CHAPTER SIX:

He'd been grinning down at me, his expression lit with something awestruck but instantly his face turned hard. "And toi must be one of Connell Lett's." He shot back, as he scowled. He turned to go and I felt something in my cœur, coeur break.

"Wait-" I grabbed him par the arm and my voice choked. "Don't go. I'm sorry."

"Why should I stay?" He demanded mockingly as he quickly spun around to face me. "This was obviously a mistake."

"I was just..." I struggled to find the word. "...surpised." I began, trying to explain as I kept my grip on his arm. "It doesn't matter to me who toi are ou who toi work for." My face reddened and I tried to start again. "I-I-I mean, I care who toi are but not about the working for them part."

His scowl disappeared. "You're cute when toi blush." He commenté softly, reaching out and pushing a curl behind my ears. His fingers strayed down my cheek, grazing my skin and making me tremble slightly. My brief movement shook him out of his stupor. "I shouldn't be doing that," he told me, his voice soft now, dropping his fingers from my face. "Any of this really." He shook his head. "You're right, I should go." He started back towards the entrance back into the ballroom.

I shook my head before running to stand in front of him, my hands outstretched and holding onto his forearms. "Don't go. Please? There's..." I prayed before going on. Oh, please don't let this be a mistake. "...obviously something between us and I know toi feel it too."

He sighed. "You're right." He muttered though it seemed it was plus directed towards himself then me. He held out his arm for me and when I took it we started to walk together. "Tell me your name," he asked, as we took a siège on the stone bench in the corner of the garden.

My skirts billowed out and around me. "Alexie."

His eyes widened slightly. "Wait-Alexie? As in-you're the Jonas Princess?"

Wondering how he hadn't figured that out when Nick and I were chant Only Hope, I nodded. "Yep. That's me."

"It's a beautiful name," he commented.

I turned from the moon and a smile touched my lips. "Thanks."

"And I'm Taylor," he moved on.

"Oh, I know." I knowingly blurted out before I could stop myself.

He raised one eyebrow. "Oh, toi do, do you?" He laughed. "And how, may I ask?"

"I think, I've seen a bunch of your movies." I explained, lowering my eyes in embarassment.

Catching my mood, he peeked down under my eyes. "Like?" Taylor chided, teasingly.
I didn't say anything and he got up to leave. "Maybe this is a mistake after all," he a dit pointedly, not even half-serious, but enough to scare me.

"Okay, okay!" I quickly gave in, grabbing him par the hand and tugging on his arm. I hadn't even known him for a heure but I knew I'd do anything he asked of me. I couldn't help but slightly hate him for it, for the power he easily held over me. "Let me think for a second."

Taylor smirked at me but he sat back down. "Well?" He prompted keeping our hands together.

"The Twilight movies, of course," I began, my cheeks getting hot again. I didn't want him to think I was one of those crazy Twi-fans who thought of Twilight and nothing else. "And Cheaper par the Dozen 2 and one of my faves, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl."

Taylor laughed. "That's your favorite?"

"Hey, I like that movie!" Defensively, I shot back. Although it wasn't just about the movie itself but everything it represented, reminded me of. "I wish I could make my own world with milk-and-cookie lands and talking dreamed up robots."

"That actually explains something." He mused, his voice thoughtful.

"What?"

He glanced over at me, his smile gone, his expression sober. "How toi knew that I'm of Monty Teague." Quietly, Taylor answered.

I pulled my hand away from his. "Let's not talk about that." I whispered.

Taylor looked over at me. "Why not?"

"Because it just reminds me of why-" tears welled up in my eyes and  almost choked me into silence. I shook my head. "I can't."

"Can't what?"

I looked away. "Nothing."

"Alexie, look at me." Taylor begged. And once again I couldn't make myself to do what he asked. I turned to gaze up into his eyes. He stared back for a long moment then he bent down and his lips met mine.

I'd been kissed before and though there wasn't bursts of fireworks in my head I felt something tingling from the tips of my elbows a d my knees, traveling down my legs and up my arms until the fast increasing feeling reached the tips of my toes and fingers and exploded. I gasped into him and swooned against him but Taylor reached out and his arms surrounded me pulling me into him. My head was spinning and I couldn't breath as I clang to him, responding with a zest I never knew I had in me. My fingers wound in his hair and O moved with him, against him to musique only we knew as he held ms and mirrored my movements.

Loudly, the clock struck 1 time signifying it was now 1:00. We pulled away from each other and stared up at it. How could a heure have already passed, I wondered. That makes no sense.

"I need to go," Taylor a dit staring at the clock before he rapidly let me go.

"Oh," I cried, managing to catch myself. I grabbed onto the railing to steady myself before I turned to look at Taylor who was Lost in thought. "When will I see toi again?" I couldn't stop myself from demanding. [br /]"I don't know." He answered glancing around the garden. He was probably making sure none of his party crashing, Teague Friends saw the two of us together.

I wanted to cry. You don't know ou toi don't care? But I knew enough about guys (seeing how I grew up with four brothers) to know when a guy was blowing a girl off. I picked up my mask and tried to walk back towards the house with as much dignity I could muster.

"And where are toi going?" Taylor wanted to know, suddenly standing in front of me.

"Back to my party." I snapped in a obvious and pointed kind of voice. "There's nothing of importance keeping me here."

"What are toi talking about?" Exasperatedly, Taylor cried. "Why are toi upset?"

I glowered at him. It is so obvious! Just use your brain! I mentally snapped. "Nothing, okay! I just want to go back to my..." I paused for a moment as I tried to think of excuse. "....family."

And it was then I heard a something snap behind us. I spun around just as Gabby entered the garden. She was about to say something when Taylor turned around too. She froze when she saw Taylor's face and turned to me, her brows kneaded together. She understood plus about this whole feud thing then I did but she didn't seem all that fazed.

I took a step forward. "Gabs," I a dit holding out of hand to block another guy from a member of my family for the seconde time tonight. "It's not what toi think."

She turned from staring at Taylor to looking at me.

"Trust me," I said.

That seemed to snap her back to life. Gabby shook her head, "That's not why I'm here."

My brow furrowed. "Then why-"

Gabby took a step forward. "Joe's coming." She answered sending a harried look over her shoulder. "And he's looking for you."

No! Not now-not yet. "Here?" I cried, stalling for time. Wishing to stay in the dark, here in this moment with Taylor. "Now?" [br /]Gabrielle nodded. "Yes, and we have to leave. Now. Before he comes-"

I understood immediately. Before he finds me with Taylor. My breath caught in my throat as I turned to look at him. And once again I have to leave, I thought annoyed. My cœur, coeur started to rip apart in my chest as fear took over me. When was I ever going to be able to see him again? Who was to say I ever would?

"I will see toi again." He must've read my mind, saying them in an pointed kind of way that I didn't understand.

"Alexie, c'mon, I know you're here..." Joe called, freezing my cœur, coeur in terror.

"Lex, we have to go!" Gabby cried tugging on my arm.

Nodding at her, I stood on my toes, threw my arms around Taylor's neck and kissed him with all my might, my anger and determination to leave him gone, gone now that I really had too.
Oh, please! Oh, please, please, please, come back to me! I thought as I pulled away, staring into his eyes. I wasn't sure if it was a prayer ou if I wanted him to understand what he was doing to me but I knew I had to get my point across.

I dropped my arms from around his neck and let Gabby drag me across the garden all the while keeping my eyes locked on him.

Taylor stared back at me, his face expressionless.

His words whispered yet firm floated on the night air haunting me. I will see toi again....

I hope so, I thought before turning around to face vers l'avant, vers l’avant so that Gabby wouldn't end up accidentally making me fall on my face.

"Joe, what's wrong?" Brendan was saying just as Gabs and I reached him.

"There's been a security breach. There are a bunch of Teabag crashers here." Joe said, his eyes flickering over to Gabby and I just as we stopped before them.

Teabags were a slanderous word meant to describe Teagues. Not that I understood why calling someone a thé bag qualified as a insult but whatever.

My eyes widened and I exchanged a quick look with Gabby before I looked away. "What? Here? Why would a bunch of Teague's want to crash a teenage birthday party?" I asked, trying to sound concerned and hoping my voice didn't crack under pressure and give me away. It was taking everything I had not to turn and run back to Taylor to make sure he was safe.

"Because they live on destruction," Joe darkly answered, his expression brooding. "But I'm going to teach them a lesson ou two. The last thing we need is a bunch of Teagues here with God-knows-what planned."

"Who's to say they aren't just here to have a little fun? Nothing plus then a little party crashing?" I asked, speaking plus to Brendan then Joe ou Gabby, who was silently watching this all unfold.

"Princessa," Joe shook his head. "Sometimes I forget just how young toi really are."

Talk about a mental slap. I'd always considered my nickname as something to remind me how loved I was. But now it was a slap to let it known how ignorant and I belittled I am.

Joe turned back to Brendan. "The last thing I'm going to do is let some stupid Teague's come into my party and ruin it. Brendan, let me throw them out."

"Our party." I corrected before I could stop myself.

Joe turned to give me the evil eyeball. "What?"

"You a dit your party. But it's Nick and I's party," I told him, my voice growing meek the plus his fiery glance was upon me.

Joe rolled his eyes at me before turning to Brendan.   "Lets talk about this inside," Brendan said. He and Joe moved vers l'avant, vers l’avant and Gabby followed.

And so did I. Only right before I stepped back into the ballroom, I turned back to catch one last glimpse of him. But Taylor was already gone.