My Heart Belongs to You

By the time lunch came around, Taylor had the strong urge to hit things and decided that she would head over to the batting cages after school. Meeting Tammy at her locker, they turned to make their way out to the bleachers and spotted Michelle marching towards them.

"Oh look, it's the ice queen and her snowgies," Tammy stated as Michelle reached them.

"I want you to stay away from my boyfriend," Michelle demanded, standing with her hands on her hips and glaring at Taylor.

"Scared that the leash you have on him will break?" Tammy asked, leaning back against the wall and smirking as Michelle turned to face her, "I don't blame you, I mean Taylor is a much better person and if I was Dylan..."

"Shut it, rat," Michelle snapped, causing Tammy to scoff and shake her head.

"It really isn't me that you need to be talking to," Taylor stated, before things could get worse, "I'm not one of those people that will obey your demands like a puppy wanting a treat, besides it's a bit hard to stay away from someone that lives next door..."

"Just stay away, this is the only warning you're going to get... trust me, I could make high school a living hell for you and your little friend," Michelle added, turning on her heels and motioning for her friends to follow her.

"It's a living hell anyway," Taylor mumbled, hooking her arm through Tammy's and dragging her out to the bleachers.

Lying on the bleachers under the sun, Taylor threw her arm over her eyes and listened to Tammy telling her about something that happened at her dad's work. Taylor was glad, when the school day finally came to an end and she headed to the batting cages.

"Tay," the owner, Brad called with a grin as she approached him, "It's good to see you, kid."

"It's good to see you too," Taylor replied, hugging him and smiling as she entered the cage.

Waiting for Brad to set up the pitching machine how he knew she liked it, Taylor placed her bag down and retrieved a bat from the rack behind her. Taking up position just like her dad had shown her, she focused on the ball that was now hurtling through the air and swung at it with all the power she could muster. See the ball, hit the ball she heard her dad say in the back of her mind, causing her to relax and concentrate on nothing except hitting the balls.

"Nice swing," came a familiar voice as Taylor hit the final ball away, turning to find Dylan watching her and nodding at him in thanks.

"Was there something you wanted?" Taylor asked, returning the bat to the rack and picking her bag up off the floor.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay after this morning," Dylan told her, frowning as she began to walk away and jogged to fall into step at her side, "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, I just need to get home is all."

"Taylor," Dylan stated, grabbing her arm and pulling her around to face him, "What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Last night, we spoke for hours and now it's as if you don't want to be near me... I don't understand what I've done."

"You haven't done anything," Taylor said, sighing in frustration and making the decision to tell him the truth, "Michelle told me to stay away from you and I don't want to cause you problems, so... this is my attempt to stay away."

"Tay, you live next door to me," Dylan pointed out as she had earlier, "We've known each other for a long time and Michelle doesn't get to choose who I talk to, at least let me walk you home?"

Hesitating momentarily, Taylor nodded and waved goodbye to Brad as they left. The walk home was filled with mindless chatter and laughter, which made her feel a little better. Reaching her house, Taylor was disappointed when she realized that there were no lights on and that her mom's car wasn't parked in the driveway.

Telling Dylan that she'd talk to him later, she let herself in and turned on the lights. Entering the kitchen, she found a note sitting on the table and screwed it up without bothering to read it. Hearing a knock on the door an hour later, Taylor opened it and couldn't help smiling when she found Tammy standing on her doorstep with pizza.

"I come bearing comfort food with a side of 'I'm sorry you mom sucks sometimes', " Tammy announced as Taylor let her in.

Following Tammy upstairs to her room, they sat down on the bed and watched some episodes of The Night Shift on Netflix. Her mom may have let her down, but she was content with the knowledge that she had an awesome best friend and wasn't as alone as she sometimes felt.