this is me trying | taylor swift

ten

❝i think he did it but i just can't prove it❞

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

"So little bean, how's school going? How's dance? Tell me everything!" Taylor and Ella were lounged on the couches in one of the living rooms. Ella was lying on one that was perpendicular to the television screen, with one leg over the head of the couch and the other over the armrest. Benji was sleeping on the other armrest, near Ella's head. In her hand, she was holding an orange slice. On the other sofa, Taylor was sprawled out, lying on her stomach and looking at Ella while petting Olivia.

After Ella's arrival, Taylor helped her sister unpack in her designated room for the week. Since she had so many things at Taylor's house already, it didn't take long and Ella had decided to take a shower. After obsessing over the poster -- and posting it to her Instagram story, of course -- and cuddling the cats, she had finally settled down on the couch, and Taylor brought out a charcuterie board.

"School's just school, yanno? And dance is going really well, actually. I am performing the Esmerelda solo that I really wanted to do at our showcase, so practicing for that and getting to use a tambourine has been super fun," Ella responded, smiling. She was proud of herself for getting that solo. While there had been a few of her teammates who had also auditioned, Ella was the chosen soloist, which had made her just a tad more confident in her abilities.

"How about you? Any more fainting spells or um. . . anything else?" Taylor asked inquisitively, as she watched Ella. The older of the two picked at her nails, chipping the light blue nail polish carefully painted on each finger. So far, Ella had been fine. She was eating the fruit and the rest of the charcuterie board without any prompts and didn't seem disturbed or upset by it.

"No Tay, I'm fine. Really. It was just a one-time thing. And before you ask, no, I'm not having any more panic attacks either," Ella responded, to which Taylor sheepishly smiled. That was her follow-up question. Technically, it was a half-truth. Ella hadn't had any horrible panic attacks, but she had recently had one mild one -- about a week ago -- after the fitting for her solo. She hated the way her legs looked in the tutu. Her friends had told her she looked beautiful, but she kept criticizing herself and before she knew it, she was having trouble breathing. Luckily, Ella was able to get herself somewhere private and quiet while using the tools that Taylor had taught her and extinguished the attack before it got worse.

Ella wasn't stupid, though. She knew what Taylor was thinking -- she knew she looked different and had seen Taylor's face drop when she had first arrived, seconds before Taylor expertly covered it up with her award-winning smile. Because of this, she knew that she needed to nip any possible thoughts in the bud before her sister became even more suspicious. So, when the inevitable question arose a few hours later, as the two were in bed for a sleepover -- per Taylor's relentless begging to cuddle -- Ella was prepared.

"Hey bean. So, I had a question and I want you to be one-hundred percent honest, please. I won't get mad, I promise," Taylor timidly began, rolling over to face her little sister. She had watched Ella throughout the afternoon and evening and she seemed normal. She ate just as much food as she always did and in the same amount of time and hadn't made any excuses to avoid eating or leave after eating. The constant worry did not fade, though, and Taylor knew that she needed to talk to Ella. Naturally, the fear of Ella's anger had immensely worried the older sister, but she knew that she had to be the responsible individual in the situation, no matter the cost.

"Yes, Tay?" Ella asked while facing the opposite way on her phone, scrolling her Instagram feed and stopping mid-like on a post of her friend in her car that she had received for her birthday. She knew what was coming and took a silent inhale in.