1. shimmer (a taylor swift au)

-chapter eleven-

The thought that Ellie was going to get to watch it all over again made her heart spin in high heels - the plastic, glittery kind that she'd never had until she'd met Taylor. She'd never get sick of watching her dance, sing and laugh up on the stage. It was a magical experience that Ellie couldn't bring herself to stop thinking about. She'd tried her best to not let it consume her, but it was all just so beyond imagination that she couldn't stop thinking about it.

The little girl was excited to be with Taylor again. The last few days she'd been with Andrea and Scott as Taylor was in London filming a secret project. She'd said it might be a little bit too big and scary for her, and Ellie chosen to stay with Taylor's parents. She really liked them, of course... they weren't Taylor... but still.
She'd had fun, it had only been for a night - but she'd had to sleep in bed all by herself. It was scary, and it was well past midnight when Andrea had heard her sniffles and joined her in the bed. It had been okay once Andrea was beside her, but she hadn't been ready to sleep alone yet. She'd missed Taylor a lot, but knew that her schedule had been so busy that Ellie never could have kept up with everything. Ellie never wanted to be any trouble, and she knew that a film set would have been really overwhelming.

Sure, this was their third week of the tour and Ellie knew exactly what to expect now, but it was just as exciting as the very first night. Taylor even let her know the surprise songs before she got up on stage, and she always liked knowing she was the only one in the audience that knew exactly what it was. She loved knowing a little secret, and sometimes Taylor would let her choose a song. When Taylor wasn't practicing, she was helping Ellie with her school work. Ellie loved learning and loved sitting at the end of the stage working through her worksheets or reading a book. She was so relieved to be doing home school, the idea of being at school with other kids and a teacher just took her back to her old life, and that made her panicked. She didn't want to face those monsters just yet. Besides, she knew she was clever, and she was coming along in leaps and bounds. She knew she'd have to go back to school eventually but for right now, she'd much rather be with Taylor. She'd much rather be sitting in the sun, lying across the stage at sound check, or sitting at the table, or getting lunch with Andrea. You didn't get to do those sorts of things at school.

Taylor was sitting on the couch beside her, Ellie was wearing her new jumper and light blue tights, her hair hanging loosely down her back. It was nearly Ellie's bedtime, and the two of them were having a final cuddle. The day had been spent baking cookies and eating cookie dough right off the wooden spoon. She'd been surprised at just now good cookie dough could be. She'd never had cookies before - she'd never gotten to giggle as she ate chocolate chips and Taylor pretended to be shocked. It surprised her that Taylor could have the energy after having performed seven shows of the tour so far. Taylor always had time for Ellie, which she was grateful for, and the shows were pretty much always on weekends, but Ellie was always amazed at just how much time Taylor put aside for her. She wasn't used to an adult caring for her all the time. Taylor always cared. Even on stage, even in the sound check, she'd wave at Ellie, she'd blow her a kiss or she'd come and sit beside her.

Taylor hadn't gotten mad at her once, not even when she'd answered a few questions wrong in her homework or when she'd slipped as she put away the flour today and ended up covered in the stuff. Not even when Ellie had gotten panicked about the white powder, when it had taken her back to the very life she was trying desperately to leave behind. Those little bags filled with the stuff at her old house, in her old life. It had made her panic, because it just took her back to everything she feared most.

Taylor's phone began making lots of noise, vibrating on the couch beside them, and Ellie watched as Taylor studied what was on the screen. Her face remained calm, and Ellie tried no to think of the fact that it might be someone telling her that her parents were all better now and that she had to go home. Ellie was scared of spiders, and snakes and scorpions and water and quick sand and skeletons and rats... but none of those fears compared to the anxiety about having to go home.