You Know How To Ball · Taylor Swift [EN]

I

Tori's phone buzzed with a notification from Instagram as she settled into her hotel room after a grueling training session. She picked it up curiously, expecting it to be another PR message or a friend reaching out, the usual. But her brows arched in surprise when she saw the notification—an Instagram DM from a handle she never, ever, in her wildest dreams, thought she'd see: @taylorswift.

A slow smile spread over her face as she opened the message app and clicked on the DM. Surely this was some kind of prank, right? The girls in the team usually played some pranks on each other, although it wasn't common at this point in the competition, or, honestly, with this level of complexity.

But no, the blue checkmark next to the name confirmed it was the real deal. The woman even opened the profile and reloaded it a few times, going as far as clicking on the small 'Message' button in it, just to make sure she wasn't actually being pranked. Or, who knows, going delirious all of a sudden. Tori's heart fluttered the more she read over the message. It was simple, to the point, but laced with a subtle hint of nervousness that she found simply endearing.

@taylorswift: Hey, this is Taylor. Hope you're doing ok! I know this is kinda out of the blue, but I really enjoyed what you said on your podcast. And I was thinking maybe we could chat sometime, if you're up for it. Hope Australia is alright! 😄

The athlete couldn't help but feel a little giddy reading the message over again. She had assumed her candid comments on the podcast were a one-way street, with no return, ever, that there wouldn't be any response. But here was Taylor Swift, reaching out to her.

She smiled as she read over the last line again—'Hope Australia is alright!'. God, she even knew where she was. Did she go through her posts? Did she like what she saw? Without wasting a single moment, Tori quickly tapped out a response.

@toriparrilla14: Hey! Omg, I did not expect to hear from you! But I'm doing really good, and Australia's been pretty cool so far. Can't complain much except weird temperatures and dryness. And the nerves with the World Cup starting soon. 😅 How about you? How's the tour going?

Tori sent the message, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness. Would Taylor respond? Would she even see the message? The wait felt like an eternity, her heart thudding against her chest as she watched the screen, waiting for the typing bubble to appear.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the bubble appeared. Then disappeared. Then appeared again, as if Taylor was having trouble finding the right words.

A few seconds later, a message popped up on the screen, and Tori's breath caught in her throat as she read it.

@taylorswift: The tour's been great, honestly. Sometimes it feels like it's never going to end, but I'm having a blast.

There was a pause, then another message appeared.

@taylorswift: What time is it there? Sorry if I'm bothering you! Thought I'd take a chance and see if you were awake.

Tori mentally did the math, converting the time zone difference in her head. It was about 17:00 for her, but late night for Taylor, and yet, she was messaging her.