you have my hart.

02. project

(grace's pov)

i don't remember what really happened but i think i fell asleep cause i woke up on my bed. grandpa probably took me upstairs. not caring about fixing my clothes or looking presentable, i trudge downstairs.

"taylor?" i call out, making all three of their eyes shift on me.

"hi honey," she said, walking over to me wiping away my dried tears.

after i got settled down on the couch, my head was on her lap as i laid down on the couch.

"what happened?" she asked, after a moment of hesitation.

i don't say anything, i start thinking about how my dad would yell and all about what he did. grandma says something to grandpa who nods his head and they both leave the room, leaving just me and taylor on the couch.

"love, what happened?" taylor asks again.

"some girl hit metal and iron right next to my ear cause i accidentally fell asleep and it reminded me of my dad and i hate it," i choke out.

mom just sighs sadly and holds me. this wasn't the first time i came home due to loud noises.

"i'll see what i can do about the loud noises," she said softly.

after a couple minutes, grandma and grandpa come back and have paper bags in their hands.

"we got food, c'mon let's eat," grandma says, handing out plates to everyone.

"mom, are you staying?" i ask, "mom" just slipped out.

"until sunday, i have to go back sunday night, but i'll be back in about three weeks after i'm done with tour," she says, sympathetically.

after i ate, i went up in my room to watch something until i fall asleep. mom said she wanted to call someone and she'll come sleep with me after. an hour later or so, she walked in just like she promised.

"i talked to some people, and they can make you earbud type things which will make noise volume lower," she said.

"thanks taylor," i said, relieved to hear that.

"but you got to stay in school tomorrow, okay?" she said.

i don't respond, i just lay down and close my eyes. i can feel taylor shifting in and she lays next to me. my body starts to untense and i try to sleep.

today, taylor woke me up instead of grandma or grandpa. she was very soft and gentle, which was really calming. after brushing and taking a bath, i stole taylor's grey sweatshirt and threw on some blue shorts. taylor made me chocolate chip waffles for breakfast, and they were amazing. the ratio of batter to chips were perfection. i say bye to them and head out to school.

at the front of the school i see riley, lucas, farkle, and maya. lucas spots me and after he points at me, the rest of them see me too. as i walk inside, i har maya's voice.

"hey!" maya semi-yelled.

i turned around and see all four of them walking to me.

"hey, i'm sorry for yesterday, i didn't mean to make you sad. i thought it would be a joke, but you didn't like it and i'm sorry," maya apologies.

"you're fine, i was just really startled. loud noises aren't my favorite," i admit.

riley was saying something but as i looked up, this was the first time that maya was this close to me. our faces were a couple inches apart. her eyes were really dark blue and i think she had a little bit of mascara on. the really dark eyelashes brought out the blue color. i saw her lean in as my eyes widen. she moves her face to the side and i could feel her breath on my ear. i could barely breathe, i was dying.

"you're staring, love," she said, before walking away with her friends.

what the hell just happened. i walk all flustered into class, feeling lucky that she isn't in my first two classes, giving me time to calm down and process what just happened. all i could think about was the vanilla scent i got around her and that feeling in my stomach.

"grace! class is over!" mr. corman, my second period teacher, says, waving his hand in front of my face.

"oh i'm sorry," i say, getting up and walking to my third class.

i walk in and sit at the back of the class and try to steal glances at maya. she looked so pretty and her hair was a little messy and it suited her face so well. once in fifth period, she turned around and winked as she saw me looking at her, making me quickly turn away. finally i was in my last class of the day. we had to work in trios for a group project. i wasn't really paying attention. i was too busy trying to draw a dinosaur.

what? they're cool!

i looked up as mr. matthews was assigning partners.

"hey matthews, i think smackle would like to work with farkle instead," maya said, grinning at farkle.

"okay, then riley, maya, and hmm...." he looks over at me and says, "grace. riley, maya, and grace."

after he goes through the rest of the groups, he lets everyone work on the project for the rest of class. maya and riley both come over to me and pull up some seats.

"hi grace!" riley said, cheerfully, waving at me.

"sup," maya said right after.

"hey," i say, responding to both of them.

since both maya and i weren't paying attention, riley was re-explaining the project to us. i did my best to focus, as i didn't want to be confused half-way through the project.

"which part do you want to do?" riley asks me.

"hey! why didn't you ask me first!" maya exclaims, teasingly.

"okay maya, which part do you want?" riley asks.

"i don't know," she said, laughing to herself.

riley looks at her with a pout and proceeds to hit her on the back of her head.

"ow! okay okay, i'll do that last part," maya said, rubbing her head.

"great! what about you grace?" she asks.

"i'll do any part," i say, not really caring.

"okay, i'll do the first part, you can do the second," she states. 

right after that the bell rings, and so we all pack up and as we were walking out, riley asks if i want to walk home with them.

"my house is in the same direction as yours, so yeah i guess so," i say.

as we walk home, riley talks about how ava keeps eating all the cheese from their house and how she never ha any left to make mac and cheese. and then riley complained about how maya would always hog the t.v, making maya laugh. once i got in front of my house, since mine was the first one, riley gives me a hug. maya was just standing there with her hands in her pockets.

"maya, give our new friend a hug," riley says.

maya wraps me in an awkward and tense hug. she pats my back with a very stiff hand before pulling back. she catches up with riley, then turns around and gives me a smile before turning the corner. i look down at my feet, blushing, and as i look up, i see taylor standing there, smirking at me.

"what's got you all red, sweetheart?"

"taylorrrrrrrr"

word count: [1195]