Stories Based On Taylor Swift Songs

FOLKLORE: 127. Illicit Affairs

The love triangle is a common thread in folklore. The proper order for reading the stories in is as follows: August, Illicit Affairs, Cardigan, and Betty.

127. Illicit Affairs (10/3/20)

It was late August, and the girl knew exactly how she wanted to spend her day. After eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast, she hopped in her car and drove to the mall. Not that she wanted to shop for overpriced graphic tees; the mall was their meeting place. They hid behind the mall, entangled in the back of her car.

The girl flew through yellow lights, her whole body itching to see James. They met earlier that summer, when she saw a broken-hearted James walking home from the community center. The girl had driven slowly, close to the sidewalk, before calling out to the sad girl. She asked James if she wanted a ride home. James had said yes.

The mall was only a few blocks away, and the girl could hardly wait. She loved spending the long, summer days with James. No matter what she had planned for the day, she would drop it all when she received a call from James.

The girl pulled into the mall's parking lot, which decreased in busyness as she reached the back of the building. She couldn't see any other cars, so she wondered if James had gotten stuck at home. The girl slinked out of her car and started circling the building, her eyes and ears peeled for the other girl she was looking for.

Then, she paused. She heard James' voice, but she heard someone else's voice too. The girl hid behind a wall, peaking out carefully to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"What are you doing here?" James asked. Her voice raised an octave, and the girl could tell she was nervous.

"I was shopping with my mom," another voice said. "I'm so sorry I didn't call."

"It's...it's alright," James replied. "I missed you, Betty."

The girl craned her neck to look at the two girls. James, with her dark curls, had her back to the girl. She was talking to a blond in a sundress. The blond was cute, but not exactly the girl's type. She wasn't really James' type either.

"I missed you too," the blond - Betty - said before kissing James.

The girl had to hold back a gasp before throwing her back against the wall. She covered her mouth with her hand as hot tears pierced her eyes. What had she just witnessed? Even though a part of her wanted to look back at the couple, she knew she couldn't stand to see it. Not James, kissing another girl. A girl that wasn't her.

As quietly as she could, the girl stormed to her car and drove away. She made sure to avoid the couple by leaving the mall the way she came in. Her brain was working overtime, trying to understand everything. James had said she had missed Betty, but had never told her she was seeing someone else. Had this whole summer been a lie? Was the girl just a distraction for James? Was James just waiting for Betty to come back?

The girl hightailed it home, thankful that both her parents were at work. She parked her car in the driveway before walking up to her room. Her heart broke into a million pieces. She worried she would bleed all over the carpet, but her tears washed everything away.

The girl fell onto her bed, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. Everything had been a lie. As much as she tried to forget about everything, her mind still went back to that night her and James met. The girl attended a private school, so she didn't know all the drama that occurred at the public school in town. All she knew was that James looked upset as she walked home from the community center, but wouldn't tell her why.

"No one would dance with me," was all James said as she climbed into the girl's car.

What followed was a blissful summer, where the two of them would meet behind the mall. Every time James called her to meet, the girl would drop what she was doing and get in her car. Occasionally, they would risk being seen together and go out to different venues. The girl pulled herself off the bed and looked at her cork board. Behind a picture of her and her sister, she had pinned the movie tickets from her date with James. They had gone to the drive-in theater an hour away, once again seeking solace in a car. The girl could hardly remember what movie they had seen. All she could think about was James' lips on hers, and her fingers on her bare skin.

The girl wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. She plucked the movie tickets off of the cork board and threw them in the trash. Then, she sat cross-legged on her bed, holding her phone in her hands. She carefully selected James' string of messages. Most of them were the same: Meet me behind the mall.

The girl waited patiently for any sort of message from James before realizing that she hadn't seen her. Meaning James didn't know that the girl had seen her conversation with Betty.

The girl sniffled before typing out a message: I never want to see you again.

The story continues in the story for the song Cardigan.