almost | taylor swift au

chapter 34

Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months as Taylor settles into the groove of a new life in New York City. She is so proud of herself and the life that she has built, spending her days working at a local coffee shop to pay the bills and spending her extra time writing songs and creating art in the studio. She's developed a wonderful relationship with a few producers, including Chris. She loves how the producers she's been working with bring out the best in her, both creatively and personally.

And on top of all of that, whenever she finds herself with free time, she's hanging out with Gracie and some other wonderful girls she's met during her time in the city the last few months. Armed with a new group of friends and a city with endless possibilities, Taylor is the happiest that she's ever been.

Getting the honor of watching Gracie for the past few months has been such a treat. Her EP, 'minor,' was released and she stated to grow. She hasn't gotten any radio airplay but she's developed a fiercely loyal fanbase. Anthony is really wanting to book her some shows, and really thinks that she's going to do well with shows in a few major cities.

Speaking of Anthony, he's going to call tonight with 'good news' for Taylor. She's absolutely giddy with anticipation, watching the clock and counting down the minutes. Her shift at the coffee shop feels like the longest one yet, but she makes it home with an hour and a half to shower and cook and eat dinner before it's time to meet with Anthony.

The two roommates have been cooking dinner together on a daily basis. It has been a really fun time for both of them, an hour of their lives where they can put everything aside and just have a bit of girl time. A lot of Fridays or Saturdays, they'll invite over their friends for dinner and cook for them as well. Tonight, they're making a simple meal- just cooking up some penne pasta and vodka sauce, paired with a cheap wine that Gracie picked up this afternoon. But it's a meal that pleases both of them, and by the time that they're done, it's almost time for Taylor's meeting with Anthony.

Gracie can tell that she's anxious, but knows that there's no reason for that. "He said good news, remember?" she tells her friend.

"I know, but I just... I hope he's telling the truth."

Gracie lets out a laugh. "He's not gonna lie to you Tay; he's not an awful person."

"True," she replies. "I'm just good at finding things to be anxious about."

"Oh, trust me, I know how that feels," Gracie winks. "Go ahead and get all set up, okay? Do you want to take the call in the living room or in your room?"

"I'll take it in my room."

"Okay. Can I come in at some point to say hi?"

"Sure," Taylor laughs. At that, she excuses herself to her room, where she sets up her laptop and waits for the video chat from her manager. It isn't long before he calls her and his face fills the screen.

"Taylor," Anthony says with a smile, "it's so good to see you. How has everything been?"

"It's been good," she tells him.

"I've gotten a few tracks that you've been working on lately, and I'm so proud of you, you know that?"

Taylor can't help but beam at his words. It means so much to her, to hear industry professionals be so kind about her work. Compliments from her mom can only get her so far- she has to impress lots of actually important people. People like Anthony.

"Thank you so much."

"So..." A smirk grows on his face. "I guess that brings me around to my good news."

"Oh?"

"If it's something you'd feel good about... I want to get a couple songs in the pipeline for you to release. I want you to start with 'State of Grace,' in three weeks, on June 2nd. That'll give you time to start promoting the song. This is all if it's okay with you. It's going to be a crazy few weeks. We are going to have to meet up a lot and do a lot of promotion on social media, but I think that we can get some hype around the song if we push it to the right algorithms. And then, after that, we'll immediately start promoting a song for a July release, then one for an August release. Three songs for the three months of summer. How does that sound to you?"