Her Teen Dream

by Archer, Devon Vaughn

  "Hey," he said to her.

  She looked up at him. "Hey."

  He kissed her on the mouth and glared at Lex. "Who's he?"

  "No one," she said coldly. "He thought he knew me, that's all."

  "I'll walk you to class," he told her, as though she needed a bodyguard.

  "All right." Taylor glanced briefly at Lex before she turned and walked away with the guy.

  Feeling stung, Lex wanted to go after her, but chose not to stir up trouble on his first day at school.

  "If you're looking to hook up with her, dude, forget it," a thin, lanky boy with curly brown hair said, after witnessing the interaction, or lack of. "She won't look at guys like us twice. Not when she can be with a football star at Charmanie Hills High."

  Lex bit his tongue. Was she really so caught up in a football player that she didn't even want to be associated with someone she used to care about?

  "Her loss," Lex muttered, even if he didn't really believe that.

  "I feel the same way. I'm Jimmy Nye."

  "Lex Haskell."

  "First day here?"

  "Yeah. I was just headed to my locker when—" Lex looked over his shoulder as Taylor and her boyfriend were just about out of view.

  "I understand," Jimmy said. "Same thing happened to me when I first got here and laid eyes on Julie Kellogg. I didn't get very far either."

  "Guess some things aren't meant to be." Lex wished the words weren't such a bitter pill to swallow. Particularly since it now seemed as though he had lost, found, and lost again his one true love.

  * * *

  Taylor Clawson sat in her algebra class, but her mind was absorbed with what had happened in the hall five minutes ago. She was shocked to see the first boy to ever kiss her actually standing before her at Charmanie Hills High. It almost seemed like yesterday that he and his family moved away, leaving her depressed for what seemed like forever. She had written to Lex a couple of times, but never got a reply.

  Now he shows up at her school, as if they could somehow turn back the hands of time. Well that wasn't going to happen. She wasn't the same ten-year-old with pigtails and braces anymore. And he clearly wasn't the messy haired, skinny boy next door anymore. He'd filled out nicely over the years and was easy on the eyes.

  But she had a boyfriend. Blake Reed was seventeen and a star wide receiver on the varsity football team. Every girl in school wanted him and she had him. She wasn't about to jeopardize that for some guy from the past. And even if she was interested in rekindling a friendship, Blake wouldn't be very happy about it. He hated it when guys on the football team eyed her. Or vice versa. So he certainly wouldn't want to think, even for a moment, that she was interested in someone else.

  Yes, she did the right thing pretending that she didn't remember Lex Haskell. It was best all the way around. She hoped he would just leave it at that and ignore her.

  * * *

  Lex was late getting to his first class, still stung by Taylor's memory loss where he was concerned.

  "I expect all students to be on time," Mrs. Driscoll, the teacher, said in a stern voice.

  "Sorry," was all Lex could think to say in response.

  "And you are...?"

  "Lex Haskell."

  "You're the new student?" she confirmed.

  "Yeah." It was only then that he locked eyes with Taylor. She quickly turned away.

  "Well, welcome to Charmanie Hills High."

  "Thanks."

  "You may take a seat," Mrs. Driscoll told him. "And see me after class to discuss catching up on what you've missed thus far."

  Lex nodded and made his way down a row till he came to an empty seat, which happened to be next to Taylor. He sat down and looked at her. She didn't look back.

  Was she going to continue to give him the cold shoulder? Had he done something to offend her way back then?

  Or was what he remembered about them a lot stronger than what she remembered?

  Either way, it was nice to know someone at this school. Even if the feeling was clearly not mutual.

  * * *

  After school was out, Lex hung around waiting to see Taylor. But she must have ducked out a back entrance or something, as she was nowhere to be found. Not that he knew what he would say to her if she chose to simply ignore his existence. Was it possible that she really didn't remember him? And what they had meant to each other for a short time?

  He headed home.

  "Hey, hold up," Jimmy said. "I'm headed that way, too."

  "Cool," Lex said, glad for the distraction.

  "What street do you live on?"

  "Appolina Drive."

  "That's just one street over from Stallion, where I live," Jimmy said.

  "It'll take me a little while to learn all the local streets," Lex told him as they walked along the sidewalk.

  "Yeah, probably." Jimmy tucked a hand in his pocket. "So have you gotten Taylor Clawson out of your system yet?"

  "She was never in my system," Lex said, only wishing that were true. She had never been out of his system, even if they had lost contact years ago.

  "Good answer," Jimmy said.

  They stood before Lex's house. "Well, this is my place," he said.

  Jimmy admired the large home. "Nice."

  "It's okay, I guess." Lex liked the house they'd lived in previously better. He thought about inviting Jimmy inside, but wasn't really in the mood. "See you tomorrow."

  An hour later, Lex was at the dining room table with his mom and stepdad, Tucker. He would have preferred to eat in his room alone, but they'd insisted otherwise.

  "So how was your first day at school?" Tucker asked.

  "Like any other day," Lex answered, rolling some peas around his plate.

  "Is that good or bad?"

  Lex frowned. "You figure it out."

  "Lex!" Linda raised her voice. "Let's not do this."

  "Do what?" He glared at her. "Say what I feel?"

  "We're trying to make this work," she stressed. "Why can't you?"

  "Because it's NOT working. You married him, not me. Don't blame me if I'd rather have my real dad around."

  "It was his choice," Linda snapped.

  Lex didn't really want to hear that, even if he knew it was true. His dad chose to have an affair and then left them to be with the woman he ended up marrying. It was his fault that Lex's mom found someone else to be with. Still, Lex couldn't help but wonder if maybe his mom had tried harder to keep him, things might have turned out differently. Or was that just wishful thinking on his part?

  Lex stood, his food only half finished. "I lost my appetite."

  He expected his mom to object, but she didn't. Neither did Tucker. Maybe giving him his space was the first step in somehow learning to accept this situation.

  * * *

  Lex went to the basement and grabbed his electric guitar. He'd been playing the guitar since he was eight, having learned from his dad. It was something Lex did to relax and take his mind off things. Like Taylor and her blowing him off. He had been in a band once, but he was the only one serious about playing and it quickly broke up. He hoped to be in a band again someday, even if it never led to anything big.

  His mom came down. "Are you all right?"

  He stopped playing. "Yeah, I'm fine."

  "Tucker's trying hard, honey," she said softly. "He doesn't want to replace your dad; he wants to be there as a father figure, if you'll let him."

  "I know," Lex said, regretting the way he'd left the table.

  "If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here," she said.

  "Do you remember Taylor Clawson?" he asked.

  Linda gave him a thoughtful look. "Of course. Taylor and her parents lived down the street when we were in San Jose. Why?"

  Lex paused. "She's here?"

  "You mean in Lake Charmanie?"

  "Yeah. I saw her at school today."

  "How nice," Linda said. "I'm sure that was a surprise for both of you."

  "Not really," Lex
said, frowning. "She said she didn't remember me."

  "Hmm... That's odd. I seem to recall you two were pretty close."

  Lex thought the same thing. "Guess we weren't." Not in her book anyway.

  He went back to playing the guitar, still thinking about Taylor and what might have been.

  TWO

  The next day at school, Lex spotted Taylor in the middle of a group of girls. He decided to confront her before he lost his nerve.

  "I need to talk to you," he told her tersely.

  She gave him a weird look. "There's nothing to talk about."

  "I think there is."

  Taylor faced her friends. "I'll catch up with you in class."

  They left reluctantly and Lex wondered what he would or should say to her. He had an idea for starters. "Why are you blowing me off?"

  "I told you. I don't remember you," she said.

  "I don't believe you."

  "That's your problem. Now I have to get to class."

  Lex didn't want to leave it like that. And neither should she. "We were friends once," he reminded her. "What are you afraid of?"

  She fluttered her lashes. "Certainly not you."

  "Then talk to me..."

  Taylor gave him a thoughtful look. "Fine. Meet me during the break in the library."

  "Okay." Lex considered that a victory of sorts, small as it was.

  She sashayed away and he headed to his class, wondering why he should be pressing someone who had been out of his life for six years now.

  * * *

  Taylor slid into a seat in her ancient cultures class. Lex Haskell was ancient history as far as she was concerned. The sooner he got that, the better. But he seemed determined to go down memory lane, even if whatever she'd felt for him as a ten-year-old had died back then. What on earth was he even doing in Lake Charmanie?

  "So what did he want to talk to you about?" Hazel Metcalf asked after class.

  Taylor gazed at her blonde-haired best friend. "Not sure really."

  "He seemed to think you have something to talk about. Who is he?"

  "Just someone I used to know in grade school," Taylor said disinterestedly. "He just started here."

  "And he needs you to hold his hand for old times' sake?" Hazel asked.

  Taylor chuckled humorlessly. "I don't think so. Probably just wants to catch up, you know."

  "Better steer him in another direction," Hazel warned. "If Blake thinks you're into someone else, he might—"

  "I'm not," Taylor cut her off. "Blake has nothing to worry about."

  "If you say so."

  "Blake doesn't own me," Taylor felt prompted to say. "If he can't handle me being friends with someone I used to know in elementary school, then he has a problem."

  Actually, Taylor feared the problem was hers. Only she wasn't quite sure what to do about it. Other than to let him say whatever he had to and hope he'd leave her alone after that. For both their sakes.

  * * *

  "Where are you off to?" Jimmy asked Lex in the hall.

  "Got somewhere I need to be," Lex responded cryptically. As difficult as it had been to get Taylor to even talk to him, he wasn't about to blow it by not showing up himself.

  "Not still pining for Taylor Clawson, are you?"

  "We're old friends—nothing more," Lex said.

  "So you really do know her?"

  "Used to."

  "Someone forget to tell her that?" Jimmy asked.

  "Who knows," Lex said. "Gotta go." He saw no reason to tell Jimmy that he was going to see Taylor. Only for him to say it was a bad idea. Probably was, but that never stopped Lex from doing things he wanted to before. Including the time he went out on a limb and kissed Taylor back in the day. He'd never forgotten, even if she had.

  He made his way to the library, which was in another building, and then wondered if Taylor had arrived yet. If so, where was she? Or had she decided not to come and forgot to tell him?

  Then he saw her sitting a table near the window, all by her lonesome. He smiled, happy to finally get the chance to talk to her.

  "Hey," he told her.

  "Hey." She smiled faintly.

  "Thought you might not show."

  "I said I would."

  "Yeah, you did." He sat across from her. "Do you remember me now?"

  Taylor met his eyes. "Of course I remember you."

  Lex felt relieved. "Then why pretend you didn't?"

  She shrugged. "I didn't recognize you right away. But when you said your name, I remembered."

  "You still didn't answer my question," he said.

  Taylor paused, not quite sure how to answer it. She felt it would seem too childish to say she was still angry that he'd moved away. And too whatever to say that she had a jealous and sometimes violent boyfriend.

  "I just didn't want to go there," she said.

  "Why not?" Lex asked, feeling it was a reasonable question.

  "Because we aren't ten years old anymore. I'm not the same person I was then."

  "Neither am I," he said. "But does that mean we can't be friends today?"

  She supposed they could, but why ask for trouble she didn't need? Or him, for that matter?

  "I guess not," Taylor said.

  Lex sensed there was something else going on, but didn't want to push it. "So no more pigtails or braces," he said, grinning.

  Taylor giggled. "Not for a long time. You've changed, too." She couldn't believe just how much.

  "Yeah, I know." That didn't mean he had changed inside, even if he was more mature in some ways. He looked at her and wondered what she was thinking. Probably about the guy she was dating. "I never thought I'd see someone I knew at this school." Definitely not you, he thought.

  "It's weird for me, too," Taylor admitted. "How did you end up moving here?"

  "It's a pretty long story, when I begin it with leaving San Jose," Lex told her. "But, in short, my stepdad's job brought us to Lake Charmanie."

  Taylor cocked a brow. "Are your parents—?"

  "Divorced."

  "Sorry to hear that."

  "I didn't really get a say in the matter," Lex mumbled. "But I guess it was best for them. Are your parents still together?"

  "Yes," Taylor said. "There have been a few times when I thought they might split up, but they managed to work it out, I guess."

  "So how long have you lived here?"

  "Three years," she replied. "My mom got a job transfer and my dad went along with it."

  "You like it here?" Lex asked curiously.

  Taylor could think of plenty of reasons to say yes and some to say no. "Most of the time," she said, compromising. "How about you...I mean, so far?"

  Lex wanted to say he liked it better in San Bernardino, but he preferred to keep an open mind. Especially where she was concerned. "It's okay, I guess."

  Taylor met his eyes. "I wrote you a couple of times after you moved from San Jose, but I never heard back from you."

  Lex cocked a brow. That was news to him. "I never got any letters from you." He thought about it. "We moved a lot, so they probably got lost in the shuffle."

  Taylor felt better hearing that, but she was still a little peeved. "Why didn't you call or anything—to let me know what was going on?"

  Lex sighed. It was a perfectly legitimate question for which he had no real answer. He shrugged. "I was ten years old. Guess I just thought we'd never see each other again and wasn't sure you wanted to hear from me."

  "Well you were wrong," she told him honestly. "I thought about you all that summer."

  Lex wanted to kick himself for coming across as heartless, even at such a young age. The reality was, had it been up to him, they would never have left San Jose and the bond between him and Taylor might never have been broken.

  "Thought about you, too," he admitted.

  Taylor had a feeling he was just trying to make her feel better. "You don't have to say that."

  "It's true." Lex gazed at her attractive face. "We were good together.
"

  She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a long time ago."

  He thought about their kisses. "It wasn't that long."

  Taylor wished in many respects they could go back to those innocent days. But that wasn't possible. She had the feeling there was more on his mind, just as there was on her mind. And, like her, he probably preferred to keep it to himself.

  "Well, I have to get to class," she said, grabbing her books.

  "Yeah, same here." He wished they shared more than one class.

  Taylor saw Blake approaching, causing her heart to skip a beat. "Kimberly told me I could find you in here," he said sharply.

  Kimberly Fisher was one of Taylor's friends, who also happened to be dating Blake's friend and teammate, Dillon McCrady.

  "I came to get a book," Taylor lied, holding up one she'd checked out earlier.

  Blake looked past her at Lex. "What's he doing here?"

  Taylor didn't give Lex a chance to answer. "This is Lex Haskell. Turns out we knew each other after all in grade school."

  "Hey," Lex said, deciding to make an attempt to be friendly, though he got the distinct impression the guy had no desire to be his friend.

  Blake nodded. "So what do you want with my girlfriend?"

  "Nothing," Lex answered. "I was just renewing an old acquaintance."

  "Well now that you've renewed it, leave her alone."

  Lex looked at Taylor. "Is that what you want?"

  It wasn't necessarily what she wanted, but Taylor didn't see the point in them trying to become friends again. At least not in school.

  "Yes, I think it's best," she said, eyeing Blake.

  "There, she said it," Blake voiced triumphantly. "Hope you got the message loud and clear."

  "What's your problem, man?" Lex felt the unwarranted hostility as thick as ice.

  "You are!" Blake spat, getting up in Lex's face.

  Lex didn't back down, feeling like the guy was definitely invading his space and being aggressive. Normally, he didn't back down to some jerk basically threatening him. In this case, it probably wouldn't bode well for any chance he had of at least becoming friends with Taylor if he got into a fight with her boyfriend.