Bad Blood

Chapter One

I'm walking but I can't feel my legs/
I'm smiling but I can't imagine why/
Everything I say feels like a lie.

My mind is buzzing with four words. I can't escape them, no matter how much I wish I could.
"You're a robot, Taylor."

Just a few minutes ago, Austin had stormed into my house, full of rage. "It's all fake with you now. Nothing you do is real anymore." I had stood there, stunned, unable to respond, as my brother shook his head in disgust. "You never call me anymore. You can hardly be bothered to visit Mom or Dad. That song you wrote - Ronan - I thought it was real, because you actually wanted to help, but it was all for show - wasn't it? To protect your reputation?" He said it like the dirtiest word possible. "Well, I'm done with it. You always promised that fame wouldn't change you, but it's sucked the goodness out of you. You're a robot, Taylor." And, just like that, Austin marched right out again.

I was still frozen in shock. The tears wouldn't come, although I gladly invited them. I was just lost in a cloud of confusion and hurt. How could he say something like that to me? How? I thought he was supposed to be there for me, no matter what!

"You never call me anymore. You can hardly be bothered to visit Mom or Dad." That wasn't true - I had just gone to see them - hadn't I? Now that I thought about it, I couldn't think of the last time I had done either of those things. But...didn't they understand? I had songs to write, tracks to produce, and rehearsals for my upcoming tour!

A little thought wormed its way inside my head. What if Austin had been right? I tried to dismiss it, but it just wouldn't go away. I mean, I had only written and performed Ronan because my manager had suggested it - but it was still a good deed! Wasn't it?

Finding I could move, I collapsed onto a couch and pulled out my phone. I needed to talk to someone. My hands shaking, I dialed Karlie Kloss, my best friend and guaranteed ray of sunshine. "Hello?" She chirped almost immediately.
"Hi, Karlie," I said, mentally cringing at my voice. It sounded so...depressed.
Of course, Karlie picked up on that immediately. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Well...yeah." Everything came exploding out, like water from a dam. I longed for Karlie to tell me how wrong Austin was - but instead, she was silent for a few moments.
"Taylor," she said finally, "please don't take this the wrong way. You know I love you, and we've had some amazing times together."
"But?" I whispered, dreading her next words.
Karlie sighed. "But I think Austin might be right. Lately, you've...you've just seemed like a different person to me. You've changed."
I hung up and threw my phone across the room as hard as I could.

Author's Note: Remember, this is a story! To be clear, I don't actually believe that Taylor is a robot in real life, or that any of these things are true. She's honestly just such a kindhearted person.