You drew stars around my scars

Phone

As Jessica sat reading her book she heard whispers coming from the kitchen, she stood up and walked over, attempting to hear what was being said. Taylor quickly noticed her "I have to go Tree, Jessica is here. 3pm? Yeah great!". Taylor put the phone down and smiled at the girl "You ok buddy?" Jessica nodded "yeah – what's going on?" Taylor frowned "what do you mean? Nothing?". Jessica rolled her eyes "I heard you whispering and then you stopped as soon as I came in. You're up to something". Taylor smiled again "well...I've organised a little something for you. Tree is going to drop it off this afternoon." Jessica frowned "what is it?" Taylor laughed slightly "it's a secret until it's here". Jessica tried to think about what it could be but gave up, she quickly distracted herself – reading her book again until she heard a knock at the door. She sat up quickly as Tree walked in, holding a small bag in her hand. The redhead and the blonde smiled widely at each other before Tree handed Taylor the bag. The blonde moved in front of Jessica "I know you've wanted this for a while and I have been so resistant...but I think you've earned this" Jessica peered into the bag "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Taylor giggled, nodding quickly "OH MY GOD TAYLOR, THANK YOU – THANK YOU – THANK YOU!" She squeezed Taylor in a tight hug before opening the box of her new iPhone. She held it up "I have missed having a phone so much!" Taylor nodded, "It was actually Tree's idea. The only reason I agreed is because you've been doing so well BUT there are a few conditions to you having this buddy. I will be monitoring it – I will check your photos, your messages, your browsing history. Giving you this is not giving you a tool to start to torture yourself with. You can use your Facebook, Instagram and TikTok again but between us we will be keeping an eye on it. If we find you're looking up anything to do with eating or weight – I will be taking it away again. That's the deal."

Jessica nodded along enthusiastically, Taylor then glanced at Tree and nodded. Tree sat forward "I need to talk to you too about your public persona now you're closely linked to Taylor. Interacting with fans is fine but do not confirm or deny any rumours – do not give out any information that either Taylor or I haven't agreed. Essentially, do not make my job any harder – Taylor creates enough problems for me" She laughed lightly as she spoke but Jessica was barely paying attention – trying to get it set up again "Thanks for convincing Taylor to get it for me!" Tree smiled and quickly left the house. For the rest of the afternoon Jessica got the phone set up and then lost herself scrolling aimlessly through all social media – trying to catch up on what she'd missed.

A few weeks later Taylor had a press day to promote the new album – she still wasn't comfortable leaving Jessica alone and since Andrea was out of town visiting friends Taylor had no choice but to bring Jessica along for the day – she knew she would be fine sitting with Tree off to the side of interviews. The teen was grumpy at having to get up so early just to sit around all day but she begrudgingly agreed – knowing there was no other choice.

As they climbed in the car Taylor checked with the young girl "got everything you need?" Jessica checked her bag "phone, airpods, books, snacks. Yep I'm good." Taylor nodded and informed the driver they were ready. The pair of them chatted for the whole drive to the studios and once they pulled up they were quickly greeted by Tree and security – ushering them upstairs into the building. Today Taylor was completing lots of radio and Tv interviews – she was set up in a room and the reporters were switching. It meant that Tree, Jessica and the rest of the team could set up to one side and not worry about moving around. Taylor ushered Jessica onto one of the sofas and chatted to the whole crew about the day ahead. Tree was finalising details of the questions – ensuring they knew that the topic of Jessica and Taylor's relationship was off limits.

Soon the interviews began and Taylor was chatting away about the album, around her life and her fans and how excited she was for the future. Tree saw Jessica beginning to get bored already and the teen pulled out her phone, putting her headphones in to drown out the activity in the room – she rolled her eyes and grinned internally at the typical teenager. She took a seat next to her, listening intently to the questions Taylor was being asked. The morning of interviews went by quickly and soon they were solidly into the afternoon and nearing the end of the long day. When she realised the interviews were going to plan she relaxed slightly and glanced over to the teen, seeing TikTok open on her phone screen. She quickly realised the teen had stumbled across pictures of this morning of the three of them walking into the studio, she glanced at the teen's face who was unaware that she was being watched. Jessica frowned slightly – a slightly look of panic evident. Tree tried to distract her "Hey Sweetheart, do you want to go and get a drink? Something to eat?" Jessica shook her head, her voice timid "no, I'm good." Tree nodded – watching out the corner of her eye as the teen screenshotted the photos and began to zoom into them – focusing on her stomach and legs. Quickly the redhead reached over – grabbing the teen's phone out of her hand "No we aren't going to do that". Jessica's face looked panicked as she realised she had been caught. She rolled her eyes slightly holding out her hand for her phone back but Tree quickly locked it and tucked it away into her handbag. Jessica slumped down in the chair, annoyed by having her only entertainment taken away but instead she began listening to Taylor talk about the music she'd made. Tree watched as the teen absentmindedly put her thumb and little finger around her wrist – checking they fitted. Jessica then moved down and pinched at her stomach, then thighs. Tree grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly and smiling at the young girl, trying to reassure her. Terror crossed Jessica's face "Don't tell Taylor.." Tree frowned "Tell Taylor what?" Jessica gestured to the phone "the photos – don't tell her I saw them..." Just as Tree was about to reply the interview concluded and she went over to thank the reporter and debrief with Taylor. The blonde smiled warmly "I think they went well?" Tree nodded eagerly "I think they went great – you sounded great Taylor." The blonde's eyes flicked to the teen "How was Jessica?" Tree hesitated, weighing up what to say "she's been fine. You need to be careful though. She was on TikTok and there was some photos on us walking in here today – she saw them. She screenshotted them and was really scrutinising them. I caught her body checking but she stopped. She doesn't want you to know. I think she's worried about you taking her phone away" She laughed lightly as she said the final sentence and Taylor rolled her eyes "Yeah she's addicted to it. Thanks Tree – I'll mention it." Tree shook her head "Don't mention it – just keep an eye on it" The blonde nodded and the pair of them walked back towards the teen "Hey Buddy – had fun today?" Jessica smiled politely and stretched out – uncomfortable after sitting for so long. They packed up their stuff and quickly made their way back home.

The two of them sat in an awkward silence round the table as Taylor handed them their plates of food – her famous spaghetti and meatballs. Jessica scrunched up her nose but quickly hid it, not wanting to upset the blonde after a long day.

As Taylor chatted animatedly about the interviews and their plans for the next few weeks Jessica sat quickly, pushing the food around. Taylor glanced between the food and the teen "Eat up buddy" Jessica nodded and glanced towards the blonde, hoping Tree hadn't said anything to her about today "sorry – I'm just tired." Taylor yawned "me too buddy – we'll eat this and then snuggle up for a film?" Jessica nodded and took a few more bites of food. She'd eaten about half when she dropped the fork down "I'm full". Taylor looked at the plate "no buddy – you need to finish that". Jessica glanced between the blonde and her plate weighing up if she was going to get away with it "I'm too tired, I just want to go to sleep". Taylor took a deep breath "you need to eat that if you want your phone back". Jessica threw her head back in frustration, groaning as she picked the fork up again – she should have known Tree would tell Taylor.

The blonde began to speak as the teen nibbled on her food "You have done so well with your recovery – but I know how hard it can be to see photos of yourself. Your body is changing – for the better – but I appreciate that can be difficult to see. I'm sorry those photos upset you buddy". Jessica shrugged "no big deal". Taylor reached out and squeezed her hand "it is a big deal if it's playing on your mind enough for you to not want dinner buddy. You know I'm not going to let you get away with not eating though right? We can talk about how they made you feel, or we can explore it in therapy a bit more to make you more comfortable with your new, beautiful body – but what we can't do is let your progress slip away. I'm going to keep pushing you because it's the right thing to do, even if you do hate me for it." Jessica nodded, blinking back the tears "it's just hard – I thought I'd got used to being bigger, but I saw the photos and it's so different to what I had in my head. I just miss my old body sometimes – it sounds stupid I know." Taylor shook her head "I get it, I really do – but those photos don't show who you really are. They don't show your funny, sarcastic personality. They don't show how loving or kind you are. They don't actually show you at all. I can't make the paparazzi go away – but I'm always going to be here to talk to. I don't want you looking at them, stressing about them alone. Talk to me ok?". Jessica nodded and finished the last bite of her dinner "ok, oh and by the way – I could never hate you. I love you Tay"