A Place in This World - Taylor Swift x Fem OC

Chapter 1

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"Okay shhhhh..." Taylor giggles, unlocking her hotel room door and stumbling inside with her bandmates close behind her.

Tree and her mother are asleep two rooms over, and if they wake up and find out she came back six hours later than she was supposed to, it's very possible she won't be let out of their sight for months.

What started off as an innocent last minute studio session because she randomly realized the perfect bridge for the current song they were writing, and putting it in a voice memo or typing it in her notes wasn't enough, quickly turned into sneaking past the guard at the door of a club nearby and convincing the bartender they were 21 and not 19. Her bandmates and producer were more than happy to be there, and her publicist and mother told her it was fine as long as she was back at the current hotel they're at by 8pm.

Now, as they giggle and plop down on her bed at 2am, she finds herself on the edge of being drunk.

It's not the first time she's drunk alcohol. She has sometimes at parties or once with her dad when he let her have a beer the night before she left for New York, but this is the first time she's ever felt truly buzzed. Her mind is foggy and all she can do is laugh and make stupid jokes with her friends; ones she'll probably not even understand the meaning of tomorrow.

"It's ringing." The blonde says, forcing herself to calm down though she can't help but giggle when everyone else does.

It's 1am in Tennessee, but knowing the person she's calling, he's probably up playing video games or rushing to do his homework that's due the next day and he should've started a week ago.

"Teffy? Why the fuck are you up? I'm trying to do homework."

Bingo.

Austin sounds tired and just lonely, and for a second, Taylor is sober, wanting to be the older sister she hasn't been over the past year and tell him to get his ass to bed and wish him goodnight. She'll admit, she hasn't been the greatest sibling to the teenager, which has clearly left him lonelier than he's ever felt in his last year of highschool.

The heartbreak in his voice when she told him she wouldn't be able to come to his graduation is one she'll probably never forget.

"I'm calling about your car's extended warranty."

She giggles out, chewing on some dry apple slices as she puts it on speaker for every one to hear. And the protective older sister in her is once again gone.

He sighs, and she can practically see him rubbing his forehead in stress even if it's not facetime.

"I'm tired and busy, Taylor. And you sound drunk. Did you need something?" He asks with a groan, and she can hear his old bed frame squeak as he lays down on his bed.

Taylor frowns, no longer happy and excited. Is he annoyed? She wouldn't exactly blame him.

"Tell me about your day. How's life bud?" She swats away her drummer's hand, staring at the ceiling as she waits for her brother to speak.

Austin seems to hesitate, as if figuring out if she really wants to know.

She does, but she also finds herself slowly zoning out as he speaks.

"-and then Arina..." The words die down in his throat, as if he thinks his sister is about to break down in tears at the mention of the girl.

He knows her too well.

It starts with a small sniffle. Her bandmates are silent, staring at her with confusion as she stares straight at the wall without saying anything. Then a tear slips down her face, salty as more and more join it.

And the words the break the dam holding back her sobs;

"I think she misses you."

Taylor begins to sob, hanging up on her brother as she rolls over and stuffs her face into a pillow, harshly crying as she thinks it over.

"I think she misses you."

"I think she misses you."

Her bandmates stare with confusion before they slowly get up, stumbling out of her hotel room and into the elevator to go to their own rooms as they leave her to drunkenly cry on her own. Her heart, recently beginning to heal with the meeting of fans and pursuing her dream, is suddenly ripped into shreds, though she imagines it could never compare to what she did to Arina.

So she cries, and cries, and cries.

If their story is over, why is she still writing pages?

In the heat of the moment, a drunk and emotion filled decision, she picks her phone back up, squinting her eyes and messily typing in the familiar number. The numbers are burned into her brain after days of staring at them working up the courage to call- not that she ever did though.

It rings for about six seconds before the sound ends, and she's wondering if the call didn't go through until she hears the sounds of giggles and shuffling from the other side of the line.

She hears a familiar voice in her drunken, broken state and her heartbeat increases tenfold. The voice of the one that unknowingly made her choose between her dream and the one she was dreaming of. Their love was like a song without lyrics that only their hearts know, yet they're not singing the same tune.

Arina.

The girl is quiet before she says, "Hello? Who's this?"

Taylors throat is dry. Anything she thought about saying is now out of her foggy brain, and despite being a lyrical genius, the blonde cannot form a sentence.

On Arinas side of the phone, a tired and quiet voice speaks, "Mi amor...I want cuddles. It's probably just a spam. Come back to bed." Arina sighs, shuffling around as she asks one final time, "Is anyone there?"

Taylor only wants one thing from this call yet she can't utter a single word. All that time spent with the girl, loving her the best she could, and yet all she has left is regret.

With that, the sound of the dial tone fills her ears, and Taylor is once again left alone to cry.

She loves her life, her fans, her music. It's what she's always dreamed of.

But is all of it worth it if she doesn't have her stargirl?

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a/n: I LOVE ANGST. SAY IT WITH ME NOW, "ANGST IS THE BEST THING EVER!!!" HELL YEAH. anyway, this is extremely short but I really enjoy writing the "the in between" chapters

              - CJ