Girls Never Go Out of Style - A Kaylor Fanfic

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The sun was shining on a beautiful, crisp Fall day. Karlie walked past games and good stalls, laughing kids, couples hand-in-hand. Karlie tucked her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. She was miserable.

This had been a terrible idea. She had known it was a terrible idea when Taylor had proposed it.

Why can't I say no to her? Karlie berated herself.

Taylor had reassured Karlie that she would have no trouble sneaking away from Charles, that the two girls would have plenty of time together. But not so far away from where Karlie glumly regarded the funnel cake stand, things were not going according to plan.

It was almost as though Charles had known that Taylor was planning to ditch him. As soon as they had bought their tickets and entered the fairground, he had been plastered to her side. As they walked he kept a proprietary hand on the small of her back. When she stopped at the ladies', he waited outside until she was finished. And when his friends from the football team stopped to say hello, he was sure to introduce Taylor and absorb her into the group.

All the while, in between the rides and games, he kept up a steady stream of self-congratulatory banter. Taylor responded with half-aware monosyllables, but Charles didn't seem to notice or care. He didn't need anything mroe from her to keep himself going.

When Charles looked at Taylor he was nothing but smiles. But it wasn't like when Karlie smiled at her. Those smiles lit up Karlie's whole face like sunshine. They made Taylor feel lucky and loved. Like a princess. When Charles smiled at her, it only made her feel like a prize that Charles was sure he had already won.

She wished she was with Karlie now.

Then, up ahead, Taylor caught a glimpse of slicked-back hair and impossibly long legs. Karlie!

"Um, Charles? I see a friend of mine up ahead. I'm just going to go say hi, okay?"

"I'll go with you."

"No, that's okay. We would just bore you."

"Taylor, you could never bore me. Come on, you've met all my friends. I want to meet yours."

Taylor felt panic rise up in her. If only there was a way to warn Karlie. But no, they were getting closer and closer...

Karlie felt a prickle on the back of her neck, as though someone were looking at her. When she turned around, her stomach dropped.

"Karlie. Hi." Taylor's voice was small and strained.

When Karlie returned her greeting, it was in barely more than a whisper.

What is she doing?

"Charles, this is my friend. Karlie Kloss."

"Oh, Karlie and I know each other," Charles said. His words were cordial, but he locked Karlie in a cold stare. "We go way back, right, Karlie?"

There was so much Karlie wanted to say, but she barely trusted herself to speak. Her face felt hot with anger. She managed a terse nod.

When Karlie looked over at Taylor, she averted her eyes and said nothing.

"You here alone, Karlie?" Charles asked.

"Yeah." Karlie looked pointedly at Taylor. "I was supposed to meet a friend, but I don't think they're going to make it."

There was a beat of silence. Karlie silently begged Taylor to say something, to explain herself in some way. To somehow make it better that she was on a fake date--that didn't look all that fake--with Charles, and that she had apparently decided to parade him in front of Karlie.

But Taylor was silent.

"Having a good time, Taylor?" Karlie asked, unable to stop herself.

Finally Taylor's eyes met hers. There was sadness and panic and fear swimming in the blue. She looked like she wanted to run away, but would she do anything about it?

Charles reached out then and slung an arm around Taylor's shoulders, pulling her close against his side. "We're having a great time, aren't we, Taylor?"

"Yeah," Taylor nodded. "Great."

Karlie couldn't stand it anymore. She couldn't keep this up any longer. "Well, I'll leave you guys to your date, then."

"Karlie--"

But Taylor didn't have time to finish before Karlie had turned away. She kept her walk steady, didn't break into a run until she knew she was out of sight. One thing was for sure: She wasn't going to let that bastard see her cry.

__

Monday afternoon

Karlie sat behind the ag building, smoking cigarette after cigarette. Her skin felt too tight. She wanted to run, to punch holes in walls, to scream herself raw. She wanted the image of Charles with his arm around Taylor to disappear from her mind, but it was all she saw when she closed her eyes.

There was no way Taylor felt anything for him, right? Not after all the time they had spent together. Not with the way Taylor kissed her, the way her body molded to hers when Karlie reached out for her. They had something, and it was real. Wasn't it?

To Karlie, it was.

Her eyes were closed, her head leaning against the brick wall behind her, when she heard footsteps in the gravel. When she opened her eyes, Charles was standing beside her.

Immediately Karlie was scrambling to her feet, backing away from Charles to put more space between them.

"What are you doing here?"

"Jeez, Karlie. Relax. Other people can blow off class besides you."

Karlie took a deep drag off her cigarette before throwing it down and grinding the butt out under the toe of her boot. "Sure. Well, nice talking to you. Bye."

Charles reached out and grabbed her arm as she tried to walk past him. "Not so fast."

"What the fuck do you want, Charles?"

"I want to know how the fuck you know my girlfriend."

"She's not your girlfriend."

"Oh? Whose girlfriend is she, then?"

He still had his hand wrapped around Karlie's forearm, holding it too tight for her to get away but not tight enough to hurt. Yet.

Karlie said nothing.

"Huh? Whose girlfriend is she?"

Karlie gritted her teeth. "She's mine."

Charles shook his head. "That's the wrong answer, Karlie."

And then, before she knew what was happening, Charles had tigheted his grip on her and had spun her around, trapping her against the brick wall. He didn't slam her, he didn't handle her roughly enough to really hurt or leave a mark. He wasn't a total idiot. He wasn't going to risk doing something he couldn't talk himself out of.

Karlie tried to push away but couldn't escape. "Let me go, you asshole."

"In a minute." He held her in place effortlessly. "We're not done yet."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to leave Taylor alone."

"What are you going to do, Charles? She's got a mind of her own. You can't follow her all day."

"I can do more than you think, Karlie. And you can either stay away from her on your own." He paused, squeezing her against the wall so hard that it was hard for her to breath, making her squeak in panic. "Or I'll make you stay away from her. Do you understand?"

Karlie nodded and he let her go. She felt her knees go out beneath her, and she sank down to the ground. But she didn't cry until he was gone. She still wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.