Title Here (Rune)

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

Just the thought of him was enough to send Taylor shooting across the sidewalk as if she was one of the fastest missiles in the world. She had to hold on to her beanie to keep it from flying off her head, the auburn strands of hair whipping freely behind her. Her black sleeveless hoodie had 'Paramore' emblazoned on its back in fiery ragged letters and she could only hope that it wasn't drenched in sweat by the time she got to the coffee shop. The coffee shop where she would finally see Zach again. Her heartbeat quickened even more despite the fact that she had basically run for who-knows-how-many-minutes now. It would be an understatement to say that she was excited. Taylor's enthusiasm was just simply overwhelming.

Finally, the out-of-breath daughter of Khione skidded to a stop, throwing her arms out to push the doors open. Ignoring the slightly bewildered glances she got, she hastily looked around the place before her eyes zeroed in on the shaggy-haired boy she was dying to see again. The sight that followed greatly shocked her, however.

"...watch where you're going!" the man was saying, holding a cup in his hands and glaring at the huge coffee stain on Zach's shirt. "Kids these days..." It was then that the gray-haired man's eyes snapped up and looked in Taylor's direction, a dash of recognition crossing the man's wrinkled face. "Taylor?"

Taylor stilled. Great, Uncle Jasper. Way to ruin what would have been an awesome reunion with my boyfriend.

"Uncle Jazz," she managed to choke out, a little surprised by the turn of events but still able to get a grip on herself. What should she do now? A short pause as she collected her thoughts. Ah, screw it. Come what may.

Her sneakers quickly padding across the cafe floor, Taylor all but knocked Zach to the floor. She hugged him tightly, ignoring her gaping uncle right in front of them. "I missed you so bad," she whispered, her voice muffled as she buried her face in his chest. Trying not to sigh in the sweet coffee aroma coming from Zach's sweat shirt, Taylor held on to him for a little while, just getting a wee bit distracted. Gods, what was her uncle going to do?

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

Taylor was breathless, this only partly caused by the intense running she did earlier. Looking into Zach's eyes brought back a lot of memories, the most remembered one being... "Your eyes still drive me crazy. Not that it's a bad thing."

That would've been the part when she would lean up and kiss him, if it weren't for the fact that her uncle was still lingering in the background. Closing her eyes in slight frustration, she grew vaguely aware of Zach's arm around her waist and turned to face her still gaping family member, slightly unaware of the pinkish hue that colored her cheeks.

"Um, hey, Uncle Jazz. Long time no see..." she trailed off with a nervous chuckle. She didn't really know him that well, considering that...

"Haven't seen you since you were six," he said with a knowing nod, before looking over at Zach and raising his eyebrows at her. An unspoken question.

Taylor cleared her throat, "Um, Uncle, meet Zach. Zach, this is my Uncle Jazz." She then fiddled absently with her fingers, slightly anxious to watch what was going to happen next.

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

Her uncle's comment almost made her facepalm. Wasn't it obvious enough? The only thing that kept her from saying a sarcastic remark was the fact that this was her uncle she was talking to. "Yeah... so, um, we'll need to get going," Taylor said, clearing her throat as her fingers clasped around Zach's and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "Nice seeing ya."

Taylor was just about to turn and pull Zach to the door when his next words stopped her in her tracks. "I didn't see you at the funeral." A meaningful pause. "Are you aware that your father's..."

"Dead, I know," she finished the sentence for him, looking back at her uncle. She so did not need to be reminded of that again. Jasper sighed.

"I take it that you're not aware of his... last will?"

Taylor was just stunned, trying to process the words. She turned to Zach, confusion riddling her features. "Will?"

"Yes. Apparently he left you everything he owned."

"That's not saying much. He lost all of our money to gambling."

"...three years ago, he did. Didn't you know? Jason got back in business again." Taylor bit her lip, trying not to think about all this stuff. Gods, this was supposed to be her happy reunion with Zach. She looked up at him apologetically before turning back to her uncle.

"Look, I don't... I don't..." I don't want to be reminded anymore. Just leave me alone.

Her uncle, however, placed a business card in her hand, giving her a knowing look before heading towards the door. He looked back, sparing Zach a curious glance before saying, "Find me when you cleared up your thoughts. We need to talk." And with that, he was off, leaving Taylor staring numbly at the card he left behind. She blinked a few moments later, snapping her thoughts back to Zach.

"That was unexpected," she muttered under her breath before her lips widened into a huge grin. Within moments she was hugging him again, trying to make up for the slight awkwardness her uncle's presence had caused. She leaned up to brush her lips against his cheek, her breath close to his ear as she whispered, "You don't know how glad I am to see you again."

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

The feel of his lips against hers was so familiar and so soothing that her eyes fluttered close and her hands went to tangle themselves in his shaggy hair. It wasn't when someone actually cleared their throat that she pulled away, remembering where exactly they were. Rolling her eyes, Taylor reached for his hand and pulled him out of the coffee shop. She was feeling pretty reckless after that little encounter. She was game for absolutely anything, anything to forget it. Put it in the back of her mind for the meantime.

Once they were out, she grinned widely at Zach, just really looking at him for the first time in ages. She brushed some of the hair out of his blue-green eyes. Taylor can't help feeling very giddy about all this, having him back here. "Where d'you want to go?" she asked, her voice barely containing her excitement.

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

Taylor tried to look off-handed when Zach took off his coffee-stained sweatshirt. That still didn't stop her from clearing her throat a bit. Her eyes shone at his next words though. "Nope," she said, popping the 'p'. "I'd love to! How're we gonna get there?"

She frowned slightly, only barely hearing his next words. "Sorry? You said something?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. It sounded like he was taking it back, but his voice was soft enough for her to doubt what he really said.

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

Taylor beamed. "Excellent," she said with a slight nod. She paused, studying Zach for a few moments before pulling him to the narrow alley just a few feet away. Once there she met his lips with hers again, continuing the kiss that was interrupted earlier. She pulled away just slightly, a smile still playing on her lips. "Aaah... that's better."

Taylor really really liked him a lot. Zach had been there for her a lot of times and still is, and she was so thankful for that. She thought this was a miracle, seeing how they were still like this despite the time they nearly broke up. One thing was for sure though; she wasn't about to blow this second chance. She wasn't going to let him slip through her fingers again just because of an idiotic thing she did.

"To the subway, Tarzan," she said with a soft laugh. She took a step back, her cheeks warm from what she had just did.

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

Taylor took another step back only to realize that she was backing against the cold wall. Was that a good thing? Maybe..? She shivered a little, her heart racing in her chest as if it was going to burst out. Damn, why are you making me feel like this? Her hands settled on Zach's broad shoulders, gripping them tightly.

Just as she pulled away for a bit of air, she mumbled, "Psh, why would I b-be?"

Why did her voice have to break in the end? Why?

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

Her eyes snapped open, both in curiosity and alarm. That was one of the statements which plainly terrified her for some reason. I have something to tell you. It may mean anything, good or bad, and Taylor couldn't tell for the life of her which one of those was Zach going to say next. The trace of pink in Zach's cheeks confused her for a moment, fueling her desire to know, asap.

Taylor pushed him away slightly, trying to put on a serious front but failing a little because of the flushed color of her own face. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the worst. "What?"

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

If anyone can read Taylor's mind right now, they'd see things like 'asdfghjkl' or 'xdcvbnm'. Thing was the girl became totally stunned thanks to Zach and his endless ways to render her speechless. Not that it was a bad thing. It was the complete opposite.

"Zach, I... I, um..." Way to go, Taylor, the saner part of her mind told her. Pretty smart thing to say.

She took a huge breath, leaning back against the brick wall behind her. "You know you're really cute when your ears turn red like that?" she said quickly, looking back up at him with her face feeling hot all over. She shook her head vigorously, trying to get a grip on herself. Was that how you responded to a guy who just basically told you he was in love with you? Ha, she thought not.

Sighing, Taylor took a step closer to him, trying to ignore the fluttering butterflies in her stomach as she mulled over her next words. "I'm kinda rubbish at this kind of stuff, so forgive me if I'm not making any sense." She chuckled slightly. "Thing is... First, I'm sorry for... y'know. I don't know how you manage to stand me after all the crap I put you up with."

Taylor reached for his hand with both of her own, playing absently with his fingers. "And thank you. For being here right now, and for all those times before. Even with the... stuff... I did ages ago, you're still sticking around. You don't know how grateful I was, and still am, for that." A deep breath before looking up to his eyes, a small smile on her face. "You're really sweet, Zach. I guess that's just one of the things that made me fall for you. And... well... I'm not really poetic and stuff like that so I'll just stick to the most cliche thing ever."

She leaned in to hug him, squeezing him so tight as if she never wanted to let go. She never wanted to, anyway. He was the light of her world now, no doubt about it. She may not be able to say it out loud and she may not be the best in expressing thoughts like that, but she wanted Zach to know through the three simple words she whispered in his ear.

"I love you."

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

Taylor could've sworn that her heart stopped for a second there. She kissed him back forcefully, her mind going haywire from that kiss. Her heart pulsed faster than ever, threatening to break free of her chest. Zach was doing a lot of things to her system right now and if he didn't stop...

"Zach," she said, short of breath, gently pulling away but not before landing one last chaste kiss on his lips. She didn't want to stop, but she vaguely recalled that they were in an alley right now. It wasn't exactly the best place for this. Reaching up to flick some of Zach's hair off his face, Taylor grinned widely and said, "Are we going to Coney Island or not?"

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

"I figured," Taylor said with a soft laugh. The small traces of nervousness she had before started fading off now, returning her back to the confident girl she was. It was a good thing, maybe, since she wasn't really used to being that kind of nervous around people. There was something about Zach that made her feel that way. It was honestly weird to think about, being a little different around someone. But different didn't mean something bad, right? Besides, Taylor supposed it was normal. As much as she didn't want to admit it, this relationship thing wasn't really familiar to her, nor was it easy to tread on. The best she could hope for was that she wouldn't screw it up. She almost lost Zach once; she wasn't about to completely lose him now.

Taylor found themselves entering the subway. However, just moments after they did, she saw out of the corner of her eyes a few guys looking at them funny. She frowned, thinking. Did Zach notice it too?

Taylor Lilian Brooks
Daughter of Khione

---

The sudden movement Zach did left Taylor a little speechless. It was a little funny, to be honest, how he didn't even wait for her to swipe the card. The shift in the mood bothered her for a moment and she stole a glance back, noticing that the guys she had seen before were now up on their feet. Following them too, by the looks of it. It didn't take a genius to figure out how they looked at her and it just annoyed her to an extent.

"We can handle them," she said briskly. Ha, yeah right. As if her sword can harm these mortals. Sometimes Taylor confused her two worlds together that she often forgot how she can be utterly defenseless when dealing with something that wasn't a monster. No matter. She can still punch and kick them anyway, and Taylor was no stranger to physical fights.

She quickened her footsteps to be safe. Glancing back again, she noticed how they seemed to be a little closer than before. They'd catch up with them within seconds. "Well, let's not hope it's one of your rival gangs or something," she muttered under her breath, shifting just a little bit closer to Zach.