T A Y L O R' S P.O.V

I let out a frustrated groan as I stared at the mounds of sheet music in front of me. After sifting through it for the past two hours with Ana, all I want to do is set the stupid stacks on fire.

I angrily picked up a sheet, my narrow eyes scanning the wrinkled parchment through my glasses. Shaking my head, I screwed it into a ball and ditched it at a wall. Throwing off my glasses, I buried my face in my hands as Ana patted my back. 

"Why is this so hard?" I whined. I couldn't see Ana's face, but knowing her she probably rolled her eyes at me or shot me an incredulous glare.

"Look," Ana said, her smile reassuring. "We will find the right songs, don't get so worked up about it."

I shrugged, shaking my head slightly. "We have two days to find the right ones, otherwise I'm going to look like an idiot in front of the entire school. I have the right to get worked up about it." 

Sighing, I let my head drop into my palm. "Maybe we shouldn't have taken the day off of school today - none of the things I know are good enough. I could have gotten advice from Miss Lauriana instead of doing this."

I shook my head and angrily shoved one of the sheet piles over, shouting. One of the paper's edge scraped against the wound on my hand, making me wince. I clutched my wrist as Ana frowned. It was Ana's idea to not put a bandage on it - she thought it would be good to 'let it air out'. I wish I didn't listen to her.

"God, you're such a drama queen! Breathe, Taylor - you're overthinking." She commanded. I rested my face on the palms of my hands and groaned. 

"I'm doomed."

I curled into a ball. I heard Ana groan, before hearing bits of paper shift around. 

"Hey," she said, tapping my shoulder. "Why don't you play this?"

I looked at the sheet music. 'Kiss Me' - one of my original works. 

"This song?" I said, my face scrunching up slightly. "Nah, it's too depressing."

Ignoring me, she sat there, her eyes scanning the lyrics. "Woah... this is really personal. Is this about...?"

I nodded. "Yeah... it's about Darko."

Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! Please play it, I want to hear it!"

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck with my healthy hand. "I dunno... maybe. It's quite a long song..."

Ana grumbled. "Just play until the end of the first chorus. I fully expect you to sing, too."

"I'm sorry," I began to say. "I don't want to dredge up those feelings again. Wrote this when I was in a dark place."

With a huff, Ana snatched the sheet music out of my hands. We sat there awkwardly for a few minutes. Ana was about to say something, but she was cut off by her stomach grumbling. I giggled.

"I'll go make us lunch, then we shall resume the search for songs. I won't force you to play anything again- oh shit! Taylor - you're bleeding!" she shouted, pointing to my hand. I looked down, and sure enough, tiny crimson dots were racing down my palm. The cut must have reopened when Ana ripped the sheet music out of me grasp. I gritted my teeth, my face contorting with pain as Ana darted out of the room, fetching and tossing me a hand towel and some bandages.

"There," she said. "Would you like me to..?"

I shook my head as I dabbed at the cut. "Nah, I can do it. Go make lunch - I've got this."

She nodded, before exiting the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my phone light up. Carefully putting on the bandage, I shuffled out of my seat to where my phone was. 

'Hey, Tay-Tay! Why aren't you at school? :(' Bella sent to me. I picked up my phone and began to reply. 

'Wagged so I could get ready for the Valentines Dance. Soz.'

Knowing her, she would have laughed at me for wagging. She replied with 'Wow. Mr Nerd is wagging school? How naughty.'

I half cringed, half giggled. Thanks, Bella, for that unnecessary observation.

As I wiped some stray droplets, my phone lit up again. 'So... have you thought about the letter I wrote to you?'

I sighed. 'Look - can I call you? I feel it would be better if you heard me say it instead of over text. Plus, it's annoying to type right now - my wound reopened.'

She replied 'yeah sure'. I quickly dialled her number before squishing the phone between my ear and my shoulder.

"Heeeeey!" she said, her tone flirtatious. I suppressed a groan as I adjusted the bandage.

"Look, Bella..." I said, hesitating. Hopefully, this doesn't bite me in the ass later on. It needs to be said before anything else happens. I've lead her on for long enough.

"I don't feel the same way towards you. I am hugely flattered, but I would rather we stayed as friends. I'm sorry Bella... I just like Darko too much."

There was a pause. The faint chatter of her classmates could be heard. 

"Fair enough," she said, her voice uneven. "Who are you thinking of taking to the dance?"

I shook my head. Realising that Bella couldn't see me, I said, "I don't know."

I want to ask Darko so badly. With everything that's happened within the past two weeks, everything is pointing towards him liking me - but, I'm still so worried. What if everything just seemed that way because I wanted it to? I've known him my whole life, if he did feel something then he wouldn't have hidden it for this long. 

Then again, I've hidden my sexuality for this long. Hm. 

"Why don't we go to the dance together?" Bella said suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie. I sighed. She must have heard me because she began to speak again.

"Wait no, don't sigh - it's just a dance. I promise you that if we go together, I won't make any moves on you, nor would I do anything of the sort. No strings attached. Please?"

"I'm sorry Bella," I said. "I made a deal with myself that if I'm not going with Darko, I'm going alone. I've got nothing against going with you, but I'd much rather it be with him or just myself. Please understand."

There was another pause. I heard the faintest of groans from the end of the phone before a sharp exhale. I think she's pissed.

"Okay then. I've got class now. See you tomorrow."

She hung up. 

I slid the phone down my cheek, before letting it fall onto my lap. She may be pissed, but it's my decision. She's just going to have to accept that. 

'I wonder what Darko's up to,' I thought to myself. Grabbing my phone again, I unlocked it and opened my message box with Darko. 

'Hey Darko, I miss you. The sushi was delicious btw - I accidentally shook the container, but I ate it anyway.' I hit send. 

Ana called out to me from the kitchen. "Hey Tay - I'm gonna make some sandwiches - do you want salami or curried egg?" 

I looked in the general direction of Ana's voice before shouting back the former option. She yelled 'thanks' as I turned back to the phone. Darko replied.

'You saw me yesterday, how can you miss me already? Also, I'm glad you liked it! :D why aren't you at school btw, my good sir? (Ps. my phone may die on me, I forgot to charge it.)'

I smiled. 'Wagging. Need to figure out what songs to play for the dance. Highkey freaking out about it.'

'Oh wow - you and Owen wagged today. Left me all alone. :('

I lifted a brow. 'What about Lyra?'

'She sat with Stefan. Usually, I would have gone and joined her but... shit's gotten weird with him. Stuff's happened - I got into a fight last night w/ him. Dw about it.'

I was about to reply, curious about the fight, but Darko double texted. 'Wish you were here. You never ditch school - I miss and hate you right now.'

My lips warped into a huge grin. He's so sweet. 

I smirked, exhaling sharply out of my nose. 'Oh shush - you know you love me. There's no way on Earth can you hate me!'

'True - you do have a special place in my cold, frozen heart <3'

I sniggered. I felt my chest flutter when I saw the heart emoji. 

Darko messaged again. 'Well, anyway, I have good news for you. The morning announcements said that the Valentines dance been postponed until Friday - something about the gym being gassed. Apparently, there are termites eating the walls.'

I grimaced, before sending back: 'Ew. Thanks for the heads up.'

'Shit gotta go, the principal just walked in class. Bye, my good sir. Love yooouuuuuuuu'

I smiled. 'Love you too. Talk later?'

'Can't. Have motorcycle racing tonight. We will soon, though.'

I sent a thumb's up. I leaned back on my bed, clutching my phone onto my chest, smiling contently. I heard a loud cough come from the doorway. 

"Lemme guess," Ana said before delicately placing herself next to me, careful not to knock the plates of sandwiches over. "You texted Darko, he said something cute and now you're fangirling?"

I giggled, before letting out a long, happy sigh. "Yeah."

She rolled her eyes, her lips forming into a smirk. "God, you're so whipped. Eat your sandwich, you lovesick child."

Ana handed me my lunch before biting into her curried egg sandwich. "How's your hand?"

"Stings a bit, but I'll manage. Thanks for making me the sandwich - it's delicious." I mumbled through a mouthful of food. She smiled.

"So, back to song hunting..."

"Uh uh," I said, turning my head towards her, showing her the messages. "Darko said that it's been postponed. We don't need to look as hard now - we have an extra day!"

Ana lifted a brow. "Uhm, no. We are still finding the songs today, whether you want to or not. I know you - you'd procrastinate, then next thing you know it's the day before and you're gonna freak out-."

I sighed, cutting her off. "All right, I get it. Fine."

We began to dig through the paper sheets again, but my mind kept wandering back to the conversation with Darko. God, I love him so much. 

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A/N: Some light fluff. 7 more chapters to go ;) 

QOTC: Have you ever received a text that has made you smile for ages? Could be a text of good news, a romantic text, anything! Leave an in-line comment.

AOTC: Yep. My dad was really sick a few weeks ago - he ended up having to go to a hospital to have an operation. It went badly, and he had to remain in hospital because the operation site got infected. Fast forward a few weeks, my mum texts me during school, telling me that he was finally ready to come home. I couldn't stop smiling.

Vote/comment/fanboy/fangirl/share! (Only if you want to, I don't want to pressure you all into doing it. ((: )

- Much love, Tyler <3