Taylor woke in a cold sweat. He had a nightmare that was more of reality than fantasy. It was too real, he couldn’t tell if he just woke or if he had been awake the whole time. He didn’t know what to believe anymore. Angela’s image and her voice almost haunted him now. Every night he had a nightmare, but with this one he didn’t know that he was dreaming. Once he woke up he couldn’t remember the events of the dream, as always. All he knew was he couldn’t think about anything but her, and how scared he was.
Taylor tried to sleep again, but it didn’t work. He wanted her next to him, calming him. He wanted to hold her again. The skin on his chest was hurting now, more than his legs. His eyes flicked to the clock. 3:15. It was a few hours before he had to leave to the studio. He needed to get to work again. Maybe the work would keep his mind off her. Maybe…
Taylor walked into the bathroom and washed his face. He wanted to shower but he’d wake everyone. He could already hear his mother screaming at him. What are you doing? It’s three in the morning, the kids are up and they won’t go back to sleep now. You need your rest, go back to be right now! Then Taylor would groan and walk back to his room. He’d done it before and knew the speech all too well
Taylor quietly walked down the stairs and flicked on the light to the kitchen. He jumped back when he saw someone looking through the fridge. "It’s three-thirty in the morning, I didn’t expect traffic in the kitchen." The culprit turned to him. Taylor let his mouth drop. "Angela?"
"I’m back," she said, looking away. "You people don’t lock your windows." Taylor glanced over to the wall. The window was open and a warm breeze was coming through. "I’m surprised. Anyone could just open the window and climb in."
"You’re not as surprised as I am," Taylor said, then realized how late it was. He would wake everyone, so he kept his voice down. "What are you doing here?" Angela shrugged and turned away. "Don’t just shrug, Angela. Why are you here?"
"I don’t know. I don’t know why I came back. I felt weird without you. I couldn’t surpass it so I knew I had to come back. All I could think about was you." Angela looked down at her hands, still facing away. "It’s almost like I couldn’t live without you."
Taylor couldn’t move. That was the last thing he’d expected her to say. He was expecting an I miss you or I’m just here cause I have to be. "Really?" he asked. That sounded stupid. "I mean, well, for the lack of a better word, really?" Angela smiled and turned back to him.
"I love your sense of humor, Taylor." He smiled. "Now I feel like a fool. I just said something important to me and you haven’t said anything to it. Well Taylor, really." He wasn’t sure what to say.
"You should see my room. It’s pretty pathetic. Since I couldn’t handle you being gone, I kinda trashed it." Angela smiled and followed him upstairs. He told her to watch out for broken glass. It caused her to giggle. Dammit! she thought, There goes the damn giggle again. Angela let her eyes roam over the room.
"Taylor, you did this for me?" Angela asked, slightly joking. Taylor nodded. "Woah! I feel important." Taylor turned to her, not speaking. Angela could tell her had a lot on his mind at that point. Why did he have to look so damn good all of a sudden?
Angela let her mind drift back to when she first saw him. He’s been mad at Zac, as usual. He’d been so mad at himself, at everyone. It was so upsetting to her. Now to see that when she left he’d been out of control…it broke her heart.
To think that he did all this. Mirror cracked, clothes all over the floor. He had broken several things, that lay in pieces where the floor met the walls. There was medical supplies under his bed, some gauze sticking out. He’d cleaned his wounds in private. She took his hands. "What’s up?"
"Just thinking about how I could be like this. I’m so controlled and such a perfectionist. Everything has to be in order. Then you walk into my life and change everything. Well, at least I thought I was controlled." Taylor noticed her worried look. "I’m fine now that you’re here. Will you stay now? Please?" She let herself smile.
"I’ll stay, Taylor." He hugged her. "I’ll be here. I’ll even help you clean up the mess." Angela heard him laugh. "Trust me, honey. You’ll need my help." He kissed her cheek, letting her know how much she meant to him, sort of. "Well what are friends for?"
"Be more than a friend, Angela." She didn’t quite get where he was coming from. She couldn’t see his face and he wanted it that way. "Please be more than a friend to me." She let go of him to look in his eyes. It would tell her what she needed to know. "Don’t run off. If you do then I’ll have to go after you." She was still confused.
"What are you talking about?" He leaned in, Angela thinking he was just going to hug her again. But he closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips against hers. Shocked and confused, Angela let it sink in. Once it did, she let herself breathe and wrapped her hands around his neck. She was praying this moment would come.
His lips seemed to fit with hers. His lips were so soft, she had to question herself if it was all real. She pinched herself and found out that it was in deed real. He was so gentle with her, holding her carefully.
The kiss was simple. Angela knew that Taylor was too scared about what she would think to even open his mouth. It made her happy to know that he cared so much about her. She’d wanted this.
Angela let go after some time, still amazed. Taylor looked at her sheepishly, wondering what she thought of the situation. She smiled at him. With that, he let himself smile back. "I had a feeling you were going to do that," she whispered, trying not to break the mood. "It’s part of the reason why I came back." He hugged her again. "I missed you."
"I missed you," he said. "Just hasn’t been the same around her without you. I’ve had an empty bed." Angela smiled and walked over to the bed. She sat herself down, then fell back. "Well I guess I won’t have that problem anymore." He walked over and sat next to her. "Are you going to be here when the morning comes? I always wake up and you’re not there."
"Don’t worry, I’ll be here. You’re going to be the one gone when I wake up." She spread herself out on her side of the bed, letting him lay down. "Hey dork, the light’s still on."
"Well then turn it off. It brothers you, I personally don’t mind. The switch is all the way on the other side of the room." Angela groaned. With a wave of her hand, they light was off. "Woah! How’d you do that?"
"Taylor, that’s like asking how I met you. I’m an Angel, remember?" He nodded and stuck an arm around her. "Sometimes you’re just too weird," she kidded. He stuck his face in her neck, gently kissing it. It sent shivers down her spine.
"Is this going to change anything?" he asked. Angela shifted until she was facing him. He looked at her. Her lips, her nose, her eyes. Her eyes were breathtaking, almost intimidating. "What’s going to happen next?"
"I don’t know." She let her hand roam over his face, calming him. He closed his eyes and welcomed the comfort. Taylor loved being with her, he loved her calming him. With her there, everything was alright. He kissed her forehead, and her lips once more. She welcomed it with grateful eyes. "We’ll just have to wait to find out."
With that, the two fell asleep.
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