Pitch Perfect Harmony

Heads-Up

The next Amsterdam show was Travis' last one before he had to leave again just to come back to Gelsenkirchen soon. Training camp was getting closer and closer and as much as he felt ready for the next season, he missed her already. There was anticipation for the big games, for being grilled in training just to fight even harder next time. But there was the knowledge about leaving Taylor for more than a month. It would be hard and he knew she was scared of it. Tavis just wasn't quite sure about what exactly scared her and how to make it better. She always said she wasn't good at missing someone and since her call about eating almost nothing else than pasta for multiple weeks, he had a slight idea of what she meant. Taylor wasn't good at coping with missing someone. So maybe they had to find a way to make it easier for her. Travis thought about it every now and then but it was hard to come up with something.

He'd definitely make her take the weighted blanket to every city. Because she had already said that it did help a bit when she was stressed out mentally. Probably they could cook together via FaceTime to make it easier to get away from pasta. Different time zones would make that harder but not impossible. He would definitely continue to let her team or hotels place little gifts for her, always wrapped in blue paper with a white bow, and he would also text and call her a lot because they both needed that. Their relationship usually was very physical and being apart was even harder that way, so maybe he should leave her some of his shirts or something similar.

"You look like you're thinking very hard", Taylor noticed. They were at the stadium already preparing for today's show. Taylor was going to play some surprise songs for him again and she was already excited about that. But he didn't know it yet. "Always up to something", he just winked mysteriously at her making her giggle while he pulled her in his lap. A knock on the door interrupted them. It was Tree who wanted to talk about something. So they sat down together, Taylor next to Travis this time, and Tree pulled up her phone. "So, I've got a security matter", she sighed making the couple sit up more. This didn't sound good. "It's not too serious. We just want to be safe. A known stalker is texting more and more on different platforms. You both know, we scan these, and if anything unusual comes up we take a closer look. First of all, we have no reason to believe that he will show up here or over the next few days. We do have reason to believe though, that he might show up in Germany. He specifically mentions Gelsenkirchen", Tree explained.

Taylor held Travis' hand tightly. She hated this topic, got scared easily about stalkers. Travis squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Does he mention specific... plans?", he asked carefully. Tree sighed. "They always do. But yeah, he's threatening both of you. Claiming to be in love and all that. I just want you to be extra careful until we're out of Germany again. I'm just telling you now because Amsterdam technically is very well reachable from Germany. Travis nodded. "We'll be cautious. Anything specific? Would it be better if I stayed in the tent tonight rather than the stands?", he wanted to know. "No, I don't think you need to worry about the show. We checked with local security again and they have our usual list of known stalkers to look out for. Stage security is informed individually", Tree said looking at Taylor in the end. People had come too close during shows before and Taylor was rightfully terrified of that. "This is just a heads-up for you. I don't think you need to worry about your safety.", Tree assured them again. "Thank you", Travis said. Taylor nodded along.

"She should've kept it till after the show", Taylor mumbled when Tree was gone. She was scared now. If Tree didn't think there was a real danger, why would she tell her then? "She just wanted us to be careful, maybe not go out with Brit and Pat later if you don't feel safe with just your security in an unknown space", Travis tried to soothe her a little. He believed Tree that they were safe and that it was just a heads-up. For Gelsenkirchen specifically. Of course, it felt weird and scary to have someone putting out threats against you but he told himself that most of these people were just loud and not dangerous. Taylor trusted him and his calm demeanor so that she could feel okay about the show today. He was going to be up in the stands with Brittany and Pattrick and she was going to play him love songs again. Noone would take that from her. Noone would scare her into giving up anything.

And Tree was right, nothing happened. Nothing besides Taylor serenading her boyfriend with the biggest smile on her face making him tear up. And they also didn't cancel their plans to go out for dinner with Brit and Pat. The restaurant was easy to control for her security with only a few small windows and a clear view over the room up to the entrance. Taylor felt safe. Because of her bodyguards but also because Travis was right there with her. He'd protect her, she just knew it. Laughing and chatting the night away, the couples ended their evening late by taking some pictures before going to the hotel. Travis had to leave the next day.

Until Gelsenkirchen though, Tree had to bring up the same man a couple more times. She didn't show Taylor or Travis any of the texts but the way she was talking about it made it seem very serious. The man seemed to have specific plans and Taylor felt very uncomfortable knowing that they targeted Travis more than anyone else. It wasn't new that stalkers developed hate against her boyfriend, threatening to hurt them but Tree even made sure to show every single security guard provided by the venue in Gelsenkirchen who they were looking for specifically. The only thing calming her a little was that it wasn't as easy to get your hands on a gun in Germany as it was in America. But men in general weren't less dangerous just because they didn't have a shooting weapon.

Travis worried about the situation too. He was in the US for a few days before he would come back to see his last few shows before training camp would start. It bugged him that this security situation overshadowed his last few shows. He would've wanted to just celebrate with her and enjoy the time that was left. Instead, he was brought to the hotel in Gelsenkirchen by one more bodyguard than usual, and as much as they tried to hide it, he noticed that the guards around him were more on than ever. They double-checked everything and it took a little longer until he finally could come to meet Taylor in their suite.