Birthday Blues

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor awoke on the 9th of December and stared up at the ceiling above her bed, silently wishing herself a Happy Birthday. Although it certainly didn't feel happy. She knew in her head that moping around wasn't getting her anywhere, but her heart just couldn't get over everything that had happened. Taylor lay on her back, pondering what she would do today. She really didn't feel like seeing many people, but she also didn't fancy sitting around with only her glum thoughts as company. Dragging herself out of bed, Taylor wrote a letter to her best friend.

Hey Sam, if you didn't already know it's my birthday today. Would it be okay if we hung out? Just me and you? I'm not ready to face everyone again just yet It's been a while. I'll meet you by the lake if that's cool with you. If you already have other plans it's not a problem.
Talk to you soon,
Taylor
xx

She instructed Albus to deliver the letter and then got ready for the day. With the Summer heat finally coming out, Taylor put on a yellow shirt with denim shorts. Pulling her blonde hair into a pony tail, Taylor assessed herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy after lack of sleep and too many tears. Never being one for make-up, Taylor grabbed a pair of sunglasses to wear instead, not wanting to raise too many questions from Sam.

Exiting the Gryffindor Tower, Taylor made her way through the castle and out onto the grounds, slipping the sunnies over her eyes as the sun hit her face. Walking over to her favourite tree by the lakefront, Taylor glanced out over the water, leaning her back against the trunk of the large oak. She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a small sigh. Fourteen. It didn't feel like it at all.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam was lying in his bed contemplating what to do for the day ahead. He knew it was Taylors birthday but he didn't know wheter or not she would want to see anyone, he heard from Jen about her and Scorpius' split and he felt completely awful for inviting the two to his birthday. Then again, he didn't know at the time and they were both his best friend. He was remaining completely neutral in all of this. When he heard a light tapping on his bedroom window Sam lifted his head off the pillow, he knew he was right in picking the window bed. Seeing it was an owl, Sam leaned over and let the owl in, the owl dropped a letter into his hands and flew out the window once more.

Sam didn't close the window, it was a hot summer's day and he was going to make the most of it. He sat up and leaned his back up against the wall, his fingers flipped open the letter and he read the familiar writing of Taylor. Sam was definitely going to meet up with her, he loved hanging out with Taylor and he guessed she could really need a friend right now. Sam got up from his bed and got dressed into a t-shirt, jeans and trainers, his ray bans hung loosely on the neck of his t-shirt. Sam reached under his bed and searched in the mess for Taylors.

Sam headed down to the lake, holding the wrapped present in one hand. His wrapping skills had improved greatly from last year, he managed to make it look pretty presentable. He had gotten Taylor a bunch of cd's from the Makutu Mall, cds of his favourite bands that he thought Taylor would like. Sam spotted Taylor leaning up against a tree and quickened his pace. The heat was less fierce as he arrived under the shade of the large tree. "Tay! Happy Birthday!" He smiled warmly at his friend before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. He thought it best to act as normal as possible and not bring up the whole 'Scorpius' thing until the time was right.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor turned her head when she heard the familiar voice of Sam, a bright smile reaching her face. This time it wasn't faked and she was glad she made the choice to catch up with him today. "Hey you! Thanks." She said as she wrapped her own arms around him, squishing him tightly in her embrace. She held him in the hug for longer than usual, simply wanting to feel some affection that she felt so devoid of recently, before dropping her arms away. A small smile still on her face she looked up at Sam, before noticing the gift. "Sam, you didn't have to get me anything." She said, in an almost routine fashion. It seemed every birthday, someone didn't approve of gift buying. Although when Taylor said it now, she meant it more seriously. She had forgotten all about Sam's birthday this year, so she hadn't expected him to still get her something.

 

[Sam Prince]

Once they pulled away Taylor noticed his gift, "Oh right." He said almost forgetting he had it He chuckled softly before saying, "C'mon its your birthday." He handed out the gift for Taylor to take. He hoped she enjoyed music, well this kind of music. It was more alternative/indie. More his kind. Come to think of it he never really discussed music with any of his friends, except Jen the odd time but that was about it. For someone who claimed he knew his friends well, he didn't even know what kind of music they liked. "And its only something small." He said truthfully with a small shrug of his now broad shoulders.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor accepted the gift with a small smile. "Thank you anyway." She said, realising she had never truly appreciated how great Sam was. She felt a pang of guilt at the fact that she hadn't hung out with him much while she was with Scorpius. She hadn't even realised that she was doing it at the time, but now that she looked back, she had focused most of her attention on the Ravenclaw. It made her feel selfish and she vowed she wouldn't do it to her friends again. "I must say, your definitely getting better at wrapping presents." She said with a weak chuckle, examining the outside of the package. She then tore the paper off gently to reveal some CD's. "Oh awesome!" She said, reading through the titles. She knew some of the music, but there were others she hadn't heard of. She trusted Sam's judgement though and couldn't wait to have a listen. "Thanks Sam!" She said again, giving him another hug.

Pulling away, she took a seat underneath the tree on the soft grass and patted a space across from her, gesturing for Sam to sit. She placed the CD's in a neat pile next to her and then looked back at her Hufflepuff companion. "So, how have you been?" She asked curiously. It had been difficult to chat with him on his own birthday because Scorpius had been such a large mood killer, but she was determined to have a proper conversation with Sam today.

 

[Sam Prince]

"Yeah I thought so too." He said honestly followed by a small chuckle. He still couldn't wrap things beyond the shape of a square or a cube, but there was some definite improvement. Once Taylor released him from the hug he smiled, "I actually had fun shopping for them." He grinned, "Imagine. Me. Having fun shopping?" If only Toni could hear me now he thought to himself with amusement. Sam found it very difficult to shop on his own, unless it was for quidditch gear, then he was a pro. But for other items, Sam definitely needed company.

Sam took up Taylors offer and sat across from his best friend on the grass. When she asked him how he was he shrugged, "Meh! Can't really complain. I'm behind on assignments again but, y'know thats no change." He laughed softly and rested one of his arms on his upright knee. The usual thing to say in a conversation like this would be to ask Taylor how she was but he knew that she would either lie to him or he knew things would get all awkward. So instead he tried to approach the subject a different way. Sam inhaled deeply and looked at Taylor in the eye, although not in a glaring way, in a soft welcoming sort of way. "So Jen told me." He said sloly, knowing that by just saying those four words Taylor would know what he meant. "Do you mind if I ask what exactly happened?" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before returning his arm to rest on his knee. He guessed Taylor knew that the subject of Scorpius would come up and he thought it was better to get straight into it, rather then to drag it out. Maybe Taylor wouldn't agree but he knew it would be better this way.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor let out another laugh as Sam declared he had fun shopping. "I never thought I'd see the day." She said playfully. Taylor nodded with a small smile as Sam answered her question. Taylor was behind on assignments too, but probably for an entirely different reason than Sam. Taylor suddenly realised that she had asked Sam how he was and that meant he would probably return the question. Mentally steeling herself for a lie, she was a little surprised to see Sam look her in the eye seriously. Taylor wouldn't have assumed that he knew about her and Scorpius, but turns out he did. But he had found out from Jenna, not Scorpius. Taylor felt a flare of jealousy at the fact that Scorpius had been talking to her. What if he liked her? What if he had broken up with Taylor and made it look like it was her fault just to be with Jenna? Okay Taylor, now your just being paranoid. Shutup. Taylor silenced her thoughts and looked up at Sam with a small smile. She hadn't spoken about what had happened yet, to anyone. She had wrote her Mum a letter, but that was much easier than face to face. But as she looked into Sam's welcoming eyes, she decided that talking about it would make her feel better. Especially considering this was Sam and she trusted him with her life.

Taking a steady breath, Taylor tried her best to keep her emotions in check through her story. "It was on the first Brighstone weekend. I had just been to see my Dad and his new girlfriend." Taylor paused, not sure she wanted to get into that story. "Let's just say, we didn't get along." Taylor recalled how hard she had been crying. "At all. I was crying when I came running back to the school and I ran to the Gardens. That's where Raffael found me. You don't know the story of Raff do you?" She asked with a small sad laugh, rubbing her forehead before continuing. "We were hugging and he kissed me on the forehead and that's when Scorpius came. He got the wrong idea." Taylor choked a little at the mention of Scorp's name. She stopped talking, looking up at Sam through her sunnies, hoping he couldn't see the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She let out a breath. "We had an argument." She wanted to say and then it was over, but she didn't want to admit that fact. She missed the Ravenclaw more and more everyday, but he didn't seem to be as affected by this as Taylor was.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam waited patiently for Taylor to answer his question, he wouldn't push her, she would tell him when she felt like it. Once she began, Sam listened intently although his blue eyes didn't move from her hidden eyes. Sam simply shook his head when she asked if he knew about Raff although he didn't speak. He let her continue. "We had an argument." Sam wasn't sure if she was finished or not but after a moment or two in complete silence he guessed she had. Sam dropped his eye level to the grass. Taylor didn't seem to be lying and he knew she wouldn't lie to him. They were best friends, why would she? Sam looked up at Taylor again before saying, "This..Raff person, do you..I mean, do you like him that way?" He asked her cautiously yet softly. He didn't want to upset Taylor because he could tell she was on the verge of tears but he did have to ask the question. If she did in fact like this guy, Scorpius had a right to be mad but if she didn't, she would really need to talk to Scorpius about it. By the looks of things Scorpius was unluckily in the wrong place at the wrong time and if he was just a few moments later, things would have been different.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

The silence after her version of the story gave Taylor enough time to compose herself before Sam asked his next question. She smiled a small smile up at Sam and how careful he was being. It meant a lot to Taylor and she had to admit, although it hurt retelling the events, she felt better now that she had spoken them. Maybe if she admitted that it had actually happened she could move on. But did she want to? She still cared so much about Scorpius, but she had to let it go soon or later didn't she?

Taylor shook her head in response to Sam's question. "He was my first boyfriend. It was in France a couple of years ago. I didn't think I was going to see him again until he moved to New Zealand and I saw him at school. We're best friends now, but Raff likes someone else and why would I want anyone else when I have..had Scorpius?" Taylor paused for a moment, her chest tightening, but she continued steadily. "I guess it's because Raffael's staying with me at home and Scorp didn't want to feel like he did when he was with Luna. I don't blame him." She said genuinely. "But I wish it hadn't gone as far as it did." Taylor let out a sigh and removed the glasses from her eyes and placed them on her head. She didn't care that her eyes had dark circles around them. She had just spilled her soul to Sam, she didn't think it really mattered now.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam listened as Taylor spoke about Raff, he supposed he could understand where Scorpius was coming from. He didn't think he would be cool if Beau lived with Toni. When Taylor took off her glasses, Sam immediately noticed the dark rings around her eyes. It saddened Sam to see her like this, she didn't deserve this. He sighed softly before saying, "Listen Taylor, I can understand where Scorpius is coming from by him feeling jealous, its understandable. I'm not great with advice, but have you tried talking to him? I mean, as a guy...as a guy with experiance from these things-" he smiled, "-Scorpius is hibernating. I mean I haven't even seen the guy since my birthday, never mind talking to him." Sam paused and took up Taylors hand in a brotherly way, "Its a sign he's not taking it well. I remember when Jen left, I didn't leave my room for a good month or two and I'm not exaggerating." He told her truthfully, "Besides, he'll come around soon enough and if he doesn't?" He stopped as a small smile formed on his lips, "His loss." It was the truth, Taylor was a great girl! She was intelligent, funny, friendly, beautiful and if Scorpius didn't cope himself on soon enough, he would lose her.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor listened to Sam carefully as he offered her some advice. She hadn't thought of it in the way Sam explained it. She hadn't seen Scorpius around at all, so had never been given the chance to talk to him. She had assumed he was ignoring her purposefully, not getting over it. She didn't have to put herself through this. It was hard enough with the issue of her Dad, but this crisis could be averted. If she explained things, surely Scorp would understand? He had been given time to cool down and by now he would surely listen to reasoning. Taylor smiled up at Sam gently. "Your right. Thank you Sam." She said, not feeling like she could say much else. Squeezing his hand lightly in her own, she scooted over to give him a hug. "I'll talk to him." She said, her voice muffled by the hug. Releasing Sam, she sat next to him and looked out over the lake. "Boys are simply too confusing." She stated with a sigh, rubbing at her swollen eyes.