backlogged dreams & day old teas

IV - hey dorothea

23rd Feb
Taylor heard the doorbell ring and immediately ran to her room, afraid of facing Joe after what he had done to her. Unfortunately, her mother soon called her downstairs to greet the guests.

"Hi Mrs. Alwyn, Hi Joe" she greeted, looking at the floor.

"Hey Taylor! Why don't you and Joe go somewhere to play, I'll just be in the kitchen with your mom." Elizabeth replied. She saw Taylor as her daughter and had gotten very close with Andrea too.

Taylor sighed internally as she led Joe upstairs to her room. She opened the door and walked in, plopping herself on the bed. She didn't even acknowledge Joe once. Just thinking about the incident brought tears to her eyes and she hid her face from Joe, brushing away the tears with her sleeve. Joe, who was standing at the door the whole time walked over to Taylor, hearing her muffled sobs. He tried giving her a hug but Taylor climbed under the covers and covered her head with the blanket.

"Taylor... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have ignored your invitation. I should've just sat with you, but I didn't want to make an enemy with Inez after she told the whole class about our secret so I tried being friendly with her. You're my friend, aren't you? I liked hanging out with you. I'm sorry Taylor, please forgive me. I loved your gift, it was so thoughtful and I put it with my favourite toy cars on my shelf, I promise."

Seeing there was no reply from Taylor, Joe took a pencil and some paper from her desk, wrote her a note and slipped it under the covers then walked out to the garden by himself. He sat on the bench letting his thought wander. He shouldn't have messed it up in this way, he shouldn't have treated Taylor like that. A moment later, he heard footsteps and hoped that it was Taylor. He looked at where the noise was coming from and was disappointed to find Andrea approaching.

"Hey Joe, what are you doing out here alone? Where's Taylor?" Andrea inquired.

"Oh we're... um playing... hide and seek." Joe said, carefully lying to avoid the mothers from finding out and stepping in. "I'm waiting for a hundred seconds."

Andrea nodded but in her mind she had pieced the puzzle pieces together from Taylor's behaviour on Friday and Joe's today. She kept quiet about it and walked back to the kitchen, voicing out her concerns to Elizabeth.

"Don't worry about it. It's probably a storm in a teacup. They'll make up eventually," Elizabeth assured Andrea.

Soon after, it started raining and Joe was forced to go inside. He went back up to Taylor's room in hopes of getting a second chance from her. When he knocked at the door, it opened almost immediately and he was taken aback by Taylor wrapping her arms around him in an embrace.

"I forgive you Joe, thank you for writing that note. I was being an idiot, I shouldn't've been so mean about it." Taylor whispered, still having her arms around him. Joe knew that he was forgiven and gave her a cheeky smile. The two of them played until they were called downstairs for dinner.

As soon and the two mothers saw their children bounding down the stairs holding hands, they knew everything was alright.

"Maybe they'll fall in love and get married one day," Elizabeth whispered with a giggle.

"I wish," Andrea replied. "By the way, isn't Joe only seven this year? Taylor's turning nine at the end of the year, why are they in the same grade?"

"Isn't that cute? One of them seven one of them nine..." Elizabeth gushed. "Anyways, Joe did very well in his interview with the school so they let him in early, that child of mine is quite smart."

After dinner, Joe and Taylor walked back upstairs. They sat on the swing chair in Taylor's room and chatted about random things.

"Have you seen that thing parents do? Like their lips touch and it looks yucky?" Joe said, cuddling under the blanket he was sharing with Taylor.

"It's very yucky, but remember when our teacher said that's what people do when they like each other? She told us two weeks ago on Valentine's Day," Taylor replied, playing with the frayed strand of the blanket.

"Do you think it's very yucky? All the saliva is gross." Joe said, looking into Taylor's eyes.

Suddenly Taylor looked at Joe excitedly. "Let's try it!"

Joe shrugged his shoulders and leaned in, giving Taylor a small peck on her mouth. Taylor immediately turned away, wiping her lips frantically.

"Ewwwww... That's yucky! Adults are weird, I'm never doing that again. I will just not marry anyone and sit at home with all my cats I shall buy," Taylor said.

"Agreed. This never happened okay?" Joe extended his pinky, hooking it with Taylor's as a promise of their secrecy. Then, they shook hands and giggled quietly.

Summer rolled around quickly and both of them found themselves hugging each other on the last day of school, wearing small graduation caps and robes.

"I'll see you soon Joe! Have a great summer!" Taylor yelled from her car that was driving away. Joe waved back and both of them were excited for their holidays to begin.

September 1st (1998)
Taylor looked around excitedly at the bustling crowds surrounding her. It was a new school year and she was in second grade now. She had the best first year of elementary school and she couldn't wait to start the next. There were anxious parents chatting with the teachers, scared students with water eyes clinging to their parents and the principal was walking around greeting everyone.
As the teacher was calling out attendance, Taylor snapped out of her daydream when she realised Joe's name wasn't called.
"I'm sorry, but I think you have missed someone. Joseph Alwyn. According to the alphabetical order of surnames, he should be first. I checked the name list and he should be in our class." Taylor could not help but babble. During the summer, they had too many playdates to count and Taylor would classify Joe as her best friend.

"Taylor honey, I'm sorry, but Joseph has decided to pull out of our school at the last minute and move to another. That's why the name list still has his name, it was quite sudden really."
Taylor could not help but feel dejected and she missed Joe. There was no one to tease or stick her tongue out at now without getting in trouble. That was the good thing about him. He never told on her, only retaliated in a good natured manner.

Joe could not settle down in his new school as it was ever so strict and one small accident would get him off the playground. There was no cheerful, boisterous girl to mock his british accent or to poke fun of him anymore. He found himself missing Taylor and he begged his parents to transfer him back but the school was very strict about sudden departures.

The two remained separated for many years. Taylor became a scriptwriter while Joe became an actor. They were both very successful and had new friends but they would occasionally remember their moments together as young, innocent children. They dated people but never had a solid, long lasting relationship, no matter how hard they tried. Both would see each other's names in credits of movies and leap excitedly, pointing aggressively at the screen to show whomever was around. They wished to work with each other on any project, but Taylor mainly worked in America while Joe in London.

A/N:
hey besties! thanks for reading until here, it's very much appreciated. Have a great day, ily <3

You got shiny friends since you left town
A tiny screen's the only place I see you now
And I got nothing but well wishes for ya