[A/N: Songs for the chapter:
- Taylor Swift // I Almost Do
- Charli XCX // Boom Clap]

The aroma of warm, mouthwatering cakes wafted around the classroom as I scraped a chair from one of the vacant desks surrounding Tyler's table and plopped down beside him. Neither of us felt like baking during our short period today so we just explained to Ms Smith that we would spend the next forty minutes planning for the upcoming lessons this week and she reluctantly agreed that it was fine.

Only now, Tyler's head was planted face first into the pine desk and his chest rose and fell softly. A soft snore came from him and the rush of air from each snore blew his hair from his eyes before the gold strands flopped back down. Rolling my eyes at him as he shifted to make himself more comfortable, I took out a notepad and flicked through one of the many cookbooks scattered around the class and searched through the dessert section.

So far, we had baked a banana cake, chocolate ripple cake, sour cream cake and a victoria sponge cake but they were quite bland compared to what the other groups were conjuring up. They were going crazy with their layout, attempting towering cakes and one group even made a wedding cake! It's not like it was a competition but it sure felt like that when each group surreptitiously peered over their shoulders to see what the other pairs were up to.

I glanced up, scanning the classroom effectively. I could see Mona and Blake arguing as she dunked a finger into their mixing bowl and popped it into her mouth making him smack her hand and turn his back to her. She only retaliated by darting around him and sneaking another finger in. Except this time Blake was prepared and bit her finger, making her scream at him. Chuckling quietly at the pair, I watched other groups bicker loudly whilst the rest just worked in silence.

Turning back to my partner, I took in his new position and tried to bite back my smile. He face me with his head to the side, a handful of gleaming gold hair flopped over his forehead and brushed over his eyes. From my position, I could just about make out the light dust of freckles that were splattered over his nose but what captured my attention was the serenity of his face. It was devoid of any expression and I couldn't remember the last time I had seen him like that.

Slowly, his lips twitched and my gaze zeroed onto them. I'd never acknowledged how rosy they were. They were slightly chapped right now but I couldn't wrap my head around how fleshy and plump they were in contrast to his smooth unblemished skin.

"I know you're staring at me," He flung one eye open and a sea of amusement met mine.

I gasped in surprise and leaned back in my seat as he pulled himself into a sitting position and yawned.

"I w-wasn't staring!"

Tyler arched an eyebrow, raking a hand through his hair although the golden strands flopped back all over the place.

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Whatever!" I grumbled at the level of sarcasm oozing from voice.

I wasn't staring, I thought to myself. I was merely observing.

I don't know why I was trying to reassure myself when I'd already been caught in the act. In an attempt to justify my actions, I told myself that there was nothing wrong with making a harmless observation. It's not my fault his face was right there in front of me. Where else was I supposed to look?

Glaring at him when he rolled his eyes in response, I flicked through several glossy pages before settling on a mouthwatering image a chocolate glazed carrot cake. It was lightly dusted with flour like a thin layer of frost on a cold winter's morning.

"How about this?"

Glancing at the page, his gaze flickered at the photograph and then back to me with a deadpan expression.

"Are you for real?" He drawled before snatched the book from my grasp and speeding through the pages.

Once my initial shock at his rudeness dissolved into exasperation, I bit back a snarky reply and watched him skim through the book before slamming it shut and turning to me with a serious expression.

"I think," He paused, looking at me with those intoxicating oceans of his before continuing. "We should test out chocolate again but add something else?"

I shook my head in disagreement and started to protest against his idea. I recognised the look on his face as I'd seen it too many times on his sister's face. He thought he was being smart when all he was gonna do was push an idea to suit his needs and that was everything our assignment shouldn't be. In basic terms, I was pretty sure I knew exactly what he wanted to add to the chocolate cake. And I was also pretty sure he would insist on tasting it - all of it.

"You're just gonna add banana to it and gobble it in seconds."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I arched an eyebrow as he gaped at me and leaned back in his seat.

His mouth opened in surprise. "How did you know?"

"You seem to have forgotten that you and Taylor had much more in common than just your appearance," I rolled my eyes and gathered my curls to one side.

For once his face didn't pale or harden at the mention of his sister. Instead he slowly grinned and I couldn't help but notice the way his eyes crinkled when the smile lit up his stony face.

"Really?" He breathed as a long lost spark in his eyes made something inside me flip.

Shaking my head with disbelief, I chuckled at the level of incredulity that laced his voice, thick with uncertainty.

"Are you kidding? How else do you think I can put up with your bullshit attitude if I couldn't put up Taylor's constant complaining!"

This time, a sound I hadn't heard in a long time erupted from him and it was my turn to gape at him as he laughed. A real one; not a small chuckle or a half smile.

It was a real laugh.

"Man, she really did complain all the time didn't she?"

I nodded and mirrored his grin, ignoring the subtle flips that invaded my belly.

"Don't forget that half the time she complained, it had something to do with the pranks you pulled on her."

"Half the time?" He laughed as a mischievous grin washed over him like the memories that washed over the both of us.

"Okay, maybe all the time." I admitted, wincing at the raging rants that Taylor had everyday after being subjected to Tyler's infuriating pranks.

I didn't blame her though, the pranking war between the two was well known throughout the school and sometimes they took it to extreme measures. And when I say extreme, I mean extreme!

Remembering the time when she pushed her bedroom door open and was showered in flour, I winced at the scream she let out and pushed the memory away to flash Tyler and incredulous ghost of a smile.

"I'm not surprised," He chuckled, "I did ruin her life a couple of times."

I'd say that his worse prank was the one he pulled on our first night at their beach house the summer after eighth grade. He lost a lock of hair for emptying her suitcase and leaving her with no clothes for six weeks.

"A couple? Tyler you have no idea how many times you ruined her life!"

A sheepish and remorseful smile played on his lips and he ran a hand through his hair.

"I wasn't that bad."

Incredulity filled me like a balloon as I leaned forward on the table and stared at him long and hard.

"She practically had a phobia of the colour black so you went ahead and added black hair dye to her shampoo." I drawled with disbelief, enunciating each word as his smile transformed into a smirk. "You signed your death wish the day you did that!"

An echoing sound came from Tyler's lips as he let his head fall back, shoulders shaking as the most hysterical laughter rocked through him making me burst out into hysterics too.

The fleeting image of my best friend storming into school with a beanie pulled down to her eyebrows just to conceal her jet black hair was too much to bear. Though it didn't go unnoticed, her face remained a livid red the entire day until she marched the both of us to the hair salon, paying them a fortune to bleach her hair back to its original colour.

Tyler and I both knew how much she despised the colour black. I mean, she even demanded that nobody was allowed to wear black to her funeral - that's how much she loathed the colour; and the fool in front of me made the worst move possible by adding permanent black hair dye to her shampoo bottle as a retaliation to her previous prank. Moron.

"Tyler and Ashley, keep the noise down!" A stern voice snapped from the front of the classroom, forcing me to bite down on my lip.

Quickly glancing over my shoulder, I met the frozen stares of confusion from the entire class, including Mona's knowing grin and Blake's soft smile. Michelle, however, was glowering at me with enough intensity to spontaneously combust my entire body as if her glare was a matchstick and I was made out gasoline. I flashed a wide grin that made her right eye twitch with fury before I realised that there was another set of eyes glaring at me.

Meeting steel-grey eyes, I sunk lower down into my seat as I tore my gaze away from Ms Smith, only to meet grinning sea green ones that made me burst out laughing again.

"Ashley!" Ms Smith barked.

I slapped a hand over my mouth and muffled an apology as I picked up my pen with another hand. I stared at the blank page for a full minute before I allowed myself to look up at Tyler.

"Don't!" I pleaded as I took in his wide grin.

"What?" He said innocently and raised his hands in a defensive motion.

"You know what!" I hissed, shooting a glance at Ms Smith as she looked up from her marking long enough to glare at me.

Tyler nodded slowly, biting his full bottom lip as it quivered, struggling to hold back his infectious laughter. Picking up my discarded pen, he began to doodle on my notebook and I was grateful that I could no longer see those sea green eyes or I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to hold it in.

A minute later, Tyler leaned back to stretch his back and when I glanced at my notebook I had to bite down on my lip - hard. A scrawny stick girl with angry eyebrows looked back at me reminding me of my best friend, with hair so black I could've sworn it shone navy blue in the light. Only, the girl Tyler drew had hair sticking in all directions which opposed his depiction of his sister because he had flawless straight hair that shone platinum and gold in the sunlight.

My gaze travelled from his notebook to his closed eyelids as he yawned and when they flung open to meet mine, I pointed at my notebook with my chin. He looked down at what he'd drawn and looked up at me before pursing his lips.

We lasted three seconds before another round of hysterical laughter filled the classroom, earning us a final warning.

Thirty minutes later and the class was sitting back down in their seats as Ms Smith quickly went through a PowerPoint presentation. Tyler and I were too busy guffawing into our hands even after our teacher separated us and forced me to return to my own seat.

Half the class were focused on Ms Smith and the rest were focused on Tyler and I, shooting curious glances over their shoulders as we relived his sister's best pranks. Michelle's shoulders were locked and I knew she was listening to our conversation even if she was sitting diagonally away from us and two rows down; even Dylan gawked at his former best friend.

"Remember the time when she put dog crap in my bag and I had that nasty smell of shit following me around all day and nobody had the nerve to tell me truth?" Tyler whispered over his shoulder and I nodded, guffawing behind my palms at the memory.

"You had a bitch fit when you found out and you stormed into our Biology class. Then you threw the shit at her but it hit Jonah on the head instead and you guys nearly had a fight."

"It wasn't a bitch fit!"

I scoffed. "You were flailing your arms around and screaming whenever you had to touch it."

"I wasn't the only person screaming. You screamed too!" He protested, frowning at my smirk as it grew wider, infuriating him until he snapped. "It was dog shit! What was I supposed to do?"

"There was a plastic bag around it," I drawled, cocking a brow up.

"Still dog shit."

"Wuss."

"Am not!"

"Dude, you cried when she put fake tan in your shower gel."

"I was thirteen!"

"Wuss," I sang, waggling my eyebrows as he turned red.

"I was orange for a week!"

"Orange is an understatement," I threw my head back and laughed. "You were a freaking Oompa Loompa!"

Tyler's laugh mingled with mine, loud and ringing as it echoed around the classroom, earning us a few more stares.

"Can you tone it down? You sound like a dying walrus," Michelle snapped, burning a hole through my face.

My laughter died down but my grin remained put, curling up with malice until I shot a glance at Tyler. He was still laughing but I was certain he heard her.

"Oh really, let me call someone who actually cares," I replied enthusiastically, picking up my cellphone and scrolling through my contact lists before dramatically slamming it down onto the desk.

Michelle's scowl soured before she spun back around with steam pouring out of her ears. Meanwhile Tyler's gaze flickered between us before his shoulders shook harder. A goofy smile graced my lips when we made eye contact, grinning like lunatics on crack.

"Buurrnnnnn!" He threw his head back and laughed, leaning back on his chair so that his fingers clutched the edge of my desk.

We shared a swift high five and I looked up to find Michelle's eyes on me. With a smirk I lifted my cellphone, wiggled it and held it out to her as Tyler guffawed loudly much to Ms Smith's dismay.

"Ashley! Tyler!" She barked as we sniggered into our hands, struggling to contain our laughter. "Do you want a referral to Principal Jenkins?"

"No Miss. Sorry Miss," I apologised, biting my lip to contain my giggles, especially when Tyler's eyes were wide as saucers and crossed together.

When he waggled his eyebrows and stuck his tongue out, I burst into a ringing laugh that caused everyone in our class to turn around, annoyed that I was wheezing like a dying animal. Red faced and embarrassed, I kicked Tyler's chair and he whirled around and faced the front.

When steel-grey eyes bored into mine, I sobered up quickly and hid behind my hair until Tyler muttered two words under his breath, loud enough for the neighbouring tables to hear - including Michelle's.

"Ring ring."

The bubble of laughter I tried so hard to suppress escaped from me and we laughed hysterically, pounding the table and throwing our heads back, as Michelle turned red.

When the bell rang, everybody shot towards the door, eager to escape Ms Smith's monotonous drones.

"See you tomorrow," I waved as Tyler shrugged his backpack on and disappeared amongst the throng of students shuffling to their next period.

Moments later, I turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. A redhead scurried after me, bouncing beside me like an energetic ball of electricity.

"What was that all about?" Mona interrogated me as she fell into step with me.

Holding back a jaw-breaking grin, we strolled towards our lockers to pick up our English Literature textbook.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, shooting a glance over my shoulder just in time to see Tyler's blond head disappear around the corner.

She turned back to follow my gaze but being a midget, all she saw was the massive traffic of students behind us.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," I replied, even more quickly this time.

She peered up at me with raised eyebrows before narrowing her eyes.

"So you're not gonna tell me what the secret jokes were about?"

I forced a bubble of laughter back down and chewed on my lip, avoiding her burning gaze.

"Nope."

"Are you sure? The whole class was dying to know what could possibly have made grumpy old Tyler Miller laugh that loud when the guy hasn't smiled in years!"

I shook my head , coming to his defence immediately.

"He does smile!"

"Yeah, only at you," She grinned at me as if she knew something I didn't.

I rolled my eyes at her as we reached my locker. Hers was about five metres away so we separated but the entire time she backed away from me she waggled her eyes at me and sported her infuriating suggestive smile. Turning my back to her, I fished out the textbook I needed and dumped my Home Ec. stuff into my locker before walking towards Mona.

"Come on, we're gonna be late," I huffed as she pulled a comb out of her locker and teased her deep red bob.

"Only if you tell me what you and Tyler were laughing about," She replied, grabbing a can of hairspray and waving it over her head as everybody around shied away from the chemicals.

I narrowed my eyes at her reflection through the mirror hanging on the inside of her gaping locker. In response, one of her curious and teasing eyes winked at me.

"You know what, I'm cool," I replied with a laugh. "Take all the time you need."

"Suit yourself girl," She grinned, shoving her hand into her makeup bag and applying mascara until her lashes looked like falsies.

"Who are you getting dolled up for?" I winked at her reflection and she pursed her lips.

"Nobody, I'm done now anyway," She closed her locker after running her comb through her hair one last time before tossing it beside her collection of makeup and perfumes. "How do I look?"

I rolled my eyes and ignored her question.

"It's not like we're going anywhere special after school. It's you, me and Blake tonight right?"

She nodded and slipped an arm around mine, dragging me down the deserted hallway. We made it to class five minutes late and had to sit separately due to the lack of seats but for once I was grateful for some distance between Mona and I because I was definitely not ready for an interrogation during a double lesson of English Literature.

**

After I got home from the movies, I sat curled by the foot of the sofa with my eyes were glued to the only source of light in the room. Leaning against Mom's legs, I sighed as her fingers raked through my long curls in an absentminded motion whilst she watched an episode of Game of Thrones with me. My gaze was glued to the television and I squealed with excitement as dragons darted across the screen.

We both tensed when the shrill ring of the house phone made us jolt.

"Pause it dear," Mom said as she reluctantly removed her hands from my hair, hopped off the sofa and padded barefooted into the kitchen to pick up the phone.

In a daze, I fumble around for the remote but soon gave up as I refused to tear my gaze away from the screen to look for it. After a couple of minutes, Mom returned with the phone wedged between her left hand and her neck as she mouthed something at me.

I was about to ask her to repeat herself when I almost jumped out of skin at her shriek.

"Ashley! Didn't I tell you to pause it?"

Her roaring voice sent me careering back a couple of inches until I recovered and scrambled to my feet. I darted to the television and manually pressed pause.

"Mom why are you yelli-"

"I told you to pause it!" Mom complained, her eyes flashing with irritation.

I felt guilty but the show was too good to look away and I couldn't find the remote. What else was I supposed to do? As she read my facial expression, Mom huffed as she stiffly held the phone towards me. I looked at her in surprise, staring at the phone, clearly puzzled as to why she was waving it around in front of me. Hesitantly, I took it from her and raised it to my ear slowly.

"Hello?"

"Well you're in deep shit munchkin. Should have paused it when she told you to pau-"

I cut off the deep voice on the other line as I choked on his name.

"T-Tyler?"

My gaze flickered to my mom in shock but she was still in a strop about missing a minute of the show and was too busy rewinding it. I walked out of the room as he muttered a series of curses about his eardrums bursting but I was busy blinking with confusion as I ran up the stairs to my room.

"Damn, do you have to be so loud?" He snapped.

I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that he couldn't see me but his overreaction just required that response.

"Why are you calling me on my house phone?"

"Can you just let me talk?"

His bored tone made me want to sock him but I hummed that I was listening so he continued talking.

"Since we don't have Home Ec. tomorrow and you won't accept my genius idea of a banana chocolate cake; I asked Rosemary to help us out and she invited you over tomorrow after school to bake one of her specialties."

Gaping at the phone, a bubble of excitement floated through me before it popped and I exploded. We should have thought of this sooner!

"Oh my god!" I squealed.

Again, Tyler grumbled about his eardrums but didn't seem to catch onto my revelation.

"What?" He asked after recovering from my exceptionally loud squeal.

Completely ignoring him, I visualised a series of fantasies of Rosemary whispering the secrets of her phenomenal cake recipes to me whilst Ms Smith's steel-grey eyes widen in shock as she tastes our final masterpiece.

"Why didn't I think of that?" I thought aloud.

"Think of what?"

Rosemary was the best cook I'd ever met and she could make anything and everything in record time; not mention that her food was so good that I almost drowned in ecstasy every time she used to make me my favourite hot chocolate.

"Jesus Tyler, you're a freaking genius!"

Surprise coated his deep voice as he replied, "I am?"

"Heck yeah you are!" I chirped down the phone as I conducted a happy dance around my room.

We were, without a doubt, going to ace this assignment with Rosemary's culinary expertise!

"Umm, thanks?" He sounded amused and slightly shocked by my compliment.

After a couple of seconds of silence, my fantasies of passing the assignment with flying colours dissolved as a frown formed on my lips. How did Tyler get hold of my house number? The only people who had it were Mona and Blake and they never used the house-line since I had a cellphone.

Deep in thought, I leaned against the wall and craned my head to the ceiling as I voiced my current thoughts.

"Tyler?"

"Mmm hmm?"

In a questioning and curious voice, I put all my weight on the wall and pressed the phone closer to my ear so that I could hear Tyler shuffling on the other side. I wondered if he was getting ready for bed with all the movement coming from him.

"How did you get this number?"

For a moment, it was so silent that I thought he'd hung up on me but when I heard the soft sound of his breathing, I just waited patiently for him to answer my question.

"Taylor," He muttered quietly after what seemed like forever.

"What?" Confusion laced my voice as I frowned. How was that even possible? "How?"

Sheepishly, he admitted to having stolen it from Taylor's old cellphone. Astonished, I stayed silent for a couple of seconds before managing to find my voice again.

"But why? Why do you still have Taylor's phone?"

As soon as the question left my mouth, I put a hand to my lips, desperately wishing I could take the words back as a heavy silence fell.

In the most heartbreaking and saddest voice he uttered a response that made my knees give way and I slid down the wall, collapsing onto the floor into a hopeless mess.

"It's the only way I can hear her voice again."

And with that the line went dead.

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[A/N: If the next chapter won't open up for you, send me a private message because there were some previous issues with it but Wattpad fixed it. Just in case it still doesn't work for you, make sure to hit me up.

Enjoy the story and keep voting...Try not to die from too much feels but I can't say there won't be any casualties ;)