Neverending Peace

The bucketlist

Tehe this one's soo happy😁

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Joe decided to talk to Taylor the next day. It was Saturday. Due to her illness Taylor took weekends off. So Joe headed to the Taylor's house (a place he was becoming increasingly familiar with) after noon. He let himself in, khaving already talked to security.

When he entered the house, Joe heard a small voice.

"Mom?"

Joe stopped in the doorway. That was Taylor. He had never heard her sound so quiet and hopeless before. Instead of entering the living room he stood in the hallway and peeked in between the crack.

Taylor was standing near the doorway, her back turned to her door. Her mother, Andrea Swizzle, who was sitting on the couch, set her knitting down and looked up at her daughter.

Taylor took a deep, hiccup-y breath.

"Why me?" She asked.

Andrea's face fell. She looked at her daughter with pitying eyes. "Oh, Taylor. Come here."

Her mother embraced her in the next second as Taylor broke down. Joe could see her frail fingers clinging desperately to her mom's shirt, shaking with fear and exertion. The two of them kneeled on the floor. Taylor sobbed as she spoke.

"I-I'm not go-going to tour-r ,my favorite a-album. I w-won't get married-d...or, or even ask som-m-meone out. I won't have my f-first real love or my first kiss i-in the rain. I'll never g-go to my fr-friends' weddings, or have kids, or try all of d-dad'sh-horrible pasta , or cook, or anything! I'm just gonna d-die without doing anything!"

She wailed. The sound wasn't even human anymore. It was something guttural and primitive and raw.

It was the most broken sound Joe had ever heard in his life.

"I don't wanna die, Mom! I don't wanna die! Why does it have to be me?"

And all Andrea could do was shush her and rub her back soothingly as Taylor let it all out while she did her best to compose herself.

Joe blindly took steps away from the door. He almost tripped on the rising from the frame, but managed to catch himself without making any noise. He didn't even bother to put his shoes on all the way. Joe got them on enough to walk away, closing the door as quietly as he could.

He ended up leaning against that same door crying as well.

"Have I told you about my bucket list?" Taylor asked.

It was three days after Joe had seen his friend's breakdown. The two were at Joe's house doing their usual weekly media planning. They were in their usual positions: Taylor lying on Joe's floor while Joe sat at his desk.

He turned around. "A bucket list?"

"I made it right when I started touring after my first album. I honestly completely forgot about it, but I was going through some things in my room and I found it. I think it still applies."

"Can I see it?" asked Joe.

Taylor rolled over to her bag and pulled out a slightly wrinkled slip of paper. She got up and set it on the desk. Joe picked it up and read it over.

•Go to every continent.
•Get a boyfriend.
•Have sex.
•See a shooting star.
•Win album of the year 3 times
•Confess my love to the person I love.

Joe stared down at the list. "Is this it?"

"That's all I really wanted to do," said Taylor. "I'm sure the first one is obvious."