almost | taylor swift au

chapter 36

"I brought booze," Maisie announces as she bursts through the door of Taylor and Gracie's apartment, not even a trace of a knock first. She holds up a tote bag as the girls turn their heads.

"Great, I think the sooner we can get a shot into this one, the better," Gracie says, poking Taylor's arm playfully. "She's been a nervous wreck all day."

The day is finally here. In only a few short hours, Taylor's first single will be released for the world to hear. She really is so excited, but absolutely terrified as well.

Gracie has left no detail of the night to slip through the cracks. She's got a bottle of champagne for Taylor to spray when the clock strikes twelve. She has made a playlist of absolute pop perfection. There's snacks, drinks, and a guest list full of people who Taylor adores. It's going to be a fun night, there's no doubt about it.

Dressed in a little black cocktail dress and a pair of red heels, Taylor looks absolutely gorgeous. The sparkly highlighter that she dusted on her cheekbones has left her absolutely glowing, especially when the light hits her at the right angle. Gracie knows that her friend is feeling vulnerable tonight. She watched as Taylor agonized over an outfit, not finding anything that she felt was quite right. She wishes more than anything that Taylor would be able to see herself the way that she does. But she knows that that isn't an easy thing to achieve, so Gracie vows to just do whatever it takes to help Taylor loosen up tonight, have a bit of fun.

Maisie starts to lay out her bottles on the table beside the bottled beverages that Gracie and Taylor bought. They really don't quite know how many people are going to be coming tonight, so they went all out. As Taylor is watching Maisie pull out bottles of spirits, she hears the door open again.

"Okay, I'm here. The party can officially start now." Taylor knows that voice. She turns her head and sees Abi standing in the doorway.

"Oh my god!" she shrieks, running over to hug her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Gracie invited me," Abi says. "I couldn't turn down the opportunity to celebrate my best friend..." she pauses. "But I am sleeping on your couch tonight."

"Oh my god, of course," Taylor laughs. "Thank you so much for being here. Oh my god." She turns to her roommate. "Gracie. You pulled this off?"

"What's a party without a few surprises?" Gracie winks. "Come on, have a drink. You too, Abi. We've got so much, and Maisie's stocking us up even further."

Taylor grabs a can of Angry Orchard cider off of the table and pops it open. As she does so, Gracie puts her playlist on shuffle. Taylor smiles as 'Mr. Brightside' begins to flow through their speaker system.

"Grac, already?" Taylor winks. "Isn't it a little early in the night to get so hype?"

"Oh, don't you worry, this isn't the only time you'll be hearing this song tonight," Gracie says. "But the faster you get hyped up, the better."

Taylor has to admit that, as her friends start to show up, she starts to feel less anxious about everything. She can't believe that everyone really did show up, to celebrate her and her song. Something that she created, from the heart. That is so special to her, and has only been hers for so long, but is about to belong to so many more people than just her.

Alaina, one of her co-workers from the coffee shop, came. She isn't a musician but an actor, dreaming of someday leading a play on Broadway. Kaitlin and Jayne, two brilliant songwriters who Gracie introduced Taylor to when she first came to New York, came. She smiles as the two hold hands and snuggle up on the sofa as they drink beers and talk to Will, a poet who Gracie met at an open mic once, long before Taylor lived in the city, and clicked with so well that the two have been friends ever since.