When Emma Falls in Love (Taylor Swift x OC)

A Swift Thanksgiving

November 24, 2016.

Six - Taylor

The past three weeks had been a blur of emotions, a mixture of pink, yellow, green, and black. So much black. Taylor had decided to go completely off the radar and had not been seen by the paparazzi, or almost anyone other than family and close friends, for weeks. It was never easy to make a decision like that but she knew it was for the best.

Every time she had gone out in public she had been bombarded with people's thoughts and opinions of her. How they thought she was manipulative. A liar. She had been feeling so much hate and darkness for everything and everyone around her that she couldn't take it anymore. She would look out her window and feel so jealous of the people that could walk on those sidewalks freely. So much jealousy.

It had been Emma's idea actually. "What if you took some time to be with your family? The holidays are right around the corner, it might be nice to try and get away from the public eye for a bit."

Taylor couldn't decide what she thought of the suggestion. On one hand it would be nice to have some time to take off the mask she had started to put on in public. On the other she thought it would be practically impossible. She mentioned it to Tree anyway, expecting her to reinforce her thoughts that it would be very hard to do, but Tree liked the idea. She had said it would be a good break mentally and that it would give everything some time to die down.

Taylor had been in hiding for nineteen days. Nineteen days of having her groceries delivered. Nineteen days of spending time with Emma in her New York penthouse. Nineteen days of wondering if things would ever be the same for her career. It amazed her how little your life could boil down to whenever the thing you love most feels as if it was ripped from your hands, leaving deep cuts along the way.

Today was Thanksgiving and the first day in the past couple weeks that Taylor and Emma had not spent together. They had gotten increasingly close while finding ways to accommodate Taylor's newfound recluse lifestyle. Emma would bring over scrabble and the two would play for hours. Taylor would usually win but every once in a while Emma would pull out her favorite scrabble word. Exorcize. The kind regarding spirits, not to be confused with working out as Emma always made abundantly clear.

They would play drinking games, have movie marathons, and do whatever else Emma could think of to get Taylors mind off what was really happening. Taylor knew Emma was worried. She was relentless in her efforts to reassure Emma that she was okay, that she would be okay, but if there was one thing Taylor had learned about Emma in their brief month of knowing each other it was that she could worry herself sick over the smallest insignificant things.

Both girls had gone their separate directions for the holidays, Nashville and London, to spend time with their families. Thanksgiving wasn't celebrated much in London but Emma had used it as an excuse to go home and see her mom and stay until Christmas.

Taylor was currently sitting on her mothers couch holding a glass of white wine. Her mother was in the kitchen banging around pots and pans trying to make thanksgiving dinner, something she always insisted on doing on her own. Her father and brother had gone somewhere... the store? She couldn't remember.

The front door opened and she turned around in time to see her brother walk in carrying a grocery bag in each hand. Her father followed him inside holding two other bags of groceries.

"Anymore in the car?" Taylor asked. Her brother shook his head but didn't say anything as he walked towards the kitchen to deposit the groceries on the kitchen table. On the kitchen table that had already been set with placemats and candles.