You belong with me

Chapter 3

The music pulsed through the room as Taylor hovered near the snack table, clutching her drink and scanning the crowd for Travis. They'd arrived together, but as soon as they'd walked in, he'd been pulled aside by friends congratulating him on last week's big game. She'd lost sight of him shortly after that.

She finally spotted him across the room, standing close to Kayla, the new cheerleader, who seemed to have captured everyone's attention lately. Travis looked different around her—more animated, as if every laugh and gesture was meant to impress. He leaned in, his voice drowned out by the music, but his eyes never left Kayla.

Taylor took a small step forward, hoping to catch his eye, but he didn't seem to notice her at all. She watched as he smiled at something Kayla said, his hand brushing against her arm. It was just the way he'd always been around Taylor, but somehow, seeing him act that way with someone else felt like a punch to her stomach.

As she watched, Travis took a playful step closer to Kayla, clearly trying to keep her attention. "I mean, I'm not saying I'm the best quarterback this school's ever seen," he said with a grin, "but I don't see anyone else winning the game single-handedly last week."

Kayla giggled, twirling a strand of her hair. "Oh, trust me, we all noticed. I was thinking the entire time, 'Wow, now that's a guy who knows how to put on a show.'"

Taylor felt her face grow warm as she stood there, feeling more out of place with every passing second. She knew it wasn't fair to feel hurt—Travis was just talking to someone new, enjoying the attention. But she'd never seen him try this hard to impress anyone, not even her. And for the first time, she realized how much it stung to be on the outside, looking in.

Travis laughed, his gaze still locked on Kayla. "Well, maybe I'll have to up my game next time. If I score another touchdown, think I could convince you to save me a dance at the next party?"

"Hmm, I don't know..." Kayla teased, raising an eyebrow. "Let's just say you'll have to do more than that to get on my dance card."

Taylor swallowed hard, glancing down at her drink. She'd thought this party would be like all the others, where she and Travis would talk and joke around the way they always did. But tonight, he seemed worlds away, his attention fixed entirely on Kayla.

She turned away, hugging her arms around herself, hoping the empty feeling would pass. But each time she glanced across the room, there he was, looking at Kayla like she was the only person in the room. And the more she watched, the more it hurt.

At some point, she couldn't bear it any longer. She left her drink on the table and slipped quietly out the door, her heart pounding as she made her way down the familiar road home. She told herself it didn't matter—he hadn't meant to ignore her. But as she looked back at the house, hoping he'd come out and notice she was gone, she felt a pang of disappointment. For the first time, she realized that maybe she wasn't as important to him as he'd always been to her.