New Century (Adopted by Taylor Swift)

Chapter 3

Taylor can sense the panic radiating off of the two kids and she supposed years in the spotlight could do that. She certainly went through a phase of desperately trying to avoid the paparazzis before she gave in to the fact that it was just a part of her life. But they're only kids, it's not really fair.

She quickly shoos everyone away from them and walks over to them. Tess is standing half behind her older brother and it takes a second for it to sink in that this is truly a child standing in front of her. She's probably a little more than half her brother's size ( he's tall but still) and her blonde hair is bright blonde and curly in a way that reminds her of her younger self (although she used to straighten it at that age).

"Hey, I'm Taylor!" She greets brightly with a level of energy that she can tell frightens them (she does wonder why). Although she supposes that she reserves that level of energy for fans and performances and they could probably see right through it. She dials it down as she apologizes for the whole incident with the dancers and asks if they'd like a tour of the stadium.

Tessa nods slowly before she seems to catch herself and force a polite phrase out of her mouth. "Yeah, that'd be great!" she says brightly. And roles reversed, Taylor can tell that this is her media tone that she uses for business and press tours.

As she begins to show them around the stadium, everything remains relatively quiet and awkward with both Callahan (or Cal as he insisted) and Tess forcing a few stiff phrases like 'interesting' or 'that's cool' every once and a while.

"You don't have to talk," Taylor blurts out suddenly, surprising herself. She's currently leading them through the backstage passage that she dives through and isn't facing them. But the moment she does she quickly scrambles to explain herself. "I just mean that like, you know, I'm sure you're listening and everything and you don't have to say stuff to, I don't know, be polite or whatever."

"It was that bad, huh?" Cal jokes after a minute. Tess just offers her a small smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

Taylor laughs. "Oh no, it was fantastic," she adds on sarcastically and Cal chuckles, nodding his head slightly in a way that almost looks like approval. So they don't hate me. She glances back over at Tess who is wordlessly watching the interaction. At least he doesn't.

The next major stop they make is the folklore cabin which Cal climbs with relative ease, sitting at the top before climbing back down to the main part and looking at some of the equipment they have set up there. Tess, however, stands relatively uneasily at the bottom. Standing on a slanted roof without a harness, always a good idea.

Taylor pauses when she notices Tessa's unrest but she doesn't do anything. She doesn't know this girl. Is she supposed to know what to do? Isn't she supposed to have some sort of instinct or whatever. Should she tell her she doesn't have to actually climb it or does she offer help? What the actually fuck is she supposed to do? She has no instincts, she's hopeless and she's—

Spiraling. Jesus, she needs to get herself together. She might just actually be—

"Taylor?" A tentative little voice fills her ears as she feels a soft tap on her shoulder.

Taylor quickly turns her head, her gaze meeting that of a miniature little blonde whose eyes are shimmering slightly with either unshed tears or allergies. Who is more than likely completely oblivious to her inner turmoil and recently developed uneasiness with anything concerning children, aside from fans.

"Yeah?" she asks softly, voice breaking slightly at the end. She takes a deep breath afterward, telling herself to focus. She focuses on the little girl staring at her with curly blonde hair framing her face sweetly and blue green eyes that sparkle in the sun and the slight look of apprehension on her face. She focuses on how the little voice is significantly softer and more genuine than the one she'd heard earlier, more vulnerable, something you want to protect.

"Will you hold my hand?" The little voice asks, and Taylor will swear for the rest of her life that this is the exact moment she fell in love with the most important person in her life.

She doesn't say anything for a split second as her brain runs faster than one of those Eurostar trains. Here's a little girl who she barely knows, implicitly placing a level of trust in her. Why? Why would she trust her? Does she deserve this trust? She doesn't have kids, she doesn't— she's not a mom and that's fine but she—

"You don't have to but—" the little voice continues and she quickly snaps out of it.

"I would be honored to," Taylor interrupts in a slightly over dramatic tone as she takes Tess's hand in her own and swings it dramatically back and forth a couple times, earning a soft little laugh from Tess.

She carefully leads the girl up the steps and up to the roof of the cabin, hyper aware of the fact that neither of them are wearing harnesses, which she normally does during the show.

They both sit down and Taylor shuts her eyes for a moment, finally letting herself breathe. They sit in silence for a minute but it isn't like before. It's comfortable, neither of them have anything to say and that's okay. She hears Tess yawn and shift so that her top half is laying down flat against the slates roof, and Taylor does the same, leaving her eyes closed.

"I'm glad you're okay," Tess blurts out randomly, her voice still soft but slightly more confident than before.

Taylor's eyes shoot open but she doesn't sit up or even turn to face the girl. "What do you mean...?"

"You seemed...funny...earlier," the girl shrugs nonchalantly as she stares at the sky like it's not weird that they met an hour ago and she can already read Taylor like an open book. "Sad...or maybe you were thinking too much... I do that too. Sometimes thinking too much makes someone sad or being sad makes them think too much."

xxxxx

So I'm back! I just finished school and these last few months have been actual hell. But anyways it's summer so hopefully you'll get more updates??

Anyways, I love you all and feel free to leave any comments/suggestions! ♥️ ♥️ ♥️ (the superior heart emoji btw)

Also I'm going through a criminal minds phase and the jemily brain rot is real :/