Shadows Lurking | Taylor Swift Fanfic

55: p r e t t y i s n t p r e t t y

When pretty isn't pretty enough, what do you do?
And everybody's keeping it up, so you think it's you
I could change up my body and change up my face
I could try every lipstick in every shade
But I'd always feel the same
'Cause pretty isn't pretty enough anyway

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14 March 2021

The first time Amerie started to feel insecure about herself was when she was 12.

It was the day of the Grammys, her mom would be attending of course. Amerie had to go with her, having no one to look after her and with still some covid restrictions in place Amerie had to attend.

Taylor had picked out the most gorgeous dress for Amerie, it was a dress with flowers on, similar to her Mom's but more suitable for her age, it had puffed sleeves, a tutu like skirt bottom, the whole dress was decorated with floral patterns.

Taylor braided Amerie's hair into a gorgeous fishtail braid, she pinned flowers into the braid as well. Amerie's shoes were sparkly pink ballerina flats that matched her dress perfectly.

Amerie looked in the mirror, she hated how the dress looked on her, she hated everything about how she looked, but she could never tell her Mom that. She hated how her freckles started to show more, especially since warmer weather was starting to begin.

All the things her Mom loved about her daughter, Amerie hated. She hated her curly hair, but her Mom loved it and begged her not to straighten it, yet she still did occasionally. She hated wearing glasses, even if her frames were a cute pastel pink colour.

Amerie feared how she looked in the mirror, the mirror was like a demon screaming at Amerie. Amerie was an extremely beautiful twelve year old, she'd been asked to model for children's brands, but Taylor didn't want to expose Amerie to harsh conditions modelling companies put on children, plus with Amerie's anxiety and autism she feared what it would be like for her.

"You look absolutely gorgeous" Taylor said, but Amerie had enough, compliments made her feel awkward and she felt as if her mother was lying

"NO! I look like a puffed up whale!" Amerie yelled frustratedly.

"Amerie.. where is this coming from?? What happened to my confident little girl" Taylor asked

Amerie just shrugged she didn't know the answer to that.

"Amerie, you know what I see. I see a beautiful girl, a princess, come I'll show you" Taylor said leading Amerie to the mirror holding her shoulders protectively

"What I see is a princess, do you see that? I do, you Amerie are the most gorgeous little girl I have ever seen. I understand you will be a teenager soon, teenage years are hard, but enjoy your childhood, it's important. I promise you if anyone judges you, I'll have them, I will protect you with my whole life if anything happens to you" Taylor said kneeling to Amerie's height and hugging her tightly.

Amerie started to shed a tear, which caught her mom's attention.

"Hey don't cry princess, it's okay, it's okay to feel insecure sometimes, I sure feel insecure sometimes. You tell me when you get those feelings, bad feelings about yourself, mhm. I'll always be here to tell you a compliment when you need one. Beauty is a beast, that demands more, but you already have all the beauty you need inside and out" Taylor reassured