i completely rushed this to get it on time for christmas so sorry if it's bad. it was meant to be a quick, tiny oneshot but ended up slightly longer than planned. anyway, hope you enjoy :)
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The second Taylor hears the light knock on her door, a familiar wave of excitement mixed with panic washes over her, and she could already feel a blush spreading involuntarily over her cheeks. She takes one more bite of her just-finished Christmas cookie for courage and heads to the door, preparing herself to face her best friend.
–who she only is a tiny bit in love with.
Of course, not that it matters anyway.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" exclaims Cara as she comes bounding into Taylor's apartment, balancing a mountain of shiny gifts in her hands.
"Oh. Hi," the singer flatly greets, careful to filter the disappointment through her smile.
"Sorry, came here a bit early, hope you don't mind," Cara apologizes as she gently sets the hoard of presents on the nearest table.
"That's fine, I was just finishing up the last batch of cookies before the other guests arrive."
"You sure? You looked a little... underwhelmed when you saw me– oh, wait, you were probably expecting Karlie," Cara teases with a short-lived laugh, instinctively shutting her mouth when Taylor sends her a warning glare.
The Brit is (hopefully) the only person on the planet who has any idea of the disastrous feelings Taylor carries for her best friend. Taylor had been tipsy enough to let that secret slip past her lips at Cara's apartment one night, and her friend has never let her hear the end of it. She provides endless encouragement to make a move on Karlie. Endless.
But unfortunately, Taylor is a coward– or maybe she's just a lot smarter than Cara. There's no way she's going to ruin her friendship with her best friend. What would she do without her? She's survived 2 years of the friendzone, can't she handle a few more? And besides, who says Karlie is even into girls? Confessing her feelings is just a disaster waiting to happen, despite Cara's constant motivation.
"That's a lot of presents you have there," Taylor notes, quickly changing the subject before the model starts asking if she's planned the wedding yet.
"It's Christmas, what do you expect? I only brought two gifts for each, plus a little something for you and..." Her voice slowly trails off and she instantly turns away, hiding a smirk.
"For me and who?"
"Oh, nothing. It's nothing. Never mind." Cara plasters a big grin on her face, slightly concerning but Taylor has little curiosity about whatever runs inside her friend's head.
Soon, their mutual friends arrive and Taylor makes her rounds embracing them and collecting whichever bottle of fancy wine or tray of food they generously brought. Mysteriously enough, Cara is noticeably absent throughout the first 20 minutes, but everyone knows better than to bring it up. The only other person missing is Karlie, but naturally she comes 10 minutes later, expectedly late.
"Merry Christmas!" she says brightly, engulfing the singer in a lingering hug.
"Hi, Kar," Taylor smiles, desperately trying to keep her heart rate at a normal pace when they separate.
Karlie slips off the beanie covering her head, and when she shakes the stray blonde strands off her face, Taylor has to bite her lip to keep her jaw from dropping to the floor.
"Sorry I was late. Turns out walking in sludge at night is very difficult."
"Really? I never would've guessed," she says dryly. "Aw, look, you brought a present for me."
