Match Maker | T. Swift x OC

Chapter Twenty-Two

The bar listened as Taylor and her friends sang Before He Cheats to each other. And though the blonde was extremely drunk, she sang perfectly, accent and all, digging herself into an impossibly deep hole.

"Right now, she's probably slow dancin' With a bleached-blond tramp and she's probably gettin' frisky," The words flowed off of Taylor's tongue like liquor. She didn't notice how distressed Karlie was, trying to get Mark to stop people from recording the sight in front of them. "Right now, she's probably buyin' her some fruity little drink 'Cause she can't shoot whiskey."

When the song ended, Taylor and her friends giggled loudly and hugged each other, stumbling off the stage to where Karlie sat, being the only sane one.

"We're going home, guys," She said.

"What? But I'm barely drunk, Karls!" Taylor protested, pouting like a little kid about to throw a tantrum.

"Taylor," Karlie said, holding her face, "You are seriously going to regret this in the morning, I promise you. Let's go home."

The blonde sighed and nodded, allowing herself to be escorted out by Karlie and Mark. Gigi and Martha followed and they all entered the car and Taylor's bodyguard shut the door behind them, getting in next to Rick, who drove them home.

Taylor rested her head on Karlie's shoulder and her eyes fluttered, "Don't fall asleep, Tay."

"M'not asleep, Asshat," Taylor shot back, making Gigi and Martha burst out into a fit of giggles, "Am very much awake."

"I'm," Karlie corrected.

"You're what?" Taylor pulled away and looked Karlie up and down, "You're hot."

Karlie blushed as Gigi and Martha laughed once again. The brunette leaned forward and knocked on the window, making the divider go down, "How far away are we from Taylor's apartment?"

"Just five minutes, miss," Mark answered gruffly.

"Thank you," Karlie sighed as the divider went back up.

The five minutes felt like forever before they were all stumbling into Taylor's apartment. Karlie helped the singer into her room before leaving her to change and went to help her other friends into the guest bedrooms (being the only sober-ish one).

She changed into her own pyjamas and went back to check up on Taylor, seeing how she was cuddling a pillow.

"Can you stay?" Taylor asked with a yawn, "I don't want to be alone."

Karlie sighed and nodded, slipping into the bed beside the singer. Taylor smiled sleepily and cuddled into Karlie, pecking her lips, making the model freeze, "Taylor-"

"Goodnight, Mal," The singer cut off the model, not noticing how her friend turned ridged and tense.

Once Taylor fell asleep, Karlie rushed out of her bedroom and to the kitchen, making herself a drink. She sat contemplating telling Mallory about what had just happened. She should, right? She was pretty sure they weren't as broken up as the tabloids made them seem.

When Taylor woke up, she had a pounding headache and an influx of messages.

Mal 💘: Happy Anniversary, my love. I'm sorry we can't celebrate together :( (1 day ago)
Mal 💘: I loveeeeee youuuuuu. I miss you 2! (10 hours ago)
Mal 💘: https://www.tmz.com/2023/03/17/taylor-swift-karaoke-carrie-underwood-dig-at-mallory-williams/ (6 hours ago)

Tree Paine: You always seem to make my job harder 🤦‍♀️ (6 hours ago)
Tree Paine: You better apologise to your girlfriend. (6 hours ago)

Mal 💘: wtf Taylor? (4 hours ago)

Taylor groaned and trudged to the kitchen, fixing herself a cup of coffee before Tree called her.

"Good morning, Taylor," Tree started.

"Good morning to you too, Tree," Taylor rasped, "Can this wait? I'm extremely hungover."

"I thought you wanted to avoid any dating rumours?" Tree ignored the blonde's question.

"I do."

"Taylor," Tree sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Why would you go and sing Before He Cheats- or should I say Before She Cheats- a few days after Mallory was seen with her friend that dyed her hair blonde for a new role?"

"I did what?" Taylor asked fearfully.

"It's trending everywhere. No doubt Mallory has seen it. You owe her a big apology," Tree said, "For making her leave and then doing that."

"It was your idea-"

"No, it wasn't," Tree sighed, "I'm coming over later. We need to talk about this more."

Taylor frowned, "Okay," She muttered, "See you soon."

"Bye."

The call ended and Taylor groaned, downing her coffee- not caring for the burn- and walked to the bathroom, bumping into Karlie.

"Hey!" The blonde grinned at her friend.

"Uh, hi," Karlie blushed and tensed.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" She frowned.

"Um- Josh called me," Karlie lied through her teeth.

"Oh, okay. See you soon?" Taylor furrowed her eyebrows and Karlie nodded, rushing out of the apartment.

The blonde shrugged nonchalantly before entering the bathroom. She showered, cleaning herself of any dirt from the previous night, making a mental note to change the sheets.

When she got out, she changed and called Mallory. The first three calls went to voicemail, but the brunette finally answered the fourth one.

"What do you want?" Mallory asked defeatedly, making the blonde frown.

"I just wanted to say sorry-"

"What for?" Mallory asked bitterly, catching the blonde off guard, "Forgetting our anniversary, ignoring me all day yesterday, humiliating me in public for no good reason or kissing Karlie?"

"The first thre-" Taylor cut herself off, "I did what?"

Mallory scoffed, "Goodbye, Taylor," She muttered.

"No, no, no!" Taylor rushed out, "We- We need to talk about this."

"Yeah," Mallory said, "Can we talk about how I woke up at 6 am to see that Karlie texted me, apologising for you kissing her? Oh, no. Can we talk about how instead of talking to me about how hanging out with my friends makes you jealous enough to tell the whole world that I cheated on you instead?"

"I fucked up," Taylor sniffled, "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"Me, too, Taylor," Mallory sighed. "We can talk about this more when I can stand to hear your voice."

"Okay," Taylor whispered, "Bye. I-I love you."

"Goodbye, Taylor."

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I'm gonna take a little break and fix up any plots holes because there are no doubt dozens.

Hope you liked this chapter.

This is the end of Part One <3