Please open your eyes.

She didn’t know why she’d done it. Again. It was just.. so, so, so stupid. Did she just have no self control? Taylor sighed softly as she lay staring over at the sliver of moonlight slipping through the curtains of the dorm room, shimmering with that rather pleasant life that sometimes made her wish she could just be whooshed away to somewhere else in it. Just fly away in the moonlight and over the hills, across the oceans just to somewhere where she wasn’t herself. Where maybe she had the chance to change how she acted, and where she didn’t have the stupid temptations that knew just how to push her buttons until she couldn’t say no.

The hand at her hip shifted a little as the body beside her moved closer against her bare back, skin sticking against skin, inducing a gentle shudder to rush down her spine. But, it wasn’t that nice feeling shudder that she usually got by being so close to someone. No, it was different, something that almost made her feel sick and like she’d just had a blow to her stomach. And there was a reason that she felt like this, but it was something that she didn’t exactly want to admit to. After all, how could Taylor Harts admit that she was really starting to fall for just one specific boy? The girl hadn’t had a real boyfriend since way before she was in her teens and she’d never really committed herself to a relationship.

But there was one guy that seemed to give her the want to try. He was sweet, adorable, and just.. so cutely oblivious to things and, for some reason, these things just made her so stupidly attracted to him. Thad had just been some silly little project of hers before she had gotten to know him, but then he had just totally stolen her away. Felicity had told her that the eighteen-year-old was a sweetheart and that he’d probably manage to ‘ensnare’ her back.. and he really had. She wasn’t used to caring about what people thought of her, but with Thad she had grown a little more.. careful in how she acted around him. Tay didn’t like the idea of him losing interest in her, and she certainly didn’t like the idea of her doing something that warded him away from her.

But then, there she was, curled up in bed with Brendon, someone who she hardly had any relationship with above one of lust. And it wasn’t the first time that she’d slept with him since being with Thad. The teen sighed softly once more as she drew herself out from underneath the bed sheets, a majority of her body exposed to the contents of the room, which only herself and Brendon occupied for the night. Lend was staying with Cleo, and Josh was off somewhere with his Spanish teacher [a gem of information that Brendon had ‘accidentally’ divulged to her]. So it was just the pair of them, no one there to witness what had occurred and no one to judge.

Well, no one but herself.

Her cheek was rested upon Brendon's chest, one arm slung over his torso whilst the other rested beneath her side. No matter how comfortable she wanted to be, or how much she wanted to enjoy just laying there with him, she couldn't. She could feel such a difference between the feelings she got from being with Brendon and the feelings she got from being with Thad. Brendon may have made her feel sexy, powerful and he knew the things she liked, but with Thad.. he made her feel wanted, cared for and he may not have been the most skilled physically, but he was learning. She was comfortable with him and that safe aspect of their relationship was something she realised that she wanted. She wanted to be able to say that Thad was her one and only, and for him to be able to trust her enough to see she meant it.

Eyes closed briefly before flicking up to look at the features of the male she was lying with, noting how deep in slumber he seemed to be after their little session together. Seeing this, she drew herself out from underneath the sheets, hands searching around for discarded bits of clothing to cover what little dignity she had left were someone to walk in. It didn't take too long to find everything, her and Brendon's interactions being pretty straight to the point from the moment they entered the room to the moment her back hit the mattress, and so it took mere seconds for her to be entirely dressed once more. And it took less time for her to quietly walk out the door, her feet carrying her away from the boys' dorms.

However, her legs paused as she began to walk past Thad's, a sinking feeling overtaking her. He was probably sleeping in there, blissfully unaware of what she'd just done just a few doors down the hall. The guilt that overwhelmed her was indescribable. Taylor was never the sort to feel too guilty about her actions, especially when it came down to having sex.. but now it was almost too much to take. She couldn't just walk on by, whether it was because she wanted to feel like everything was okay, or because she just wanted to hear his voice or feel his arms around her.

Reaching into the pocket of her jacket, the teen fished out her mobile, fingers quickly working to put Thad's number in. It didn't take long until she could hear the sound of a phone ringing behind the door, followed by the sound of something being thrown across the room and then the sound of someone within exclaiming in pain. Tay couldn't help but smile as she realised that he must have concentrated a little too much on the sound of his phone to the point that it went shooting across the room, most likely hitting against his head. She was smiling because it was just.. something that only seemed to happen to Thad. He did these little things; made these silly little faces when he got confused, did that innocent little grin when he was pleased with something, or when he did his sad eyes after realising his brother had only been lying about there being another High School Musical in production. The teen just couldn't stop that small smile as the phone was finally answered, a very sleepy voice filtering through to her ears.

"M'ello?"

"Hey, Thad.." She tried to sound a bit more chirpy, a bit more like she usually did but, instead, her words were soft and quiet, almost wavering near the end of just those two simple words.

"Tay? Hi!" his voice seemed to brighten as he realised just who it was that was calling at this hour in the morning, an obvious smile shining through the speaker of her phone. That was another thing about Thad - he was genuinely sweet and always showed that he cared, be it by actually telling her or just by the tone of his words.

"Um, can you let me in? I'm just outside your dorm."

Before he had even responded, he was travelling across the room, arm reaching out to open the door as one hand still held the phone up to his ear. She'd been right about that smile. No matter how sleepy he seemed, he was still smiling quite brightly at her, a smile that could both make her heart plummet and her mind soar. Hanging up the phone, she slipped it back into her pocket as she took just a few steps towards him, arms going to wrap around his waist, cheek going to his chest. Thad's own arms gradually went to wrap around her, a confusion settling onto his features. He wasn't used to this kind of behaviour from Taylor.. she wasn't exactly the sort to turn up at your doorstep in the middle of the night just for a hug.

Pressing a small kiss to the top of her head, Thad softly asked, "Are you okay?"

Instead of answering instantly, Taylor just pulled herself closer into his embrace, his own arms also wrapping that little bit tighter around her. And, once more, she felt that comfort, that bit of security.

"I'm okay." Her words were soft, her smile small. "I just missed you."