"Mommy... can I have ice-cream?"
"Not until after dinner sweetie..... Mackie, get those bread sticks out of your nose!"
"Don't breathe on my food!"
"What food? it's just a slice of tomato for crying out loud!"
"Could someone hand me a napkin?"
"I want some soda!"
"Jessica! stop pinching me!"
"Jaymi, hand me that spoon"
"Waiter! there's a finger-print on this knife! take it away!"
"Please, someone take Zac away!"
"Shut up Tay!"
"OW! Mom, Taylor hit me!"
"Taylor, don't hit your brother! Avie, sit down!" The Hanson's, Bennet's and Appleton's we all sitting around a huge table at a well known pizza place. Everyone had to shout over everyone else to be heard.
"Mom, can we go to a different table..?" Isaac asked his mother, we meaning himself, Jaymi, Kayla, Taylor, Zac, Malcom, C.J, Brad and Brian. The younger kids were driving him crazy. Mrs Hanson nodded and the nine of them moved to a different table, glad to get away from their parents and younger siblings. Kayla was not pleased when she saw that the only seat free was in between Brad and Taylor.
"Come on Kay.. sit down" C.J said. Kayla gave C.J a weak smile and took her place at the table.
"Hi" Taylor said quietly once everyone else were in their own conversations. Isaac, Malcom and Brad were talking about cars and C.J, Zac, Jaymi and Brian were talking about the upcoming school dance. Kayla stared at her plate.
"Hello" She said. She looked up and around for their waiter but he was busy with some customers.
"How ya been?" Taylor asked. Kayla knew he meant 'how ya been without me'.
"I've been fine... yourself?"
"Oh, um, fine. The tour is tiring though". Taylor replied. He noticed that Kayla was acting like she barely knew him. He figured this was better than her totally ignoring him all together.
"Isn't that right Kayla?" Jaymi raised her voice to be heard from across the table.
"What??"
"I said that it was Belinda Simmers idea for the middle school and the high school to combine for the dance because she's going out with a Seventh grader" Jaymi repeated. Kayla nodded.
"Yes Jaymi that's right" Kayla sighed. She didn't really feel like gossiping with Jaymi and C.J but she did feel like switching seats with someone. Anyone to get away from Taylor. Finally the waiter came to take their orders.
"Ok that's two family sized pizza's. Now, what would you like on them?" He asked.
"Pepperoni! and olives"
"Olives? eww Brian that's gross"
"You're gross"
"I want pepperoni to.. and chicken... and peppers... oh and mushrooms and-"
"Zac! let someone else say what they want for christ's sake!"
"Shut up Tay... just cause you like anchovies!"
"As if!"
"OK OK HOLD IT!" Malcom yelled out. The teenagers shut up. "Now... we'll have to do this the childish way will we?.. ok... C.J what do you want?" Malcom said. He then went around the table asking each person what they wanted on the pizza's. Finally the waiter left.
"That was great Mal.. treating us like three year olds!" Jaymi said, glaring at her brother.
"Well, you were all shouting and that was the only way I could think of to shut you up" Malcom replied.
"Hang on a minute! it was Brian and Zac doing most of the shouting" Kayla pointed out- mostly for her defence since she had kept her mouth shut.
"That's right... put the blame on us why don't ya!" Brian said.
"Well it was you" Kayla replied. Brian stuck his tongue out at her.
"Oh yeah... real mature"
"Shut up"
"Don't tell her to shut up" C.J said.
"Hey! what's going on over there?" Mr. Hanson demanded.
"Nothing" the 9 of them replied. Kayla pulled out a breadstick from the jar in the middle of the table and began to chew on it. She found herself glancing at Taylor every few minutes and sitting next to him was driving her crazy. She couldn't deny it. She was still head over heel's for him and from what Jaymi had told her, he still had feelings for her too. She glanced over at Taylor and he was talking to Brian, who was sitting next to him. He laughed at something Brian said and Kayla was glad she was sitting down. Suddenly she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up.
"I'll just be outside... let me know when the pizza gets here" She said. She then went over to let Mrs. Bennet know where she was going and then walked out the front doors of the pizza place. She walked around to the side of the building and into an alleyway. She stopped and leaned against the brick and let the tears flow. The flow of tears soon turned into sobs that made her shoulders heave up and down. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. Suddenly she was being hugged by someone. They drew her close and she breathed deeply, smelling the persons cologne. She knew that cologne anywhere and the person who wore it. She knew the person hugging her was Taylor. Just knowing that made her cry harder. She took her hands away from her face and wrapped them around Taylor's waist. She then turned her head so that her cheek was resting against his chest. For what seemed like the longest time, they stood in silence in the alleyway with their arm's around each other. Finally Kayla pulled away.
"I'm sorry Kay" Taylor said. Kayla nodded.
"I know you are and I am to... but this just won't work... I can't trust you"
"But you can!"
"No Tay I can't!... I thought I could but you proved to me that I can't" Kayla said, starting to get angry. Taylor sighed. He didnt want to fight with Kayla...it was the last thing he wanted.
"Kayla, please give me another chance! We can make it work! I'm sorry that I hurt you..I really am and if I could take it back I would! Louise meant nothing to me!"
"Taylor, listen to me...this isn't going to work! Even if I did give you another chance, it just wouldn't be the same because I can't trust you..I just can't! How do I know that you're not going to run off with some girl the next time? You promised me that you would never cheat on me and you broke it! That promise meant a lot to me...and you just shattered it!" Kayla said, starting to break down again. Taylor hated seeing her like this, so hurt from something he had done.
"Kayla, all I can do is tell you that I will never cheat on you again. I love you with everything inside of me and I hate seeing you hurt like this. I'm so very sorry for doing this to you and I hate myself for it. I'm not going to rest until I have you back Kayla."
"Don't bother waiting around for me Taylor, you'll only be wasting your life...I can never be with you again...and you know why. This is one mistake you can't fix." Kayla said softly. She then ran back into the pizza place.