Everything comes back to you -J.MARIANO

[1.21]

ꪻhe entire summer passed without anything eventful happening. She spent the usual amount of time with Tas and they finally managed to fix up the old shed in his back garden. They had used it as they had beforehand, as a hang out place, until slowly the room began to get taken over by various fabrics and outfits that she wanted to keep safe for her applications to fashion school that year. She hung out with Jess of course and by the end of the summer, their relationship and comfort around each other had reached a point further than it had been before he went away. Their romantic endeavours were reaching a certain point that she thought it would be time for a label and found herself slightly annoyed at the fact it hadn't occured quite yet. But she wanted to allow him time to come to terms with it all before mentioning it, not wanting to push him away again or suggest something that would make him uncomfortable. She gave him the time he so desperately needed and found that to be such a learning curve. But they got through it, together.

Taryn, like usual, wanted to walk to clear her head of her current work. Miss Patty had asked her to design and make the costumes for her dancers and Taryn so desperately wanted them to be perfect. She thought that with this, Miss Patty might agree to a slightly higher fee that would cover more than the fabric itself and a few spools of thread. Given the majority of the town was within the meeting, including her Dads, the streets were silent. So she walked without care for her direction, just aimlessly walking around whilst deep in thought.

She flung herself from her thoughts as she looked both ways to cross a road. In her peripherals she had noticed a figure approaching and simply assumed it was nothing. Her hair stood up on its ends when the figure crossed the road too, their walk quickening. She continued on and tried not to worry about how he was now close enough that she could make out some features and that he followed her every turn and even when she crossed the road for the second time. Taryn used a little trick her Dad had taught her to triple check she was being followed. She crossed over, looked at a sign and sighed in aggravation before she crossed over to where she had been before. The man followed her then too.

So, without quickening her footsteps or creating any sort of sign that she was aware of the man behind her, Taryn continued on this time with a specific safe place in mind. The second the diner came into view she sped ever so slightly, giving herself the time it would take to grab the key and unlock the door she hoped. Her heart pounded harder in her chest as fear dried her throat the closer she got to the building. She didn't know what she would do if the spare key wasn't in the place it always was, Jess wouldn't hear her banging on the door before it was too late entirely.

She thanked a lord she didn't believe in once her fingertips found the cool metal of the key and managed to stop her hands from shaking for long enough to unlock the door and hurry inside. "Jess!" she yelled into the darkness of the diner as she dropped her bag to the floor and hurried to shut the door behind herself. Through the gaps in the blinds on the door she could see the man still approaching. "Jess!" she screamed in pure desperation as the panic stole her breath. Jess appeared in the diner quicker than she had expected him to. He had hurried down the staircase and nearly fumbled down a few steps due to his insanely quick movements. A cigarette still hung from his lips as he flicked on the light and watched as she held tightly onto the lock of the door.

As he placed a hand on her back, he hurriedly asked, "Taryn? What-"

"Help me lock the door," she snapped back quickly, voice without breath and heavy with fear.

"Tee it's locked..." Jess trailed off as he placed a hand on top of hers, pulling her away from the door. "What's going on?" he asked the instant she turned around and he could see the panic within her eyes.

"There was someone following me," she replied softly, her voice shaking with every word. "I couldn't hear him... I don't know how long he was there."

Jess, whilst looking over her shoulder to double check that there wasn't anyone lingering outside who deserved a beating, pulled Taryn into a hug until she stopped shaking and finally relaxed her shoulders. She, whilst enveloped in his embrace, used his breathing to calm her own and he only moved away when she began to pull back. She instantly took him up on his offer to go upstairs for a while, not feeling ready to head out into the dark street quite yet.

"Not attending the town meeting?" he asked as they both sat down on the couch in the apartment trying to distract her mind. His question came out of nowhere and that was its intention, to distract her thoughts enough that her heart rate would return to normal and she could forget for even just a moment.

She cleared her throat and let her knee jump up and down as the anxieties within her system were just too difficult to handle all at once. "No, I can't read Taylors lips so kinda pointless. Dad gives me a wrap up afterwards though."

"You can't read Taylor's lips?" he echoed in genuine intrigue as he had thought that wouldn't be the case. Noticing her jumping knee, he gently placed his hand atop it and traced shapes with his thumb as her knee began to slow down.

"Would you really want to zone into his mouth to understand what he's saying?" she chuckled within her chest and found that the act of laughter removed some of the lingering panic within her body.

He leaned back on the couch and sighed softly, "He doesn't say anything important anyway."

She followed suit and nestled herself at his side, his arm wrapped around her waist. She sighed contently as he turned the tv over to another channel, landing them in the middle of a film they had already watched together anyway. "Exactly my point."

By the time the movie reached the credits, Taryn had almost forgotten about her previous encounter and had gotten so comfortable that she had almost fallen asleep. She found herself shooting awake when Luke entered the apartment, swinging the door open as he grumbled, "Stupid town meetings stupid town." He walked straight past them both, too angered by the stupidity of their town to even notice the two teenagers on the couch.

"I guess I should go," she yawned as she untangled herself and stood. She grabbed her jacket from the table and for a second looked around for a bag before realizing she must have left it downstairs. By the time she got to the door out of the apartment, Jess had pulled on his shoes and was grabbing his coat when she stopped him. "You don't have to."

"I know," he replied whilst shrugging on his jacket. Taryn smiled subtly and it only grew when he opened the door and waited for her to walk through it.

They talked for the entire walk to her house as Jess was doing his best to keep her distracted. When he noticed her looking over her shoulder anxiously he walked a little closer to her and took her hand in his. The show of affection that would usually never occur outside of the privacy of their own homes filled her stomach with such warmth that she couldn't help but feel safe. Plus knowing that he would easily beat up any person that so much as looked at her negatively was a huge comfort, even though she would do everything to prevent him from getting into a fight like that.

He noticed how a frown formed on her lips the second they found her house to be cast into darkness. Her parents weren't home yet from the meeting, meaning they had either stayed late to help clean up or Luke had stormed out early. Both were viable options so she didn't know how long she would be alone for. "You going to be okay on your own?"

She nodded, albeit reluctantly. "They'll be back soon anyway."

"You sure Tee?"

She hummed a response but he was not convinced by it in the slightest. "I'll be fine Jess," she added with a smile she hoped would further convince him. "Thank you though." Taryn kissed him on the cheek before opening the gate to her garden. She walked up the path and smiled goodbye to him before disappearing into the house. He waited until her bedroom light flickered on before he walked away from the house, satisfied that she was inside and therefore safe for the night.