Fool's Gold [Jaylor Fanfiction]

Star-Crossed Lovers

One Week Later
August 31st; 2023
Taylor Swift's Point of View
Joe is known for his punctuality. He's always early or exactly on time. Never a minute late. This time I'm looking at the clock and it's been almost three hours. He was supposed to be here almost three hours ago. I'm clutching my bag of things as I stare into the distance. I'm in the lobby of the rehabilitation center waiting to be picked up. Joe promised me that he would pick me up today. I sit on the chair with my legs curled up close to my chest. I want to cry but I can't do that here.
All my severe symptoms of withdrawal have gone away. Now it's just fatigue and a bit of insomnia. The rehabilitation center wanted to keep me longer but once I was deemed no longer a threat to myself or others, they legally couldn't stop me from leaving. Right now I'm terrified to take OxyContin because if I go through withdrawal again, I don't think I'll make it. I might actually kill myself if I go through withdrawal like that.

A receptionist looks at me and sighs. She walks over and sits next to me. "Do you have someone to take you home? If there's people here who will take you."

"I have someone picking me up."

"How long ago were they supposed to show up?"

"Three hours." I look over at her with my head slightly tucked. Her name tag reads Kara.

"Who is it?"

"My best friend. He's supposed to be here." I wish he wasn't my friend. I wish he was something more.

She reaches over and puts her hand on mine. "Sometimes...they don't show up."

"No, Joe would never. He's going to show up." I insist, retracting my hand. The receptionist nods and returns to her desk.

Joe never showed up. I waited many hours for him but he never showed. Seven hours later Tom walked in. I'd rather the rehab center or a chauffeur take me home than Tom. Tom is a nice guy. He buys me flowers and opens the car door. He adores me but in the end, I just hate being with him. He deserves better than me. He's not a bad person, I am. One day he'll find someone who will love him the way he should be loved.

The car ride home was very quiet and awkward. Tension filled the air. "You didn't tell me you were getting clean," Tom says as walks inside.

"What are you trying to say?" I drop my stuff on the floor and start to look for my phone in the apartment.

"I'm saying it's just starting to feel like Joe is your boyfriend rather than me. You hang out with him and ask for his help..."

"Tom, you're being so fucking-just think for a minute. You're not even my boyfriend! We've never had that talk. Joe is my best friend and only friend I have." I walk around the kitchen, looking in circles.

"I've been here for you for you just as long as him!"

"Where the fuck is my phone?!"

"It's on the nightstand. If you're trying to call Joe, he's not going to pick up. He had to go to London for an emergency. He should be back in a couple of days. Apparently, it was urgent enough for him to leave his phone in another country by accident."

"That's why he didn't pick me up?" I ask as I grab my phone from my bedroom.

"Yeah. He wasn't in the same continent to do so. He got in contact with me to make sure I picked you up."

"Seven hours late?" I scoff.

"Whatever." Tom was so mad for whatever godforsaken reason. I just wanted to come home and rest but I had to walk into this. So I just walked into my bedroom room and locked the door.

• • •

It's been a couple of days since I got back from rehab. The symptoms of withdrawal get progressively better every day. The craving for pills is quite nonexistent still because all I think of is how awful rehab was. How disastrous it was to give them up and go through withdrawal. I'm terrified of ever having to do that again.
The good news is Joe's plane gets in tonight but I won't see him until tomorrow until our writing session. I didn't think it was possible to miss someone so much. I've always missed my mom but my heart aches to see Joe again. But all I have is Tom. Perfect, lovely, amazing...Tom.
He wanted to take me out to dinner. He's proud of my sobriety and wanted to take me somewhere nice. I begrudgingly agreed to it.
When I was famous in my Reputation and Lover era, there were always phones on me. They never left me. People hate me so much and I've become so unrecognizable to a point where I can go in public now. I'll get stares but that's it. No one asks for an autograph and no one asks for pictures. I prefer it that way. I don't want to give autographs like this. I'm not worthy of it. I'm not worthy of being famous and having the riches to do so.

I just stare at my salad and just awkwardly poke at it. Every once in a while I take a bite but I just want to get out of here. This is the longest dinner of my life. I want to go home and curl up on the couch.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tom asks as I look down at my food with my chin resting on my hand.

"Yeah, I'm just...not very hungry." I sigh and put my silverware down.

"Well, I know this might not be the best timing but I brought you here for a reason."

"Okay. What is it?" I put my hands in my lap and lay back to hear whatever bullshit he has to say.

"Taylor, you mean a lot to me and I want you in my life." He reaches out his hand and I internally sigh. I give him my hand to hold. "I want to ask you if you would maybe go on an actual date with me. Be my girlfriend."

I should have let him down easy. Just said no but instead, I attacked an insecurity. I guess I wanted him to feel how I was feeling which was unfair. "I had sex with Joe."

He dropped my hand and he looked like a whipped puppy that just wanted to hide in a corner "Oh."

"I'm in love with, Joe." 

"Are you guys..."

"No. We're not together or anything. The sex was a drunken mistake." I sigh. Tom looks at me and there's just tense silence.

"If you were in love with someone else why have you been with me?"

"I don't know. I think it's because you treated me well. No partner I've had has treated me with respect in many years and I think I just kept craving that feeling. Tom, you're an amazing guy, and one day you're going to find a woman who treats you right. That person isn't me. I'm too fucked in the head." I give a slight smile. Breaking up with him is taking a load off of me.

"You deserve love and respect. You're very talented and genuine. I really hope you know how proud I am of you for getting clean." Tom smiles back.

"Thank you."

The server comes by our table and I realize I've still barely touched my salad. Tom has finished his entire meal. The server begins to take Tom's plate away and empty glasses. "Are you still working on that ma'am?" The server asks.

"No, I'll just have a to-go box. But I'd like to look at the dessert menu."

"I'll be right back with that."

"Why a dessert?" Tom asks.

"I don't know. You've been in my life for a while and I guess it's still hard to say goodbye. Thought we could maybe share a dessert and talk as friends before we go our separate ways."

"Sounds good."

I learned more about Tom over that half hour we spent talking over dessert as friends then I did all those weeks we spent together. Maybe in another life, things could have worked between us but it wasn't this one. I didn't learn what Tom's job was in the entirety of our relationship. If I did I forgot what it was. He's an actor. An actual famous one. He was late picking me up because filming was delayed. The weather was shit and he got stuck on set. Maybe if we met at a different time or I wasn't the way I was we could have lasted. We weren't meant for each other in this lifetime. Tom deserves someone better than me. But I'll always appreciate the love he gave me and how he treated me kindly. He's a man of integrity and maybe part of me will miss him. But I love Joe.

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Author's Note:
The chapter you have all been waiting for!

Sorry for the late update and short chapter. I was in the hospital! (I'm fine now)

Star-Crossed Lovers: A pair of lovers who are thwarted by the stars and are destined to fail. A relationship that will not work out no matter how hard you try.