End Game - Taylor Swift

🤟🏼🔥

The driver closed the door behind me and started the car. The city lights flickered past as we drove, casting a soft glow inside the car. The silence between Riley and me was deafening.

Riley seemed completely nonchalant, casually scrolling on her phone like nothing was amiss. She didn't look at me, didn't speak to me, just kept her eyes glued to the screen.

The silence was starting to get uncomfortable. I fidgeted in my seat, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. I ached for her to say something, anything to break this strange tension between us.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her phone screen went black. She set it down, finally looking up to meet my gaze. Her eyes were unreadable, but she finally spoke. "You following me?"

Her words were casual, but I could detect a hint of something else beneath the casual tone. "I... I don't know," I admitted. I had no idea why I had followed her out of the party. It was impulsive, reckless, stupid.

"You don't know?" Riley repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You just randomly decided to follow me out to my car?"

"I guess so," I mumbled, looking down at my hands. I was embarrassed. I sounded pathetic.

"Care to explain why?" Riley pressed, her voice taking on a more authoritative tone.

I wracked my brains for a feasible excuse. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't tell her that a part of me was drawn to her, that I found myself wanting to be near her even after everything that had happened. It was a shameful secret I couldn't bring myself to share.

Riley seemed to sense that I wasn't going to answer her question, and her face remained expressionless. We sat in silence for a few more moments, the only sound in the car the hum of the tires against the road.

Something about Riley's demeanor was different. There was no hint of her usual mocking tone, no trace of her cocky smirk.

Her eyes flicked over me, studying me carefully like she was trying to discern something. I fidgeted uncomfortably under her scrutiny.

"You've been staring at me a lot tonight," she said, her voice quiet. "Is there a reason for that?"

I was caught off guard by her question. I hadn't realized she noticed me looking at her. "I... I don't know."

Riley picked up her phone again and resumed scrolling through it, seemingly disinterested in my answer. The silence returned, thicker and more deafening than before.

I fidgeted in my seat, feeling increasingly awkward and out of place. I didn't know what to do or say to fill the uncomfortable quiet.

The car continued driving, the city lights passing us by in a blur. I glanced out the window, trying to distract myself from the uncomfortable silence, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Riley.

Her presence beside me was like a magnet, drawing me in even though I knew I should resist.

I stole another glance at Riley, hoping to see something, anything in her expression. She sat with her back straight, her eyes fixated on her phone. To anyone watching, she would appear completely indifferent.

But I knew better. I could sense the tension in the air between us, the charged energy that was crackling like static.

As if sensing my gaze, she looked up, her eyes meeting mine. For a brief moment, I saw a flicker of something pass over her face, something I couldn't quite read. But then it was gone, and she went back to scrolling on her phone.

Her casual dismissal was infuriating. It was like a game she was playing, a game I couldn't seem to win.

I wanted her to acknowledge me, to show some kind of emotion, but she seemed intent on being cold and detached.