heroine (taylor swift and travis kelce)

in the pouring rain

Taylor climbed into the passenger seat of his car, trying to convince herself that she was okay. That she was safe. The fact was, she hadn't felt safe anywhere since Matty had raped her.
There was still a part of her that didn't know if she was allowed to call it that, didn't know if she deserved to call it that. A tiny voice in her head that asked her if maybe it was her fault. These kinda of thoughts seemed to always follow her around, always threaten to drown her. No matter where she was, or who she was with.
"Taylor?"
"Oh, sorry. What?" She panicked, cursing herself for getting distracted.
He smiled over at her as he started the car.
"Do you like touring?"
Taylor felt relieved that he'd bought up something simple.
"Yes. It's one of my absolute favourite things. I know the last time we talked about it... I hadn't even started touring yet. But I can tell you that I love it still."

It was a good distraction, she thought. Tour forced her to be a functioning human. It forced her out of bed, forced her to keep fit and eat healthy. She didn't actually know what she would have done without it.
"I mean, tonight was epic." Travis exclaimed. "I was on the edge of my seat the whole time - when I wasn't standing and singing my heart out, that is." He chuckled, glancing over at her.
"Is that what that noise was?" She joked. "I thought you'd forgotten about coming to the tour," she admitted.
"I tried to make it to the opening night but unfortunately family stuff got in the way. I'm sorry." He apologised. "This was the earliest opportunity I've had - I tried so hard to get there sooner. I'm really sorry that I didn't make it before now."
"Oh my god, don't apologise! You must be busy, with all the sports stuff." She raised a brow.

Travis had suggested getting the milkshakes to take away and taking them back to his place.
Taylor agreed, not even hesitating for a moment, until she remembered why she was anxious. Until she remembered the secret she was concealing. She clenched her fists a little tighter, her breaths became a little more shallow.
"You don't hate dogs, do you?" Travis asked as they pulled into his driveway. "They're probably gonna be so excited to see you."
Taylor laughed. "What are their names?"
"There's Rambo - he's a golden doodle and then there's Chauncey. He's a pomsky. I promise they're not gonna attack you or anything but they're both very energetic. I haven't had many strangers over to the house in a long time," Travis admitted as he took the milkshakes from Taylor. "They did go to puppy school but that was a fucking waste of money because they're little shits most of the time. But I love them to pieces."
Taylor laughed as she climbed out of the car.
"My Mom sent her dog, Kitty, to puppy school and I'm pretty sure they did nothing but teach her how to be a cat." She beamed as they walked up the steps to his house.
"What? No way. That's wild, man. Dogs are weird, aren't they?"
"That's why I label myself as a cat person. They're a little less high-maintenance. I mean, there's not a school for cats, is there?"
"I can't say I've ever heard of one." Travis unlocked the door. "I apologise about any mess that might be lying around - I didn't expect to be bringing home such a beautiful girl tonight."
Taylor's stomach fluttered as she heard the words, even though she panicked afterwards.

He might have warned her about the mess, but the place was spotless. Not a single thing was out of place, and Taylor admired the shoes lined up by the front door. She never would have thought that he'd be the kind of guy to be a clean freak - similar to herself, because she couldn't think straight if her apartment was a mess - but there he was, with his keys hung up on hooks. His dogs came bounding down the hallway to see them. A grin broke out on Taylor's face as she saw how happy Travis was to see them.
"Are you gonna let Taylor leave the hallway?" He asked as he cuddled them. "She's been performing all night and I'm sure she'd love a rest."
Travis led both the dogs and Taylor through his house, and she tentatively walked through the hallway.

Even though it was nearly two in the morning, his place was warm and bright.
"Feel free to sit wherever," he gestured to the sofa in the lounge.
Taylor's heart skipped a beat as she lay eyes on the sofa. Dread filled the depths of her stomach as she tried to decipher the best way to get out of having to sit on the thing.
Travis was already walking to the kitchen and wasn't paying attention. She didn't want to sit on the sofa. But there wasn't really another seat for her to choose.
Her eyes pricked with tears, her hands trembling around the milkshake.
Why had she come here? Had this all been a huge mistake? She wasn't ready for this. She couldn't sit on the sofa. She hadn't sat on a sofa since Matty had... she couldn't bring herself to say the word.