Coney Island

Chapter 1

Oh shit, Taylor, don't look,' I heard Selena say as she took hold of my wrist and spun me around so I was no longer facing the entrance to Cara's front door. 

It was the beginning of December. Cara was throwing an early holiday party, and she had invited us to what she promised would be a "small get-together." I should have known it was a lie; Cara wouldn't know small if it whacked her in the head. But I had already missed too many of her get-togethers in the past seven years, including multiple birthdays, and for this particular event, no hadn't been an option. She had even threatened to miss my birthday- which would be held in a few weeks- if I didn't turn up to hers. 

I could still hear the exact words she had used to guilt me into accepting her invitation. "I've never missed a birthday in our fourteen years of friendship, but you're always flaking on me, Swift, and I've had enough. You either come to my holiday party, or I'm opting out of all get-togethers for the foreseeable future" were her exact words, and it was apparent she was serious. Luckily for me, Selena agreed to come as my date, so I guess it wasn't all bad. 

Cara had been one of the very few people I kept in contact with after the shit show that was dubbed as my squad era. I still had no idea what the hell Tree was thinking when she thought it would be a good idea to basically force us to all be friends when most of us barely tolerated each other. It had been carnage, and the fallout was explosive but mainly kept out of the public eye for which I was grateful. I was glad I was out of it now and away from all the toxicity with the exception of Cara, Gigi, and Martha, all of whom I was still friends with. 

I looked around the open-planned lounge area and sighed. The house was overflowing with people, people that I hadn't spoken to in a very long time, and who I honestly could have gone my whole life without seeing or speaking to again. I didn't run in those circles anymore. I was over the partying phase of my life, nowadays I preferred to have Sunday brunch with Blake, Ryan, and their children. I enjoyed wine and movie nights with candles and popcorn as opposed to partying all hours and making a fool of myself, and when I did have parties, they were low-key and only attended by my close circle of friends. I only ever invited people who I knew wouldn't talk shit about me to the tabloids. I spent the rest of my time in the studio writing and recording new music with Jack. I was never seen by the paps unless I wanted to be seen and that was the way I liked things. 

I enjoyed living a quiet life. I now had a very close-knit circle of friends that I trusted with my life, it was cozy and chilled, and I preferred it that way. After the drama with Scooter and my masters, I cut everyone off, well almost everyone, there were still a few people that I hadn't been able to let go of until the damage was already done but I learned my lesson the hard way and it wouldn't be a mistake I would be making again. I had grown a lot in the past seven years, I was happy and stable and I wouldn't let anything ruin that. 

I took a look at Selena's face and frowned. She looked as if she had seen a ghost, it was quite concerning. 'Sel what's wrong?' I asked as I tried to look behind me. However, as soon as I turned, Selena's hand was on my face forcing me to look back at her. 

'I told you not to look,' she hissed as her fingers held my face in place. Why was she acting so odd? Had she seen someone she didn't want to speak to? 

'Is Justin here? Is that why you're acting psychotic?' I asked with a raised eyebrow. Her behavior would kind of make sense if that was the case. 

Six months after they had broken up after being on and off again for years- Justin married someone else, and they now had three children together. Selena hadn't spoken to or seen him since and she had always voiced how awkward it would be for her if they ever ran into each other and how she really hoped it never happened since she had been actively avoiding him for nearly a decade.