"Taylor you have been in this city less than a week! We will be leaving soon, and we won't be back for months, if we come back at all! I can understand someone at home, that sweet Adrianna girl you're always going places with. Do you even know anything at all about Kris?" Diana yelled, frustrated.
"Not really," Taylor said, looking down at his hands. Once he got back, she sat him in a chair in her hotel room and wouldn't let him get up. His father was there too, but he wasn't saying much.
"Taylor I don't think this is going to work out. We are not going to make any special changes in our schedule so you can stop by for a few minutes and say hi. We're not going to take her anywhere with us."
"I know, Mom!" Taylor said, looking up. "I don't care about any of that! I can't control how I feel, or who I like! Something clicked with me and Kris from the beginning, that's why we're together!" He huffed when he received no response, and sat back in his chair.
"Why are you acting like this?"
"Because I stopped caring the day I met her."
"You barely know her!"
"I know! I know I know I know, I know!!" Taylor screamed in frustration. It was the millionth time she's made that statement in the last ten minutes and it was sending him into insanity, very quickly. "It doesn't matter. That's one of the reasons I want to be with her! I'll get to know her over time. Eventually there's not going to be much else I can ask. I have all the time in the world to get to know her, but you won't fucking let me!"
"Taylor, language," his father warned.
"I told you already I stopped caring." He sighed. "You just can't handle the fact that I've met someone, can you?"
"Taylor, that's ridiculous."
"It's only ridiculous because it's the truth! You've held onto me for sixteen years and you don't want to let me go. It was bound to happen sometime. My entire life puts thousands of girls around me, wouldn't you at least thing eventually I'd find one of them that I cared about?"
"Is Kris a fan?" Diana asked. Taylor smiled.
"No. As a matter of fact, she didn't even recognize me the first time I met her. She'd heard of the band, but she'd never seen us." Diana rolled her eyes. That was hard to believe. She found it hard to believe anything her son was talking about. He was sixteen and was willing to alter his schedule for the next few months to spend time with this mystery woman.
"Well how does she feel about this whole schedule?"
"We'll deal," Taylor said. The truth was, he had no idea what they were going to do about the schedule. They didn't have the time to talk about it. They'd just started really expressing their feelings that day, but there wasn't much more they could talk about. She'd have to deal, or they would not be able to be together.
"You'll deal?" Diana asked.
"We'll deal," Taylor repeated. "That's the way it's going to be."
"I don't approve of this."
"You have absolutely nothing to do with it. It's not up to you to decide. It's between me and her."
"I do have the power to never let you out again. I do have the power to never let you see her again."
"Like I said before, we'll deal." Diana slumped over the chair, staring into his suddenly fearless eyes.
"Taylor you need to understand this. I am the parent, you are the child. If I say I don't approve, this is not to go on. If I say I do approve, which I don't, then you have my best wishes. I do not approve of you and her in a long-distance relationship. I know these things don't work out. You're sixteen years old. You don't need this right now. Whatever is going on in that head of yours, work it out in the next three days. When we leave, we're not going to be coming back."
"That's what you think." Diana stood up, and took a few steps away from him. He looked up at her, in an almost insolent manner.
"Go to your room," she finally said. He stood up and headed to the door. "You are not to leave until we leave the city." Taylor held his breath. He walked out of the room, and turned back. His father watched him closely. Taylor slipped into his room. A thought crossed his mind. It was a long shot�and he'd be in deep shit if he tried it�but if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to see Kris again. He looked at his two brothers. They were still up, to his surprise. He glanced at the clock. It was nearing one in the morning. Why were they still up? Probably waiting for you, Taylor. Let me guess, they had their ears pressed to the walls to hear every bit of the conversation.
They watched as Taylor watched them. He took a deep breath and ran out of the room. His father was still out there, just down the hall. He was waiting for Taylor to make a move. Taylor ran to the elevator and closed it before his father could get in. He smiled defiantly and waved as the doors shut in front of him. He wouldn't be forgetting that look of fury for a long time.
"Kris!" Taylor tried to yell as quietly as he could. She was upstairs in her room, probably sleeping. The light was off, but her window was open. He looked at the ground. A few pebbles outlined a small garden (which was now covered completely in snow) in her front lawn. He grabbed a pebble and aimed for her window. Unfortunately he wasn't the best at throwing, and completely missed her window. "Shit," he muttered. "Kris!"
He grabbed another pebble and aimed again. It went through the open window. "Dammit!" He grabbed another one and finally hit the window. The light turned on and Kris's head appeared. Her hair was up and messy, but her eyes widened at the sight.
"Taylor!" she said. Her mother was just down the hall so she couldn't talk very loud. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you!" Taylor responded. Her gaze returned to inside her room.
"It's one thirty in the morning! Why are you still up? You could get mugged or frozen or something!"
"It's really important. Can I come inside? It's cold out here." Kris smiled.
"I'll be right down." He waited until she appeared at the front door and opened it for him. She was wearing a Chicago Bears jersey and flannel pants. "Come on." He graciously walked inside. She quietly closed the door behind her. "What are you doing here?"
"My mother is none too pleased about us. I'm not supposed to leave the hotel room, but I had to see you." She smiled and kissed him.
"You're too sweet." She took the time to finally look at him. He had just a thin coat over his regular clothing. "You must be freezing! I'll make you some hot chocolate." He followed her into the kitchen. She flipped on the light and put her hand over her eyes until they adjusted to the sudden bright light. He sat down at the counter and watched as she scurried around.
"You're so beautiful," he said. She stopped and turned to him, almost blushing. She still didn't know how to handle his random compliments.
"Thank you!"
Kris placed a mug of hot chocolate in front of Taylor and placed another one in front of herself. They sat idly for a bit, Taylor waiting for himself to warm up. It was below freezing out there and he was barely dressed for 70 degrees. He was glad she didn't take an hour to wake up, or he'd be frozen.
"So basically you told me you're not supposed to leave the hotel, and your mom didn't approve?" Kris asked. "What else?"
"She just said that a long-distance relationship never works out. I barely know you yet I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be with you." He took her hand. "She doesn't understand."
"I guess she just won't, then. Whatever it takes, I do want to be with you." He smiled to her and kissed her hand. "I don't know how I handle you. I've never known so much love in my life, and this all happened so suddenly."
"I've never understood the whole concept," Taylor admitted. "I guess I still don't. I constantly have these obsessive girls screaming out that they love me�I could only laugh at it until now."
"I love you, Taylor."
"I love you, Kris."
"And to ruin the moment, at least I didn't scream it as you walked by." He laughed. He pulled her around the counter and sat her in his lap. "So this is something distinctive we got here, huh?"
"Most definitely" The way he looked at her, so adoringly, like he had suddenly seen a beautiful angel appear before him, it almost frightened her. He saw something in her that no one else had ever bothered to mention, if they saw it at all. He heard the notes she wasn't playing, he saw the looks she wasn't giving, he saw the troubles she wasn't discussing. He knew her more than she knew herself just by the way he looked at everything she wasn't doing. She looked away from his intense gaze. "Tell me about your father."
The question was so out of the blue that she nearly fell off his lap. "You actually want to know about him?" Kris asked. He nodded, his piercing blue eyes showing the kindness she admired in him. "My father was the kind of person that didn't believe in affection. He was emotionally distant. I don't remember a lot about him. I remember that he did fight with my mom a lot. Whenever they fought, I was usually in my room. They figured I was asleep when they did fight, but I always heard them. He was at work most of the day; sometimes he would stay over there and work late and not come home. When he left my mother was so upset she consumed herself in her work and forgot about me. I raised myself."
"Is Brian the same way?" Kris only nodded. He lovingly kissed her. "I'm sorry." She put her head against his shoulder.
"It's not your fault."
To try and lighten the mood, he decided to make a comment. "I wonder how long it's gonna be before someone tracks me down and pulls me from this house kicking and screaming." She smiled.
"It's going to take you that much to go back there?"
"I know I'll have to go back sometime."
"Oh really? You and me can't run to Vegas and get hitched?" He smiled before pulling out her ponytail. "You are such a fruitbat."
"A what?"
"A fruitbat. It's a cross between a fruit and a dingbat."
"Oh, okay." He gave her a strange look. "That makes complete sense now." She shrugged. "Can I stay here with you tonight?"
"Yeah. No funny stuff, though." He smiled and poked her.
"I'll try."
"I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be able to handle this," Kris said. "Going from complete attachment to complete separation." Taylor didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to handle it either. He knew his free time in the next few weeks would be limited to almost nothing, considering the stunt he was pulling right now. Someone would be constantly hovering over him, even if it was a different city. They'd be stuck to late-night phone calls unless the time difference was enough.
His thoughts were interrupted by her yawning. He'd forgotten that he'd woken her. "Tired?" She nodded. "Me too." She got off his lap and led him upstairs. They were more quiet now, because they were closer to her mother's room. Once she closed the door to her room, she whispered to him.
"Do you think you'll get in a lot of trouble if you come home tomorrow?" she asked.
"I know I'll get in a lot of trouble. And it's later today, not tomorrow." She waved it off and flung herself on the bed. "Attractive!" He took off his coat and flung it on a chair, while removing his shoes at the same time.
"You're coordinated. That's always good. I can't even walk and drink at the same time. Sorry I don't have a big enough bed for the both of us." He shrugged and laid down on the couch in her spacious room. "You know I don't even know you that well and I'm letting you sleep in my room."
"All the more to wonder where this is leading to."
"God knows. I just hope we're not making some kind of mistake here. I couldn't handle it."
"You can't handle very much." He turned to her. "It's going to work out, Kris. Before you know it we'll be back together and something good will come of it all. I'm coming back here as soon as I can."
"Long distance relationships really never do work out."
"That's why we need to try." He sighed. "At least I'm not a tourist here or something on a once in a lifetime trip from the country Kyrgyzstan." She gave him a strange look. "Well it makes it easier because I travel a lot and I have the power and the money to come back here whenever I need to. Listen, for some reason I feel like I need to be here with you. I love you, Kris."
"I love you too." He watched as she closed her eyes and soon the both of them were asleep.
"Oh you are in so much shit, Taylor," Zac said, the second Taylor walked through the door. It was around nine o'clock, Taylor left Kris's house before she woke up and took the time to write her a note. He didn't know if he'd get to say goodbye.
"Why are you up? You're never awake this early unless we have something to do. Don't tell me we have something to do."
"Radio interview; we're leaving in ten minutes. Have fun getting ready." He looked at Taylor, up and down. "I think you better take a shower."
"Shut up." Taylor ran into the bathroom. Ten minutes later he was out in the hallway with Zac, clean and dressed. He was waiting for his parents to come out of their room. He didn't realize that he was holding on to Zac's arm for dear life, nor did he realize he was killing Zac.
"Ow!!!!" Zac finally whined, and yanked his arm from Taylor. "My God it's not like they're going to kill you!"
"Yeah but the might keep me under strict observation until I move out of the house, and that could be a fate worse than death."
"Was it worth it?" Zac asked. Taylor turned to him and nodded. "What did you do over there?"
"Nothing!"
"Sure. That's what you want me to think. But Taylor, my brother, guys just don't spend the night at girl's places and risk their freedom for the next two or three years for nothing."
"I'm not that perverted, Zac."
"Well maybe you should be, it was your last chance."
His father was the first to come out of the bedroom. He spotted Taylor, and walked over to him. Instead of saying a word, he just grabbed his arm and dragged him to the elevator. Taylor gave Zac a pleading look, but there was little Zac could do. Zac watched a bit hopefully as his older brother was nearly thrown into the elevator, Taylor's eyes never leaving Zac's. For some reason Zac knew what Taylor was going through, he knew that Taylor must be doing this for a good reason, otherwise he wouldn't put himself in that kind of situation.
"I wish there was something I could do for you, Taylor," Zac whispered. He sighed and turned around. Diana stood there, and Zac jumped back. "Oh my God why don't you people where bells around your necks or something?" He turned back around to see the elevator doors close.
"You better have a damn good reason for running off like that. If you ever, ever, think about doing that again, you will have either me or your mother with you at all times."
"I'm sorry, I had to do it. I know you wouldn't let me say goodbye and that was my only chance to get away."
"Maybe I would have. Obviously I won't now, after the stunt you pulled. What the hell were you thinking? This is not a small suburban town where everyone knows your name, this is Chicago! You could of gotten killed, but for some reason you didn't bother caring. Taylor you don't know this girl at all."
"You've made that point before," Taylor said, looking away. He realized his father pushed the stop button, so they weren't about to go anywhere. "I know that I don't know her, but that's why I went! I wanted to get to know her more."
"And spend the night there?"
"It was late, I was tired. She let me stay over." His father gave him a look. "Listen, I slept on her couch. I'm not that kind of person." Taylor finally looked at his father. Now he was more disappointed than angry.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with you."
"Hopefully let me see her again?" Taylor asked. Immediately he scrunched up and put his hands in front of his face, expecting some kind of physical contact. His father looked at Taylor and waited for him to realize he wasn't going to get hit.
"If you don't tell you mother," the man said, lowering his voice. There was no one else in the elevator, which made Taylor wonder why he even bothered at all. "I'll let you see her again." Taylor eyes widened and he smiled. "Don't get too excited now, it's still a maybe right now. If I can con your mother into letting me take you out of the hotel. We won't tell her."
"I love you, Dad."
"Shut up. I still get to kick your ass when we get out of here."