Pitch Perfect Harmony

What Practice Looks Like

Travis had to go back to Kansas for a couple of days for work then but he came back to Taylor as soon as possible. The practice for the new set for her tour was going pretty well already. Her mood wasn't the best though when she came back home one day. She immediately cuddled into Travis' hug when he greeted her and didn't want to let go soon. "What's up, baby?", he asked not letting go either. "Apparently, it was bring-your-boyfriend-to-work day and noone told me", she mumbled. Literally, almost everyone had had their partner visit at practice that day. "Oh, and couples can be so annoying, hm?", he chuckled knowing full well that they had been the annoying couple a bunch of times over the past few months. Taylor nodded and he kissed her head. "I can come tomorrow. We just moved the video conference to Friday", he told her making her beam up at him immediately. "Really?", she asked. "Yeah. I'll distract the shit out of you and make everyone mad at us. How does that sound?", he joked. Taylor laughed and kissed him happily. "That sounds perfect", she smiled.

"No, but for real. If you come with me tomorrow, you gotta sit somewhere to the side and stay quiet or Tree will come for your neck", Taylor said later when they had sat down to eat dinner. "What does Tree have to do with your training?", he asked confused. "Not much but she gets to know everything in some way even if she's not there", she explained. "I'm scared of that woman", he told her half-serious. "Oh, me too. But she's the best! I don't know what I'd do without her", Taylor laughed. "But back to the topic: You gotta stay out of the way", she added more seriously. "Tay, I know what training looks like. I'm just gonna sit to the side and admire you. I can do that for hours anyway. And maybe, during breaks, I can come and bring water and snacks", he assured her. Taylor smiled at him. Of course, he knew what actual training was. Even if it was football for him and mostly dancing for her.

So they went to bed early and got up together the next morning. It felt good to not leave the apartment alone leaving him behind for hours. Instead, Travis insisted on carrying her bag for her, and their fingers were intertwined the whole way there. Her team welcomed him with open arms but he sat down quietly as he had been told as soon as the focus switched to practice mode. They practiced a couple of the eras individually and some of the transitions as well. Travis was excited about the new setlist and impatient to see the part for the new album. But first, they had a short break. "The shoes fit your outfit very well", Travis joked when she came to him and took the bottle of water he held out for her. Her outfit consisted of some sports shorts, a top, and shoes similar to the ones she'd wear on stage. "Very funny", she mumbled sitting down to give her feet some rest. "That bad?", he asked confused. The performances didn't look bad at all. "No! Sorry. I'm not good with jokes when I try to focus", she admitted. He just nodded knowing that to a degree from some of his teammates.

"Kiss me?", he asked making her chuckle now. "I'm sweaty", she noted but he didn't care and kissed her lips pulling her into his lap for a minute. Taylor giggled and looked around quickly. "Now we are the annoying couple again", he smiled and kissed her again. "When do you have a lunch break?", he asked. "Around one usually", she explained. "Taylor!", one of her dancers got her attention and then gestured for her to come back. The break was over already. "Gotta go", she mumbled and got up from Travis' lap. He still pulled her back for one kiss before letting her go and she blushed knowing that almost everyone was waiting for her and therefore looking at them.

The set for the new album sent Travis over the moon and back. She was so damm good at this. It was still a practice, so there were a few missteps but the vibe was clear to him for every song. He spotted the hints at him and his football world in "So High School" smiling widely about it. Their eyes met a couple of times and she almost ran into one of her dancers distracted by him. Laughing about that, he winked at her the next time she glanced over at him. She grinned too but focused back on singing and dancing quickly.

The vibe of the performance changed after that. Belting out "Who's afraid of little old me?" as if it wasn't straining at all, her practiced looks met him again. He was sure that if looks could kill, she would've accidentally murdered him. He got goosebumps and this was just the practice. The next two songs let him breathe for a minute even though their performances weren't less incredible at all. Then "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" made Travis want to punch a certain guy again but he concentrated on the performance and it was even more heart-wrenching. Travis watched Taylor getting "shot down" and how her dancers then carried her over to a small couch. He knew what this was a metaphor for and it still hurt to know how low she had been before they met.

A small confusion popped up when one of her dancers pretended to unzip a dress. They couldn't do a quick change like that on stage, could they? That thought was gone already when Taylor showed him just how good of an actress she was. Snapping back into performance mode and moving on with the show. He knew what song was about to start just by seeing that. And one more time, her performance stunned him. He couldn't wait to see it in costume, on an actual stage with a seemingly endless crowd of people screaming every word right back at her.

For the first time, the Midnights set went past Travis quickly. He was still in awe of the TTPD part before. When Karma played out, it was finally time for a lunch break. "Was it electric?", Taylor asked jokingly when she came over and noticed the look in his eyes. Travis chuckled. "It was", he sighed and gave her water and a kiss.