SKYLAR
When we'd finished listening to the album, skipping the singles, we were all led back to the backyard again as Taylor was going to get ready for the meet and greets.
Soon enough, they started calling people in to meet Taylor, and I could tell my friends were getting pretty nervous.
"I promise y'all, she's super super super nice. She'll want to give you a hug as soon as you walk in, and you'll just talk. She has a way with people that instantly makes you feel like you've known her your entire life," I assured them, and Maeve looked at me worriedly.
"I'm just so afraid that I'll say something stupid, and she won't like me."
"I'm not saying you will, but if you do, she'll just laugh it off. And she already likes you and can't wait to meet you, she told me so herself."
"Really? Are you serious?" she asked and squealed when I nodded. "How? Why did she say that? Were you guys talking about me? Have you told her stuff about me? Oh no, does she know about the toilet thing at school?"
"What toilet thing?" Wyatt asked, and I rolled my eyes at him and smirked.
"Maeve, stop. You're working yourself up. I haven't told her anything bad about you. I just mentioned that you were excited to be here and to meet her, and she said she was excited to meet you too. That was it."
That seemed to calm her down a notch and she nodded. "Oh, okay."
"And besides, she's already seen and heard you before. First of all, she's obviously done some taylurking, and she also joined the Instagram live that you were in. You know, when I heard her come home and thought someone was breaking in?"
"She saw that?!" Maeve exclaimed, shocked.
"Uh-huh, so don't worry. She already knows the real you, and if you do something stupid now, then she'll know it's because you're nervous." I looked around to see if anyone was listening and lowered my voice. "Plus, you'll get to meet her loads of times when you come to visit."
She grinned at me, making her dimples even more evident. "I'll get to come visit?" she asked in disbelief.
"Of course! You're my bestie, I'll have to show you my cats and my room eventually."
She squealed and engulfed me in a tight hug that I returned.
***
A really, really long time passed before Meghan went to get Maeve for the meet and greet, and I gave her a tight, good luck hug and told her to get me before she left. By then, most of our friend group had already met Taylor, and it was just Wyatt and another girl left from our group. Wyatt had just turned eighteen and wouldn't get to meet her until later tonight, since they were going alphabetically and were starting from A again when all the minors were gone.
While they chatted with each other, I decided to go see if there was any pizza left as I was starting to get hungry again. There were only two slices left from a cheese pizza, and just as I reached over to grab one of them, another set of hands did the same. I looked up to see a guy standing right next to me, and we laughed a little since we'd both thought of taking the same slice, before I went to grab the other one instead.
"I'm Noah," he said and took a bite of his slice.
"Skye," I greeted back with pizza already in my mouth.
His face turned to look surprised. "Wait, you're the Skye, as in her daughter?"
I nodded and swallowed my bite. "Yup, that's me."
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but like, what's it really like to be living with her and are you still, like, a fan of hers?"
I nodded, taking another bite of the pizza, and motioned to two folding chairs that had just emptied. We walked over to sit down.
"Uhm, yeah, obviously I'm still a fan," I grinned, making him chuckle.
"Obviously," he nodded.
"So, like, ever since I met her, I've kind of thought of her as two separate people; Taylor Swift whom I've adored since I was seven, and Taylor, the nice woman who's helped me through a lot of stuff. And now, I guess I think of her the same way, only instead of the nice woman, she's my mom." I tapped my fingers repeatedly against my bare leg as I spoke. "As for that other question, I love living with her, and I get to hug her whenever I want to. She's the best."
Noah nodded and looked to be thinking about something. "Does she take offense that you hug her because she's your favorite artist and not because she's your mom?"
I shook my head. "No, and I do hug her because she's my mom too. She's honestly the sweetest person ever, and I'm not just saying that because she's my mom, but like, she'll take a hug any day no matter the reason."
He gave me a smile before we both looked out over the patio area at everyone. It was almost completely dark by then, and the only sources of light that we had were the windows, the lanterns, and the lamps around the pool and underneath the water.
"But sometimes I forget that she's actually my mom," I said quietly, without really registering who I was talking to and what I was saying.
"Really? Like how?"
I looked over at him and realized what I'd said. It was actually kind of embarrassing, and I hadn't told anyone about it, not even Maeve, but I figured I wouldn't see this guy again, so it didn't matter. I told him about the time I walked downstairs to hear Taylor play Death By A Thousand Cuts, and about the time when she was making us lunch and I started freaking out about Taylor Swift making me food. Noah didn't seem to find it strange, and we just laughed about it.
"Do you call her mom or Taylor?" Noah asked, and I had to think about it.
"Uhm, I think it depends. If I'm talking about her to one of our family members or close friends, I think I usually call her mom. Also when I'm addressing her most of the time. But if I'm, like, talking to other Swifties about her — as in, like, the singer — then I call her by her name. It honestly depends on which of the two versions I'm referring to, because sometimes even when I'm talking to other Swifties, I'm talking about my mom, and then I obviously call her that too."
He nodded in understanding, and we chatted some more until Peter came to see me.
"I was to tell you that Maeve and her mom are leaving now," he told me, and I immediately shot out of the chair.
"Okay, thank you so much, Peter. Noah, I gotta go, it was nice talking to you," I said before I rushed off to find Maeve and her mom. They were standing in the foyer waiting for me, and I went over to them. "Hey y'all, so actually I was thinking, and if it's okay with my mom, would you maybe like to go over and stay the night at my house?" I asked, looking between them hopefully.
"Oh my gosh! Mom, please! Can we? Please?" Maeve pleaded, turning to her mom who looked uncertain about it.
"Please, Mrs. Wright? We're leaving again tomorrow, and I don't know when Maeve and I will get to see each other again," I said, giving her my best attempt at puppy eyes and she sighed in defeat.
"Fine. But only if it's actually okay with your mom," she said.
Maeve and I both cheered, and I told them they could wait in the living room while I went to ask Taylor. There were a few people that I had to get through to get to the room that Taylor was in. The first two Taylor Nation workers weren't as bad as Meghan who was standing right by the door and waiting for the person already in there with Taylor.
"Please, I just need to ask her something really quickly," I pleaded but she crossed her arms.
"Skye, she's got so many more people to get through, she doesn't have time to answer questions," she replied, and I rolled my eyes at her.
"Well, she's my mom, and I say I need to ask her this right now, before they decide to leave."
"Before who decide to leave?" Meghan questioned, but I responded by slipping past her. I ran down the steps, took a left and ran straight into the room that they were in.
I was a little surprised to see other people in the room other than Taylor and the Swiftie, but then realized that they had to have a photographer and probably security in the room in case something happened.
"Mom!" I exclaimed, glancing back as I heard someone following me. Taylor and the girl looked up in surprise, and I hurried over to them and hid behind Taylor, grabbing her arm, as Meghan appeared in the doorway. Her eyes scanned the room and landed on me before they looked up at Taylor.
"I am so sorry. I told her you didn't have time, but she managed to get past me," Meghan explained to Taylor who just chuckled and shook her head.
"It's fine Meghan. Thank you," she said, and Meghan gave me a glare before she left. "Millie, this is my daughter Skye. And Skye this is Millie," Taylor introduced us, placing a hand on each of our shoulders.
"Hi," I greeted with a grin.
"Hey. I think we follow each other on Instagram," she said with a smile, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
"Really? Cool! Anyway, mom, I need to ask you something real quick."
"Mhm?" She was grinning and I was almost completely certain that it was because I'd called her mom twice without making it a big deal.
"Uhm, well, Maeve and her mom are still here. Would it be okay if we had a sleepover at our house tonight so that Maeve and I can spend more time together?" I avoided looking at her when I asked the question but then peeked up at her when I was done.
"Oh... I thought we were staying here for the night?" she said.
"Yeah, but we have to go and get Mer and Olivia and the other stuff tomorrow anyway, and I really wanna show Maeve the house. Please?"
She thought about it but then sighed. "How will you get there?" she asked, and I already had an answer planned.
"Louis can drive us. I already asked him."
"Sweetie, Louis is a bodyguard, not a driver. Are you sure it's alright with him?"
I nodded. "Yeah, he said it was fine. It's only a twenty-minute drive altogether."
She looked uncertain about it, but eventually glanced over at Millie who was watching us with a small smile and nodded. "Okay, it's fine. But only because we don't have time to discuss this any further, since I don't wanna take time away from Millie."
"Thanks mom, love you!" I exclaimed happily, wrapping her in a quick hug before I started toward the door.
"Make sure to really thank Louis! And if anyone wants to borrow some clothes from my closet, it's okay!" she called after me, but I just spun around, gave her a thumbs up, and then darted through the hallway to get to the living room.
When I got back, Maeve was looking through the pictures on the fireplace while talking to her mom who was sitting on the couch.
"She said yes!" I announced, making both of them look over at me.
"Really? Yes! Let's go!" Maeve said, hurrying over to her mom and pulling her up from the couch by the arm.
When we made it outside, I realized that I needed to get my duffel bag and look for Louis, so I hurried off again, first to my room and then in search of the bodyguard, finding him in the backyard.
"Are we ready to leave? The car is over there," Louis said with a smile as he pointed into the darkness.
"Actually, the bus is still here. I might go back to the hotel if it's alright with you girls?" Mrs. Wright said, but Maeve didn't seem to mind it in the slightest.
"That's okay!" she said quickly and grabbed my hand.
"Yeah, we're leaving for LA tomorrow, so I'm sure we can just drop Maeve off on our way," I explained, and felt my friend start to tug at my arm.
"Okay, that would be great. Have a fun night then you two, and I'll see you tomorrow, Maeve."
"Love you mom," Maeve said in a rushed voice but was already dragging me toward the car. I waved goodbye and smiled at her mom before I followed her and Louis to the car.
Maeve let out a small shriek when we passed the gates and drove down the hill. "I can't believe we're going to Taylor Swift's house!"
I laughed at her and rested my head against the window. "You know she won't be there though, right? I'm not sure if she's staying here and then coming to get us tomorrow, or if she's coming home after she's met with the last person. It will probably take her forever to get through them all, there were still so many people left."
"Whatever! I'm still going to Taylor Swift's house!" she exclaimed happily. "And I just met her! You were right, she was so nice! I can't believe she's real. She was so humble and cute, and I told her about how much she means to me, and thanked her for the birthday video, and-"
I could tell Maeve was going to start rambling for a long time, so I leaned forward in the car to see Louis's face a little better. Maeve stopped when she realized I wasn't listening anymore, but the dimpled smile on her face remained.
"Louis, thank you so much for driving us by the way," I said sincerely as I remembered Taylor's words, but I was actually really grateful.
"It's no problem. I'm happy to drive you. Just like your mom, you've always been really nice," he replied, glancing at me in the rear-view mirror.
"Aw! That is so nice of you!" Maeve said, overly hyped. "Don't you think, Skye?"
I nodded and grinned at him. "Yeah, thank you Louis. I can say the same thing about you."
"Hey, I'm just doing my job," he said.
"No, you don't have to drive us, that's not your job."
"No, that I know. But I wanted to, I don't mind."
Soon enough, we pulled up in the driveway to our house and Maeve was bouncing up and down in her seat. I got out of the car first and Maeve followed close behind me.
"Thank you so much again, Louis! See ya' tomorrow!" I said before shutting the door, and I waved as he drove away.
"Oh my god, Taylor's house!" Maeve exclaimed, looking up at the house in awe and then proceeded to jump up and down again.
"Mhm, let's go."
I led her up to the front door and fumbled for my keys somewhere inside the duffel bag. It was one of the first things I'd packed, but eventually found them and unlocked the door. Watching Maeve's excitement was really entertaining, and I gave her a tour of the house as we looked for the cats at the same time.
"O-liv-ee-ahh!" Maeve sang when she saw the white cat on one of the couches, and immediately went to pet her and pick her up. She continued to carry her as we walked through the house until she wanted down. We found Meredith in Taylor's room, but she didn't seem to be in the mood for cuddles, so we let her be.
"I love it so much! Everything is so perfect!" Maeve said when I'd showed her the last of the upstairs, and we walked down the stairs again. "I can't believe you live here with Taylor!"
"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Do you want to change into jammies?"
Her eyes widened as if she remembered something and she started instinctively patting her back, even though she was wearing a dress and didn't have any back pockets. "Oh shit. I forgot to bring my stuff that they took from us before we got on the bus. My clothes and everything are still in the hotel room, but they have my phone and my bag."
"It's probably fine. I'll just text mom to let her know. They probably gave them to her when you didn't show. Or maybe your mom has them."
She nodded and I typed a quick message to Taylor, also letting her know that Maeve's mom didn't end up coming with us after all.
"You can borrow some pajamas from me. Taylor's bought me so much stuff." We walked into my room and we both rummaged through my closet, trying to find something to sleep in.
"Ooh, can I wear this?" she asked excitedly, holding up a red Speak Now tour merch t-shirt.
"Sure. Here, these are super comfy," I said, tossing a pair of soft gray shorts at her.
We didn't bother walking away to change, so we just did it in the room at the same time. When we were done, we sat down in my bed and decided to sing as many of the Lover songs as we could remember. I definitely remembered more but she joined me whenever she knew the lyrics.
"This album is so freaking beautiful! I can't wait to listen to it on repeat," Maeve said, lying down on the bed with a content sigh. I smiled at her from where I was sitting at the end of the bed with my legs crossed.
"Yeah, I've decided that it's definitely my favorite album," I told her with a nod.
"Do you like it better than Red?" she wondered, and I pursed my lips together.
"Shared first place then," I decided with a shrug, and she nodded.
We spent the night talking about everything on our minds from Taylor to school to her new crush. I did however avoid telling her about Corinne because I wasn't ready for that conversation yet.
At around 5:30 AM, we heard the front door open and close, and Maeve's eyes widened. "Is that...?" she asked, even though she already knew who it was. I didn't say anything, and we sat next to each other in silence until my bedroom door creaked open and a blonde head poked inside.
"Oh, hey girls, what are you still doing up? You know it's five thirty in the morning, right?" she said with a smile and tossed the cat pillow at me. I caught the pillow with a laugh and felt Maeve freeze next to me. I looked over, seeing her staring at Taylor, and realized that she wasn't breathing.
"Maeve! Breathe!" I reminded her, making Taylor chuckle and she opened the door wider and went over to sit on the edge of the bed.
I grabbed Maeve's hand and she squeezed it as she took a few deep breaths, still staring at Taylor.
"It's alright. Just think of me as Skye's mom if that helps," Taylor smiled, lifting one leg and tucking it underneath her to be able to turn more on the bed.
Maeve shook her head slowly from side to side, still with her eyes wide open. "I will never get used to this," she whispered slowly in a dramatic way, making both Taylor and I laugh.
"Oh, Maeve before I forget, I got your stuff from Meghan. I put everything on the counter in the kitchen and your phone is charging, so you know."
Maeve nodded slowly. "Th-thanks."
"You're very welcome. You two better get some sleep now. It's really late, and we'll have to get up kind of early tomorrow if we're gonna have time to drop you off, Maeve." She turned her gaze on me. "You and I are meeting Austin tomorrow when we get to LA," she said, smiling.
"Wait, but I have to-" I stopped myself before I accidentally mentioned Corinne in front of Maeve. "Okay," I mumbled and nodded.
"Okay." Taylor smiled, stood up and walked around the bed to get closer to me and wrapped me in a hug. "Good night, baby." She kissed the top of my head before she walked around to the other side of the bed and hugged Maeve as well, who broke down crying. "Aw, sweetie. I just wanted to give you a good night hug."
Taylor stroked her hair soothingly until she'd almost stopped crying, and then went over to the door. "Good night, guys. See you tomorrow."
She closed the door behind her, and Maeve immediately pressed a pillow to her face and screamed into it.