Sparks Fly: A Kaylor Love Story

Chapter 14: Toni

At lunch on that same day, Karlie introduced Selena and Taylor to Toni. Taylor couldn't help but detect  hint of frostiness in the way Toni said hello to her. She wondered if perhaps Karlie had told Toni the story of what had happened between her and Taylor. Whatever the reason, there was no doubt as lunch progressed that Toni felt some level of hostility towards Taylor. She didn't say or do anything overtly hostile, Taylor could just sense it.

Or could she? Maybe she was just looking for reasons to consider Toni an enemy, reasons that were more justifiable than the fact that Toni was dating the girl that Taylor had fallen deeply and hopelessly in love with. She tried to push the perceived hostility from the other girl to the back of her mind. Even if there was hostility there, Taylor didn't want to engage with it. She just wanted to get through the awkwardness of lunch with her crush and her crush's girlfriend.

She was relieved when the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch. She spent the afternoon in class, but in her mind she was elsewhere. In her mind she was sitting with Karlie on their park bench. Hand in hand, fingers intertwined. She could still remember vividly how Karlie's lips had felt the night they kissed. They felt so soft, so warm. What was more they felt right. They felt like home.

At the end of the day, Taylor was walking out of school when she heard a voice behind her calling her name. She turned around. It was Karlie.

"Hey." Taylor said, flashing the cutest smile she could muster. She wasn't going to pursue Karlie, but surely there was no harm in pouring on the charm a little. "Are you walking home today?" She asked.

"Nah" Karlie replied, "I'm getting a ride with Toni."

"Oh." Taylor said, her heart sinking. She'd hoped Karlie might be walking. She wanted to spend as much time with her as she could, even if it was just as friends.

"I can ask her if you can get a ride too." Karlie said, smiling.

"Oh... no, it's fine, you don't have to do that." Taylor said.

"It's no problem. I'm sure she'll be cool with it." Karlie said.

Just then, Toni joined them. She flashed Taylor a look that Taylor was almost certain was a dirty one, before putting her arm around Karlie's waist.

"Hey baby, you ready to go?" Toni said, giving Karlie a little kiss on the cheek.

Taylor looked around awkwardly. She was handling this better than she expected, but that still wasn't very well.

"Yeah" Karlie said, in response to Toni's question. "Do you mind if Taylor comes too? She lives right next door to me."

Toni looked at Taylor. There was no mistaking the dirty look this time. It was hidden behind what was probably supposed to be a friendly smile, but Taylor could read it a mile off.

"Sure... I guess so..." Toni answered, with the same frosty tone that she'd had when they first met earlier that day.

If Taylor hadn't been a part of this situation, she might have seen the humour in it. She didn't want to ride in a car with Toni, and Toni didn't want to ride in a car with her. However because both girls cared about Karlie, they were attempting to spare her feelings by performing this awkward charade in which Toni was generously offering Taylor a ride home, and Taylor was graciously accepting.

The ride home was no less awkward and uncomfortable than the rest of the day had been.  Thankfully the girls lived close enough that Taylor was able to avoid engaging in conversation with Toni and Karlie. She figured that Toni was probably relieved about that too.

When Toni pulled up outside the Swift house, Taylor hurriedly got out. She waited on the sidewalk as Karlie said goodbye to Toni, a process which included kissing, which Taylor did everything she could to subtly avoid looking at. After Karlie had said goodbye, and Toni had driven away, she and Taylor stood on the sidewalk together.

"So... What do you think of Toni?" Karlie asked.

"You guys seem really good together." Taylor responded. It wasn't technically a lie. Karlie seemed happy with Toni, and Toni seemed to really like Karlie. The only issue Taylor actually had with Toni was the fact she seemed a little bitchy towards her, but she figured she probably deserved it for screwing up so badly when trying to handle her feelings for Karlie.

Well, that wasn't the only issue she had with her. There was also the little fact of Toni dating Taylor's crush. But that wasn't really a valid reason to dislike her.

She walked into her house after saying goodbye to Karlie. She went straight up to her bedroom and shut the door. She wanted to cry. It had been a bad day, but at least it was over.