Rose is a runaway. She ran away when she was 13, joing a group home in hopes to be taken anywhere but her parents house. It hasn't happened yet. No one wishes to take care of a 16 year old. At least, that's what she thought, until she saw Taylor Swi...
The plane roared as we reached cruising altitude. Mister Kam and Jan were discussing what they would do for Style and Miss Nat was talking to Miss Taylor about something I didn't really understand. I was grateful for the wi-fi, so I logged in and played my videos at a low volume. After all, I didn't have a set of headphones. I scrolled aimlessly on TikTok next to Colin, who let me sit with him. He also had his headphones in. I scrolled aimlessly for about 30 minutes, then played some Roblox with the girls for an hour until I got a text from an unknown number.
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(ignore the pick me up, the app put that in there)
"What the hell?" I said quietly, and Mi- Colin lifted his headphones and looked at me. I shook my head and he tried peering over my phone, but I hid it.
"Kid, is it bad?" he asked, and I bit my tongue.
"No, it's just a creepy video. Sorry," I lied, and he put his headphone back in. The others were still talking. I decided to reply.
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Did the paparazzi leak the pictures of Miss Taylor and I at the Subway? Either way, how'd they get my number? I tried not dwelling on it for long. Another number texted me. I had a bad feeling about this. Why was I getting spammed? I went to go block them and nip the problem in the bud. But then something else happened. I gasped and threw my phone.
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I couldn't breathe again. I could feel everyone look at me now. Colin immediately took my hand. "Kid, hey. Are you okay?" Miss Taylor walked across the plane to us, and the dancers just looked at me. I felt so embarrassed. But the panic and not breathing was more important in my brain. I had panic attacks before. Just not like this.
"Rose, sweetie?" I managed to hear as the plane spun. "Rose, it's Taylor. I'm going to take your hand and take you to the couch." I couldn't even focus anymore. I couldn't open my eyes. I was gasping for air like I was drowning. I was led. Moved. I couldn't even hear anything anymore, all I did was breathe. Still gasping, but breathing. I tried signing what I wanted to say. Nobody understood me or maybe I didn't make sense. I felt a cold feeling on my head. I tried focusing on that.
"Tay, her phone's blowing up. Texts and socials," I heard someone muffle. The room stopped spinning. My breathing started to regulate.
"Oh no, did the paparazzi leak her information?" I heard Miss Taylor ask, worried. I mumbled something. "Rose, you're back."
"Back?" I asked, groaning as I sat up.
"You fainted. We put the cold compress to try and wake you up," Miss Taylor explained. Something told me she had gone through that.
"Oh," I said, and Miss Taylor got me some water. I took small sips and stared a hole into the couch. "I know you're worried, but I promise it's nothing."
"I'm going to be honest with you, I unlocked your phone. And I looked through everything on there," Miss Taylor said. I was about to argue but she stopped me. "Were you just going to hide this from me?" she asked, and I had to bite my lip to not cry.
"Taylor, we're about to hit that turbulence the pilot mentioned," Colin warned, and she sat next to me and buckled us in.
"Thanks," Miss Taylor told Colin, then turned back to me. "Who are they?" she asked, and I took a deep breath and a sip of my water.
"They're girls from my group home," I started. "After you came in, rumors spread pretty quickly about why. When word got out that I got to sing with you, people got jealous. Those girls hated me since I got there. I don't know why, they just did," I rambled. The plane shook and I yelped. Miss Taylor offered to hold my hand and I did. "Anyways, so they started saying that I was doing to much, and that I was just showing off. Then, when people found out you were fostering me... they got pissed. My roomies warned me but I didn't believe them until now, I guess," I finished, and the plane went down. We were arriving already? I didn't feel like a two hour trip yet. Maybe me fainting messed up my sense of time...
"Buckle your seatbelts, we're landing," the pilot said, and everyone echoed an "okay!" I just stared at the floor as Taylor took a deep breath. I could tell she was trying to find the words to talk to me.
"Next time this starts, you tell me. Understood?" Even though that was only two sentences, it was enough to make me understand the true severity of this situation. I nodded, and she hugged me. We landed, and the plane stopped shortly after.
Fast forward around 45 minutes later, we arrived at the hotel. Miss Taylor grabbed her bag from Colin, and I grabbed mine. We took the elevator all the way to the top. "Welcome to the penthouse, Taylor. And, Rose," and automated voice rang through the place, and I jumped and squeaked. It was like a living room. There was a massive piano in the middle of it. Miss Taylor giggled as she basically ran to go play it. I just sat down on the couch, listening to her play songs. My phone buzzed. I went to go check it. Instagram. Those girls. I just set the phone down for now. No need to deal with that.
