chapter nine

Peachy sat watching Taylor from across the room. She couldn't help but think it was a bit stalkerish, but the way he seemed to go about like nothing was wrong, upset her. One week had passed and he still hadn't spoke to her. She didn't make any attempt either. It was assumed that was the way it should be by both of them.

Peachy was guilt ridden. At the time it seemed so right. They were both there, and both willing, but she never fathomed that it would ruin the relationship this badly. Neither of them spoke to each other, neither made any attempt what-so-ever to approach each other. And Peachy couldn't help but think it was her fault. The way he would breeze past her like she wasn't even there, or the way he would ignore comments she would make. It all seemed so juvenile and elementary. They shouldn't be ignoring each other, they should be trying to solve the problem.

"Peachy," a voice called from behind her.

She turned and saw Jed walking up to her.

"Hey," she greeted.

"I'm glad you're here. I was getting so bored," he said standing along side her.

"Why are you here?" Peachy asked.

"My dad gave me a small job in the mail room. I've been sorting through letters addressed to these lovely boys for the past hour," Jed motioned over at Isaac, Taylor and Zac inside the soundproof room.

"What kind of letters?" Peachy was curious.

"I don't know, I don't read them. But I'm sure they all say the same thing."

Peachy nodded in agreement and went back to staring at Taylor. Jed stood next to her and watched the guys also.

"I see Val didn't show up today," Jed observed.

Peachy smiled in spite of herself. It was nice without Val.

"Yeah. Thank God." She immediately regretted saying it. Did it make her sound jealous? The last thing she wanted was for Jed to know she hated Val. It would defeat the whole purpous of not liking Taylor anymore. And she didn't. Anything that she had felt for him in the past was gone. Even the piercing blue eyes, and the gorgeous blond hair. All of it was gone. Peachy turned to Jed and gave him a weak smile. He smiled back.

"I don't like Taylor," she said. As if he had to know.

Jed scrunched his brow in confusion. "I never said you did."

"Yeah, but that thing about Val not being here. I meant it as I don't like her, not as I'm jealous of her, because I'm not," She hoped that didn't sound stupid, but she could tell by the look on Jed's face, that he wasn't following. "Nevermind," she sighed.

"No, I get it," Jed assured placing a hand on her shoulder. "I told you already though, that I can see right through you."

Peachy rolled her eyes. Jed was right; she was transparent. There was nothing she could do about it either. He had an uncanny ability to read her, when she least needed to be read. And standing there, with Taylor in the room across from them, it seemed he could read her too. Just by the way she spoke, or the way she sighed.

Once again Peachy looked up and into the next room. Taylor sat silently waiting for his turn to speak. He pushed a strand of hair from his face in exasperation, and shifted positions on his stool. The discomfort he felt had something to do with Peachy watching him in the other room, but he tried not to think about it. He knew she was upset with him, it was only obvious, but he didn't know what to do about it. There was no way he was going to walk up and speak to her, or walk up and give her a hug. That would be wrong . . . and weird. He was sticking to his promise, to pretend nothing had happened.

Isaac quietly walked down the hall to his room, so as not to wake his younger siblings in the process. His head ached, and his stomach churned. Never had he ever drank so much in one night. He could feel the hangover already, and it wasn't going to be fun. The reason why he even accepted the invitation still seemed vague. He knew it had to do with being upset, and wanting to get out of the house, but the actual reason still remained unclear.

Isaac opened the door to his room and winced at the dim light that was on in Taylor's corner. Taylor lay asleep with a book across his chest. Isaac saw no reason why the light should still be on, and quickly went and turned it off. Looking down at Taylor, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Taylor never had any problems, to speak of, at least. He never had to deal with his brothers taking his girlfriends either . . . so that was the problem. It was all so clear to Isaac now. Danielle hadn't called him once in the past week, but Zac rambled on and on; "Danielle . . ." this, and "Danielle . . ." that. It was all so clear. Little Zac Hanson had taken her from him. A thirteen year old had taken a girl way too old for him, and nobody seemed to care. Nobody seemed to understand. Isaac had liked Danielle, a lot. But everything went away when he made the stupid decision and invited her over. Never had he felt more stupid. Losing a girl to his thirteen year old brother.

Groggily, and glumly, Isaac made his way over to his bed. He pulled his shoes off, and crawled under the sheets. There was no use wasting anymore time to undress further. He could feel the hangover on its way, and he had every intention of sleeping it off. He had every intention to just go to sleep and forget about Danielle for the rest of his life. However miserable it may be.

"Taylor, will you do me a favor?" Diana asked as she rummaged through the refrigerator.

"Depends," Taylor quipped.

Diana stood up and smiled at her son. "Will you and Peachy go to the store and pick up some onions and tomatos?"

"I'll go alone," Taylor said walking over to the key rack.

"No sweety, take Peachy. I don't want you going to the store by yourself, someone will recognize you."

"You let Ike go alone!"

"Taylor, take Peachy. Just go on," Diana shooed him out of the kitchen and on his way.

Taylor stared blankly at his mother. Why was she making him do this? She had no idea how hard it was to just go back to speaking to Peachy after a week and a half of not speaking.

"Go on!" Diana repeated.

Taylor stalked away in defeat, making his way to Peachy's room. The door was slightly ajar when he approached. Taking a deep breath, he gently knocked.

"Come in," she said.

He pushed the door the remainder of the way open and held his breath. His heart was beating furiously and he could tell by the look on her face, she was confused by his entrance.

"Uhh, my mom wants us . . . to, uh, go to the store," he said more to himself.

"Oh," Peachy pushed the pad of paper off her lap and sat at the edge of her bed. Looking around the room, she spotted her shoes and reached for them. Taylor still stood in the doorway trying to manage his rapid breathing. He was convinced she could hear him.

Peachy stood up and walked toward Taylor, keeping eye contact as she approached. The tension in the air was thick, and rather uncomfortable for them both.

As they walked down the hall, Taylor could feel her breath on his shoulder. He bit his lip, it was all he could do to keep from stopping right there and hyperventilating. The way he felt for her confused him. Never had any girl ever sent him to the brink of insanity like Peachy Warren.

The front door was open when they walked outside, neither bothered to close it behind them. Peachy kept stumbling over her feet and it embarrassed her. Getting in the passenger side of the car, she remembered the time when Reggie, Taylor and she were running through the sprinkler back when they were kids. They had set up a tent for them to spend the night in the backyard, and didn't finally fall asleep until way past their bedtime, but were up at the crack of dawn. Back in those days, Peachy never had to worry about her feelings for Taylor. He was just one the boys her brother played with. He was Taylor, the boy with the long blond hair. Only once did she ever think about him in "that" way; when they went as a princess and a knight in shining armor together for Halloween. The way he would hold her hand and call her Madam made her smile like she had never smiled before.

Glancing over at Taylor, she wondered if he remembered that. She wondered if he ever thought about all the stupid games they played as kids. Peachy always thought about them. She loved how they had grown up together. She knew Taylor back when he was afraid of the dark. Every little thing about him, Peachy knew. She knew how he would stuff his hands in his pockets when he was nervous. Or how he bit his lip when he was thinking.

He had this way of making problems seem nonexistent. If something was going wrong, he could make people forget about it. That's the Taylor Peachy knew.

As she glanced over at him in the drivers seat he was biting his lip. Peachy smiled, wondering what he was thinking, and if he was thinking about her. His concentration was not broken when he stopped at a stop light, or when he made a turn. Soon, they were at the supermarket. There were a few cars parked throughout the parking lot.

When the door opened and the warm sun came spilling onto her cool skin, Peachy was soon overcome with nervousness. She and Taylor had to walk through the store together, side by side, actually together.

Taylor soon followed out of the car. He stood looking up at the store, and then turned his attention to Peachy who was nervously glancing around the parking lot. A smile erupted on his face.

"Let's go," he said with a smile. Peachy looked at him. His smile was contagious and soon, she had a smile on her face.

Walking up along side him, Peachy couldn't help but nervously glance over at him. He was biting his lip and his hands were stuffed in his pockets in the classic Taylor Hanson pose.

"I don't want you to feel weird," he said looking over at her.

Peachy's eyes met his.

"I don't feel weird," she assured.

"I feel like a dick not speaking to you for so long."

"Tay, you've always been a dick. Why would things change?"