out of the blue | gracie abrams

VI

vi - gravity.

5th of June, 2023, Chicago

-12:06am-

THE day had drawn to a close, but Gracie hadn't felt quite ready to go back to her hotel room just yet. The past few hours had felt like a rollercoaster of hazy, heightened emotions, and she didn't want to feel the comedown yet. The tens of thousands of screaming fans didn't ever really become something familiar to the introverted girl that was herself, and she felt as though her ears were still ringing. However, the night had brought her something special. Gracie smiled just thinking about it.

Gracie pulled her phone back out of her pocket, dialing her go-to number for advice. Taylor had picked up after a couple of rings.

"Hey Taylor, do you wanna go grab some drinks?" Gracie asked through the phone.

"I'd love to, but honestly I am so beat I'm ready to down a whole pizza in my hotel room. Care to join?" Taylor replied with a sigh of exasperation.

"That sounds perfect actually, I'll see you there."

-12:21am-

Unbeknownst to Gracie, Pippa had been replaying their day's encounter over and over in her head as well. Somewhere in downtown Chicago, Pippa and Minnie sat in a booth in some shitty old diner that served incredible food despite looking like it was a visual representation of the list of health and safety hazards. The post-concert starvation is no joke.

"Oh my god, I could eat three of these right now," Minnie stated between mouthfuls of her burger that was dripping with an unnamed grease.

"Mhm," Was all Pippa could manage to reply.

"What are you thinking about?" Minnie asked, wiping her mouth on a napkin.

"Have you processed everything that happened today, like, at all, yet?" Pippa asked, looking up from her lap where her new prized possession laid.

"No, but I'm sure the PCD will hit me like a truck tomorrow," Minnie shrugged before returning to wolf down her burger.

"It is tomorrow, Mousey," Pippa laughed and rolled her eyes, clutching tighter onto the hat that was in her lap, "I don't want to ever go to sleep again. What if I wake up and it was all a dream?"

"Well then you should revel in the fact that you have a very impressive imagination," Minnie replied, shooting a toothy grin at her best friend.

"You have lettuce in between your teeth."

-12:43am-

"Oh, you're here! The pizza literally just got delivered like, twenty seven seconds ago," Taylor announced, pausing to look at the clock in her hotel room.

The two of them sat on Taylor's bed, talking about anything that came to their minds. The now-empty pizza box had long since been discarded, Gracie finding the room to lie down on her stomach on the freshly made sheets. Taylor stared at her with her legs crossed near the head of the bed.

"What made you choose that girl for the 22 hat today?" Taylor asked, suddenly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gracie replied, trying to act oblivious.

"I mean, there are thousands of people in that stadium and you chose someone who already had front row seats to join you in the VIP tent. I'm surprised she even agreed to be honest, those seats are highly coveted, you know. What was so special about her?" Taylor enquired further, staring intently into the brunette's eyes.

"I don't know. I ran into her earlier that day in a hallway when I was trying to make it back to my dressing room after my set. I don't know what she was doing in that particular hallway, but I think she got lost trying to find the bathroom," Gracie explained the last part with a chuckle.

"Okay... I'm still a little confused here," Taylor admitted, leaning back on the headboard of the bed.

"I don't know. I think she just reminds me a lot of myself. Or, at least, who I used to be," Gracie said, fiddling with her sleeves, "She's got so much nervous energy it feels like she could spontaneously implode at any given moment."

"Yeah, I gathered that much," Taylor agreed, remembering her and Pippa's earlier interaction, "Poor thing looked like she'd been put through the paces."

"I mean, she did just get to hug her favorite person of seventeen years. In her defense, I would be a sobbing mess too," Gracie declared.

"Oh please, we both know you were worse," Taylor teased, earning her a gasp and a slap to the arm from the brunette, "But for real though, it was a very nice thing you did for her tonight."

Gracie didn't tell Taylor that she had gotten Pippa's number, or that she planned to text her tomorrow, or that she felt an uncomfortable amount of butterflies in her stomach anytime she thought about the younger girl. Gracie didn't tell Taylor that she missed Pippa already. She hadn't even known her for half a day and she already felt the everlasting urge to be close to her at all times.

After Taylor had informed Gracie that she was going to bed, Gracie decided, fuck it, she'll go drinking by herself. After the day she had just had, what better way to loosen up a little than get a bit tipsy and maybe make some bad decisions? She searched up the nearest bar to her location and decided on a cozy looking establishment aptly named 'The Green Door Tavern'. Perfect. She did notice however, that the t-shirt and sweats that she was currently adorned in would be less than suitable for an outing to a tavern, so she stopped by her own hotel room to change. She wrapped herself up in a black, silky slip-on dress that had been in her reject pile for performance outfits as it wasn't exactly the most comfortable of garments, but it did look irresistible. Gracie tossed a tan trench coat over her shoulder in case it got colder throughout the night.

String lights illuminated the scene, the liquor cabinet glistened under them. Gracie sat down at one of the stools at the bar while her security lurked invisibly somewhere in the background. Sometimes she wished she could just tell them to fuck off for one evening so she could be alone. After downing a glass of red wine almost instantaneously, she decided she needed something stronger. As luck would have it, the establishment was rather busy that night, and the patron demographic heavily consisted of old men that were not likely to recognize her. Not that she had that level of star power just yet, Gracie just had a tendency of being a little paranoid. She ordered a whiskey, neat.

Gracie's attention momentarily departed from the drink in front of her when the bell above the entrance rang, signaling that someone had just entered the bar. Gracie swore she almost choked on the liquor in her mouth.

"Pippa?"

-✫★✫-

hello my lovelies!

i love a good (minor) cliffhanger! (i apologize in advance for the ones yet to come)

BUT!

TAYGRACIE COLLAB IS FINALLY A REALITY. can anyone see my soul leaving my body? and the fact that it's a track five too like i'm prepared to be emotionally destroyed beyond the point of repair mhm mhm

anyway, i love you guys so so so so much

don't forget to vote and comment, reading them really makes my day :)

stay safe, sleep well, have a great week!

- 🍎