supercut (Kaylor one-shot collection)

speak now (part two)

"Yes," Karlie said confidently. "You have a show in Arlington on the fifth, right?"

"Yes," Taylor said. "Oh... so that means it would have to be tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow works."

"It doesn't work for me," Taylor laughed, surprised at Karlie's dominant demeanor. "What, you think I can just hop on a plane and be there tomorrow morning?" It was already 9 p.m., her plane was currently being cleaned and prepped for the next flight, there was absolutely no way she could do that.

"Aren't you rich or something?" Karlie said, purposefully matching the tone of Taylor's previous question. "You have a private plane."

"Yes, but – you do know I can't fly it myself, right? My staff has a couple days off, too, I can't just ask them to—"

"You can do anything, you're Taylor Swift."

"Yeah, but I'm not God, I can't just—"

"Taylor, I miss you," Karlie said. All her prior confidence had disappeared; she suddenly sounded sad and nervous and shaky. "I just miss you. I want you here."

Normally, Taylor would have been sensitive to the vulnerability of this confession, but now she couldn't bring herself to feel anything but anger. She was angry at Karlie, angry at herself, angry at the situation. So for a moment, she forgot to be nice and complacent. "What do you mean, you miss me? So, what, you want me to come to New York so you can put me in a nice dress and kiss me again? Because that's what's going to happen, right? You'll kiss me again and make everything just a little more complicated than it already was, and then you'll marry Josh anyway, and I'm left feeling disappointed and heartbroken and mostly very cheated, because I love you and you love me and somehow we're not together!"

It was quiet for a while, and just when Taylor thought silence was the only answer she was going to get, Karlie cleared her throat. "You're right," she mumbled. "It's not fair to you. I'm sorry."

"It's not really fair to you either, is it?" Taylor said bitterly. "It's not fair to deprive yourself of something so... good and right and real."

Karlie let out a small snort. "Did you just quote your own song?"

"It's a good song," Taylor shrugged.

Karlie chuckled, then sniffed, and Taylor realized she was crying.

"Hey, now, don't cry..."

"Listen, Taylor," Karlie started, ignoring Taylor's attempt at soothing her. "Of course I love you. You're my great love. I love you. I love you like I've never loved anyone before and I'll never love anyone again. But Josh makes me feel safe. I don't feel anxious about saying or doing the wrong thing all the time, I'm not worried about what will be the next disaster, the next thing to detour us. My years with you were amazing and unforgettable, and I've learned so much and loved so deeply, and I don't regret it one single bit. But I need something more stable now. I can't live my whole life in uncertainty. And... you deserve someone who has the same effect on you as Josh has on me."

"Don't you tell me what I deserve," Taylor said coldly, taken aback by Karlie's honesty.

"No, I am telling you that, because I don't think you understand what relationships are supposed to be like," Karlie continued. "They're not supposed to be full of uncertainty and anxiety, Taylor. I love you and you love me, but that's not enough."

"Are you even listening to yourself? You know what – I mean, okay." Taylor was fuming, because Karlie had no business being all rational when she was the one who caused this mess. And she had also no business explaining relationships to Taylor as if Taylor's entire livelihood didn't depend on describing what relationships are like. And Taylor was a hopeless romantic, and she didn't want to believe that loving Karlie so deeply and epically wasn't enough. But she knew that she probably couldn't change Karlie's mind, and that she had no right to try so, and that she had to end this phone call before she would say things she would regret. So that was what she did. "I'm going to hang up now, but I'm gonna leave you with one thought: maybe you shouldn't be with someone solely because it feels safe. Maybe the occasional anxieties just mean you have something worth fighting for." When Karlie didn't respond within two seconds, Taylor quickly added: "Bye Karlie."