Holding Hands (Jardougall)

The Prologue

"Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable" -Wizard of Oz

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From the time they were just three and five years old, two girls were inseparable. They never left each other's side, and when they had to, the girls would make sure they could double their time together the next day. They would have sleepovers, go to the fair together, play sports together, study, and play music. They had always understood that no one would ever be able to separate them. They helped each other with boy problems, school problems, and Jenna never left Tay's side when Tay's father passed away.

Their friendship was unbreakable until the end of their eighth and sixth grade year in school, which is where our story begins.

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As soon as the final bell rang, the small girl leaped from her desk and out the classroom door. She ran down the hallway to her locker, pulled out her bag, and as soon as she turned around, she smashed straight into another figure. He caught her and smiled a little as he helped her to stand straight up again.

"You should really watch where you're going," he told her with a small laugh.

"Nah," she replied. "That's over-rated and involves extra thinking. I don't have time for that."

The boy laughed. "I'm Alex Gaskarth."

"I'm Taylor Jardine, but my best friend calls me Tay." She nervously brushed her curly, brown hair behind her ear and bit her lip.

Alex continued to smile. "Well, it looked like you were in a hurry. Maybe I should let you go."

"Oh, yeah." Tay mentally slapped herself when she remembered that she was supposed to meet her best friend, Jenna McDougall, outside of the school at the end of the day. It was their tradition, and since it was the last day of school, they planned on walking home. "Um, it was nice to meet you, Alex. 'Bye."

Alex stared after her as she ran away from him, and he smiled a little before walking in the opposite direction.

When Tay finally got outside, Jenna yelled and pulled her into a hug. "Where were you?" she yelled in her Australian accent. Jenna's family had moved from Sydney, Australia when she was two years old, and they met Tay's family shortly afterwards. The parents became great friends, and so did their children; but Tay and Jenna had their own friendship, one that was different than the ones that involved their siblings.

"Sorry, Jen," Tay breathed, "I ran into someone. Literally."

"Not surprising, love." Jenna smiled and Tay playfully hit her in the arm before the girls began to walk home. The entire walk, Tay noticed that her best friend wasn't acting like her usual perky self, which usually involved horrible jokes and a lot of giggling. Instead, Jenna was really acting like the complete opposite, in staying quiet and staring at her feet. Twice, Tay had to move her out of the path of a bicyclist on the sidewalk.

Finally, the pair arrived at Tay's house, where they tossed their bags on the floor and sat on the living room couch. As Tay turned on the television, Jenna understood that she should tell Tay what she needed to tell her. She didn't mean to keep a secret from her best friend, but she had to tell her.

"Tay?" Jenna spoke up. Tay turned and looked at Jenna with a small smile.

"Hm?" she replied, turning her body to face her.

Jenna decided to skip the foreplay and get immediately to the point. "We're moving back to Sydney."

Like ripping off a band-aid.