November 11, 2008 - It's midnight and i've become an insomniac - i just spent...i don't know how long going over this, revising it and ...adding in some stuff, fixing some stuff. etc. enjoy.

I looked at the watch that was secured onto my left wrist.

6:42AM.

I had eighteen minutes to get back in through my second storey bedroom window, get cfhanged back into my pyjamas and get back into my bed and act as if I’d never left it.

Which I shouldn’t have done, but that’s not the point, I needed to. It was an emergency.

Well a party emergency anyway.

Alright, so it wasn’t an emergency at all. It was just a party that I really wanted to go to.

I continued climbing, hoping that Mum wouldn’t hear me on the roof of the veranda, she’d kill me. She’d freak out that I could have been raped and killed or kidnapped and then raped and killed or worse, drunk and disoriented in front of the neighbours.

It’s a cruel world that I live in. And it doesn’t help that my brother does exactly the same thing and never gets in trouble.

The story of my life, am I right?

I sighed and wiped my forehead which was starting to get a nice layer of sweat over it - gross.

And then it happened, I lost my footing and I tumbled down the small rooftop, I would have screamed, if I could find my voice that is.

I closed my eyes, awaiting the smoosh-y feeling I would get once my body hit the concrete and I died.

Well, not die, because it wasn’t much of a drop, but get slightly injured. Or be in pain.

But it never happened and I cautiously opened my eyes, just in case my Mum heard my plunge to death and decided to find me and kill me herself, if I wasn’t already dead that is.

Instead I found myself in the arms of a hunky stranger.

His hair was a sexy caramel colour with bits of darker brown through it. His eyes a gorgeous green colour and his lips formed into a perfect grin. Insert swoon.

“Well, hello hunky stranger,” Oh my God. “Did I just say that out loud?”

Hunky stranger smiled. “Yeah...you did. What were you doing on the roof anyway?”

I winced at the memory. “Coming home, but you can’t tell Mum, she’ll kill me.” And then I realised that by now, Mum would probably have noticed that I’m not in my bed. Jumping out of his arms, I ran up the two steps to the veranda.

Thankfully I’d hidden some clothes out here, you know…in case of emergencies. I un-zipped the sofa cushion and grabbed the baggy pyjama pants, pulling them on over my skinny jeans and grabbing the hoodie that was also hidden and pulling it over my halter top. I took off my shoes and shoved them under the cushion.

Just as I straightened up, Mum opened the door.

“Taylor? What are you doing out here?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I was going to get Shingles inside, cause I woke up early and then when I came out here, either Shingles got back inside or the wind blew the door closed and I couldn’t get back in. But then, new neighbour over here,” I said pointing to hunky stranger. “Came out and kept me company.”

I smiled, Mum believed me, it was amazing.

“Well in that case,” Mum said with a smile. “Thank you, Daniel, for keeping my daughter company.”

“No problem, Mrs James,” Hunky stranger said, handing my Mum the newspaper and smiling at her. “Dinner last night was great, Dad says thanks and that you guys should come over this weekend for dinner at our place, Taylor included.”

Mum grinned. “No problem, Daniel, tell your Dad we’d be delighted. As for you, missy,” She said turning to me. “Grab your shoes, get dressed for school and be glad that I’m not your father.”

“Mum,” I said with a grin. “Have I told you lately that you look absolutely stunning in pyjamas and the ‘I just got out of bed’ look? You really pull it off.”

“That, Taylor, is because I did just get out of bed.” A grin played at her lips, despite the glare. “The bed in which you, Taylor, should have been in last night, young lady. So get dressed. Oh and are you riding with Tyson or is Julie picking you up this morning?”

“Julie’s hung over, so I’m riding with Tyson,” I said as I walked into the house.

“Well you better hurry because he’s almost finished his breakfast and he might stampede up to the bathroom,” She yelled over her shoulder, causing me to run up the stairs instead of walking at the steady pace I had been going at. “Hung over on the first day of school, doesn’t that girl have parents?!”

I heard her laughing and talking to Hunky Stranger before all noise was completely drowned out by me turning on the radio in the bathroom.

--

I ran down the stairs, I couldn’t be late - Tyson’d leave me and Mum’d make me catch the icky bus. There was a reason I had rides to school - so I wouldn’t have to catch the bus.

As I ran down the second last stair, I tripped and fell. The difference being that this time I ended up successfully on the ground.

Turning over onto my back, I stared up at the ceiling. “Mummy, I’m in pain!”

“That’s your own fault, sweetie, it’s not my fault you’re clumsy,” She said laughing.

“Mum! How can you dare to laugh at my pain - the pain of your only daughter?”

“Just get up, Taylor, stop being a drama queen and pull your skirt down, Daniel can see up it,” I looked down at my legs and noticed that my skirt had bunched up around my waist. Shoving it down as I stood up I made my way into the kitchen.

“Who’s Daniel?” I asked with a tilt to my head.

“That’s Daniel,” Mum pointed behind me and there, next to Tyson sat Hunky Stranger. I’d forgotten about him.

I turned back to Mum. “What’s he doing here? Doesn’t he have a school to go to?”

She smiled and looked past me at ‘Daniel’. “Sorry about Taylor, Daniel, she’s a strange one. I have no idea where she gets it.”

“It’s alright Mrs James, even if you don’t know where her strangeness comes from, I can clearly tell where she gets her beauty,” He grinned at her and she laughed.

I raised an eyebrow. “Mum, please don’t do that!”

“Oh come on, Taylor, don’t be jealous cause the ‘hunky stranger’ likes me better,” She laughed again.

I stood with my mouth wide open in shock. “Ty, can we just go already?” My cheeks were red and I really didn’t want to be the joke anymore.

Tyson laughed and got up. “Alright, go start the car.”

“Can I drive?” I asked with hope glistening in my eyes.

“No chance, when you get your P’s, then you can drive my car.” I rolled my eyes and caught the keys Tyson threw at me.

I sat shotgun and when Tyson came, he tapped on my window and opened the door.

“Backseat,” He said with a nod towards the backseat.

“But I was here first!” I argued.

Daniel looked up from where he was. “It’s alright, Tyson, I can just get in the back.”

“Are you sure?” Tyson asked, “I can make her move, it’s no big deal.”

I looked up at Tyson, who ignored me, shocked.

“Yeah, Tyson, it’s fine, really.” Tyson nodded and closed my door.

“Besides,” he said as he got into the driver’s seat. “I don’t think you’d want to turn around and see up Taylor’s skirt...again.”

Daniel blushed red. “Or maybe you do.” Tyson said with a laugh. I frowned and slapped his shoulder.

“Shut up, you asshole.”

“Watch the attitude Taylor, I could stop driving you to school completely, I mean, I’ve got uni to go to and everything. I’m doing this out of niceness.” I frowned again and stayed quiet the rest of the twenty-five minute journey to school.

As both Daniel and I got out of the car, Tyson opened the passenger window.

“Hey, Daniel - keep an eye on Taylor, alright?” Daniel nodded at him and went back to the car to talk to him. I continued walking. It was, after all, the first day of year eleven.

--

By March, Daniel had become a permanent fixture in my household. His Dad went away a lot for work (he was an archaeologist or something), so Daniel had his own room at our place. Which I thought was stupid, because I was sharing a room with Gemma up until I was thirteen, then she moved out so I (finally) got the room to myself.

“Taylor, get up!” Mum’s voice cut through my dream and completely ruined it.

“But Mum! Orlando Bloom was just about to propose!” I yelled, still lying flat on my back.

“Well, Taylor, the faster you get up, the faster you can find the real Orlando Bloom and he can really propose to you,” she yelled back, laughing.

I sighed and got up and walked into the bathroom, turning on the radio and grabbing my toothbrush.

Just as I put the brush in my mouth, I noticed the steam on the shower, blocking out a body.

I quickly shut my eyes and took the toothbrush out of my mouth.

“Tyson?” I asked, hoping to God that it was my brother and not my current secret crush. Not that my brother wouldn’t be any better, cause you know, I’m not into incest or anything, but I’d rather not embarrass myself with a potential dating candidate.

“Try again, Taylor,” Daniel’s voice cut through the steamed up bathroom. I blushed, even though my eyes were closed. “Walk forward and grab that towel for me, will you?”

I walked forward as quickly as I could with my eyes shut and grabbed the first towel I felt, holding it out in the general direction of where Daniel’s voice had come from.

“So, uhm, I’m sorry,” I said awkwardly.

“Its fine, Tay, you didn’t know. How’s year eleven going for you?”

“Fine,” I said quietly. It had turned out that Daniel had been going to my school since year eleven, but I hadn’t known since he was new and years’ seven to ten were at a different campus. “How’s year twelve?”

“Fine, I’m kinda stressing though, I could use a study partner, you up for it?” He asked and I bit my lip, thinking it over.

“You can open your eyes, Taylor, I’m dressed,” Oh God. I blushed. He’d been naked for a moment or two while he was changing. I quickly shoved the toothbrush back in my mouth and stared at myself in the mirror while I brushed.

He hung his towel back on the rack and came up behind me, putting his hands on either side of the counter beside me, trapping me. He leaned close to my ear and whispered. “Taylor? Will you be my study partner?”

My mind blanked. “Uh, sure, I’ll do it.” Crap. Why did I say that?!

“Awesome, I’ll drive you to school this morning,” He kissed my neck and I almost swooned. He left the bathroom, leaving it steamier than it was before.

Dear Lord, what was he doing to me?

--

June was when our school had HSC Trials. It was a busy time for all year twelves and as a result, all year eleven’s had to stay away from the Hall and Gym because that’s where exams were being held.

It didn’t help that our household was twice as busy.

Mum had given my room back to Gemma and her boyfriend (ew, who knows what they’d do in that bed), who had decided they were getting married and decided to stay at our house before the wedding - which, might I add, is in November (FIVE months away).

John (the boyfriend)’s parents had come to stay at our place too, meaning Tyson had to give up his room as well. Mum didn’t want to move Daniel around anymore, so he shared a room with Tyson while I was forced to sleep in Mum’s room.

Brilliant.

Tyson’s uni exams weren’t until later in the year, so Tyson studied in the kitchen while Daniel used the desk in his room and I used...the front veranda.

That’s right. I wasn’t even allowed to study in the house.

Tyson said I distracted him because I rambled while I studied and Daniel, well Mum yelled at me telling me not to bother him because it was his last year. Gemma insisted on using the desk in my room for her wedding stuff and I wasn’t even allowed to use the desk in Tyson’s room because I wasn’t allowed to intrude on the guest’s privacy.

Mum wouldn’t let me use the study/office because that was where all her work stuff was. I’d told Mum that I might as well go study outside and she said; wait for it, “fine by me”. That’s right. My own mother tossed me out into the cold.

While I lay on the ground, attempting to study, I noticed a cop car pull up into Daniel’s driveway. They got out and knocked on his door and for a moment, fear ran through my body.

I ran across the street. “Can I help you with anything, officers?”

“Yes, we’re looking for Daniel Green?” I instantly looked back at the upstairs window where I knew his room was.

“He’s been living at my house while his Dad’s away, is something wrong?” I asked quietly.

“We really need to talk to Daniel Green himself, Miss,” one said as we crossed the road together.

“Alright, I’ll go get him,” I knew this was bad, something bad has happened.

I ran up the stairs and knocked on his door. “Daniel, I’m sorry to bother you, but there are some people here to see you.”

I couldn’t say ‘there are some cops here to talk to you, they took their hats off, I’m scared that they’re bringing news of what I think they’re bringing’. That’d totally freak him out.

I heard a muffled reply and I went back downstairs. “Come in, officers, he’s on his way down.” I said showing them the living room.

As Daniel came downstairs and the cops stood up at his arrival, I slowly backed away. “I’ll be outside if anyone needs me.”

For twenty agonizing minutes, I stood pacing on the veranda.

Then the cops came through the door and walked across the road to their car, nodding to me as they walked past me.

I rushed back into the house and into the living room where I knew Daniel would be. I sat next to him on the couch and took his hand in mine.

“Are you alright?” He didn’t say anything; he just leaned over slightly and leant his head on my shoulder.

I turned my body slightly and within seconds he was on top of me, his lips attached to mine, his hands wandering my body while mine ran through his oh-so gorgeous hair.

I could only think two things while he made out with me.

One was “this is going to end badly”.

And two was “my God, he is a brilliant kisser”.

--

It did end badly.

Badly as in, he didn’t speak to me...at all...after that.

It’s December now. He still hasn’t spoken to me. Not even a ‘good morning’, not even a ‘pass the salt’. Nothing, absolutely nothing. He even stopped driving me to school. Well, not really. We would just sit silently throughout the entire trip. So I got Julie to start driving me to school again.

At his Dad’s funeral a week after, he held my hand but as soon as it was over - he was out of there. He practically ripped his hand from mine and ran off. Rejection hurts more than people say it does.

When the year twelve Formal came around, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. Earlier in the year, he’d said he’d take me. But then I came home from dress shopping with Julie (she’d been asked by a year twelve with whom she was friend’s with) and found Daniel dressed and ready with two of his friends. I smiled at them and was ignored. I could hear Mum’s voice, laughing and taking photos of them at every angle like she had done at my year ten Formal.

Guess I wasn’t going to the Formal then. I looked at the dress in my hand. What a waste of money.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had crawled into the bed I shared with Mum and cried myself to sleep.

Graduation was two days after Formal and he had ignored me then too. Taking photos with everyone, and I mean everyone, but me.

For the second time, I went home and cried myself to sleep.

Gemma’s wedding was the worst. He ignored me all day and after the ceremony, he disappeared for two hours with a leggy blonde and came back looking like he just had sex. And he probably did.

I cried myself to sleep once again. It seemed to be all I was doing. Every night, crying myself to sleep.

Its two days before Christmas. Mum’s gonna kill me for doing this to her, but I can’t take it anymore.

“Mum,” I said walking into her room; Gemma had left, so I had my room back. “Mum, I know you always say that you don’t want to be without us during Christmas, but do you think I can go stay at Dad’s until school starts again?”

She froze and looked up at me. “What?”

I looked at her meekly. “Can I go stay with Dad until school starts back up? I just...really miss Dad, Mum.” It was partly true. And the tears in my eyes demonstrated that perfectly. “Please Mummy.” I bit my lip, trying, praying, and hoping that I could hold my composure.

“Alright, sweetie, go pack and I’ll call your father.” She said quietly.

“I already did, Mum. My flight’s in two hours. I’m all packed and ready, I just need you to drive me to the airport. Dad said that I can get my ticket when I get to the airport.” I smiled weakly at her.

She sniffled. “Alright, let’s go then.”

In the car, everything was silent.

“Mum, I don’t want to leave, but I just can’t take it anymore. Really, I can’t.” I took a deep breath in. “I end up crying myself to sleep every night, and I just want to stop now. I’m so tired and every night, I’m crying and it hurts and I can’t stand to look at him anymore. When he came home the other night with that beautiful girl - God Mum, my heart stopped and I just...Please, Mum, understand why I’m leaving now before I do something stupid.”

“I know, sweetie, I know,” She said, smoothing down my hair as she drove. “Just don’t do anything stupid while you’re at your Dad’s alright?”

I nodded and smiled at her. “Can you tell everyone that I wish them a Merry Christmas?”

She smiled and nodded at me, knowing exactly who I meant.

--

Tonight is the night. I’m going to tell her. I’m going to apologise for ignoring her for so long and hope that she forgives me. And then I’m going to tell her that I love her.

God, it was stupid of me to ignore her. How could I do that to her, knowing that the tears that she cried every night were because of me?

My room is next to hers, I can hear her crying every night. Some nights I feel like walking into her room and just holding her, begging her to forgive me, begging her to stop crying because of me. She had helped me so much this year and what did I do? I ignored her and pretended she didn’t exist. She doesn’t deserve that, not for everything she’s done for me.

As I opened the door to the house I now called my home, I heard arguing.

“How could you let her leave so close to Christmas?! She never misses Christmas!” Tyson’s voice yelled.

“I couldn’t just let her stay here when she’s hurting. God, Tyson, don’t tell me you can’t hear her crying herself to sleep at night. She’s my baby girl, I will do anything to stop her from hurting and if she wants to go stay with her father, then she will.” Alicia James, the woman I now called a mother figure yelled back at her son.

“Go get her back! She’s never missed Christmas and she’s not going to miss it again just because she’s upset!”

“I am not bringing my seventeen year old daughter back to my house just to put her through more pain. She’s staying at your father’s house and that’s final!”

“So what - you’re just going to let her drop out of school?!”

“No! She’s coming back when the school year starts again, so that she can finish year twelve!”

“Mum,” Tyson lowered his voice slightly. “Taylor got homesick at a three day camp. You got upset because she was away for three days. How are you both going to be able to handle being away from each other until February, Mum?”

“Tyson, stop that this instance. Taylor is a big girl now.” Alicia yelled angrily. “She knows what she’s doing and she’s doing what’s best for her broken heart, she’s leaving so she doesn’t have to watch him walk around with his girlfriend. So she doesn’t end up flinging herself off a bridge or something equally stupid. Tyson, please tell me that you’ve noticed her not eating properly, not doing anything productive, just laying around and doing things reluctantly.” She took a deep breath in. “I’m not going to put her through more pain. It’d just be House War 2 and instead of it being your father and I, it’d be Taylor and Daniel, but it’d be silence and as far as I’m concerned, that’s worse. I’m not going to put my daughter through pain just because you want her home for Christmas.”

Tyson walked out of the kitchen and past me and up the stairs in anger. I heard his door slam and I winced; I was doing this to their family.

Cautiously, I walked into the kitchen. “Alicia?” I was scared of what I might see. A broken down woman? A woman who was scared for her daughter’s safety? A woman who hated me?

“Oh, Daniel, sweetie. I had hoped you didn’t hear any of that,” She said trying to smile. “But I guess it’s inescapable. Tyson is so much like his father, both of them get riled up over things they want.”

I was scared that she could hear my heartbeat getting faster and faster as we approached the question that was inevitably going to be asked.

“Uhm...did she...er, is she,” Stuttering was not something that happened often to me, but when it did, it was bad.

She looked down. Oh God, it was my fault.

“Maybe I should move out?”

“What?” Her head snapped up to mine and I was scared for a moment that she would come at me in anger.

“If I move out, maybe she’ll come back and you guys can spend Christmas together.”

“Sweetie,” she said approaching me, she took my face in her hands and smoothed down my hair. “You are apart of this family now. You can’t just move out when things get too hard. I know I let Taylor leave when things got too hard, but I know Taylor, she is me, an exact carbon copy of me. She has to leave and clear her head before she can come back and be normal again.”

I looked up at her; I could feel the tears in my eyes. “I was going to apologise, tell her how sorry I am that I was an idiot these past couple of months. I don’t want her to hate me anymore.”

“Honey, she doesn’t hate you.”

“Yes, she does, that’s why she’s been avoiding me lately.” I sniffled. I hadn’t cried in months, not since Dad’s...

“She’s only been avoiding you because she’s scared that you hate her, or worse, you’ve got a girlfriend who isn’t her,” She pulled me into a hug, I almost felt safe. “Daniel, I’m almost positive she loves you.”

“But I ruined it and she’s not coming back until February,” I cried into her shoulder. Crying, I just wanted to cry all the time now.

“You’ll be alright, Daniel, you’ll be alright,” Somehow, her words did very little to comfort me.

--

January 20th. I wasn’t supposed to be home until the 27th because school started on the 31st and I needed to get school supplies and junk, but I missed Mum and as much as I loved Dad, he’s like an awkward teenager who doesn’t know how to act, but after a while, he got the hang of it - just barely.

As I dragged my suitcases inside, I wondered if anyone was home.

“Mum?” I yelled out, leaving the suitcases near the door and walking further into the house. “Tyson? Anyone home?”

Guess not then.

I dragged the heavy suitcases up the stairs, there were two of them. I had left with one suitcase, and I come home with two. It seems fine until you have to carry them both up the stairs - by yourself.

And about for my feelings for Daniel - I don’t know anymore, thinking about him hurt and if he didn’t want me, well then I didn’t want him.

“God, what a lie that is.”

I had talked it over, awkwardly, with Dad and he said that if it continued and it was alright with me, he’d move up here and buy a house close by so that I could spend weekends at Mum’s house and still go to school and stuff. But that was if Daniel was still living here and I still went to sleep every night crying about him.

I guess Dad was making the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter, and I was thankful for that, I thought he’d be weird about the situation, hating the boy without knowing him, vowing revenge and not letting him get anywhere near me. But he didn’t and he wasn’t. We sat down and talked and he gave me options and attempted to give me advice. It was nice. It’d been a long time since we bonded father-daughter-ly wise.

As I packed, I hummed along to a song playing in the background. Wait…music in the background?! There was no--

“TAYLOR!” A muffled yell was heard.

Oh dear Lord, what now?

I looked out the window and my jaw dropped.

In true Say Anything fashion, Daniel stood out on the front lawn in board shorts and no shirt. An iPod sitting on an iPod speaker set held high above his head, blasting ‘In Your Eyes’ by Peter Gabriel. On his chest, the words ‘I (heart) you, Tay-lor’ written in some white substance.

Oh dear Lord, what if the neighbours saw.

I ran out of my room and down the stairs, pulling the front door open and grabbing his arm.

“Get inside before people see you!” I said pulling him onto the veranda.

“Almost eight months of not talking to each other and the first thing you say to me are ‘get inside before people see you’?” Daniel said staring at me, while I looked around on either side of the road, trying to pull him into the house as I went.

“Just get inside and we’ll re-do everything if you want.” I said angrily. As much as it was an amazingly romantic gesture, I didn’t need the neighbours thinking that I was ‘influencing’ other people with my ‘drug habit’.

“I love you, Taylor,” He said with a small smile.

“So I read,” I said, using my index finger and taking a bit of the white substance. I held it up to my nose. “Is this edible?”

He raised an eyebrow. “It’s whipped cream and icing sugar.”

“Sweet,” I said licking the bit that was on my finger. He whimpered and I looked at him. His face looked odd - it was a mixture between sadness and longing.

“I’m so sorry I ignored you all these months, I’m sorry I never said anything, I’m sorry that I made you cry all those nights, I’m sorry you left because of me,” he kept going, saying sorry for things he believed were his fault. “I’m sorry for...”

“It’s okay,” I said quietly, taking another free sample of the whipped cream on his chest. The heart was starting to look like a circle instead of a heart. I licked the bit that was on my finger and scooped up a bit more onto my finger, holding it up to his mouth. “You want some?”

I realised at that moment as he looked at me that this whole ‘making him eat off of my finger’ was something that was shared between people who were in a relationship and that it was oddly erotic. Crap. I tried to pull my finger away, but he had already grabbed my wrist with his hand.

His other hand slowly put down the iPod plus speakers on the side table near the door. He brought my hand closer to his face, closer to his mouth.

He put my index finger in his mouth and all thoughts went out of the window. Dear Lord, he’s licking my finger, his tongue was licking my finger and all I could think of was that night, so many months ago when he had kissed me all over.

He took my finger out of his mouth and kissed my wrist, then my arm, then my elbow, then my shoulder, my neck, my jaw, my cheek, my lips. I couldn’t help it, I had to kiss back. Eight months and I couldn’t just stay still. There was too much feeling for him for me to try and stop myself.

The next thing I knew, we were walking up the stairs, kissing and me walking backwards up the stairs. He stopped and pulled away. “Take the shirt off,” he said with a grin. I raised an eyebrow and he pointed at my shirt. It had whipped cream all over it.

“Oh,” I said, pulling the shirt off and throwing it on the floor. He pulled me close and I felt the cold whipped cream hit my own body. “They say you shouldn’t play with your food.” I said in between kisses.

“Oh yeah, why’s that?” He said, smiling into my mouth. I pulled back and looked at him.

“It’s oddly erotic and makes people want sex,” I said smiling. He grinned and pulled me into his room.

This is going to end well.

--

Her head was on my chest, her eyes were closed and she looked content. I stroked her hair and ran my hand up and down her back.

All was perfect.

She was in my arms and all I could think was ‘all is perfect’. I looked down at her, a small smile was on her face and she looked beyond my stare.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked quietly.

“Not thinking, just looking.” She said breathlessly.

“At what?” She smiled.

“At the creepy amount of pictures of me scattered around your room,” she kissed my chest lightly and crawled on top of me until her hands were just below my neck, her head sitting on top of her hands. She looked at me with a grin. “What are your plans for this year?”

“I’m taking this year off; I’m going to get a job so I can save up for uni, why?” She grinned wider, if that were possible.

“I could use a study partner, you up for it, stranger?” I smiled and kissed her beautiful lips.

“I’ll do anything for you,” I said, kissing her again.

And it was true; I’d do anything for her.

--

As happy as I was, I had to hurt Daniel somehow, so I slapped his chest and called him an asshole.

“Hey – what was that for?!” He asked, defensively covering his chest with his hands.

I rolled my eyes and looked at the clock – 6:42am. Mum is definitely going to implement some house rules. She would not be happy knowing that as soon as she falls asleep – I dash to Danny’s room to sleep in his bed.

“I called out for someone as soon as I got home – someone to help me carry my suitcases up the stairs – you didn’t respond!” I said with a glare.

He grinned. “Well, I couldn’t blow my cover could I?” I rolled my eyes. “But, my dear, if it makes you feel any better, I’ll carry any suitcase, handbag, purse or shopping bags you have from now on.”

It was my turn to grin. “That can be arranged.” His smile faltered and he laughed softly.

“You are definitely something else!”

--

I sat at the bottom step of the veranda, waiting for the postman to arrive and give me the letters.

Today I would know if I got into the university I had dreamed about. Today would determine the rest of my life. Today would be the first day of the rest of my life.

Just as Daniel pulled into the driveway with Mum and Tyson, the postie came and I ran up to him, thanking him for the letters and looking through the bundle for the one that I desired.

I found it and tore it open, grabbing the letter inside and reading it quickly.

What?! I was shocked for a moment and Mum, Tyson and Daniel came up to me, asking me what happened.

It was at that moment that I read the best part of the letter.

I got in.

I screamed and jumped up and down, jumping onto Daniel and kissing him senseless.

“I got in!” I screamed into the air above me.

Mum called Dad and within three hours, my family and friends were all in my living room, celebrating our successes.

Later that night, just as I was reaching sleep, I remembered that I had forgotten to ask Daniel if he got in.

I got up from my bed and tiptoed to the room next to mine.

Climbing into the bed like I always did, he automatically pulled me to him, my back against his chest. He kissed my neck and drew circles into my hip like he always did.

“Danny?” I asked quietly. He ‘hmm’d in reply. “Did you get in? I forgot to ask you earlier, I’m sorry I didn’t think about you getting in.”

“‘s fine, Tay, I got in, so I’ll be spending this year with you as well as every year for the rest of our lives. Now go to sleep, Tay baby.” He said sleepily.

“Was that an impromptu proposal?” I said slyly.

He froze. I turned around so I could face him. “Was it?” I asked with a grin.

“I..uhm...er...uh,” he was breathing deeply, freaking himself out. Aw, poor baby!

I kissed his lips quickly. “Don’t freak out, I’m joking, we’re still young, we’ve got time.”

He kissed my cheek. “Good,” he sighed. “Because the proposal doesn’t come until later this year.”

I froze and he laughed softly. “Go to sleep, Taylor.” He kissed my hair and pulled me closer, falling asleep quickly.

I looked at the clock that sat next to the framed picture of me and Danny at my graduation.

6:42AM, the bright green numbers read. I smiled as Danny snuggled into me further.

I hope Mum doesn’t walk in and kill me for sneaking out of my bed.