Chapter 1
Taylor's POV
I stared blankly at the photograph on my bedside. It's the very first photo Ed and I took when we were no older than five. I smiled at the memory.
"Knock knock," the devil rolls in from my window. "Hey."
"Hey," I greeted, opening the window. "What are you doing here at this hour?"
"I came by to see my best friend of course," he winks at me. He pulled out his phone, showing off his proof of a wild wild summer.
"So your tour went well, I assume?" I say, handing back his phone. "Today's the first day of our last year in high school."
"I know," he says, burying his face into my pillow. "Are you ready to go?"
"Then we'll be off to college soon," I added, "Can't we go back to our first year?"
"Nope," he shakes his head. "Come on now, Taylor. Breakfast then school."
"Okay," I say, getting up. "Say, I look alright?" I was wearing a simple white croptop, a pink tennis skirt, and a pair of white lowcut converse.
"You look perfect, Tay," he assures me. I stared at his attire-a black and blue flannel, a grey shirt, dark-wash jeans, and black converse. His style never gets old. "Why're you looking at me like that?"
"Huh?" I snapped back into reality. "Oh, sorry! It's just that I can't believe it's our last year together. We went to the same schools since we were babies, but we'll be separate in college."
He ruffled my curly blonde hair, putting my glasses on. "Don't you worry about the distance," he whispers. His face only a breath away from mine.
I could feel my heart beating. I was melting in the position we're in.
"Yes?" he asks, refusing to lose contact with my eyes.
"What?" I asked back, frozen still.
His hand made its way to my arms, holding me firm. I was lost in the moment til my mother interrupted the scene.
"Ah, good!" she says happily. "You're here, Ed! Come join us for breakfast, okay?"
"Will do," he says, following after my mom.
My mom always loved his company. She thinks he's good for me, though she's not a fan of me dating yet. It's been just me and her since my brother died a few years ago. After the tragedy, she got divorced and never dated ever since. Which brings us to why she enjoys having guests in this empty household.
"You coming?" Ed says, taking me back to reality.
"Yeah," I say, grabbing my backpack. I followed after him into the dining room where my mother served us eggs, bacons, and pancakes.
"Looks great, Mrs. Swift," he compliments, taking I bite off his bacon. "How'd you know I was coming?"
"I saw you climbing the tree," Mom replied, "And you've been doing the same thing since you were five, honey. I'd know the pattern by now."
He chuckles, accepting the cup of coffee from her. He hands over mine with a smile.
"So," she says, "How was your tour? Have you gotten more fans?"
"You can say that," he grins, "I met a lot of interesting people during the summer," he glanced at me, "But no one could ever compare to my best friend."
"Cute," I say, finishing off my plate. "We gotta go, mom."
"Okay," she says, "I won't be home in time for dinner, though. Don't wait up for me."
"Okay, mom," I say, kissing her cheek.
"Thanks for the breakfast, mommy," He kissed her cheek. "Don't worry about this kid. I'm watching over her."
"I'm not worried at all," She bids farewell.
I followed after him. "So," I began, "Did you meet Athina on your tour?"
His mood went cold in an instant. "No, she said she's busy."
"Sorry to hear that, Eddie," I say, giving him a pat in the back. "I can't believe she blew you off after you chose to go to California instead of seeing your grandma in England."
"It's fine," he says upon arriving, "I'm never chasing after her ever again."
"Never say never, Eddie," I sighed.
"You're not returning to John Mayer either, are you now?" He playfully poked my forehead. "Wake up, Tay'. He's not worthy of you."
"I know who is," I smiled, only to receive a "Huh?" from him.
I was met by a pair of green eyes and a contagious smile.
"See you later, Tay'," Eddie bids before running off to his other pals.
"Hey," Mr. green eyes and contagious smile waves, making his way towards me.
"Hey," I greeted back.
His name is Harry, Harry Edward Styles; he's the school's bad boy. He's from England like Ed, but they don't get along. He's usually with Zayn, his best friend, and a few other boys.
"You look so girly today," he states, eyeing me from head to toe.
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" I raised a brow.
He laughed at my remark, giving me an awkward fist bump-handshake. "So, how was your summer, mysterious lady?"
"Pretty fun," I say, "I see you curled your hair again. It doesn't look that bad."
"Does it, though?" he asks, touching his hair.
"You look great," I admitted, "So, how was your summer, gangster?"
"I'm not a gangster anymore, you know?" He laughs, "But my summer was awesome. I heard you were partying a lot from Zayn. Trying to break free from your good girl queen b image, I assume?" His killer smirk made its way up his face; the smirk that makes girls fawn all over him.
"Hey, Taylor," Zayn greets me with a hug. "Is Harry bothering you?"
"Not at all," I shake my head. "Are you joining the writing workshop this year?"
"For?" asked Harry.
"Creative purposes?" I say, "Anyway, I gotta go."
"Will I see you around?" asked Harry.
"I think you should see your actual girlfriend, Kendall," I stated before giving him a wave goodbye.
Harry's POV
I watched as the pink lady walked out. I always fancied her, but luck was just never on my side.
"What's on your mind, mate?" asked Zayn, "Don't tell me you're still crushing over America's sweetheart."
"Is she though?" I asked, "She was different when we first met. She was more wild and exciting."
"And you caught onto that?" he arched a brow. "I guess Mayer did a number on her. But hey, I heard she's in love with Edward."
"Me?" I asked, flashing him a grin.
"No!" he smacked my head. "The ginger kid she's always hanging around with. The one who kinda looks like Prince Harry."
"No, he doesn't!" I argued, "He looks like a child."
"If you ask me, you're the one acting like a jealous child," he states in amusement. "Tell me, aren't you and Kendall serious?"
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Then why the sudden interest in Taylor Swift?" He asked. "This one's not yours to play with, man. She's actually a good one."
"Which means?" I arched a brow.
"She's off limits," he says.
"And what does Perrie think about that?" I asked curiously. "Does your little girlfriend know you're crushing over the queen b of this school?"
"Who's crushing on who, now?" he chuckles, only to be interrupted by my girl.
"Hey, baby," she says, pushing him aside.
"Morning, love," I greeted, kissing her cheek. "Why're you guys outside?"
"Waiting for you," I say.
"Lies," Zayn argues. "Let's go, Harry. Liam and Niall are already waiting."
"But who's more important, baby?" She competes. "I'm your girlfriend."
I kissed her hand. "Sorry, Zayn. I've to stay with my baby."
"Seriously?" Niall enters the picture, "How long are you gonna follow after her ass?"
"Excuse me?" Kendall spat.
"Come on, mate," he says, trying to point out facts. "How long are you really gonna put up with that crazy person?"
"Niall," Liam tries to calm him down. "Don't."
"You have something to say to me?" Kendall's bitch-mode rose, "Come on, say it!"
"You're such a brat!" Niall points. "And you keep on trying to keep him from hanging around with his mates. What in the bloody hell are you so afraid of?"
And just like that, she slapped Niall across the face, leaving him stunned.
"What the fuck!" he yells at her.
She slaps him again. "You've got a dirty mouth, now don't you? Bible; I'm gonna kick you in the damn balls if you don't walk away."
"Screw you," he says, walking out with Liam. "Screw the both of you!"
Bloody hell. What a start of an eventful year.
"How could you not defend me?" she questioned angrily. "What the fuck, man? How dare you let him talk to me that way!"
"Babe, calm down," I say, trying to hug her.
"No!" she says, pushing me away. "Go to hell and stay there!" She stormed off in a bloody outrageous mood.
"Bloody hell," I groaned.
Zayn shrugged in disappointment. "How could you let her treat you that way, mate? And how could you let her treat Niall like that?"
"Niall shouldn't have spoke to her in that manner in the first place," I defended her. "It's his fault."
"You don't mean that, do you?" He threw his cigarette. "That's just bullshit."
"Yeah," I nodded, "It is. But I love her, man. I can't lose her cause of Niall."
"You're crazy," He states. "Maybe Taylor is someone you need."
"What?" I choked on my smoke.
"Nothing," He says. "Come on. We can't be late on the first day."
I followed him to the gymnasium where announcements were half done. We sat at the back, trying to avoid certain crowds.
"Now," says the Principal. "Here's Taylor Swift."
I watched as the lady in pink nervously stood forward before the student body.
"Good morning," she says, "I'll keep this brief for everyone. There's a free writing workshop held in room 216 every Tuesday through Thursday from 16:00-17:00 for the rest of the year. The only requirements you'll need is your laptops, notebooks, and pens.
Next, the drama club is having auditions for their musical this season. Auditions start today at 14:00.
Tryouts for football, basketball, volleyball, swimming, and cheering are also held today from 15:00-18:00.
And finally, there's the school dance tonight starting from 19:30-23:30.
Any further questions, please go see Mrs. Coal.
Thank you, Principal Simon."
I watched her make her way back to Sheeran who was saving her seat. Maybe Zayn's right about her being in love with Sheeran. How interesting.
