Regina giggled along with Joe and brushed his arm with her hand as she was doing so. Taylor frowned momentarily but then quickly turned it into a smile in a split second. Was "Dibbles" not an inside joke between her and Joe? Why was Joe sharing everything with Regina?
After all the mingling in the living room, Taylor led all three of them to the dining room. She didn't even bother to remove all the candles and fancy shit, she just sat and tolerated it. She had originally only brought out two sets of cutlery and plates, so she went to the kitchen to take another set for Regina. When she returned, she was fuming when she saw Regina taking her seat and sitting adjacent to Joe. Joe looked at Taylor and flashed an apologetic smile, patting the seat next to him, signifying he wanted her to sit there. Taylor immediately turned around and placed her set of cutlery at the seat next to Regina, so now they were both sitting across him. Due to all their chatter, the time the food had been sitting out was prolonged and it was now slightly cold, but no one made any comments about it. Joe and Regina seemed to be talking about something that happened on set, laughing along at one of the stunt mishaps that happened that day. Taylor smiled along, but she couldn't believe Joe wasn't making any effort to include her into the conversation.
When their main meal was finished, Regina smirked at Taylor and spoke up. "Thanks for making this meal Tyler. It was delightful, although the chicken was a bit dry." Taylor could not believe what she had heard. Not only had Regina forgotten her name purposefully, but she had also complimented her in a backhanded way. Furthermore, Joe seemed to have no issue with her snobby behaviour. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying her company way too much.
Taylor sighed. This was supposed to be their night, where they could just hang out as a couple and relax with each other. She knew the movie had been stressing him out lately, so she had specially prepared this night with all his favourite things. She felt hot tears brimming in her eyes and her face was getting flushed. She knew she was on the verge of another panic attack but she managed to excuse herself to the bathroom. Walking into the bathroom, she sat down on the toilet seat cover and took deep breaths until her tears stopped falling. She then splashed her face with cold water and blew her nose. As she was reapplying her makeup, Joe realised she had been missing for a while and decided to check up on her. He knocked gently on the bathroom door, but since she had not forgiven him yet, she remained silent as she brushed the mascara wand upwards on her eyelashes.
"Taylor?" he called as he knocked on the door again. "Please come out, I want to talk to you," he said.
He was met with silence so he decided to try again. Just then, Taylor finished applying her blush and unlocked the door, waltzing past him without a glance back. He grabbed her hand just before she got out of reach but she shook it off, muttering a low 'fuck you' at him.
Joe followed behind her and they walked back to Regina pouring beer into red plastic cups.
"Hey guys," Regina said.
"I told her to do that, we're planning on going up to the roof." Joe whispered to Taylor.
Taylor wanted to just retire to her room, but she forced another smile and nodded her head. Now Regina was crashing their nightly ritual too. Maybe Joe should go to her, she seemed so desperate anyways. She actually thought maybe they could do this after Regina left, so it would just be the two of them. Clearly not.
They all walked up the stairwell and when they got up to the top, Taylor immediately grabbed the spot beside Joe. She was highly suspicious that everyone who saw him wanted him. Even though he was acting like a dick she still wanted to prove to Regina that he was hers and hers only.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, just sipping the beer out of the cups. A while later, Regina put down her empty cup and spoke up.
"It's so gorgeous out here, do you guys do this often?"
YOU ARE READING
backlogged dreams & day old teas
Fanfictiontaylor has been best friends with joe since they were school children, teasing each other on the playground. they reunite years later, each with their own hopes and ambitions. how will they navigate their life together as a couple? read to find out!
