When Emma Falls in Love (Taylor Swift x OC)

Candy Poker

December 13, 2016.

Ten - Taylor

Taylor had woken up with the same bubble of excitement she had felt in her stomach since stepping off the plane. It was her birthday and she knew Emma was excited, which made her even more excited. She normally loved her birthday, hanging out with friends and having one day of the year that could be somewhat normal to her, even though it didn't make any sense when she had tried to explain it.

Taylor knew more than she was supposed to about what was happening today, so when she walked into the kitchen to find the entire room decorated it wasn't a surprise to her. When Emma walked towards the island and grabbed a handmade crown was a different story. The crown was cute, a golden color with bright craft jewels stuck to it. Emma had strapped it to her head and the only thing Taylor could do was smile. She wasn't sure when the last time she had smiled like that was, but somehow a cardstock birthday crown had done the trick.

"I think this might be the best birthday I've had in a long, long time." Taylor breathed out, not exaggerating in the slightest.

"It's only eight in the morning."

The look on Emma's face said she didn't believe Taylor, but the only response Taylor had was, "I know." She excused herself to wake her mom up and walked to her mom feeling like a child that was about to tell their parents that Santa came.

The rest of the morning was perfectly ordinary, for a birthday that is. They ate wonderful muffins and Taylor opened the happy birthday cards from everyone. Everyone put a party hat on, even Frederick. Taylor was surprised Emma had been able to get him to wear one but, to be fair, he wasn't given much of a choice.

Emma had grabbed her polaroid camera and insisted they take pictures in front of the birthday balloons. Taylor reached out her hand to ask for the camera and, after Emma had handed it to her, she pulled Emma in and kissed her on the cheek at the last second before snapping the photo.

Immediately Taylor started to worry. It was a pose she had done with countless friends before, but it felt different this time. It was different this time. This time Taylor was worried about Emma's reaction. She didn't want to somehow scare Emma off by making an advance that wasn't even meant to be romantic.

She liked Emma in a way that some might call a crush but, as far as she knew, the feelings weren't mutual. Emma had never talked about her dating life and Taylor never pushed her to. It was a touchy subject, that much Taylor knew, but she wasn't sure why. She had sometimes wondered if Emma was gay, if that might be why it was such a sensitive topic, but she didn't want to assume anything like that.

Taylor's fears vanished the instant she saw the photo. Emma didn't look upset or uncomfortable. She didn't look angry or confused. The happiness radiating off of her in the photo was so contagious that Taylor smiled until her cheeks started to hurt.

"Let's take one more." Taylor told Emma. She wanted Emma to have a picture of them as well, because she had no plans of giving her this one. Taylor's favorite thing about a polaroid is how they were so much more intimate than regular pictures. A polaroid couldn't be copied and passed around like a picture could. There was only one copy of each picture, a physical memory that she could hold in her hands and run her fingers along the edge of to bring her back to that moment in time.

Emma nodded and grabbed the camera, leaning in close to Taylor. "Say cheese." When Taylor started to say it, Emma turned to use her tactics against her. Emma got up on the tips of her toes and kissed Taylors cheek, snapping the picture the moment Taylor realized what was happening.

Taylor slipped her photo in her pocket and grabbed the new one to hand to Emma.

"What's your opinion on candy poker?" Emma asked Taylor after shaking the polaroid for a moment.