Invisible string

Chapter 2: the interview

Taylor sighed, rolling onto her back, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling. “Busted. I went down a rabbit hole. Like—a full-on, embarrassing, three-hour rabbit hole.”

“Let me guess,” Selena teased. “Cat videos?”

Taylor groaned and shoved her face into the pillow. “No. Hazel videos.”

There was a pause. Then Selena’s voice lit with a mischievous spark. “As in… Hazel-from-that-band-who-just-asked-you-out-on-the radio Hazel?”

“You know too? Gigi sent me the video a few hours ago”.

“Girl, that has gone viral, is it all over the internet”.

“Jesus I have not enter to twitter or any other social media, and please don’t say it like that,” Taylor mumbled, heat creeping up her neck. “It wasn’t even a real ask-out. Maybe she was just… being funny I don’t know.”

“Funny?” Selena said, incredulous. “Taylor, she literally said she wanted to collab with you. At dinner. That’s not subtle, babe. That’s bold.”

Taylor’s laugh came out nervous, betraying her. “God, don’t. I don’t even know what to think about it. She’s younger, she’s cool, she’s—ugh.” Her throat tightened as she admitted it out loud, barely above a whisper. “She’s cute, Sel.”

“You said that like it’s a crime.”

“It feels like one,” Taylor admitted. “I haven’t even looked at a girl that way since… I don’t know, since 2015. And then Joe happened. And then Matty—” Her voice cracked a little, raw with the ache of it. “I just… I can’t let myself fall into something messy again.”

There was a quiet beat on the other end. Then Selena’s voice, soft but steady. “Hey. This isn’t Matty. Hazel isn’t Matty. They’re not even in the same stratosphere.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do know,” Selena countered. “That girl went on the radio and basically said your name with heart eyes. That’s not a joke. And from what I’ve seen, Hazel doesn’t play around. She has no tabloids, no scandals, nothing bad.”

Taylor’s chest felt tight. “She’s… earnest.”

“Exactly. And bold enough to say it out loud. When’s the last time someone made a move on you without hiding behind smoke and mirrors?”

Taylor went quiet. The ceiling above her blurred until she blinked back the sting in her eyes. “Not in a while.”

Selena’s voice gentled, but there was steel underneath it. “Then maybe let yourself enjoy it. I am not telling you to marry her, Tay. Just… laugh about it. Text her. Or better—send something back that’s just as bold. You’ve been writing love songs since you were fifteen, you can make something up.”

Taylor laughed softly, but there was a tremor in it. “You’re dangerous. Planting these ideas in my head at six a.m.”

“Dangerous is me making sure you don’t hide from something that could be good just because you’re scared. Don’t let Matty—or Joe, or anyone—be the ghost in your way.”

The room was still and hushed when Selena’s voice faded. Taylor stared at her phone screen, where a still from the interview hovered: Hazel, smirking, eyes lit up with mischief, tossing her “dinner collab” line with such casual confidence.

Taylor’s thumb hovered over her messages. For the first time in months, the thought of reaching out to someone new didn’t feel like a cliff edge. It felt like possibility.

She went to open Instagram and typed Hazel’s name.

She spent another hour looking at her account.

She was definitely not stalking. Of course not.