Nothing in Between

25

Today was Taylor's last day in Nashville.

Clyde had managed to fix her old car a few days prior, which allowed her to easily drive to Taylor's house whenever she was bored at home. That happened multiple times, and sometimes, Clyde had the actual bravery to visit Taylor in the middle of the night.

Today wasn't one of those days, though, as Clyde arrived at Taylor's home quite early in the morning, so that they could spend the entire day together. Clyde was truly frustrated that Taylor didn't tell her earlier, but everything seemed to be totally all right.

While the two both easily agreed on going around the entire area, they couldn't agree on one specific thing. Clyde had used her car to get to Taylor's house, so she wanted to use it and nothing else. Taylor simply wanted to walk instead, like how they used to.

It took them a stupid amount of time to make a decision, and Clyde even gave Taylor a few comments about how she was literally preventing her from driving, but after Taylor practically begged Clyde to agree, Clyde was given no choice but to oblige.

After that hassle, Clyde waited for Taylor to change her clothes to disguise herself, which Clyde thought was slightly dumb. It did nothing to hide Taylor's identity, but she obviously didn't say anything. Plus, maybe Clyde was just better at recognizing Taylor.

Taylor appeared from her bedroom after a moment, and they headed outside.

Clyde was walking behind Taylor with her head down, listening to the sound of her own slow breaths. Her gaze steadily remained on her shoes, kicking pebbles in her way and almost hitting Taylor's legs by complete accident, for more than just a few times.

"Do you not have bodyguards?" Clyde suddenly asked.

"I do," Taylor said, "I just thought you wouldn't want someone following us around."

"Oh."

"Plus, you're here. You'll protect me, right?"

Despite the playful tone in Taylor's voice, Clyde couldn't deny the rush of warmth that suddenly entered her system. She simply reacted by shaking her head, quickening her pace so that she could catch up to Taylor, and they could walk side by side.

Soon enough, they arrived at the diner.

Clyde honestly thought they had gone there so many times already, but she truly didn't care. They practically became regulars within such a brief time period, and Taylor found that amusing, mostly because the staff knew what milkshake flavor Clyde wanted.

They briefly walked inside and Clyde immediately ordered a milkshake. They certainly did not have enough time to sit inside and waste their time, so Clyde had to drink it while they were walking. Thankfully, Clyde wasn't even the slightest bit against doing so.

"Do you want one, too?"

"Not really," Taylor said, smiling softly.

Clyde's eyebrow raised in question as she fished her wallet out of her pocket, feeling her heart drop suddenly. She nodded, though she couldn't help but feel a certain faint sense of familiarity with this exact situation, and it quickly made her palms sweat.

She managed to brush the feeling off after paying, and silence rapidly overtook them. Clyde prayed to get her milkshake within the next few seconds, and it seemed like her silent, slightly nervous and desperate prayers were immediately answered.

Clyde happily took the milkshake before she and Taylor stepped outside.

This time, they were headed towards Jon's bar. Clyde had mentioned to Taylor that she hadn't paid for her tab yet, so Taylor offered to accompany her. Clyde obviously wasn't going to complain about having Taylor around her, though, so she agreed.