I wake up to my text alert going off on my phone on the end table. I roll over to grab my phone and I check the time. 9:08 I guess I'll go ahead and wake up. I check to see who had texted me. I see I have a new message from Mackenzie. Typical. If we don't need to get up, then we just text. Literally the laziest people ever.
"Hey, do you want to go out today and check out some colleges?" -M
"Yeah, sure. Why not? I think I need a day off from all this excitement. Breakfast ready?" -T
"Oh yeah, cuz I've TOTALLY gotten out of bed." -M
I chuckle to myself at Mackenzie's comment.
"Ok. Do we want to go out to eat?" -T
"Pancakes?" -M
"And coffee. Be ready in 20 mins." -T
I lock my phone and set it back on the end table. I roll over again as I process the events of yesterday. I regret it immediately, as I had made a complete fool of myself. I decide to take a quick shower, as I smell like a skunk that just took a bath in dirty water. After my shower, I brush out my hair and decide to leave it curly, as I have no time to straighten it. Everyone always told me I have nice hair, but I always envied people who have straight hair. I decide against makeup and go natural, as I wont be doing anything too important. I head to my closet to pick out my clothes. I go through all my shirts about 3 times, not being able to make a choice. I eventually decide on a red t-shirt with abstract designs on it. I pick some jeans that are comfortable, nothing fancy. No reason, I guess. I still look the same no matter what I wear. I don't look in the mirror, knowing it will only make me feel worse and even more self-conscience about how I look.
I decide to check the time. 9:28 Ok well, I'll go ahead and see if she is ready. I take my phone and put it in my front left pocket, while I reach down for my iPod. Oh yeah. I should probably get a new one soon. I'll do that tomorrow I guess. I walk around my bed and head to my door. As I open the door, Mackenzie's door also opens, seeing she is ready as well.
"Where we going for breakfast?" I ask, not having a clue.
"Phil told us about this breakfast shop that makes British pancakes. He said they were amazing and that we have to try it," she says, obviously ecstatic.
"Do you know where it is? I mean, we know nothing about London."
"Yeah, but Phil showed Gavin and I the place when we walked passed it yesterday," Mackenzie explains.
"Ok, and if we get lost, we can just call Gavin."
"Exactly, so are we ready to go?" she asks.
"I am a-ready to go," I say, excited to try some new food. I love food, as anyone one could guess by looking at me.
We head out the door, and come to the '!!!!!Stairs of Death!!!!!'......This is going to be a long walk. I let Mack go first, seeing as I'd just slow her and anyone else with my horrifyingly unfit body, and she practically jogs down the fucking stairs! What the hell?! I basically walk slightly faster than I normally would, as it would be that we are going down on the stairs. The problem I have with things like this is, I try to go at the pace of the person I am walking with. Now, when doing this, I basically exert about half my energy all at once. Then, once we are done and walking at a normal, reasonable pace, I will be almost out of breath. And when someone wants to talk to me?! Yeah right! That's not gonna happen. All you get is wheezing!
Once we get down to the lobby, I'm about to hack up a fucking lung!....we continue to walk and head out into the cool, cloudy day and the sea of people in London.
"Ok, so you're sure you know where we are going," I ask, seeing slight confusion in Mackenzie's face.
"Yeah, of course.....I think," I hear her mumble the last part under here breath.
"MACKENZIE!!!! Are you FUCKING kidding me?! You said you knew where the shop was!" I exclaim, frustrated while she steadily avoids my gaze.
"I do! It's just that I have to visual it in my head. Ah, this way!" She says, turning right, determined of her direction.
"Ok, but I swear to god, Mackenzie. If we get-"
She cuts me off and says, "We won't get lost, Tay. I promise, ok?"
"Yeah, ok. Whatever. I'm calling Gavin and letting him know where we are."
Mackencie shoots me a glare, and I say, "Just in case!"
I grab my phone out of my pocket and find Gavin's contact ID. I hit 'Call'
One Ring
Two Rings
Three Rings
For Fuck's Sake! What the-
"Hello?" a gravely-voiced Gavin greets from the other side of the line.
"Hey, man! Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Hey, yes you did, and you're not sorry."
"Yeah, you're right. Must be the Canadian in me! Anyway, Mackenzie and I are on our way to that pancake shop that Phil mentioned to y'all yesterday?" I ask questioningly, seeing if he realizes what I'm talking about after just waking up.
"Oh, yeah! It's amazing! Wait, you guys aren't out on your own, are you?"
"Gavin?"
" Do you guys even know how to get there?" he continues.
"Gavin?!"
"Do you-,"
"GAVIN!!"
The line goes silent as other people watch me screaming into my phone.
"We are fine. Mackenzie says she knows where she is going, okay?" I look over my shoulder to see that Mackenzie has zoned out like she always does. "Just send me the location of the shop so we don't get lost," I say quietly, no wanting to hurt Mack's feelings.
"Sure, no problem. You sure you'll be fine on your own?"
"Yeah! Honestly, we're just going to grab some pancakes and look for some colleges around here."
"Ok," Gavin says defeated. "Just be safe. There are a lot of people in London. Don't get lost, and try not talking to large groups of people. You know how to pick the good people, Taylor. Trust me."
It was true that I am observant. I take in my surroundings and situation. I notice the people, too. My friends have never really gotten to see me pick out certain people in a crowd. To me, it was quite easy. For others? Let's just say I have some real smart friends who I love.
"Thanks, Gavin. I'll make sure I look at them before I talk to them. Love ya, man!"
"Love you too, Tay! Bye."
"Bye!" I end the call, and throw my phone back in my pocket. I look over at Mack, who still seems to be entranced in her thoughts. The far away look, the slightly opened mouth, the way her glasses slide down her nose ever so slightly, she looked like she was hypnotized by something that only could be seen through her own eyes.
"Mackenzie?" I ask, attempting to awaken her. When she does not respond, I snap one finger by her ear. Still, she sits with a blank face, almost thoughtful. As I think this, I feel a buzz in my pocket, grabbing my phone, only to see Gavin had sent me the location of the shop.
Perfect
"Mackenzie, I have the location of the pancake shop on my phone. Now unless you would like to be stuck here while I eat delicious pancakes, I suggest you snap out of your creepy-ass trace thing," I say, meaning all of it. I don't joke with food, and neither does Mackenzie.
"Huh?! Sorry, zoned out for she sec," she says, trying to brush that off like nothing.
"Yeah, more like 10 minutes," I say.
"What? No way!"
"Way. I had a conversation on the phone with Gavin, and tried to snap you out of it twice," I explain.
"Wow, ok. Sorry about that. Anyway, we ready to head to the shop?"
"Yeah, sure!" Of course I was! I was so hungry, but I probably will only have one pancake, seeing as I can do without the extra fat and sugar.
"Alright. Let's go!" Mackencie announces.
As we walk, I look at my phone a few times to make sure we are heading the right way.
"What were you thinking about anyway?" I decide to ask, still looking down at my phone.
"Um....I was actually thinking about boys." The statement throws me off for a little while, seeing as though this topic has never really come up before, especially with Mackenzie.
"Oh really? How so?" I ask, thinking I can get a more specific answer as we continue to walk.
"Well, I was just thinking, you know, you have Dan now and I've never really had a boyfriend before and I-."
I stop in my tracks as I am flabbergasted by the comment. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa......Whoa. What do you mean 'Now that I have Dan now'?" I ask, confused, and slightly defensive.
Mackencie rolls her eyes as she say, "Oh come on, Taylor. All of us know you had a HUGE crush on him back in 8th grade. A crush like that doesn't just go away, especially with you, seeing as you hardly changed your mind with just about anything. Plus, I see the way you are with him. You got all flustered when you first met, and now you two be actin' all buddy-buddy," she explains, hearing a slight southern accent from our "hillbilly ways", as some call it.
I look at the ground, embarrassed. "Is it that obvious?"
"To me? Yes. To Dan? I have no idea. I only know because we have been friends since kindergarten. Dan may know. He may not know. That's something you have to figure out for yourself."
After that remark, we continue to walk in a silence. Not a comfortable one either, like we usually can. A very awkward, very uncomfortable silence. One you have when your in a room full of people you have no idea who they are. Mackenzie and I never sit in this silence.
"What about you, Mackenzie?" I ask, hopefully changing the subject.
"What about me?" she asks.
"I mean, do you have your eye on anyone? Phil, perhaps?" I suggest.
"Honestly, Phil is really great, and super kind, but I think him and I are meant to only be friends. Maybe like a brother. Who knows. I guess time will tell."
Time tells you nothing.
Time is a ticking time bomb.
Time brings heartache, lost loved ones, and even death upon yourself.
Time is nothing more than a timer counting down until you're done with it all, with markers such as holiday, years, and centuries.
"Hello? Earth to Taylor?"
I jump at the sound of Mackenzie voice, startling me.
"Yeah, what?" I ask.
"You ok? I started walking away, then realized you weren't beside me," she says, me just now realizing I had stopped walking.
"Yeah, sorry just...thinking. What were you saying?" I said, shaking my head, trying to clear it.
"Well, I was asking when the next time you were planning on talking to Dan?"
I thought about this for a second, not really understanding why she was asking, or how I was going to answer.
"Um, honestly, I really don't feel like talking about Dan, Phil, or just boys in general. I just want a 'T&M' Day." We refer to days that Mackenzie and I want to just hang out with no one else bothering us as 'T&M' Days. 'T' for Taylor. 'M' for Mack. These are one of the few days I look forward to the most.
Mackenzie nods understandably and says,"Yeah, no, of course. Sorry I brought it up."
"No problem, just not the time and place."
"Gotcha." We start walking, side by side. I look down and see how far away from the shop we are. A few block away. Very convenient for when we don't want cold pizza in the morning, which is literally the best thing ever.
"So, do you have any colleges in mind for where you want to go?" I ask Mackenzie, hoping to lighten the mood at least a little bit.
"Actually, there is a college I did have in mind. It's a kinda far from our apartment, but nothing I couldn't manage with waking up early in the morning," she says, obviously excited about it.
"Oh really? That's awesome! Are the campus visits for it at the end or beginning of the school year?"
"At the beginning. I think that will be easier anyway. Maybe I can make some new friends there!" she says.
We both look at each other for a moment, and at the same time, start laughing.
"Ha! Yeah, right. Making friends. Amazing!" Mackenzie says.
"Yeah, what do we look like? People who actually like other people? Yeah, sure!"
We continue walking, laughing our heads off. As we close in to the shop, we get more and more excited to try some authentic British pancakes.
When we reach the doors, we both look at each other.
"You ready?" Mackenzie asks.
"Hell yeah, I am! Let's go!" I exclaim.
We walk in, Mackenzie going first as I hold open the door for her. We see about 2 dozen people in this small shop, all chattering to one another, and instantly, my anxiety shoots through the roof.
How am I going to do this.
There are so many people here.
What if I embarrass myself.
So many people will look at me.
They will laugh at me.
Their voices will torture me.
These thoughts flood my mind as I feel Mackenzie's hand on my shoulder.
"You ok?"
"Um, yeah. Sorry again. Uh, ready to get dem pancakes?" I say, forcing the enthusiasm into my voice to sound ok.
"Definitely."
We walk in to a counter where it seems you order. Someone walks up to Mackenzie and I and says,"Welcome! My name is Dani. How may I help you?"
I get nervous and look over at Mackenzie and she just looks at me. I decide to just order, only to realize I have no idea what they have here.
"Um, s-sorry to be a bother, but my friend and I have never been here before, and-nd-and we were wondering what was on the menu?" I say, unable to stop myself from stuttering over my words.
"Of course! No problem," Dani says in a cheery voice, very close to annoying, but not quite.
She names off many different ones with many different toppings and fruits. When she comes to an end of her list, I repeat one that stuck out to me of the bunch.
"Um, I'll just take the Traditional Pancakes, with extra whipped cream, and no syrup, please."
She scribbles down my order on a notepad she had grabbed from out of her apron.
"Okay, and for you?" Dani asks, looking at Mackenzie.
"Oh, uh, I'll have what she is having, but with syrup, please."
"Ok, and the name?"
Mackenzie uses hers and my last name, seeing as our last names are quite unusual.
"Alright, so is that for here or to go?"
"Here?" I ask Mack?
"Here," she says and nods in agreement.
"Ok, so just take a seat and we should have them out to you shortly. Drinks?"
"Water," we say in unison.
"Alright, sounds good. I'll see you guys in a sec with your food."
"Thank you!" we say.
We find a couple of chairs at a small square table and sit there. My chair squeaks as I pull it out. We both sit down and grab our phones to sit in a familiar, comfortable silence.
Mackenzie continued to shift in her seat and all-in-all, just looked like she had something on her mind that was bugging her.
"Alright, what's wrong?" I finally say a few minutes later.
"What?" she says.
"You know what. You keep moving in your seat. Obviously you are either sitting on a thumbtack, or you have something on your mind, so spill it."
"I can't," she says.
"What?" I ask, confused.
"I can't. It's not 'T&M Day' related," she explains.
"Oh, for God's sake, Mackenzie, just fucking say it already."
"What happened with you and Dan yesterday?" she asks almost shyly
Oh god.
I feel my face start to heat up as the events of yesterday flood my mind.
"Uh, w-well, he-he held my hand."
"Oh...my...God. Taylor! How could you not tell me that?! This is huge!"
"Yeah, I know, but I don't really want to go into too much detail about it."
"Ok, ok," she says.
"Questions?" I ask, obviously seeing she has some.
"Did you like it? What did it feel like? Do you like him?"
"Ok, um, I'm not sure. It felt like someone touching my hand. And I have no idea."
"Ok that all I was wondering. You can keep the details to yourself."
Our food arrives a few minutes later, and they were literally the best pancakes I've ever had!
The nagging feeling in the back of my mind was bothering me though at the fact that I had just lied to my friend.
I did like it.
It felt like silk enveloping my hands at the touch of his hands over mine.
The last question though, I really wasn't sure about.
He was cute.
He had a great personality.
But, this wasn't danisnotonfire. This was Dan. The same person, but a whole different, more mellow and intimate side of him. I did enjoy this side of him more. I felt like I was getting to know him all over again.
And I loved every, single second of it.
A/N Heyy guys! Sorry it's been a while since I put up a new chapter. Been busy with my youtube channel, which I will be starting very soon, seeing as I just got a new camera for vlogs, and school. Much school, very work, I know. Its difficult. Hope your school year is going better than mine. I also hope you like the very much longer chapter this time. Let me know if you like these better. I hope to update as soon as possible. Plz thank my wonderful and amazing editor, Ally (Midnightgalaxy) for editing this. She is great and helps with lots of ideas for this book when I get major writers block. LOVE YOU ALLY!!! I love all y'all guys, too. Don't worry. Vote for this chapter and share it pretty plz. Bye guys!
Today's song of the day is Holiday by Green Day