When Emma Falls in Love (Taylor Swift x OC)

New Year's

December 31, 2016.

Thirteen - Emma

New Year's Eve in New York City is always a disaster. It was never controlled, it was always unbridled chaos. Tourists flood Times Square, there is never enough room on the sidewalks to fit everyone. The subways were overwhelmed, you couldn't go anywhere without feeling suffocated. This year was no exception.

Emma decided this year may actually be worse as she was looking out her window at the streets below. Car horns were coming from every direction. She needed to start heading towards Taylor's, towards the party, but she wasn't sure how to maneuver the crowds. She could drive, but it would probably take hours. She could walk, which would also probably take hours given how many people were outside. She could try and squeeze onto a subway, which wasn't a long ride but would be extremely crowded.

She knew the subway route to Taylor's apartment like the back of her hand. At some point it had begun to become second nature. It was only a couple stops away, so standing in the large mob of people didn't sound that bad.

It didn't sound that bad until she got on, when she started to think about calling Taylor and saying she couldn't make it to the party. She was crammed in between an elderly lady and a man that had to be almost seven feet tall. Emma assumed they were related. They had the same nose and the lady kept calling him 'little Johnny' even though he was twice her size.

It was hard to hear on the train, barely anything was audible over the noise from the train itself and its passengers. Emma swayed with the crowd every time the train stopped or moved in a slightly different way.

She was thankful when she finally got off. The subway station was relatively empty and the walk didn't take long once she made it out. It was only a couple of blocks. The streets were no busier than normal, likely because they were nowhere near Times Square.

The man in the elevator recognized her. There was a list for the night of who was allowed to be sent up, so she wasn't sure if it was her specifically or if there were photos attached to the names.

"Good afternoon Emma."

"Good afternoon Gregory."

They nodded goodbye to each other when Emma got off the elevator.

She walked down the short hall to the door at the end, the only door. The door was propped open with a wooden block so Emma knocked softly and walked in.

Taylor was setting out a stack of plates and silverware on a table. "Hey Em."

"Hey babe." Emma tried out the word, a weird feeling lingering on her tongue. "Anyone else here?"

"Just you and me." Taylor finished setting the dishes up and walked over to Emma. She hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. "And the cats are around here somewhere."

"What would Freddy think about you leaving the door open like that?" Emma asked her, looking back at the still open door. It hardly seemed safe. Even if there was a man in the elevator controlling who goes up, there were still plenty of people who would take the open door as an invitation inside, not all of whom have well wishes.

"Freddy's home with his family, what he doesn't know won't kill him. Besides, Dean's downstairs and everyone who is coming into the building tonight has had a background check."

"What's mine say?" Emma couldn't help but be curious.

"I don't know. I told them I didn't want to know unless it was something they deemed dangerous, which I knew wasn't going to happen. I want to get to know you from talking to you, not from a background check."