the stars in your eyes | t.s. one shots

charmed my dad

a request//companion piece to 'but daddy i love him'

Taylor stares at her phone in her hand, stares at the button on the screen which seems to taunt her. She doesn't know why she's so afraid to make this phone call... it's just her dad. Her dad, who has always been her biggest supporter. Her dad, who never leaves the house without a pocket full of guitar picks, just in case someone recognizes him and comes up to him at whatever his destination might be. Still, sharing what she has to share... she's a little bit nervous.

Regardless of how she's feeling, she knows she has to do it. Within the next few days, it's going to be a lot more than just her father finding out. The whole world's going to know soon. And that's... daunting. It's a presence that looms over her like a dark cloud of storms, bringing the potential of losing the most sacred thing in her life- her relationships, no matter who they're with. But especially this one... when she thinks of all of the headlines she's about to be the subject of, Taylor can't help but shudder. For the last six years, she's tried to turn a blind eye to the storm of speculation about her private life. She's managed to block so much of it out. But now... it's going to be different. She doesn't want to hide any more. Still, that means that she has to stand up and face the music, like it or not.

So, with a deep breath and a sip of wine, a silent prayer that the liquid will send some courage throughout her bloodstream, she calls her father.

"Taylor, sweetheart, hi," he says. "This is an unexpected surprise. What's up?"

"Dad... hi," Taylor says. "I um... wanted to share some news with you, if that's alright?"

"Of course it is," Scott assures his daughter. "What's going on, Tay?" She can hear the worry in his voice and is glad that she's not going to have to affirm any of his fears. It's true that in the past, she's had to call with some pretty bleak pieces of news. That's not what she has to share today.

"Dad, I'm sort of... um... I'm seeing someone." She doesn't know why sharing the information is making her so flustered. She knows he's going to approve. When he finds out who it is, how they came into being... he's going to be thrilled. "And, anyway, everyone's about to find out... on Sunday... so I wanted to tell you now."

Taylor can almost hear her father raising his eyebrows through the phone. "Oh?"

"Yeah..."

"And who, may I ask, is this lucky person?"

"It's... um... Travis Kelce," she mutters. "I'm kind of in Kansas City with him right now... and I'm kind of going to his game on Sunday."

Scott doesn't know what he was expecting to hear her say, but it certainly wasn't that.

He's not oblivious. He knows all about the podcast, about the friendship bracelet. He got a good chuckle out of the video. He had no idea that Taylor had thought twice about it, or honestly, even seen it. He can only assume Tree sent it along to her, though. She tends to do that sort of thing. He's full of questions and doesn't even know where to begin.

Still, Taylor senses his questions, so she knows she'd better get explaining. "After that podcast episode... word got around to me right away. And so I kind of did a deep dive on the internet, learned about him... and he seemed like a really nice guy... and really good looking, which didn't hurt him." She pauses to giggle. "So anyway, I figured... since I've known Andy my whole life, and he's Travis's coach... I'd just text him and see what he thought. I asked him to please not tell you or Mom, and he did just that. Along with getting me Travis's number. I texted him, and one thing led to another... and yeah. Now I'm in Kansas City."

"Well, in that case," Scott says with a laugh, "when do I get to meet this man?"

"He's coming to Argentina with us."