The Baby Project *unfinished and discontinued*

Chapter Twenty Six

I took a deep breath in, the fresh air filtering through my lungs. Smiling slightly to myself, I ran my hand through my hair, and stepped away from the house. Rosie's was only a 10 minute walk away, so there was no bother taking the car.  As I walked along the edge of the road, for a second I thought everything was back to normal. But it wasn't. Lilly still died, I was on my way to meet up with Tyson and Sarah was now bestfriends with Angelic, and by the way she was acting, hated my guts.

My spirits were falling again, but before I let them go too far I picked myself back up. No, I wasn't going to let my problems ruin this perfectly good afternoon. The sun was warming my shoulders and the warm air was making me feel cosy and light. I shook my head, feeling my hair flow behind me. No, I was going to enjoy myself. And loose myself.

As Rosie's entered my vision, I almost let out an excited squeal but managed to stop myself just intime. Pushing open the door, the familiar warm scent of the all-too-familiar cafe soothed my inner thoughts, and there was a big smile plastered on my face as I walked on over to a window seat, sitting down. I took out my phone to see if I had any new messages, but I didn't, so slipping it back in I looked out the window, watching the busy people walk around the street. As it ticked 9 minutes since I entered, my mind began to shout out me. 'He was standing me up, he wasn't coming, he is still a player', were only some of the things whirling through my mind. I was about to panic when the 'ding' of the cafe shop door sounded and I turned my head, a smile returning to my face as Tyson walked through, a tight white tee flattering his body, black ripped jeans and white converses topped it off. His hair was styled into a quiff, and I will admit the sight of him like this made my inner teenager girl squeal with joy. And he was here to see me.

"Sorry I'm late, had a little trouble trying to pursuade Dad to let me leave." he said, as he sat down opposite me. He gave me a smile that made my insides melt.

"It's fine, I knew you would show up." I said happily, but did I really?

He smiled back, before speaking again. "So are you hungry or anything?" he asked, looking around at the waitresses walking by. In all honestly, I wasn't, and hadn't been since I got back from the project, but for the sake of it I answered, "In the mood for a latte."

He laughed, and motioned one of the waitresses over. "Could I get two lattes please." he said to the girl, who was wearing booty shorts that were almost too short to be classified booty shorts, and a tight top that almost rode up over her belly button. Her eyes raked over Tyson, and a fake smile plastered her way-too-glossy lips.

"Sure thing." she answered, writing it down on her notepad. As she turned and walked away, I was almost certain you could see her ass slip out from her shorts.

I glanced at Tyson to see if he had 'noticed' the audacity that I did, but he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at me. I smiled shyly and looked down at the table, my hands fiddling with eachother beneath.

"So, want to tell me about your day?" he asked genuinely, and I looked up at him.

Where to begin?

Eventually the whole story poured out from my lips, about Sarah, and how I was feeling about the whole Lilly thing, and how I felt like I was changing somehow. I didn't even notice there was a latte sitting infront of me until Tyson pushed it over to me.

"Oh." I said embarrassed, grasping it in my hands and taking a sip. The hot liquid slid down my throat, and I was thankful I had ordered it.

"Sounds rough." Tyson said, after he took a long sip from his cup. "Why even go then?" he finished.

I contemplated that, but wasn't surprised it came from his mouth. He was Tyson, he always ditched school.

"My grades.." I began, but his laugh stopped me.

"Who cares?" he said, "Even if you miss two weeks, you'll still be smart enough to get an A in every subject." he said, and I shrugged my shoulders, not picking up the compliment.

"I don't know..." I began, but was once again interrupted.

"Ditch school and hang out with me tomorrow." he said suddenly, and I was taken aback.

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"I'm stuck a home for a few more days and it's boring as hell. Ditch school, and come chill with me."

I thought it over for a second, before another Maya, a Maya I never knew existed, answered for me.

"Sounds great."

He smiled, a genuine smile that reached his eyes and crinkled his cheeks.

"Sound's great." he mimicked, and I gave him a little laugh.

After we finished out Latte's, Tyson paid the bill and we strolled around the neighborhood.

"Has your Dad always been like that.. so... grumpy?" I asked tentatively, and Tyson looked away for a second before answering.

"Ever since my Mum passed away 4 years ago, he's been a different man. He used to be a great father.. but now he's horrible. So bad, I'm scared of him." he said with a low voice, and I reached out and touched his arm. His eyes flicked up to mine for a brief second, and he smiled.

"Loss is a hard thing, for anyone." I began.

"My sister.. when she died... I felt like my whole world began to fall apart. She was my bestfriend, ya know? We did everything together. And then she was suddenly gone. And then a few months later, my Dad left us too, for no other reason then 'he found someone else'." I finished with a sigh, and Tyson stopped walking, so I stopped as well.

"Who knew the perfect little Maya didn't have the perfect little life." he said, his head reached up to touch my cheek. Immediately I felt the colour and heat rush there, but I ignored it.

"And who knew the bad-ass Tyson was actually a major softy." I said back with a smile, which he returned.

"Yeah, who knew." Was all he said before I pulled him in, and for the second times our lips met eachother. It was a strange yet wonderful feeling, kissing Tyson. It was an all new experience to me, but I felt like it was right. It felt like I needed more, like I never wanted to stop. Which is probably why he ended it, letting my lips go.

I took a breath to steady myself, my eyes suddenly darting to the ground. What the hell was actually wrong with me? Tyson laughed, his hand lowering to my chin, pulling my face up, forcing my eyes to meet his.

"Never look away." he muttered, leaning down and kissing me again, a short and sweet one.

"Okay." I said, as he pulled away. We stood there, looking at eachother for a few moments, before he  turned to look around.

"So, what now?" he asked, giving a laugh. I smiled, pulling out my phone and checking the time.

"Oh, I told my Mum I'd be two hours tops, I'm a little late. I should probably start heading back." I mumbled, and Tyson grabbed my hand.

"Well, let's go then."

When we reached my gate way, I stopped and looked at Tyson, and some words that had been buried inside me since our kiss needed to come out.

"Look, I'm new to this Tyson. I don't want you to... take advantage of me... or anything like that."

He frowned as I said that, "I'd never do anything like that." he spoke.

"And I'm not ready to take it all the way. I know all the other girls you've been with were, but I'm not."

He laughed, running his fingers through my hair.

"In time." he said with a smile, and I smiled back.

He kissed me on the forehead, although I desperately wanted his lips on mine again, and said goodbye. I let go of his hand, and opened the gate, walking up to the door. Before opening it, I glanced back, and saw Tyson there watching me with a smile. He lifted his hand in a wave, and I laughed, opening the door and walking inside.

What a day.