"Don't think I'm talking to you for any reason other than your friendship with Taylor"
I whisper into the ear of the Latina I have just stalked from the bathroom to the lockers
"I will try to contain my disappointment" Taylor has a very poor taste in friends, each one is more sassy than the last
"You do that. Look, has she spoken to you about me?"
"No" she crosses her arms over the plain white T-shirt she's wearing and looks at me as though I'm the most disgusting creature she has ever seen in her life
"Yeah right!" Girls love gossiping about boy drama, there's no way in hell Taylor hasn't spoken to her friends about me
"This may come as a shock to your planet sized ego but you aren't the bee all and end all of Taylors life. She has more than one horny guy running around after her right now" she smirks and I wonder if it's a smirk because she's messing with me or a smirk because she knows something I don't
"What guys?!" I can't help myself, I have to know
"That's none of your business, you aren't her boyfriend, in fact the last time I checked you weren't even her friend, you were just an asshole who embarrassed her and it actually amuses me that you come to me for information on her and don't expect me to cut your balls off for what you did"
"Well I'm glad I amuse you Miss. Sassy Pants now tell me what guys I have to murder to make sure they stay away from Tay"
"Tay??? We're using nicknames now are we?" She laughs and then looks up at me from under her shiny black bangs "You like her"
"Well I'm here talking to you, something I would never choose to do under ordinary circumstances I think that speaks volumes, don't you?"
This girl is causing my patience to wear thin even quicker than normal so I decide to stop verbally sparring with her and just get straight to the point. "She's pissed at me"
"As she should be"
"Yes but I want to make her not pissed at me"
"Well I think you need a time machine and a personality transplant for that to happen, neither of which I can help you with" she begins to walk away as though this conversation is over and my hand shoots out and takes hold of her elbow, pulling her to the side of the hallway as I lower my head to her ear
"Don't play with me. I need help here, that might seem amusing to you but it's anything but amusing to me now tell me. You're her friend what do I need to do so she knows I'm sorry and I'm sincere?"
"Okay look, say I actually believe you for a second which I'm not sure that I do but anyways. Britney and the hoes have to go, no more orgies or whatever you get up to at Connors house"
"Easy. That's easy, consider it done" I can feel a glimmer of hope taking hold in my chest. There might be a way out of this for me
"Travis, you humiliated her in front of the entire school" and now that hope has been extinguished by shame. "Every kid in here thinks Taylor's the girl that got played, have you heard what they say? That's she's easy and lame and you're this huge hero because you took her virginity and then laughed about it in the hall. You need to do something that lets everyone know that it wasn't like that, that Taylor didn't get played and humiliated, that what happened was something real between the two of you because it was, wasn't it?"
I nod as I feel my throat tightening
"I don't know if it will help, but it won't do any harm, you just have to hope that she cares enough about you to give you a second chance"
"Does she?" I dare to ask and then my heart thumps as I anticipate the answer but the girl whose name I don't know just shrugs and then walks away leaving me standing there, my brain scrambled.
********************
Band practise
"Okay, new rules" I walk into Connors basement and throw myself down on to the sofa, the guys aren't going to like this but that's their bad luck. "No girls at practise unless you are dating them. No groupies, no drinking, no fuckin"
"No way!" Connor stands up and scowls at me but I slowly lean forwards in my seat and he quickly retreats
"Yes way, saying that Taylor will be coming to practise so you two try and behave at least half human and not 100% Neanderthal"
"You're dating Swifty?! YOU are dating????"
"Do you have a problem with that?" Connor just sakes his head in disbelief and I grit my teeth refusing to let him get to me. "Taylor coming over means no Brit, do you get that? She's gone"
"Aw come on Trav, you have to be kidding me right now!" Connor looks like a kid that just lost his favourite toy but if it hadn't been for him and his big mouth I wouldn't be in half the trouble I am with Taylor so he owes me, big time
"School tomorrow, you tell anyone that will listen how I'm a changed man and have stopped the insanity that used to go on here instead of practising... especially if you see Taylor close by. In fact mention her name as much as you can so she gets the idea. Oh and if Britney goes anywhere near her you are a dead man, you now have 100% responsibility over the way she reacts to the news her services are no longer required"
"This is a joke, I swear this is a joke" Connor places his head in his hands and Brian just laughs
"So this is it? This is Operation Wicked Plan Part 2? Get Taylor back"
"That's exactly what this is but never ever mention Taylor and 'plan' together in a sentence again. Got it?"
"Oh I get it. Travis catches feelings so life as we know it changes"
"Exactly. Now get your shit together and let's play some actual music for once"
"Can we at least have beer?!" Connor looks as though he's on the edge of a tantrum so I unclip my guitar case and nod
"Unless Taylor's here, if she's here, we my friend are motherfuckin saints"
"This is pussy power gone mad. Like what kind of magic did she use on you?" Connor picks up some drum sticks and heads to his drum kit where he proceeds to bang seven shades of shit out of it
"That's more like it, less banging Brit and more banging your kit"
"I hate you Kelce"
"The feeling's mutual my friend"
And for the first time in months we embark on a practise that involves Connors basement being filled with the sound of guitar, drums and bass and not the sound of smashed teenagers engaging in hedonistic activities
