Away

Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13;

I can't tell you how long we stood there dancing, how many songs had passed, or what the names of any of the songs were.

We danced.

It wasn't until the lights of the ice cream parlor turned off that we stopped. I hoped Avery couldn't see me blushing in the dark.

He drove me back to the school, the ride was mostly silent. The silence wasn't exactly awkward, it was sort of comforting and I was sad to see the sight of Rocky come into view.

I stayed sitting in his car even after he turned the engine. I don't know what I was waiting for, but after another moment of silence, I opened the door and started to my car when Avery called me back;

"Wait! Taylor!" I turned around to face him. He leaned over the passenger seat and smiled.

"What?" I asked, afraid he was smiling because I had ice cream on my face or something embarrassing.

"Goodnight." He said with a softer smile now.

Once again, he had me blushing. I pushed my hair behind my ear and said goodnight as I got in my car to drive away.

I spent the entire ride home going over everything in my head.

I've always found it so cheesy in movies when two people just start dancing in random places for hours, I don't get how they "lose track of time". It seemed impossible... until today. I finally get it.

But that scared me.

Where was this going? What was I doing? How did I feel?

I knew what I was feeling, as much as I hated and wouldn't admit it.

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When I came into my room, I noticed my window that leads to the roof was open. I gently set down my bags and reached for the mace can my dad made me take on runs.

Quietly as I could, I snuck over to the window expecting to find myself face to face with my killer, but that's not what happened. Thankfully, it was just Tyler.

I threw my mace on my bed and climbed up on my roof in silence. Neither Tyler or I said a word. We sat there gazing at the stars.

I followed the stars to discover the big and Little Dipper, along with Aries.

I was just about to ask Tyler why he was here when he stood up and hopped back down into my bedroom window. Puzzled, I followed after him.

"Tyler? What's wrong?" I asked. It was the first time I looked at Tyler tonight and it looked like he was crying. I've never seen Tyler cry before. Ever. He threw his hands through his hair out of pure frustration.

"Tyler-" I stepped forward and put my hands on his, which were covering his eyes as he cried. I moved his hands down by his side and looked up into his water filled eyes.

"Hey, Tyler," I lifted his chin so our eyes met. He tried to look away but I pulled his face back to mine.

"What's wrong?" I asked completely concerned.

"I gotta go." Tyler finally spoke after several quiet moments.

He started to walk away when I grabbed his hand and turned him around. He was a mess.

"No. You're not leaving. Come on, let's go." I said keeping his hand in mine and walking out on my balcony, not bothering to climb all the way back on top of the roof. I sat Tyler across from me and waited for him to speak up.

"Taylor, it's 11:30, I can't keep you up like this, I should go. I have to go." I laughed at his generosity.

"Well we both know I'm not going to let that happen. You might as well just tell me what's wrong Tyler." Tyler sniffled and locked eyes with mine. I didn't pull away.

He took a deep breath, letting me know that this would take awhile, but I smiled to let him know that it was okay.

What are friends for after all?