Stepbrother: Luke Hemmings |a.u.|

Stay Here

(All of these names, such as the dean, and completely made up, so just go w the flow. )

"Where is my hairspray?" I ask Luke.
"I didn't have it." He answers.
"Luke," I say with my eyebrow raised. He smirks and grabs the spray off of his sink.
"I have to look nice for this interview, Luke. Columbia isn't gonna want someone who looks like a bum." I say as I slick my hair back into a neat ponytail.
"It's not an interview, Taylor."
"I know, but I'm talking to the dean. That's pretty important. I have to do this while I have the chance. She's not coming to Georgia anytime soon again."
"Why do you want to go so far away, Taylor?" Luke says, pulling on my jacket.
"Stay here and go to Tech with me."
I turn around with a bobby pin in my hand.
"Luke, you know how much this means to me. I want to make sure my future is exactly how I've been planning it."
"Yeah, I know, buuuuut . . . you can stay here with me for a year or two, then we can probably both go to Columbia." Luke says.
"Luke, I haven't been busting my ass for 4 years to spend the first two years of my college life in community college. I'm looking for an academic scholarship to a respected university and nothing less." I snap a little.
"Okay." Luke says, stepping, away from the sink.
"Luke . . ."
"I said okay." He snaps. I didn't really mean to sound like that much of a bitch.
"I'm sorry, Luke. This just means a lot to me." I say with almost pleading eyes.
"I know, Taylor. I know." He says. I step out of the bathroom and grab two pairs of shoes.
"Dressy flats or semi formal heels?"
"Taylor, do I look like a-"
"Please just pick one." I cut him off. He points to the dressy flats.
"Thanks. I gotta go. I'll be back later" I say, slipping past him while trying to put on my shoes. Once my shoes are on, I run down the stairs and grab my car keys. As I enter my car, I think, "You've got this. Columbia would be lucky to have you." As I go down this road, I really wonder if I really do want to go that far away from home.

What am I thinking?

I've always dreamed of going to Columbia, but sometimes I just think about how sometimes things change for a reason. Maybe this dream should change.

*Luke's P.O.V*

"Yeah, dude. Taylor's got the car, sorry you have to stop by." I say to my friend, Michael.
"It's fine, Luke. We're gonna have so much fun. I'm on my way." He says.
"I gotta get ready, so the door's open when you get here." I tell him. Shit.

Where is my jacket?

I look around my room and it's nowhere to be seen.

I remember . . . I left it in Taylor's room.

I hear Michael open the door as I walk towards Taylor's room.
"I'm up here, bud." I call out.

Ho-ly. Shit.

Taylor left her folder. Her important folder. I pick it up and see all of her important papers in it. Her last report card, teacher recommendations, certificates . . . everything.
"Hey, Luke. What's that you've got there?" Michael asks.
"Dude, Taylor left all of her shit for her meeting with the dean of Columbia today." I tell him.
"Woah. Isn't Columbia all the way in fucking New York?"
"Yeah. She's trying to go all the way to fucking New York." I sigh.
"Are you gonna miss her?"
I throw my jacket at Michael.
"What the fuck? Of course I'm gonna miss her." I say.
"What am I gonna do with her folder? I'm gonna call her." I say, panicked.
"Dude, dude, dude. I say we leave the folder where it is and we never saw it." Michael proposes.
"Michael, Taylor would kill me. I would ruin her chances of going to Columbia. I can't do that to her, man." I say, picking up my phone. Michael takes my phone and puts it on the bed.
"You wouldn't be ruining it, just delaying it. She can go to Columbia next year. You can both figure out what you both want to do next year."
"Michael-"
"You know you're going to miss her like hell. Just do it. Don't even think about it. She won't even know."

I guess she really won't know I saw it. It wouldn't be my fault.

Michael grabs my shoulders. "Now c'mon. The party is gonna be over if we don't fucking leave."
I crack a smile. "Yeeeeah. Let's go have fun." I say. I'm just not gonna sweat it.

*Taylor's POV*

I pull up to the college fair and I feel like im standing in a puddle in my own shoes.
What if she doesn't like me?
What if my grades aren't good enough?
What if I'm not good enough?

I take a deep breath and step into the building.
"Um, hi. I'm . . . I'm Taylor Dawson. I have a . . . a 3:00 appointment." I stutter.
"The dean will be with you shortly. Please, take a seat." A nice lady says. I stumble over my feet and sit in the comfy chair. I barely get to blink before I hear,
"The dean will see you now." The lady tells me. I follow the lady past all the other college signs and walk into a room.
"Ah . . . Ms. Dawson, very pleased to meet you." Dean Richards says. All of sudden, my hands feel clammy.
"Believe me, the pleasure is mine, Dean Richards." I say.
Why did I just say that?
"Alrighty, Ms. Dawson. Let's take a look at your transcripts. Shall we?" She says. I shakily reach into my bag to grab my folder. I open the Manila folder to pull out one of my certificates.

What the hell?
Where the hell are my transcripts?!
Don't panic, Taylor. Stay calm.

"Is there are problem, Ms. Dawson?" Dean Richards asks.
"I seem to have . . . uh . . . I must've . . . left my transcripts . . . Or grabbed the wrong folder. I am so . . . so sorry." I stammer. A look of disappointment washes over her face.
"Ms. Dawson, I'm afraid there's nothing for us to discuss." She says, crossing her arms.
"No, please, Dean Richards, maybe we can just . . . just re-reschedule my appointment." I say, fiddling with my fingers.
"I've worked so hard and this is all I want and-"
"Ms. Dawson, I am afraid I don't have another opening in my schedule. Columbia would love to see you apply next year." She says, standing. I fight back the tears that are in my eyes right now to try to remain professional.
"Thank you for your time." I say, grabbing my back and turning around. I take my bun out of my hair as I'm walking through the building.

Hold it in, Taylor.

I walk to my car and sit in silence.
"What the hell?!" I yell out, even though no one is around. I hit my steering wheel. I finally let out the tears that I've been holding in.

I really fucked this one up.