Taylor x Travis: In Every Life

one way to make an entrance

Taylor's POV

The lights shining down on me darkened as the TTPD set ended, and I quickly handed off my microphone to one of my backup dancers so I could do the quick change into the acoustic set. But just as I tucked the surprise song dress over my shoulders, a shooting pain rushed through my stomach with no warning. I gasped in surprise, doubling over slightly as I clutched at my lower stomach, confused. Hands brushed my arms – my backup dancers alerted – and I sucked in a deep beath as the pain slowly faded away.

"I'm good." I breathed, knowing the lights would be back on in a few seconds. Straightening up, I tied the dress into place a second before a spotlight lit up and illuminated where I stood. The crowd roared and I smiled in response, walking down the stage towards where my guitar and piano waited for me.

I got through the first half of the acoustic set just fine, playing a longer mashup than usual to soak up the last night of the Eras Tour. I'd be so sad to see it go, since I'd spent years of my life working on it, but I was so excited to see what the future brought. As I moved towards the piano, another such of searing pain bloomed and my knees buckled in response. I grabbed onto the edge of the piano, holding myself up as best I could as the pain pounded through me. My vision blurred as I fought through the agony, bewildered at its cause. I had no idea where this was coming from.

"Taylor, you okay?" Someone asking from my in-ear monitor. "What's going on?"

"I'm fine." I breathed. "I don't know, cramps maybe." The pain finally passing, I fell onto the stool and smiled out at the crowd. "Sorry about that guys." I laughed it off. "Female problems, which I'm sure some of you understand."

I got a good laugh from the crowd in response, and quickly moved onto the piano section. It passed easily with another long mashup, and the crowd went wild as I got up and waved, walking to my mark for the transition to Midnights. Spreading my arms wide, I dove gracefully through the stage. My body hit the crash mat with a thump and I cried out as that same pain started again, hot an insistent in my lower stomach. Rolling off the mat, I collapsed onto the ground, bent over on my knees.

"Hey, you alright?" Katie – the girl who helped me with my quick changes – crouched down next to where I was crumpled.

"I don't know." I moaned, cradling my stomach. "I have no idea what's going on. It's like...every six or seven minutes."

"Really?" Katie asked, and I nodded. "Does it feel like there's pressure here?" She touched the inside of her hip to show me what she meant.

"Umm." I blinked at her, a little confused by the question. "Yeah, kind of." I blew out a breath, clambering to my feet as it faded away again. "It's okay, I need to get changed." Katie opened her mouth to say something else, but I quickly cut her off. "Whatever this is can wait until after the show. I'm not stopping it now."

Katie tried to protest, but I pushed on. I'd never skimped on any part of my performance before, and I wasn't about to start now, not on the final show. I very quickly got changed for the Midnights set, rushing to my mark with seconds to spare. The introduction to Lavender Haze boomed as I mounted the steps, the crowd cheering as I came into view. I launched myself into the song, soaking everything up for the last time.

As we transitioned into Anti-Hero, another pain hit me like a truck. This time, there was nothing for me to hold myself up with and I crumpled, clutching at my stomach. I couldn't recover like last time, and as I braced a hand on the stage, trying to breathe, the music cut off above me. Tears sprang to my eyes as I fought through each wave of pain, the crowd falling silent as they realized something was wrong. Then the lights turned on, blinding as two medics rushed onto the stage. They surrounded me as the pain slowly faded, and I shook my head when one asked if I knew what was wrong.