Camera Flashes (1) - Taylor Swift

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Taylor kept her back straight as she sat at the dining room table. The wood was frequently polished, there were no carvings like the one in her childhood home that her brother had done with a butter knife, no swirling in the wood where a cup too hot or cold morphed the surface.

The placemats underneath the elegant china had initials embroidered for the person sitting in that place. A delicate T.S was stitched into the pale blue fabric as though they had been expecting her for ages.

Taylor had never felt a room so full of people feel so empty of life. There was a mimosa in front of the women, but an Irish coffee in front of the men. Evelyn's baby bump only slightly noticeable if you looked, she only had a glass of water.

Taylor couldn't even be amused by her girlfriend struggling to choke down an omelette with roasted tomatoes not only cooked into it but puréed on top. She was far too busy listening to William and Robert go back and forth about some merger while Jennifer reminded them that work talk at the table was inappropriate.

She had managed to remain unscathed as no one seemed particularly interested in her. Grace was beside her and had very causally pressed her knee under the table against Taylor's for a split second, the tiniest hint of a smile dared to form on her lips as she did.

"Enough," William was the one to call the conversation off, "Taylor, tell us about you."

"There is not much to tell," she was careful to annunciate clearly, heaven forbid they thought she said a contraction.

"Taylor has been a very altruistic donor," Grace added, not in the typical way one would rush to cover their partner's ass when meeting the parents, she was slow, calculated, "We are lucky to have her today. She is typically quite busy."

"Altruism," Robert hummed, "That can mean two things, you are either selfless or you want to look selfless."

"You would know," Grace pushed back, she picked the drink in front of her up and brought it to her red lips to cover her amusement. If it hadn't been for that comment, Taylor would have been able to compare the Grace she knew to the one next to her and called them complete strangers.

"Grace," Robert huffed, glaring at her with genuine anger in his eyes, "Can you not behave for one moment?"

"I think anyone who enjoys life in front of a camera is at a minimum slightly narcissistic. To want to see yourself on magazines, to enjoy putting yourself in a fishbowl for everyone to point and stare, it requires a special type of person. You almost have to be ruthless with your beliefs to get your way, there is no way to be completely selfless."

The eyes on Taylor made her feel white hot. She couldn't help but speak her mind and while she was sure Grace could hold her own against the man, she wasn't going to allow him to accuse her of anything.

She'd had enough men on a power trip try to intimidate her. Robert Kent had no business doing that.

"I can see why they get along," William chuckled as he cut into his omelette, referring to his sister and Taylor.

"She is honest," Grace offered her opinion after a few seconds of quiet where she felt she could step in, "We are not saints."

That seemed to change the tone of the room slightly, just enough to close the conversation off. Taylor hated silence so she turned to Grace's sister-in-law warmly, "Grace had told me you are expecting your first baby, are you excited?"

"Absolutely," Evelyn admitted, "Terribly nervous, especially if it comes out looking like William."

"Now," William held his fork-holding hand up to gesture a pause, "The real disaster would be if it inherited their grandfather's genes."