Pitch Perfect Harmony

Surprise Presents

"Why didn't I stay one more night again? I want to celebrate with you tomorrow", Taylor texted Travis when she arrived in LA. 1989 TV would be released this midnight. "You said you got work stuff to do and let me all alone", he answered jokingly. "I still wish you a great little party tonight. And I'll be listening to the album! Excited for the Vault Tracks you didn't want to show me", he added. Taylor smiled to herself. He would hear the new album earlier but the re-recordings should be a surprise for him too. "I'm excited for your opinion!", she quickly texted. "Can I call you or was there a reason that you didn't already?", he then asked. She just called him instantly. "I didn't know what you were doing", she continued the conversation. "Just came back from practice, so nothing", he answered.

"Have you had lunch yet?", he carefully wanted to know. They both knew that he was asking because of her fallback to the eating disorder. "On the plane, yes. I think I'm okay again. Or at least I will be very soon", she honestly told him. "I'm proud of you, Tay", he said making her smile because she could hear him smile. "I love you", she answered. "I miss you already", Travis sighed. "I'm not going to sleep well", he added. Taylor felt her cheeks heat up. She loved how open and honest he always was. There weren't many people who would just tell her how they felt at all times without her even asking. "I miss you too", she said. "Please never stop saying these things", Taylor convinced herself that it was okay to ask for that. Travis chuckled a little. "I'll never stop missing you when you're not by my side, soo... chances are, you'll hear that more often", he said with a soft tone because he recognized her hesitation. "I don't know why I'm so... melancholic right now", she admitted not sure if melancholic was the right word but he would understand her anyway.

They talked for another while before Taylor really had to do some work. She was so excited for the release tonight though that concentrating wasn't that easy. Tree came around for some important things to take care of and that helped to stay on topic more. "Who's coming around later?", Tree wanted to know when they finished work for now. "Selena, Blake, and Jack had time. So not too many people. I thought we could do a dinner party kinda thing", Taylor explained. Thinking of eating in front of people still felt a bit strange after what had happened at Travis' place but she felt like she could do it and work through it. She also decided to not tell Tree. Taylor knew that she always wanted her best but Tree could get pretty intense if something was important to her. And from her last ED episode, she knew that having Tree's pressure on her back didn't exactly help.

"Did you show Travis the album already?", Tree then asked. "1989 or TTPD? I told him about tortured poets a few weeks ago and we agreed on him hearing it early. But I wanted the re-records to stay a surprise", Taylor explained. "Sounds good. Did he say something about TTPD? About Joe? Or Matty?", her friend continued to ask. She was obviously making sure that he wouldn't be offended by the new album. "He's okay. I think he kinda expected it", Taylor said. Tree smiled at her. She didn't really expect anything else but she was still glad to hear that. "Did he like... make you place any surprises anywhere or something?", Taylor carefully asked. Tree looked at her confused knowing that Taylor normally didn't necessarily expect presents from anyone.

"He did that for the movie premiere and I... I found a present on my bed and it was cute and I loved it but... I just got a bit scared when I found something on my bed I wasn't expecting to be there", Taylor explained. Tree knew what she meant. There had been things like that from stalkers before. On her bed only happened twice but at the door was almost common a while ago. "You should probably tell him that", Tree just said letting Taylor know that Travis planned this exact thing again. She sighed. "I hate going into this security thing again but I think it's necessary anyway. He should know what's going on", Taylor said. "From what you told me and the few times I met him, he'll understand", Tree tried to reassure her.

"Let's just start preparing", Taylor decided to end this conversation. So they began to set the table, arrange some decor, and cook dinner. "You've got a message", Tree smiled when she heard Taylor's phone and saw Travis' name light up. Taylor quickly read it: "Have fun tonight! I'm proud of you." Taylor didn't even notice her own big grin. "He's honestly the most supportive dude I've ever seen you with", Tree said after looking over her shoulder. Taylor jumped not noticing her before. She didn't know what to say to that tough. "And you still have him in your phone as Travis?", Tree asked looking at the name at the top. Before Taylor could say anything, Tree took the phone out of her hands and ran off with it. "Tree! Stop it! What are you doing?", Taylor laughed running after her. When she caught up, Tree was already done and just gave her the phone back. "My MVP? Really?", Taylor laughed at the name Tree had chosen for Travis. "Most valuable player", Tree shrugged. "I know what MVP means", Taylor continued to laugh. It was quite unusual for Tree to be that "unprofessional" but in the end they were friends and Taylor just found it funny.

She left the name at what Tree had chosen, just quickly replying to his text before her doorbell rang for the first time. Selena was there. Taylor hugged her friend and they instantly found something to talk about. It didn't take long for the others to arrive and the evening went on. They laughed a lot and when the clock struck midnight, they started to play 1989 Taylor's Version and made it a karaoke party. The end of the album was also time for Taylor's guests to leave because they all had to work the next day. Taylor would have a lot of promotion going on this week.

But now she went to bed. A little box was waiting for her there but this time she knew it was from Travis. She should tell him that this kind of surprise normally scared her. But the little letter he wrote was so sweet. She couldn't stop smiling. In the box were also matching earrings to the necklace he had given her last time. She decided to text him before going to bed and found another message from him. "The album is still so good! And the Vault Songs fit so well! I can't wait to blast them in the car tomorrow. I love you!" Taylor smiled happily. "Thank you! For the earrings and the letter too. You're the best! I love you too", she answered before finally going to bed.

The next day, they had little to no time to text. But Travis insisted on staying up until she would be home too so they could have a video call. "Do you like the earrings?", he wanted to know after a few minutes of conversation. "They're beautiful. They fit the necklace so well!", she said thankfully. "I wanted to talk about that though", she remembered. Travis looked at her confused. "Do you not like getting presents like that? Like accessories?", he asked. "No! No, absolutely not! I love them! It's just... I'd appreciate it if you could not make it a surprise to place things on my bed", she began to explain. "Okay", he mumbled still confused. "It's such a me problem and I know that but... you know, I found things like that before and they... they weren't from someone I knew", she said. "What do you mean?", he wanted to understand. Taylor sighed. "There've been stalkers putting things like that in front of the door or something. And... I did find something on my bed before", she told him.

„What?! How did they get in? That's insane!", Travis instantly freaked out. "We... we never really found out. It's... That's what it is... I... I just tend to get a bit scared when something is on my bed that I didn't put there. Especially in hotel rooms", she tried to get back to the topic. She didn't want to talk about security things now. Not over the phone. She heard Travis take a deep breath. "Can I... maybe like... if it is a blue package, it is from me or something? I don't want to not surprise you", he suggested. Taylor smiled at him. He was creative and this idea was kinda cute. "Maybe blue paper with a white bow?", she agreed. "Deal", he smiled softly. "Can we talk about this more when we meet next time? I... I decided where I want to move to soon and I actually wanted to ask you if I could talk to you or your security about some things", he explained. "What about?", Taylor asked.

"I mean... Your security. And mine. Just... have a rundown of everything that you know that I should know?", he tried to tell her his thought process. Taylor sighed. She knew he was right. "Okay. But I can't say it's not scary to know what could happen", she admitted embarrassed. "I'm not expecting this to be fun, Tay. It's... It's necessary. And I want both of us to be safe at my new place", he said. "Where do you move to?", she tried to change the topic. They talked about his new place for a while before he had to get some sleep. Taylor went to bed too. She was truly a little bit scared of the security conversation. He would have enough reasons to run for the hills afterward. She didn't doubt that he loved her and he really wanted all this but even Taylor got scared of it all sometimes and she was in it for years now.