Something More

NaBrO

Chapter 3: NaBrO

Tasha's POV

"Okay, whew. Stop laughing. Got another one, uh, got a joke about sodium bromine oxygen?"

Taylor and I were at chemistry making science jokes while experimenting. Sodium Bromine Oxygen? Sodium – Na. Bromine – Br. Oxygen – O. Na-Br-O.

"Na-Brrr-Oh?" Oh! "NaBrO! Hahahahaha! Dude, how do you know these stuff?" I laughed like a maniac in front of him. He says I have a cute laugh, I think he's lying.

"See? Told you I'm a chemistry genius," he said, winking. It's great having Taylor as my chem partner. It's been 3 weeks since he moved to SAMO HI, and we've been good friends since then. We always seem to laugh about something in Chemistry and also, he's really good at the subject itself. I told him that I was failing lately and he offered to help, so every Tuesday and Friday afternoon he comes over to mine and tutors me. My mum likes him a lot, saying he's a very polite young man and that I should hang out more with him (yes, we're talking now). We've been hanging out a lot as well; walking to classes together, pairing up in subjects I have with him that I don't have with Tara and sometimes hanging out during lunch when Tara has volleyball practice. I like him. We talk and laugh a lot and sometimes I find myself telling him personal things I don't usually tell my other friends except only to Tara. He seems to listen to me when I rant, and I mean really listen. I don't know why but whenever I'm with him, I have this queasy feeling in my stomach. It feels like we've known each other forever, it's ridiculous.

…

I slammed my bag down on our kitchen countertop and stared at the contents of our fridge, whistling. Hmm, sandwich? Nah. Salad? Naaaayyy. I want something sweet.

"You know these brownies aren't gonna call your name, right? Mrs. L, can you adopt me? You bake amazingly." Tara said to my mum. I looked at her direction and there was both of them, looking at me like they've been talking about me.

Tara always comes over every Wednesday after school. We mostly just party for two around my room, blasting up music and dancing like pazzi.

"You guys aren't ganging up on me, are you?" I joked. Vinny came into the room running and snatched the brownie off my hand."Oi kid, that's mine!"

"Hey Halley!" he yelled. I looked back at my best friend and my mum and there they were, laughing like they were the best of friends. Am I missing something? I grabbed my bag and whole batch of brownies and went upstairs to my room. I'm not mad or anything, my mum and Tara just get along well. Sometimes I think my mum wishes that Tara was her daughter, not me.

Tara came into my room, carrying a jug of apple juice and two glasses. "What's up?" she said.

I put on the music and started putting away stray clothes from this morning. I found myself whistling again and swaying my hips a bit. I walked over to my window and opened it, letting the fresh air come to my room. I stayed in front of the window for a while, looking at the sky and locating the first star of the night.

"You know, you seem happy these days Tash. It's good to see a different smile on your face lately," she said.

It was true. I feel happy and content these days, and I didn't worry about stuff that much like I used to. But what did she mean by different? "Different? What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Different, like a different vibe on you or something. Come on Tasha, you know what I'm talking about. You're finally there." she said and smiled. I stared at her for a minute and her face held a smile, a smile that means she knew something was up.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," was all I said.

"Tasha, come on! The green-eyed guy? Your chem partner?"

Oh. That. Of course. She knows I like him, and she wanted to know if it was finally THAT moment.

See, I have a problem. I don't fall in love easily. My mother taught me the first lesson of my life when I was young and it was to love when it feels right before, during and after a relationship. I'm 16 years old and not once have I had a boyfriend. Countless guys have asked me out, and countless times I rejected them. I do like guys, but I never do anything about it. Maybe because they don't give me a certain strong feeling that neither I can explain. My mom told me her story with dad and I was inspired; she told me that I'll know when the feeling is there.

For Taylor, though. It's different. he gives me a different, unusual feeling. I don't know if it's the feeling, but it's not strong enough. Not unusual enough.

"He's.. he's a nice guy," I said. "Where do I even start?" For the whole evening, me and Tara talked about him and I realized something. I like him, a lot.

Taylor's POV

Halley. Tasha. Natasha Halley Laurence.

She's the most beautiful person I know, it's insane. I've been spending quite a lot of time with her and she drives me crazy. She has the most beautiful laugh and smile you could possibly ever see. I think everything about her is beautiful; I think she's perfect.

Every time I'm with her, I manage to make her smile. Whenever I'm close to her, I have this feeling of WANT. It's like I gotta have her. I need to have her. I want to tell her that I like her but I don't know how, especially with what Jake told me at lunch one day.

*flashback

"Taylor, stop looking at my girl." Jake said with his mouth full.

His girl? SHIT, his girl? "You guys are going out?" I asked calmly.

He sputtered and started laughing. Like, hard out laughing. The other guys started laughing too and I was just there, not knowing what to do. And then I realized; he was bluffing. For fuck's sake!

"Dude, fuck you man, fuck you. Straight up." I said. We became good friends after Halley introduced us and I hang out with him during breaks. Except when Halley's alone when Tara has volleyball practice.

"I want her," I told the guys while I was staring at her, laughing about something. She's amazingly gorgeous without even trying.

The guys started laughing again but this time, Jake didn't. Instead, he just smiled at me and patted my back. Huh? "Man," he said. "I've been there. She's beautiful, isn't she? Lemme' tell you a secret. All her life, Tasha has never had a boyfriend. Not once. She rejected them, she rejected me. Nobody knows why, really. I think Tara does but I don't know. I think she might have mentioned that she wanted real, true love. Not just a random hook up. If I were you man, I'd give up."

I just stared at him, stunned. There are mixed up thoughts in my mind right now, where do I even start? He asked her out? Why doesn't she want a boy who can make her feel special?

"NO," I said. "I want her and I'm not giving up. Not until I have her." And then I realized it was true. I needed her in my life.

A/N: Pazzi - crazy people. (Italian)