𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝟒 𝐘𝐎𝐔. ᵉᵐⁱⁿᵉᵐ

001|. concert

~

       Music pulsed throughout the building, the
walls vibrating with life. A woman stood center stage, a microphone in hand as she sung with every fiber of her being. Her voice was deep with emotion, both anger and determination showing through her lyrics.

Anyone willing to look closer could see just how much music meant to her— it was her everything.

"Shot down off your high horse, left in the dust-"

Anyone who knew anything about her social life, knew exactly who she was referring to.

One might think; what business does a country singer have with a rapper, such as Eminem. In fact, she wondered that, herself. Imagine her surprise to waking up one morning to find her name being dropped in one of Eminem's newest songs.

"Big talker, line crosser. Dead weight drags slower; just carry the casket-"

The crowd buzzed with excitement, all of her fans eager to listen to her newest song, and reply to Eminem.

"Didn't cry, puttin' the memories in the ground-"

The effort she put into her music was undeniable, but there was something different about this song; something more angry, more... vigor.

Her annoyance at the rapper was clear through her words and conveyed her unmoved attitude towards the insult.

It was hard to faze the young country singer, but if anyone had ever come close to it, it was definitely Marshall Mathers. His attack was unprovoked and came from nowhere. She didn't know the man personally, nor had she ever made comments about him or his career to the PRESS.

"Ran down the devil, it's justified-"

While the song didn't specifically drop names, it was obvious to whom she was referring. While she was insulted and intended to make it clear, she also wanted to make her lyrics relatable to her own fans, so that they could "run down their own devils".

Even without the mention, she just knew 'the slim shady' would hear about her little attempt at a clap back by the end of the night.

Though, she wasn't worried about the man's thoughts on her newest release, she was terrified of the reactions she could receive through the PRESS. Their thoughts on the song were a flip of a coin; they could perceive her response as childish or unmatchable to the rapper's diss or they could love it.

Perhaps, she was only prolonging her embarrassment. Regardless, it was too late to stop and take it all back now without dying of shame.

Taylor glanced toward her brother in search of some sort of reassurance, but at the time the drummer could only offer a reassuring nod to try and calm his sister.

"Whoa, I need an alibi if they ever look over where the coyotes cry-"

Taylor gripped the microphone so tightly that her knuckles turned white as she stared off into the crowd. Of course they were cheering now, but she could only worry about the possible back-lash she could face after the concert.

And it wasn't just Taylor worried either, but also her band/personal manager who watched her nervously from backstage.

She sounded good- no one could deny her that, but sometimes sounding good just wasn't enough, especially when targeting an artist as big as Eminem, himself. Despite his remarkably bigger fan-base, Taylor knew many of her own fans were willing to go to war for her in the comments of any negative posts or articles about her.

Though, she appreciated the support, a fight wasn't what she wanted. She'd seen time and time again how easy it was for a fan-base to turn toxic from other artists' experiences. But that wasn't what her music was about.

Unfortunately, it didn't really matter what she wanted; since Eminem's diss, her fans had been on a war path. It was obvious any time she opened the comments under one of Marshall's posts.

Of course she'd never say anything though, because that would be admitting to looking through his posts and comments and that would only make things more complicated.

"Stones cover six feet of lies, good lord willing and the creek don't rise-"

Jason, her bassist stepped closer as his voice joined in chorus with hers for the next verse.

"I'll be gone by morning, good mourning- good mourning-"

Their voices continued to carry throughout the night, Taylor's worries melting into the night. Thankfully, it seemed her hesitation went unnoticed by her fans when starting the song, so no one questioned her during crowd work.

-

Smiling brightly as the crowd cheered below them, Taylor stepped to the edge of the stage, reaching down to embrace one of her younger fans who'd been screaming at the top of her lungs all night long.

"Omg! Omg!" The young girl screeched, her eyes shining brightly as she scrambled for her phone. "Can I get a picture!?" She beams, staring up at her idol.

"Of course," Taylor grins, leaning down to press her lips to the girl's flushed cheek as she quickly snaps the photo. "Oh my God, thank you! Thank you!"

Taylor returned to the center of the stage, standing right next to Jason as Michael, the guitarist, stepped back from one of the older female fans, a flirtatious grin spread across his lips.

"So, how is everyone tonight?" Taylor questions, her charming southern accent laced in her every word.

"Everybody likin' the show so far?" Jason pipes in, earning a loud cheer from the crowd.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Michael grins.

"Thank you, everybody for comin' out tonight! We love you all and goodnight!" Gabriel calls out to the crowd, standing up from behind his drums as he comes to his sister's side, a supporting arm falling across her shoulders.

"Bye, my love bugs!" Taylor blows a kiss to the crowd before following her band off the stage with a wave.

~

*song : Good Mourning,
by Taylor Demp