders and pulled her into his side. Deciding that it was time to make their way home, they took a slow walk back to the car and made the short trip back to the house.

"Can Taylor sleep over tonight, mom?" Tammy inquired as they walked through the door.

"Of course."

Making sure that it was okay with her mom, Taylor changed into some of Tammy's pajamas and went downstairs to wait. Hearing someone come down the stairs, Taylor looked up just in time to see Tammy dump her duvet and pillows on her head causing Taylor to grunt in response. They were half way through the movie, when Kevin joined them and sat down on the floor in front of where Taylor was laying. Tammy soon fell asleep and Kevin shifted around, so that he was facing her.

"I was going to ask earlier, why was today such a bad day for you?" Kevin whispered.

"Not all of it was bad," Taylor replied with a smile, which Kevin returned, "I've been having some problems with this girl at school, she made a nasty comment about my dad that led to her boyfriend breaking up with her and now it just seems like she's out to ruin my life."

"Ah, you've attracted the attention of the resident mean girl, huh?" Kevin said, causing Taylor laugh quietly and nod in confirmation, "You shouldn’t let her get to you, that's exactly what she wants and I know that you're stronger than that."

"I've dealt with bullies before, but something about her is different... she has this way of getting under my skin and I can't help biting back at her taunts."

"Budge over," Kevin added as he got to his feet, waiting for Taylor to move forward and carefully slipping in behind her.

Hesitating for a few seconds, Taylor pushed her nervousness away and got comfortable with her head laid on his chest. Relaxing into his warmth as Kevin wrapped his arms around her like he did in Tammy's bedroom, Taylor returned her gaze to the television and smiled as she felt him entwine their fingers that she had splayed across his stomach.