Secretly Yours - Taylor x Travis AU

01.

"Eyes on the road, Taylor!" The shrill voice of my mother spoke, snapping me back into existence as we drove down narrow country lanes. We were on the way to our annual summer destination: the beach house, which my mom and her best friend had shared for years. They bought it when they were just students, meaning they had to eat beans on toast for about a year, but it was worth it.

"Sorry." I muttered under my breath, pushing a strand of my golden-blonde hair behind my ear as I continued to drive.

At one point on the everlasting journey, a small robin hopped onto the road, causing me to swerve massively, and my brother Austin to hiss: "Jesus!" But, I ignored him as I carried on driving, trying to avoid the daggers my mother was shooting at me.

Eventually, we passed the familiar sign of "Anchors Beach," my mom smiling out of the window as the beautiful, sandy beach came into view. The beach was quiet as usual, and I noticed how the waves gently lapped against the shore.

We passed all the familiar houses: The Jones's, The Fisher's, The Fjords, until we finally reached the one that was most familiar.

"Kelce+Swift" was painted on the pale blue mailbox that guarded the house, the white paint slightly chipped and worn down after all the years.

I pulled into the driveway slowly, making sure I didn't crash into anything, before parking the van and leaning back in a sigh of relief. Partly because we were finally here, and partly because I had finally finished driving.

The Kelce's car was already parked in the driveway, and I could see Donna inside giving orders to Travis. She was instructing him on where to place furniture, in her bossy (yet comforting) manner.

As I opened the door and stepped out, shutting the door behind me with a good force, Donna turned and waved frantically. Donna was one of those mothers whose smiles lit up her face entirely, and also those looking at her.

Donna literally dashed out of the front door, practically jumping into my mom's arms as they hugged tightly. My mom and Donna had been best friends since they were children. They constantly compared themselves to Travis and Austin, which I always felt a pang of envy about as I didn't have anyone my age in their family. I had Clara, but she was 8 years old and we didn't relate that much together.

After finally finishing embracing, Donna turned to me with a wide smile which caused me also to smile. I truly wasn't lying when I said her smile was extremely infective. As she pulled me into a close hug, I noticed Travis and Clara come out of the house. Travis jogged out to Austin, doing their handshake before a great bear hug.

Donna's sweet coconut perfume filled my nostrils, her familiar scent immediately reassuring me for any present (or future) worries. She pulled away, resting her hands on my shoulders as she smiled at me.

"You look beautiful, Rory." She hugged me again. "You look like an exact mixture of me and your mom when we were your age. My hair and her looks."

"Thank you." I giggled, my mouth forming a smile. Donna always knew how to make me smile.

She smiled at me again, before heading over to my brother and hugging him, exclaiming how handsome he had become over the past year.

Turning around and pulling a slight face, I heard a quiet giggle. Clara was grinning at me, her short blonde hair in a small braid tied off with a lilac bow.

"Haven't you just grown so much?" I grinned back at her, crouching down and pulling her into a hug. "How old are you now?"

"I'm 8! Mommy says I'm old enough for camp now!" She beamed at me, clearly bursting to tell that particular part of news. Clara had been born when I was around 9, and I had always treated her like she was my little sister.

"Wow, that's amazing! I'm going to miss you though, are you gonna be gone for the whole summer?" A part of me was sad that Clara was growing up so fast, and I loved spending time with her as she showed off her new toys and gadgets of that particular year. At one point it was Barbies, and then Sylvanian Families. She kept them in such order, I often found myself getting told off by her for disrupting their harmony.

"Umm." She paused, her mouth slightly agape as she thought for a moment. "6 weeks. I think we leave tomorrow. Mommy said the bus will pick me up early!" 6 weeks seemed like a long time for an 8 year old to be going away for, but I remembered how all my friends always went away for camp, when I headed up to the beach house. I had always felt slightly jealous, but any hints of that melted when the view of beautiful Anchor Beach came into view.

"Wow." I smiled, "I'm so excited for you. I remember my friends always had the best time at camp." I gave her one last quick hug before standing up, and looking around for the last person to hug.

He had just finished greeting my mother, and as he turned to look at me, our eyes locked. Travis and I were friends, but really it was him and my brother that were the proper best friends. They had been practically joined at the hip all their lives, and one thing was clear. He was off limits.

He had a slightly different gaze on his face this time as he looked at me. Just slightly, but I noticed it all the same. As we walked towards eachother, he grinned at me with the same knowing smile that I always received. However, this time this was different too.

"Hi." I smiled, biting down on my lip slightly as I tried not to grin at him. I noticed his hair had become slightly overgrown, his chestnut coloured hair flopping slightly over his face.

"Hey Tay." He grinned at me, before pulling me into a bear hug. He had become significantly taller than last year, and now towered above me, rather than just a few inches over. I noticed how he smelt like cinnamon and musk as I was pressed to his chest, and part of my ached to stay longer in this position.

He stepped back, and I felt a tinge of disappointment that I was no longer pressed against him.

"You look pretty." He said charmingly, and I was about to reply shyly with "Thank you.", until Austin suddenly pointed a finger at him and sharply said "Watch it."

I rolled my eyes at him, pulling a face at him before he pulled one back and walked inside, carrying a large suitcase full of clothes for him.

"Idiot." I muttered, turning back to Travis. "Sorry. Uh, how are you?"

"Good." He replied, putting his hands into his cargo shorts pockets. "You.. got a boyfriend?" He said it casually, but I knew that he really just wanted to know.

"Nope." I shrugged, placing my hands on my hips. "You got a girlfriend?" I prayed he would say no.

"Nope." He shook his head, his hair flopping again over his face. He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something else, but instead he closed it and just gave me a small smile.

"I'm gonna go inside, you coming?" He said.

"Sure." I responded, turning towards the set of steps that lead up to the front door and following him behind.