FicWad

“I love the swaying of the dock. It’s so soothing. I feel like being here could carry away anyone’s problems, no matter how severe. You could just be, and even become a part of something else… a part of the ocean.” Taylor muttered, her words carried to Mikey through the blowing wind.

He followed her to the end of the dock. “What problems are you hoping will be carried away?”

“Who said I was talking about my problems?” Taylor questioned playfully.

Mikey gazed out at the waters, “I say so, from the way you’re talking… its personal Taylor. You sound very personal out here, like the water has moved you to a different place. You’re a lot more controlled near Gerard.”

“I’m dating a pretty famous guy.” Taylor commented, “Control is necessary.”

Mikey chuckled, “Spoken like the girlfriend of a famous guy, but who are you outside of that Taylor? That’s what I’m interested in. I’m not interested in Gerard. I already know him.”

Taylor inwardly chuckled about that, thinking over the secret Gerard was keeping from everyone that thought they knew him.

“Shell for your thoughts?” Mikey asked, gesturing behind them. “I’m sure I could find a few pretty ones worthy of that chuckle.”

Taylor graced his words with nothing but a smile.

They reached the end of the dock and stopped. The beach was surprisingly quiet, though they’d come at an odd enough time for it to be fairly secluded.

“If you refuse then I might just have to play dirty.” Mikey warned, in a playful tone.

“Should I be afraid?” Taylor asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

“I can be pretty dangerous.” Mikey answered but the playful edge never left his tone, and Taylor felt fairly safe in his presence.

“I remain unmoved.” Taylor teased, gazing out at the rushing waters rushing up to meet the dock. The entire dock continued to sway, and the cold wind tickled Taylor teasingly, reminding her of a gentle caress.

“Bad idea.” Mikey whispered. Taylor was unable to brace herself for the quick movement behind her as Mikey stepped forward, shoving her off of the dock and in to the shockingly cold water.

She couldn’t even force out a single word as the water hit her body, soaking through her clothing completely. She felt the drag of the water and was dragged under for a few oxygen stealing moments. When she reemerged she was gasping, flailing uselessly against the soft current.

Mikey was laughing so hard that he was gasping for air… until he realized that something was wrong. Taylor was really struggling in the water. He’d shoved and been shoved plenty of times but never before had he seen the panic he saw in Taylor’s eyes, nor the erratic movements she displayed. All of her control disappeared before him.

Mikey’s thought processes gridded to a sudden halt as he willingly dove in to the cold unforgiving current. He felt a gentle pull and knew at once that it wasn’t the current that was the problem. It had to be something else, but what?

Once he reached Taylor he put his arms around her but she fought against him, shoving at him angrily. He struggled to keep a hold of her, “Stop fighting me Taylor.” Mikey shouted as he tried to be louder than the harsh wind. “I’m just taking you to the shore.”

Taylor’s body went limp and Mikey pulled her body with his. The water didn’t help, neither did the dead weight. Mikey was a strong swimmer though, and it didn’t take him too long to get them to a standing point in which Taylor could gain footing. She was quick to pull away from Mikey. He gave her the distance she so obviously desired and they walked out of the water together.

It was silent but then Mikey chose to break the silence, “I’m sorry.”

Taylor didn’t respond at first but she soon cleared her throat, “I’m cold. I think it would be best to get back to the hotel. We can leave first thing in the morning.”

Mikey sighed, “You’re mad at me.”

Taylor said nothing.





**



Mikey was sitting on the edge of the large king sized bed in their lavish hotel room. It was just as nice as he remembered it being. The cold shoulder Taylor was giving Mikey cooled him down completely, and left him less than stunned with the surroundings.

He could hear the shower running in the bathroom and found it a bit of a save for him. He didn’t know what to say, or why she was really angry. It was a classic move and he’d warned her.

She didn’t strike him as the sensitive type so her reaction left him puzzled.

Finally he stopped trying to sort it out in his mind and let his cell phone connect him to Gerard, “What’s up lil bro?” Gerard cheerfully answered.

“Does Taylor have issues with the beach?” Mikey asked, skipping the pleasantries.

“Uh, she likes it.” Gerard replied, “We’ve never been there together though.”

“I pissed her off somehow.” Mikey admitted.

“Wow Mikes, just a few hours alone with my girlfriend and you've already gotten on her bad side? That’s talent bro, pure talent. I’m not the least bit surprised.”

Mikey rolled his eyes, “So what do I do? I don’t want to spend the night alone with a girl that’s pissed off at me.”

“I don’t know. I could call her if you want. I’m good at putting out fires that you start, if you remember correctly.” Gerard chuckled, recalling something from the past.

Mikey laughed uneasily, “Nah, I can handle Taylor for one night.”

“Goodluck.” Gerard teased, “Call me if you change your mind.”

“Will do.” Mikey was the one to hang up first.





**



The mirror was fogged up by the time Taylor stepped out from under the warm water. She grabbed one of the fluffy white towels that was hanging on the towel rack. Once the towel was pulled tightly to her body she opened the bathroom door and walked in to the hotel room. She didn’t even glance at Mikey.

Mikey was wearing his boxers, which were damp from the water. His clothes were in a pile on one of the chairs. Taylor walked to the clothing and picked it up. Mikey opened his mouth to speak but said nothing, instead watching as Taylor disappeared in to the bathroom with his clothing. “Our clothes are hanging up to dry.” She notified him as she walked back out.

“Great.” Mikey cheerfully bounced up off of the bed, “So mind telling me what you’re so pissed off about?” He decided playing games with Taylor just wouldn’t do. He wanted to be straight forward.

Taylor sighed audibly, “I can’t swim Mikey.”

It was a weakness Taylor did not care to admit.

The words hung between them heavily as Mikey thought over the implications of what she was saying, and what he’d done.

“I didn’t know.” Mikey finally breathed out, as he stared at Taylor with widened eyes. Taylor sat beside him but did not look at him. “I swear if I had known… I never would’ve done that.”

“I know.” Taylor answered softly, “It’s not like I think you purposely try to attempt to drown people.”

“Try to attempt.” Mikey repeated her words, laughed, then frowned. “Damn, okay… bad time to joke about things.”

Taylor chuckled, “It’s the perfect time actually. I needed to laugh. It felt good.”

“So, you don’t hate me for almost killing you?” Mikey asked.

“I just got scared.” Taylor hated admitting that more than anything else, even more than feeling it which was also at the top of her hate list. “And… feeling scared-“ Taylor just suddenly stopped, letting her words trail off.

“Feeling scared isn’t your thing.” Mikey finished, “I really am sorry.”

Taylor shrugged, swallowing down the panic that still gripped her. “I love water.” She finally got out, “And no one knows I can’t swim.”

“Not even Gerard?” Mikey asked.

“No one.” Taylor repeated, “Only you.”

“That’s a dangerous secret. Why didn’t you ever learn?”

“In the water you lose control. You’re part of something else. It’s frightening. You have to give yourself away-“ Taylor caught herself before she continued to blurt out her deepest feelings. “I’ve never had the urge to give any control away.”

Mikey sighed, “Sometimes it’s not as bad as you make it sound.”

“Sometimes it is.” Taylor responded.

“Do you think that you could trust me?” Mikey asked, glancing at Taylor, “I know I’m asking a lot but… if you could just trust me then I think I could do something wonderful with you.”

Taylor didn’t know exactly what to say, “I’ll think about it.”

Mikey nodded, “That’s the most I can ask of you.”

Taylor was the first one to lean back as the day’s events washed over her, leaving her somewhat exhausted. Mikey leaned back on the bed right after her. Their legs hung off the end of the bed and the air conditioning of the room left them chilled but they didn’t make any movements to fix that.

“I like the designs in the ceiling.” Mikey murmured, “When I was a kid I used to have glow in the dark shapes that we stuck to the top of my ceiling. Gerard used to always jump up and try to grab them.”

Taylor laughed, “Did he ever get any?”

“When the adhesive gave up and they fell to the floor on their own.” Mikey laughed as well.

“I remember those. I used to like the stars but I never actually stuck them to anything. I liked to just keep them.” Taylor reminisced, thinking over her childhood. “Then I’d pull the back off and think of sticking them to something- and I actually stuck a few to my pants. They didn’t stick well but I got that sticky adhesive all over my fingers and it was hard to wash off.”

Mikey grinned, “That stuff drove my mother crazy.”

“Mine too.” Taylor admitted.

They continued to talk as the night grew dark. Neither of them shifted positions, nor grabbed for a blanket while goose bumps arose over their skin.

Mikey’s laughter was louder than Taylor’s so he kept forcing himself not to laugh just to hear her laugh.

Taylor forgot her momentary anger towards Mikey.

Meanwhile her cell phone vibrated on the bathroom counter as Gerard tried to call.