Taylor used Hail. It's not very effective. [Welshy]

James rubbed his forhead, his hair long enough to fall below his eyes. "But friends don't push other friends away. Or hurt them. And friends always gives their friends a chance." James told her quietly.

He had been a good friend to her; he had stuck up for her, broken his friendship between his siblings for her, giving her chances, let her go, let her push him away.

If she thought that she was a good friend, then she needed to take a rain-check, because she really wasn't. He wanted her to be though. He wanted her to be lots of things but it would never happen.

Every word was a blow. It was more painful than being punched in the gut, not that Taylor had ever experienced any of James's punches. She hoped she didn't have to. Taylor took a deep breath, trying to take it all in.

"I know. Gods, I know that I've been more an enemy than a friend to you," Taylor said with her eyes closed. It was costing her some of her pride to say this, but she had to. "But I want to make it up to you. Please."

Taylor raked a hand through her hair, looking James in the eye. If she wanted to make it up to him, she was going to start by being honest. "Okay. I want to be clear on this. I am not going to push you away, or hurt you, but I need to know something." Taylor paused, squeezing her eyes shut before opening them again. "What kind of chance do you want, James? A chance to be friends? Or is it more?"

There, Taylor had dropped the bomb.

James watched Taylor for a moment longer before taking a step closer to her. He raised his hand, holding it gently on her cheek; knowing that she would pull away. He lowered his face down, a few centremetres away from hers, his blue eyes serious.

"What do you think, Taylor?" He whispered, looking into her eyes, his own clouded with saddness, which was unusual for him. He was sick on always being pushed away by her; especially when he liked her this much.

Oh no. Taylor's fears were confirmed. No, it just can't happen. It just can't. How was she supposed to stop pushing James away and stop hurting him now? Taylor pulled away from James's touch, shaking her head sadly.

"James, you already know the deal," Taylor said, taking a small step away from him. "Anything but that. I'm sorry, but as of now, I... I can't give you that chance."

Taylor finally understood why she wanted to push James away. She was scared, knowing deep down that there was a possibility of something like this happening. Taylor stayed silent, her eyes on the ground. She wondered what will happen next. Maybe James himself would take the initiative to stay away to avoid getting hurt, but Taylor didn't know for sure. All she could do was stand there, looking down as she waited for the reaction.

James was...stubborn right now. He knew that she was rejecting him, but right now, he had nothing to lose. James left his hand in the air, watching and listening to Taylor.

Really though, what did he have to lose? She had already hurt him. A little more couldn't do much more damage to his heart. He brushed his nessy hair back off his face, finally deciding what he was going to do, never mind the conciquences.

Stepping forward, quickly closing the gap that Taylor had created, James tilted her chin up to face him. Closing his eyes quickly, James leaned down and pressed his lips against Taylor's, forgetting everything else.

Oh Gods. James did not just do that.

But he did.

Taylor barely got a moment's notice before she felt James's lips on hers. Everything in her mind screamed 'danger' and that she shouldn't be doing this, but Taylor didn't know what to do anymore. She had already hurt James a lot, and she knew that rejecting him had hurt him even more even if he knew that it was already coming. Why not just give James this? A gift to make up for what she had done to him? That would be all--just a gift. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sighing resignedly to herself, Taylor decided to do just that. Praying that no one (especially not Zach) would suddenly walk in, she kissed him back.

Because it was just a gift. Nothing more, nothing less.

James was a little shocked to realise that Taylor was kissing him back. Not that he was complaining. Moving one hand to her back to hold her against him, and the other to cup the side of her face in his large hands, he tried to figure her out.

Was she into him? Probably not; she was already going out with some idiot called Zach. Would she dump this idiot for him? James doubted so. Did the kiss mean anything to her? James was about to find out.

After a minute of passionate kissing, James pulled away, opening his blue eyes to study Taylor, keeping his face close to hers. "I really, really like you, Taylor." He whispered, their noses brushing against eachother.

Taylor still had her eyes closed when James pulled away. She was just realizing the consequence of her actions. What had she just done this time? Taylor was beginning to think that the kiss would probably cause more harm than good. Especially if James took it the wrong way. And Taylor assumed he did.

"I know," Taylor mumbled, more to herself than him. She couldn't say the same thing back. Because she just couldn't lie at this situation. Taylor started to pull away before James could do anything else.

James watched as Taylor started to pull away, straightening from his slightly lob-sided position. James ran a hand over his hair again, looking around sparkling blue eyes and glad that no-one was around. Licking his lips lightly, James looked at Taylor again and smiled widely.

Normally, James could take a hint but right now, his mind was clouded with hope. "So, Taylor. Wanna leave camp for a bit? Just the two of us? We could catch a movie, or go bowling, or just hit a club. I don't mind." James gushed, his face resembling a eight-year-old's on Christmas morning.

It just dawned on Taylor that she had done precisely the wrong thing. Looking up at James, she realized that she had given him false hope. It was just a kiss. She hadn't meant for it to be more than that. And besides, Taylor didn't really want to leave camp. The last time she did was the time she had seen her father die. Taylor swallowed at the thought, but kept her cool. She looked at James's face and it hurt, knowing that she was going to break that hopeful face soon before the whole thing really goes out of control.

"James," Taylor started seriously to convey her message. "It's just a gift."

Taylor stopped after this, not knowing how to say her weird reasoning. But Taylor knew that she couldn't like James the way he liked her. She hated herself for hurting him like this, but what choice did she have?

James continued to smile for amoment longer before his slow brain finally processed what Taylor had said, his face dropping into a frown. A sad frown. "Wait. Wha-what?" He blurted, leaning back on the near-by trunk of a tree.

He couldn't believe he had got his hopes up. He was sick with himself, not Taylor. How could he even think that Taylor would be into him? She was too loyal. James closed his eyes, trying to steady his breath and be angry at Taylor. But he couldn't be angry at Taylor, only himself.

Sorry, internet lagging. Can't go on chat-box :(

Taylor bit her lip, one of her hands clutching her forehead. Well, on the bright side, James finally took the hint. On the darker side, he looked completely miserable. Taylor groaned softly. Why did decisions always have to hurt someone? In this situation, can there be decisions that can benefit everyone involved? If there was, Taylor had yet to come up with it. But she doubted that there was.

"I mean... a gift," Taylor said slowly. She still didn't have any idea how to properly explain this. Maybe some things were better left unexplained? But Taylor felt like giving James a reason for that kiss. "To make up for what I've done. I know it isn't enough, but... you get the picture," Taylor said, averting her gaze.

((Ah well... :( ))

The same thoughts kept repeating in James' head. He felt angry. Very angry but at himself for thinking that Taylor would ever choose him. Or even like him in that way. James looked down at his scarred hands, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Oh...I get it." James said slowly. "Whatever. Don't flatter yourself, I am only messing around. Don't think you're special or anything." James tried to play it cool, but his voice broke at the last moment, showing that he was lying.

Taylor swallowed. James's words hurt, but she knew she deserved it. Well, at least it made it more bearable now. If James was just messing around, then it wasn't serious. Taylor wanted to believe that. Taylor nodded at him slowly, thinking of what else to say.

"Alright," Taylor said softly, not knowing if James could hear. She shifted awkwardly on her feet, wondering what to do next.

James looked up at Taylor briefly, his clothes and hair having finally dried. He slicked it back, brushing off his shirt, annoyed. He looked around, wishing to currently be anywhere but here. Anywhere. Even in the arena, weaponless with his brothers; who still hadn't got over the fight they'd had.

James felt like drowning in his own self-pity but he wouldn't do that. No way. Well, not much. "You said you would stop hurting me." He said quietly.

Taylor sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. Leave it to James to ask the difficult questions today. If this was a test, Taylor would've gotten an F. Thankfully, it wasn't a test. Unfortunately, it was way way harder than any type of school test.

"I would," Taylor said sincerely. She looked up at James. "Fine, tell me. Tell me how I can stop hurting you, 'cause I have no idea how."

James watched Taylor for a moment before cussing under his breat. Whatever, man. He had had enough of her. What was the point anymore. He had let her see the real side of him, and she had just hurt him. Why should he even bother letting her stay close to him?

"Just...if you can't think of a way to stop hurting me, then maybe we shouldn't...." He started before shaking his head and sighing. "....oh, I don't know." Honestly, all he wanted to do right now was go and see if his friends would buy him some alcohol; seeing as he was under-age. Then he remembered Chris' stupid promise to his girlfriend not to drink, so he wouldn't buy James any. James' life sucked right now.

Taylor shut her eyes, taking a few breaths to just... she didn't know. Maybe calm herself. She wasn't entirely sure anymore. Maybe James was right. She should've done it earlier. She shouldn't have followed him when she pushed him away. Taylor sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked up at him.

"Fine, if that's what you want," Taylor said coolly, uncrossing her arms and taking a small step back. "So, no more talking, no more of that from this point on?" Taylor said stoically, trying to keep any emotion out of her voice. It was hard, and she knew that she failed a bit by the way her voice almost broke. But then, if it was what James wanted, then she would stick with it.

((Greek asked if we can do a love triangle with these three xD))

James put his head in his hands, sliding down the tree into sitting position. He ran a hand through his hair quicly, his blue eyes turning dark and clouded with anger. "What am I supposed to do Taylor?" He asked, playing with his strands of brown hair.

He looked down to the ground briefly before back up at Taylor, rasing his eyebrows. "I'm really, really sorry." He didn't know why he was apoligising when he hadn't even done anything. "You don't have to choose between me and your idiot- I mean, boyfriend. We can just be...friends." He gulped, not really knowing whether he would be able to manage that.

Taylor raised her eyebrows at James. Why exactly was he apologizing? That was her job. She also decided to ignore what he called Zach too. She didn't exactly want to start another word war, the earlier fight still fresh in her mind. Taylor sighed as she studied James closely. She wanted him to be a friend, she really did. But can he handle that? Can she handle that?

"We can be friends, y'know," Taylor said quietly. She heaved a sigh before continuing. "I'll try my best not to hurt you again... I mean, we can just... Yeah, be friends."

James watched Taylor for a bit longer before sighing, nodding his head and biting his lip. "Yeah...we could try to be friends." James cfepted, though he doubted that he would be able to handle that.

James slowly got to his feet, his hair covering his face and eyes. He played with his pierced ear-lobe distractedly, watching Taylor. "So...what should we do now?" He asked,shrugging.

Taylor shrugged as well. Maybe they can continue from where they've left off? Taylor racked her thoughts, trying to remember. What were they talking about before the whole fight again? Blah, she couldn't remember at all. Taylor sighed. Better start all over again.

"Uh, wanna race? No dirty tricks this time, I swear," Taylor said from out of the blue, the corner of her lips twitching up in a smirk. Ha, she'll probably lose, but hey, she was out of ideas. "I admit, I am out of ideas right now, so if you have better ones, just say so."

James considered that thought for a moment bhefore pointing at his leg, the one that had only recently healed. "I can't. My leg still hurts too much." James told her, not really upset about it. He didn't want to get her unhappy.

"Do you want to play dares?" James asked with another shrug, not really knowing what else to do. "Or we could leave camp?" He asked hesitantly, wondering her reaction.

Well will ~~Greek~~ Glimmer join us? Or another topic?

Taylor slapped a hand to her forehead. How could she have forgotten that? "I'm not exactly in the mood to leave camp right now," Taylor said truthfully. The pain of losing her dad was still fresh and being outside in New York made her ache more. She cast that thoughts aside for the moment. There was no need to feel all grouchy; she had had enough of that.

"Dares sounds good," Taylor said, her smirk widening mischievously. "As long as it is within reason."

((I dunno. We should wait for her to get back on))

James rolled his eyes, running a hand through his mess of hair. He sat down on the leaf-covered ground, the moist earth staining the fabric of his trousers. He watched Taylor, wondering what she must be thinking. There couldn't be much going on in her mind right now other than that kiss.

That damned kiss. It causes more problems then was worth. Having said that, James really did care for Taylor. Maybe even l...lo...lo...lov....like her alot. He knew that he must just take it slow.

"Within reason? Well, that's boring." James laughed, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the trunk of the tree casually. "You start off; give me a dare." He grinned wickedly, hoping for something...evil and challenging.

Im just casually copying your layout because I love you :3