Took quite a long time to write this, but hey, this is pretty long.
"Thank you, I'm shivering up here," Taylor sighed in relief as she grabbed the mug of hot chocolate that Selena had just made for them a few seconds ago. She took a small sip as Selena sat down next to her. Taylor immediately put the mug down on the tea table, letting the quick burn on her tongue ease.
Selena chuckled. "It's very hot,"
"You should've told me before I went to take a sip!"
"I just made it, what do you think it's going to be? Cold?" She rolled her eyes playfully, gazing down at her mug, playing with the rims of it with her perfectly manicured hands.
Taylor desperately tried to hold onto the last bits of warmth that had come with that one tiny sip, but it inevitably went away and she groaned. "Is the heater working?" Taylor looked over her shoulder to see that it was working perfectly fine.
"This winter has been the coldest out of all the recent ones," Selena noted, blowing on her hot chocolate, deciding it was at consumable temperature before taking a long sip.
"The cold hits the worst in New York," Taylor chimed in with a fake shiver. She was back in her Tribeca apartment, finding it her best chance as a getaway. After all, that was what New York was for. It was her secluded home, where she only existed amongst herself. You'd think it was a publicized life, it being New York and all, but it did magnificently in camouflaging herself with everyone else. She lived life as a normal person would here in New York City. And being here, post the disaster that had happened between her and Joe, was the most comfort she could get- alongside her favorite companion Selena.
The duo stayed silent as they finished up their hot chocolate, savoring up every ounce of warmth they received from each sip. Once Selena had swallowed down hers and finished putting it down, she took Taylor's hand and looked her in the eye with sincerity. "I've been patient bringing this topic up, but what's happened between you and Joe?"
Taylor's face immediately turned a shade of gloom, she dropped her gaze. "we're on a break," she said.
Selena persisted on, "that's not bad... but well, why?" Taylor tugged on the band on her finger, pulling on her middle finger until it snapped. "It's complicated," she delivered with a weary sigh. She couldn't believe that she wasn't telling Selena the full-on nightmare that went through that night. Selena, her best friend, her rock. Well, this was definitely a first, since Selena was always on her top contact list if she had crossed any heartbreak or any other disastrous situations.
"Oh?" Selena said in disappointment and concerned, noticing the bluntness in Taylor's answer. "You don't look so good, you need some cheering up," Selena noted, her voice pitching into a higher tone as she began to suggest something else.
"What are you implying?" Taylor snickered, knowing these tactics of Selena Gomez very well.
"Niall's throwing a party for his second album release, let's go!"
Taylor had put down her mug as she laid down on the soft cushions of the couch, holding her head up with one hand as she looked up across to see Selena. "How come I didn't get an invitation?" She scrunched her nose, hinting a playful expression of hurt.
Selena chewed her lips, "it's a very private party, he only invited his close ones, but you can be my plus one, Niall will be fine with it! No, he will be delighted, you know how much of a big fan he is of you,"
Taylor raised a brow. "A plus one," She echoed off, looking into the distance before meeting gaze with Selena again. "What's that you said about his selective invitations? Close ones only, huh? You and Niall are close now then? Or are you more?" And with that, she wiggled her eyebrows and they duo both burst into laughter.
"Oh stop that,"
"No, tell me. I sense the sparks between you too."
"You can't be serious right now, 'sparks', really? We're all reaching our 30's soon, and you're 30 on the dot girl!" She rolled her eyes.
"But are you? You guys keep coming back to each other, I've noticed," Taylor noted.
Selena's eyes widened as she sat up straight. "'Keep coming back to each other?' Oh come on, I'm not like you and Har- oh," She stopped her words but Taylor had already cut on, cheeks full on scarlet. Selena cleared her throat, "we were never an item, just casual short flings, and it was only like twice. You can't even use the term 'fling' to describe it,"
The mention of Taylor's old flame had suddenly changed the atmosphere around them. Taylor forced a smile, stubbornly determined to not let it get to her mood. "Well, what about now?"
Selena pursed her lips, "maybe it's a little more..." Her voice pitched down to an almost inaudible whisper. Taylor squealed like a teenage schoolgirl then, a bit too loudly. "I'm so happy for you!"
Selena narrowed her eyes at her. "You need to calm your horses, miss. I'm just saying that this is a bit more different than our occasional 'flings',"
"You mean it's more than a fling this time," Taylor led on.
The heat had spread across Selena's cheeks now, so very visible in the morning light. "so, are you coming?"
"Of course! I have to give Niall a word now,"
"No," Selena warned with a finger dabblingly pointed at her.
"Yes,"
"No," Selena repeated with more force.
"You can't stop me, I'm Taylor Swift; swift by nature,"
T H E A L B U M R E L E A S E P A R T Y
"This is very neat," Taylor whispered to Selena as they had droved to where the party was being held in Selena's jet-black Ford Escape. It was in front of a classic adequate sized bookshop in Brooklyn.
"Just wait till you get inside, you're going to be in love. It's literally your style,"
"Hmm, tempted," Taylor nodded as two entered through. As they entered, the immediate smell of paper worn books filled the air and Taylor felt the comfort hit her. "You're right," she gasped. She just dug for the homely warmth of comfort and this was it.
In the not so very distance, they could hear the soft background music playing and audible conversations playing out. They were both greeted by loud 'hellos' and hugs. Niall hugged the both of them and his face had immediately lightened up at the sight of Taylor. "Oh my gosh, you brought Taylor Swift with you!" He gasped to Selena, and Taylor and Selena both shared heartening smiles. Taylor and Niall, although she had invited him on her Reputation Tour and publicly shouted him out on Instagram for his sweet compliments several times, were still very formal with each other. But he was so nice and supporting, Taylor really wanted to be close friends with him, she hoped the feeling was mutual.
Niall led them to meet a few friends and soon showed Taylor the snacks and drinks table which sat up north. Selena excused herself to greet someone she knew at the party, leaving Taylor and Niall alone. "Okay, what's the deal between you and her?"
Niall gave a small chuckle. "I don't know,"
"I don't believe you," Taylor squinted playfully. "Treat my best friend well, I like you and trust you'll be good for her," She gave him a pat where his left shoulder and chest met in between.
Niall's cheeks had reddened then, "Oh, I hope so."
"Well, I know so," She smirked in return, pouring herself a cup of rum. She wasn't going to excessively drink today, just a glass would be fine since her throat felt sincerely dry. She gulped it down before grabbing for a glazed croissant, biting into it, immediately savoring the deliciousness of the filling. When she looked back, Niall was no longer by her side, so she turned to look for the roseate brunette, finding his back to her, deeply conversating with someone else. Someone taller, and someone who had a build she recognized. Instantly recognized. The angled jaw that peeked, and the tousled brown hair that stayed exposed even with Niall's cover, and she could see the big hand gripping Niall's biceps in a friendly manner. She saw the many rings and from the distance, she could also squint out the subtly showing cross tattoo.
Their eyes met, just like the night of the award show. But there was a different atmosphere this time. His gaze dropped, but the action was simply out of uninterest. There wasn't really any magnetic pull this time, there was no sneaky slowly tugging and forcing for attraction by the atmosphere itself. Taylor was stunned, but she wasn't feeling too mild about it, pretty neutral actually. This sent a thrill up her belly, her mind suggesting the upcoming and inevitable ending. She looked back at the cup she hadn't realized she had picked just seconds beforehand and smiled downwards.
"There you are," Selena announced, almost knocking Taylor down by the sudden confrontation.
Taylor gave her a look of bafflement, "I was here the whole time."
Selena gave a small shrug, "where's Niall?"
"Eager much?"
"No.' Selena responded in the span of a millisecond, with a deep high-pitched edge at the hints of her tone. "Where is he?" She repeated.
Selena followed Taylor's gaze and both pairs of eyes landed on the destination. An almost inaudible gasp escaped from Selena's lips as Taylor pursed her lips, flushing as she bit down on her lower lip. "Hold on, is that who I think it is?"
Taylor shot her a rather irritated look. "Yes, and so what?" There was slight sass hiding under her tone as she brought a hand up on her hip, a habit of hers whenever her sass was unmasked.
Taylor knew the long history of her gossiping about Harry and her constant feelings for him to Selena, it went a long, long way back. Heck, one time they had almost gotten caught when one of the stupid cameras had landed on them in the 2013 VMA's. Selena knew everything that had happened between her and Harry, even the stuff that went down in 2014.
"Why aren't you freaking out?" Selena asked calmly, an eyebrow raised in skepticism.
Taylor let out a deep breath. "Why would I freak out? It's been years since, Selena. We aren't young adults anymore,"
Selena hummed, still unconvinced. "I don't believe you, you've clearly forgotten all those things you've said to me whenever you and him were in the same room,"
"I'm not saying any of these things to you now, am I? I was 24 then, and I am 30 now. 6 years can change a lot," There was desperation attached to Taylor's tone, lathering the hope that this topic would be dropped.
Selena dropped the unconvinced look instantly. "Alright then," Taylor closed her eyes to enjoy the quick moment of victory. Then, she felt a grip on her wrist and soon Selena was tugging her over to where the two men stood. "Since you've moved on, a small greeting won't hurt," Selena said as she dragged Taylor through the small crowd before the blonde could even protest.
Soon, two pairs of eyes met the other two pairs of eyes.
"Selena, Taylor, hello... again!" Niall spoke, breaking the awkward silence.
Selena shared a friendly grin while Taylor could only give out a small and awkward wave.
"We were just talking about you Selena," Harry began with a small smile, completely ignorant of Taylor's presence. A wine glass was wrapped around his massive hands.
Warmth spread across Selena's cheekbones, "oh?" A nervous smile followed, and Selena stood there grinning awkwardly as she tried to not glance at Niall.
"Yes, Niall was talking about that wedding that you both attended,"
"But that was months ago!" Selena commented and Niall blushed in response.
It was a cycle of conversation only between the three of them and Taylor felt like she was an invader, like she was the one reading a book and watching everything unfold between the characters.
"'was just talking about how fun it was, it's quite memorable. I was just trying to catch Harry up, haven't talked to him in a long time," Niall reasoned as he wrapped an arm around Harry's broad shoulders.
Harry nodded, "Very long. Anyways, when's the next album coming? It's been several years, yeah?" Taylor opened her mouth to say something, wanting desperately to be included in the conversation but Selena answered first.
"I knowww, but soon! It's coming... in six months, don't tell anyone," She winked.
"My lips are locked," Selena gave an appreciative smile but the corners of her lips curved downwards at a sudden thought. "I totally forgot that I stained a patch of my dress earlier, I better hurry before it becomes permanent! Do any of you know where the bathroom is?" Niall was the first to answer.
"I'll lead you,"
Suddenly, everything felt like déjà vu again. The magnetic force was back and Taylor was being pulled back to Harry once again as the other two companions began to dismiss themselves. Harry sensed the same atmosphere and wasn't hesitant to turn his heels and follow Niall and Selena's trail. Niall turned over his shoulder and gave Harry a look, wanting to be the only one accompanying the brunette. Harry stood there dumfounded, watching the two's shadows fade into the visible distance. Harry turned back around but avoided locking gaze with a pair of blue eyes. This was definitely déjà vu, Taylor thought crossly. A copy paste reflection of the night of that award show.
Both stared at their drinks and tried to focus on the conversations and voices around them instead of between them. The silence was lethal, every second that passed by felt like an extended eternity. But neither had the guts to detach one of themselves away, stuck standing to the same spot like glue. The abominable hush was so much worse than talking, so much.
Taylor took the risk; the silence had begun to make goosebumps rise on the pales of her skin. "I didn't know you and Niall were still friendly," She had seen the many headlines revolving around Harry Styles. Especially the loads that went like, "Harry Styles, Rockstar on the Rise: Never Looking Back to the Cupcake Life" or "Rising Rockstar's Ego on the Rise: Won't pick up Former Bandmates' Calls." A hint of a small smile played at one of the corners of her lips,
"What does it matter to you?" Harry responded coldly.
Ouch. Well he was right. What would she know about it? They were barely in contact. Taylor kept a strong face, "I just assumed that you lost contact with all of the other boys after the split,"
"Hiatus," Harry corrected, facial expression as stone-cold as ever.
"Yes, that," Taylor agreed. She waited for him to say something back or change the topic, but all he ever gave in return was pure silence. "Aren't you going to talk?"
He termed to look at her. "There's nothing to talk about,"
Taylor gave him a look of dismay. "Fine, if that's what you want. I was just trying to make nice talk," Irritation was latched onto her tone as she crossed her arm, tilting her view away from him. She tried being nice but he was the one who wouldn't cooperate. She kept her ears concentrated, in case he said something back or even if it was an almost inaudible whisper, but to her disappointment, he said nothing. This time, the silence was worse. But, not too slow burned.
"My dress looks as new as ever!" Selena exclaimed, it was her friendly greeting to the interruption of the silence between Harry and Taylor. She had clutched onto Taylor's forearm out of the random, making Taylor almost jump.
"Have you guys talked yet?" She said with anticipation, exchanging glances between the both of them in a back to back manner, observing their facial expressions singularly. "I take that as no..." She sighed. "Taylor's a bit of a nuisance right now, Harry, she kind of went through a breakup. That's why she's so guarded today," At that, both of them immediately turned to Selena. Harry with bewilderment and Taylor with outrage.
"You can't go around telling everyone that Selena!" Taylor harshly whispered to Selena, but Harry heard well enough. "The media can find out and I will never get the end of it!"
Selena rolled her eyes, but the guilt was evident in her expression. "Relax, it's Harry. You can trust him," Taylor was still fuming red and giving Selena a lethal look. If looks could kill, Selena would have exploded into a gazillion sparks by now. Selena was now semi-terrified and took a few steps back. "Um, you're scaring me, I'll come back when you've calmed down."
"Selena, no-" But Selena had vanished from sight by then. Taylor wanted nothing more than to scream in agony right then and there. Everything internal of her was pounding rapidly. Her heart, her brain, if that was even possible- everything! She wasn't understanding this sudden reaction of hers.
But every ounce of the chaos that was internally getting her frustrated came to a seize when she heard him go, "you broke up with him?"
She turned to him, his eyes iridescent in the dampened evening, before letting out a sigh.