The Story of Us - Taylor Swift

20

author's note: Quinn really can't seem to catch a break.

Also yes, these chapters are intentionally short.

*Flashback - 17 years ago*

Taylor groaned out in pain as her eyes fluttered open. She squinted in the darkness, her hand reaching around herself to hold the pain in her back.

She diagnosed the pain herself. She was sure that sleeping sat upright in a chair, at an awkward angle, would cause some form of discomfort in her back.

It was dark in the room.

Very dark.

The only light source was from the variety of machines surrounding the bed. All of them creating a musical medley of beeps and whirring fans.

Taylor watched a particular machine. A machine that showed a steady heartbeat. This machine was the only thing that could give Taylor any hope in the world.

Taylor then turned her focus to the bed before her. She couldn't see well in the darkness but could make out a small silhouette with long curls, brushed back from her face after hours of Taylor tending to them.

Taylor sighed. Another noise to add to the chorus of sounds.

She squinted down at her watch. It was the early hours of the morning. Taylor had school today. Quinn didn't.

Taylor had a lot of things that Quinn didn't have.

A fully functioning body being one of them.

4 days. 6 hours. 30 minutes. Since the incident.

That meant, 4 days, 6 hours and 30 minutes since Taylor nearly lost the one thing that kept her alive most days.

Taylor sighed.

*End of flashback - 17 years later*

"Shh I've got you", Taylor whispered again, letting her hands run up and down Quinn's forearm. Taylor's blouse was practically soaked through from Quinn's tears, but she didn't care. She was too preoccupied on making sure the love of her life was okay.

Andrea heard the commotion and had slowly made her way to the living room. She stood in the doorway; her eyes wide as she took in the sight of Taylor nursing a broken Quinn.

"Oh my gosh, is everything alright?!" She asked, holding a hand to her chest. She, along with Taylor, hated seeing Quinn so upset. Andrea always said there was no such thing as "in-laws", and always saw Quinn as her second daughter.

Taylor shook her head slightly. Clearly everything was not alright. "Quinn just received some bad news", Taylor half-whispered, as if saying it quieter would make it hurt less.

Quinn sniffed back another sob as Andrea sat by her side. "Aww honey, we're here for you".

"Thanks", Quinn replied, her voice not quite at its full potential. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and lifted her head from Taylor's shoulder.

"Come here", Taylor said quietly, using the end of her sleeve to tidy up the mascara that had smudged beneath Quinn's eyes.

"Oh, do I look bad?" Quinn asked with a glint of amusement behind her voice. Taylor gave her a soft smile.

"Never". She kissed Quinn's forehead, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Quinn sniffed again and rubbed the end of her nose with the back of her hand.

"I could do with one of your cookies Andrea", Quinn chuckled, picking at her nails on her left hand. Andrea was quick to stand up with a grin, "Right away!" she exclaimed before bustling out of the room to grab probably more than one cookie for her daughter-in-law. Sorry no. Second daughter.

There were a few moments of silence after Andrea left.

"How are you feeling?" Taylor piped up, breaking the hush.

Quinn knew there was no point in wasting her breath by saying the words "I'm fine", so she didn't. Instead, she just sighed and said, "Obviously this is fucking crap... but I'll just have to take it day by day and... we'll see".

Taylor gave her an encouraging smile. "You're so brave". She pulled Quinn into another much-needed embrace.

Taylor closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of Quinn's leave-in conditioner. Curly hair's a pain to take care of. Yet, Quinn managed it so effortlessly. Well, to the outside world that's what it seemed like.

Young girls across the world would look at paparazzi shots of Quinn wearing her curly hair so elegantly, and they would lie awake at night and think, "Why can't I look like that? How did she get so lucky?"

But none of them see the hours of preparation before going out to dinner with a few celebrities. None of them see the absolute monstrosity that is Quinn's hair after she wakes up. None of them see how frizzy her hair can get as soon as the temperature goes that one degree too high. They don't see the amount of money that is spent on product that is merely used to tame her frizz.

Taylor saw it all of course.

But she loved it when Quinn's hair was so big it looked like a giant cloud.

Taylor was just happy that her and Quinn were going strong again.

Both girls were over the moon to be in each other's arms again. Neither of them wanted another bump in the road like that. Ever again.

But I suppose none of us can tell the future. No one knows what will happen until it does. For now, we'll just have to sit back, and enjoy what we have.

While we still have it.

Just a few moments later, Andrea came hurrying back into the room again. She held a turquoise plate in one hand that was home to around six cookies, and in the other hand a box of tissues.

"Here you are lovely, I got you some tissues as well. Just to save the sleeves of Taylor's blouse", Andrea said with a motherly smile on her face. Both girls chuckled at her words, each grabbing a golden brown, not-so-warm cookie.

Quinn immediately bit into hers, feeling the gooiness of it stick to the roof of her mouth. "Wow", was all she could get out, with her teeth being glued together from the syrup.

Taylor grinned with childlike glee, patting her stomach to show that the cookie was very yummy.

"I'm glad you're still a fan of my cooking", Andrea said, ruffling Taylor's hair. Taylor's hand quickly shot up to repair her messed up fringe as she frowned at her mom.

Quinn laughed at the interaction, her mind forgetting for a split second, everything about her dad.

Taylor rolled her eyes jokingly, smiling as she saw Quinn smile.

That was all it took.

Quinn smiling equalled Taylor smiling.

That's just math.