Caught Up In A Moment [Kaylor]

Chapter One - A Place In This World

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

College couldn't be that bad, right?

Taylor scrunched her nose. Well, it couldn't be that bad the second time around. Especially not in a big city! She adjusted her grip on the box and walked in through the door of her new dorm room.

It was devastatingly bland—as dormitories were often wont to be. She just hoped her roommate, whoever she might be, was the kind of person to enjoy decorating. The fact that Taylor got there before her made it a bit more freeing—now she could decorate a little bit.

She entered the dorm and let the door shut behind her. It was a pretty standard setup; an entry with a kitchenette complete with a fridge, a sink, some cabinets, a microwave, a mini table with two chairs, and a shared bathroom, and then the room that was to be shared between Taylor and her roommate.

"I'll take the left half," she announced to herself as she happily pranced in with her box of things. She set down her belongings on the bed as she waited for her parents to enter.

Right on cue, the door opened. Taylor turned her head to see both her parents enter. Her dad, Scott, pushed a small cart with her luggage and her mom carried a light blue backpack. Taylor must have left it in the car.

"Why'd you run ahead of us?" Scott asked as he let the cart roll to a stop.

"Sorry, I was just excited to get in," Taylor said with a sheepish smile, taking the backpack from her mom's hands. "My roommate isn't here yet, but according to the paper on the door, her name is Karlie."

"I hope she's a nice girl," Scott responded as he lifted one of the boxes with a heave. "Come on, let's get you unpacked so your mother and I can get out of your hair."

Taylor nodded in agreement and took the box from Scott while Andrea got to making Taylor's bed with light blue sheets decorated with cartoon cats. Taylor inspected the box and noticed the messy Sharpie handwriting that labelled it 'CLOTHES!!!'. She haphazardly dropped it next to the dresser and decided she'd deal with that later. The first order of business was to decorate!

"Hey, hun, could you maybe put those clothes away?" Andrea cut into Taylor's planning. "We don't want your roommate to think you're a slob."

The blonde scoffed and crossed her eyes with feigned offense. "Mom! I'm not a slob!"

"I know, but your roommate won't know that."

Okay, Taylor had to admit that Andrea had a point. For a brief, stubborn moment, Taylor left her arms crossed, but then she gave in and groaned. She threw her arms down in defeat. "I was planning the decorations!"

"Unpacking first," Scott cut in, putting Taylor's suitcase on the bed. "And then you can decorate."

"Fine," Taylor grumbled. She squatted and pulled open the box. The first thing she saw was an old Eagles shirt. The first of many clothes she'd have to organize. She groaned.

*~~~*~~~*

"Okay, that should do it!"

Taylor stepped back and looked at her half of the room with a smile. Suffice it to say, the decorations were on point. Her half of the room was strategically littered with pictures of her cats, her family, her friends, and all the colours of the rainbow. She had also found some fairy lights to string up, which made her incredibly happy. The room, or at least her portion of it, was already looking much less like an asylum and more like a bedroom.

She giggled and clapped her hands happily. "It's really starting to feel like home here."

Andrea put an arm around Taylor's forearms and lightly squeezed her. "You'd think it'd be easier the second time around."