"Which swimsuit should I take?"

"Whichever one makes you look the hottest." Clara groaned, her head upside down on the bed.

Taylor leaned her head over the edge of Aubrey's bed, watching as Aubrey held up two swimsuits. One a pale pink colour and the other blue.

They were supposed to be helping Aubrey pack for the trip that she was leaving on in a week, but so far Taylor and Clara hadn't done much.

"Oh, thanks for the sunscreen, by the way," Aubrey commented.

Taylor nodded. "No problem. You better not get burnt."

"Yeah," Clara chimed in. "That's my job."

Taylor snorted and rolled her eyes, pushing a stray curl out of her face as Aubrey held up two different shirts.

"That one," Taylor pointed to the one on the left. "It looks hot on you."

"She wants you to get a boyfriend while you are abroad." Clara perked up, rolling on the bed to prop her feet against the purple wall. "And maybe, steal one for me as well."

Aubrey scoffed, neatly folding her clothes up into a blue compression cube, before zipping it up and placing it in the corner of her suitcase. "I am not going to become a kidnapper while I'm abroad Clara."

Clara sighed in disappointment. "I got my hopes up and everything."

Taylor laughed, her heart smiling too. "I'm going to miss you."

Aubrey nodded, and pouted, looking between them both. "I'm going to miss you both too, promise me we'll facetime a bunch while I'm over there?"

Taylor nodded rapidly and pushed herself up. "Make sure you take your umbrella. It might rain a ton there."

Aubrey turned and grabbed the black umbrella from the shelf in her closet, where it had previously been in storage, not needing much use with the current weather. She tucked it into her suitcase.

"I don't know if I'm ready to do this."

Clara hummed and stood, stretching until her back popped, then walked over, hugging Aubrey. A second later, Taylor joined them, hugging them both tightly.

"You are the bravest of us all. I believe you can do this, and you will show the world what happens when they mess with Aubrey Dawson." Clara cheered.

Aubrey sniffed slightly. "Thank you, Clara."

Taylor hummed and pulled away. Aubrey pushed one hand under her eyes, effectively removing any possible tears that may have surfaced. She turned to her closet and pulled out her tan trench coat, holding it up in question.

"Definitely," Both Clara and Taylor chimed.

Aubrey nodded, before neatly tucking it into her suitcase. She looked up at Taylor, who had resettled herself on the bed, leaning against the wall.

"Is that necklace new?"

Taylor's eyes widened, and her hand flew to her neck, where she had kept the star necklace for the past week or so. She pinched it between her fingers.

"Yeah, Nasir got it for me."

Aubrey's mouth dropped open, and she nearly tripped over the bottle of shampoo on the floor. "He got you a present."

"An olive branch," Taylor responded. "He showed up on Christmas eve to give it to me."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Clara glared at Taylor.

"What?" Taylor asked, dropping the necklace in embarrassment and hiding her hands in her sleeve. Her cousin gave her an incredulous look.

"You two are literally driving me insane. Will you please just fucking kiss him, or confess, or say something before I am thrown into a clinic?"

Taylor blinked in surprise at her cousin. "I thought you were against this."

"I was, but now I know that Nasir was drunk, and he shows up on Christmas fucking Eve to give you a present? Seriously, even I wouldn't do that for you Taylor," Clara tilted her head. "No offence."

Taylor blinked at Clara, mostly out of surprise. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Aubrey laughed. "You are a great George Fayne," She then leaned forward slightly, as if she had to whisper to Taylor. "It means he likes you back."

Taylor let out a disbelieving scoff. "You're full of shit."

Aubrey made a face at her and rolled her eyes. "I am not full of shit. You have your head in the sand. He was so offended and upset after you cussed him out, and now, gives you a necklace," She paused, tilting her head. "Did he bring anything for Jacob?"

Taylor shook her head slowly. "No. No, he didn't."

Aubrey and Clara exchanged an exasperated knowing glance. "It's plain as day, Taylor."

Aubrey nodded in agreement with what Clara had just said. "I think he does like you back."

"But, like as friends?" Taylor asked. "Or is he just trying to get me to come back on the team?"

Aubrey let out an annoyed groan. "I thought I was the nieve one," She stepped over her suitcase to stand in front of the bed, and Taylor suddenly had the notion that she was surrounded. "He fucking likes you. I don't give a shit wither you made up or not, or if the water is still murky. After the game that determines the playoffs, go up to him and tell him, and then, if he rejects you, you'll never have to see him again. He's easy enough to avoid in school."

Taylor waited until Aubrey had stepped away. "You sounded like Clara there for a moment."

They both laughed, and Clara turned. "So will you do it?"

Taylor inhaled slowly, thinking it all through. "I will, but if I bail out just before, I better not get hounded for it."

Aubrey nodded rapidly. "Deal.

~~~

"Go left!"

Taylor glanced up at her uncle, who was out on the ice today, watching the boys skate around and shouting at them. She was lounging in the booth, leaning her chair back slightly and propping her legs on the bar underneath. Her book was resting on her lap, but she wasn't paying it much attention.

Taylor ran her tongue along her teeth, watching with narrowed eyes as Nasir skated down the ice. They weren't in uniform today, opting out of it for more casual comfy clothes. He was wearing dark pants and a hoodie, but Taylor couldn't stop staring at him as he skated along, his arms flexing underneath the dark fabric.

Taylor ducked her gaze, suddenly realizing she had been staring. Embarrassed and mildly humiliated, she could feel her face and ears turning pink. Making sure no one had seen her, she stood, and stretched, making her way out of the booth and intending to stretch her legs.

She walked out, trying to distract her thoughts, thinking about anything and everything that wasn't Nasir. Even with the rink facing her back, he was still there, clinging. Taylor let out a pained groan of frustration.

Taylor clenched her hands into fists, and leaned her back against the glass wall of the arena. Why couldn't she get him out of her head? Maybe once he rejected her, everything would be okay.

She didn't really believe Clara and Aubrey, but she had to at least try. Taylor furrowed her eyebrows, thinking deeply. With a heavy sigh, she shook her head and went back into the booth, positioning herself back in the chair. Taylor folded the book so it was closed and shoved it into her bag.

She frowned as she watched the ice. Isaac was going to injure himself if he wasn't careful with those sharp turn arounds. Taylor bit her bottom lip, making a silent note to tell him later.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today," Coach yelled, his voice strained after shouting at them for so long. "At this rate, we will annihilate Fort Qui. I'll see you all on the weekend when we make it into the playoffs."

The boys on the ice let out cheers and Taylor smiled herself, watching as they all beamed. They lined up and made their way off the ice, pulling off their skates in the booth instead of the change room and tugging on their shoes.

Taylor glanced over at Jacob, where he was talking excitedly with Nolan. She turned back to face forwards, only to flinch in surprise at Nasir, who was sitting in the seat next to her, pulling on his shoes.

He kept his voice low, so as not to attract the attention of the other boys. "Do you think that what you told Lucas will hold up in the game?"

Taylor shrugged. "He trusted me the last time it happened."

Nasir nodded slowly, finishing tying his shoes, and sitting straight up. His gaze flickered once to the necklace she was wearing, and he half-smiled. "One more question."

"Shoot."

He hummed slightly and looked at her with narrowed eyes. He leaned forwards, and Taylor found herself leaning back to keep a small distance between them. "Why were you watching me during practice today?"

Taylor inhaled sharply. She had been staring too much, and now she had been caught. She could feel her ears heating up in embarrassment. She wanted to go home and curl up into a ball.

He hesitated for a second, a minor cheeky look accenting his features. "I'm just teasing. You look cute when you're embarrassed."

Taylor blinked in surprise and ducked her gaze to look at her shoes. Nasir chuckled in amusement, and stood, gently pressing a hand to her shoulder. She ignored the burning feeling of sparks that rose throughout her skin as he touched her shoulder. Then the hand was gone and he was moving away.

She let out a nervous breath and blinked in surprise as Jacob took his place.

"Can we go home now so I can eat, or are you going to sit and meditate on your emotional constipation a while longer?"

"Jacob," Taylor said. "Have I ever told you that you sometimes infuriate me?"

Jacob grinned at her and Taylor rolled her eyes and grabbed the strap of her bag. "Let's go you little asshole."

Jacob gave her a thumbs up and bounced out of the booth. Taylor followed him out, albeit a bit less eagerly. Holding the strap of her lanyard in one hand, she paused at the door, unlocking the truck from there, before they both ran out, their arms tucked tightly around themselves to ward off the winter.

They made it to the truck and Taylor huffed, hopping in the driver's seat and starting it quickly, turning the heat to full blast. Jacob shivered in the seat next to her.

"You were staring at him," He made a crude depiction of her face with wide eyes and open jaw.

Taylor grumbled at him, shoving her hands in her pockets as they waited for the truck to heat up. "I know."

"He probably noticed."

"I know."

Jacob laughed. "I don't know why you don't just tell him. Nasir is such a calm guy, he won't get mad."

"I'm not avoiding it because I fear him being mad," Taylor mumbled. "I don't want to be rejected."

Jacob scoffed and leaned back in his seat as she finally pulled out of the parking lot. "Nobody wants to be rejected, but if you spend your entire life sitting and waiting, nothing will happen," He paused, his eyebrows furrowed. "It's better to tell him and risk rejection, then not tell him and risk losing that potential relationship."

"Since when have you been a philosophist?" Taylor teased, attempting to both lighten the mood and distract it from her.

"Hardy har," Jacob snapped back, slouching down as she turned onto Main Street. "Sure, make fun of me for wanting my sister to be happy." He blew a raspberry at her and Taylor rolled her eyes.

"You are such a baby sometimes."

"I'm the one who got the mustard sweater, you can just shut up."

Taylor let out a loud laugh as she cruised through town towards their home. She pulled into the driveway, which had been shovelled yesterday by her.

Taylor rolled her neck, before stopping the truck and getting out, heading into the house, Jacob following closely behind.

"I'm going to go take a shower," He said. "I'm fucking cold."

With that, Jacob vanished up the stairs. Taylor huffed and shed off her coat, turning the furnace up to an adequate temperature, before flopping down on the couch in exhaustion. She tugged the nearest blanket over her lap and laid flat, tugging it up to cover her entire body, excluding her head.

Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up in confusion, only to scrunch her nose up at Aubrey and Clara, arguing over the best way to peel oranges. She had been hoping for Nasir.

She nearly shot upright at the realization. He had called her cute. So maybe he did like her?

~~~

Hello!! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It was my birthday today, so I'm excited to be publishing! There are only two left until this story is done! 😊