The Start Of An Age - Taylor Swift

chapter 3: words of reassurance

~Poets~

"What's up?" asked folklore quietly as she sat down by my suitcase on my bed. 

"Um.." I started, wondering if I should bring up what I'd said earlier. "I was just wondering when the party or whatever starts..." I started unpacking my clothes and sorting them into piles, giving me an excuse not to look up at the girl sat almost right in front of me.

"Oh..." replied folklore. She sounded almost disappointed, like she was hoping I'd bring up what happened earlier, or maybe she was relieved. "As soon as everyone's ready, I think." From the corner of my eye I could tell she was fidgeting with the edge of her polo, twisting it around her fingers and playing with it. I stopped unpacking my suitcase and looked at her hands.

"That shirt looks very nice on you," I said. Her hands stopped moving and I could feel her gaze on me. After a moment of silence she went back to fidgeting with her shirt. "Thanks.. that dress is very pretty on you too..." she said quietly. 

I sighed deeply. "Can we stop the awkwardness please?" I asked her, slowly looking up at her face. "Is it because I called you hot?" She froze for a second. I could tell she wasn't sure what to say, her mouth opening slightly on and off for what felt like a lifetime.

"No..?" she said in an unsure voice. "It's..." she begun slowly with a long sigh.

"Tell me what I did to make it so awkward between us 'cause I really don't like this."

"I don't know..." 

"Talk to me, Lorie," I said and watched as she quickly looked up at me at the mention of her nickname. 

"It's just..." she started, her stare wandering between my lips and nose. I gave her an encouraging look and with a deep breath she continued "Do you think I look bad in this?"

"What?"

"Do you think I look ugly?" 

"No!" I yelled, which made folklore jump in her seat. "You look so pretty, more beautiful than anyone I have ever seen!" Her cheeks turned a gorgeous shade of pink but her eyebrows were still pulled together and her lips turned down in a small frown. 

She let out a short "Hm..." before going silent.

"What did I do to make you believe I could ever think you look bad?" I asked, genuinely unsure of what I did wrong.

"Well, you said I look hot in skirts and, I don't know..."

"You do look hot in skirts though."

"But not in this?" she asked and looked down at the floor.

"Alright listen to me folklore." I started getting down on my knees in front of her so I could see her face. "You are beautiful no matter what you wear. You do look hot in skirts, that's true, but when you wear things like this you look so smart and smart is honestly so sexy," She giggled a little. "When you wear shorts you look so stylish and absolutely stunning, when you wear swimsuits.. just wow, makes me speechless, I cant lie," she was starting to tear up and she tried to turn away. "You are so beautiful, inside and out, skirt or no skirt. You couldn't make me think you're ugly even if you tried."

"Um..." she started, wiping away a small tear with her finger. "I don't know what I was expecting but that was not it..." she laughed.

"Why are you crying," I asked softly looking at her deep blue eyes.

"I'm sorry..."

"No, don't be sorry, but are you okay?" I asked, concerned. 

"Yeah, more than okay actually, thank you, Poets."

"Always," I stated. "So, you in the mood for a party?"

"Of course." 

~Midnights~

"I'm not sure what I think about this new album. I guess we are pretty similar but she's weird and something about her just doesn't feel right, I mean she seems nice and everything but... I don't even know" I said loudly from the bathroom.

"I like her, she's kind," replied 1989 from the bed. "She seems very shy, but I mean weren't we all?"

"True," I answered as I put the mascara brush against my lashes. "Should I do my hair or just leave it like this?" 

"I can't see you, there are literally two doors in the way, Mids," laughed 1989. I groaned and walked out of the bathroom and into the room where 1989 was sitting on the big bed. "Hmm, I say leave it like that, your natural hair looks so good on you."

"Alright, thank you, baby," I said and blew her a quick kiss.

"No problem," she said under her breath. "Are you done soon, 'cause I'm getting really bored here and I wanna go downstairs"

"You can go, I'll be down in a second," I told her. 

"Alright."

As 1989 walked down the stairs I went back into the bathroom to finish up. I grabbed my makeup off the side of the sink and turned around to go back to my room when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. For a second I just stood there, completely still, before tilting my head to the side. I studied my stomach as I took a few deep breaths, pulling in my stomach and then relaxing. I put my powder and mascara down to get a free hand and swiftly pulled the scale out from under the shelf next to me. 

"Hey Mids, you coming?" yelled 1989 from the bottom of the stairs. 

I looked down at the scale by my feet. "Do I even want to know?" I whispered to myself. I really didn't. I sighed deeply and pushed the scale back under the shelf I took it from. "I'll be right down!" I yelled out the door. I grabbed my makeup again and walked across the hall to my room. I quickly threw the makeup into its drawer and half ran down the stairs.

"Finally!" exclaimed 1989 when she saw me. "Are you okay, my love?" 

"Yeah," I said and smiled. She looked at me concerned. 

"You look perfect, you know that right?" she said slowly.

"How do you do that?" I asked and tilted my head while giving her a suspicious look. She answered with a low chuckle before giving me a big hug. 

"You look very sexy," she whispered in my ear while giving me a kiss on the neck. I kept my hands on her hips when she let go of me. I looked her up and down quickly and shook my head slowly. 

"How are you so beautiful, oh my..." I said with a sigh. She rolled her eyes and giggled softly before going onto her tiptoes and giving me a kiss on the nose. 

"Let's go have a great time."

A/N: My bsf wants to write my smut for me but um... I'm gonna try to have her taken to a mental hospital instead cause she told me I should make folklore and evermore fuck and have an inbred child and I am now traumatised 😭