Pitch Perfect Harmony

Vienna N0

The next few days, Taylor was on the phone with Travis a lot. She had a lot of stuff to work on parallel to the tour but on off-days like this, she always tried to schedule it around Travis' schedule so they could talk more. So she was okay again when they arrived in Vienna a day before the show. But it didn't last long. In the late afternoon, Tree got a call and Taylor could see in her face that something was really wrong. "Yes, yes, of course. I'll talk to security and stay available for you, no problem", she said making Taylor anxious already. Why security? And who was on the phone? "Taylor, I'll talk to security real quick and then explain everything to you, okay? Just stay right there. Don't... I don't know, don't go to the window or leave the room", Tree said quickly before rushing out to talk to Marc.

Taylor waited. She thought about looking at her phone and maybe finding out what was going on that way but she didn't. "Okay, I don't have too many answers but we need to talk", Tree came back a moment later with one of her bodyguards now standing inside at the door. They rarely did this. Only when danger was particularly high. "I got a call from Austrian authorities", Tree began while sitting down at the table they had been working on. Taylor just stayed silent. "They canceled all three shows", Tree said and Taylor was about to say something when Tree just shut her down with a gesture. "It's better like that. The local organizers will take care of everything. We are supposed to leave as soon as possible. I'll try to get a flight to London scheduled", she told her. "What is going on?", Taylor asked feeling her heartbeat speed up. "There is a terror threat for the show tomorrow and they're still looking for at least two people. But even if they find them, it's not safe to play the other shows. There's a risk of more people being involved or that others will follow", Tree said.

"Terror threat", Taylor mumbled in disbelief. "I'm sorry that I just have to throw it at you like that but we need to get you to London first and then we can take care of everything else. Is that okay?", Tree wanted to make sure. Taylor just nodded unsure about how she should feel about this. It sounded like she was in danger. "Can I leave you here with Marc and I make some calls? Do you wanna call your parents and Travis?", Tree asked. "He's at practice", she just mumbled but then agreed for Tree to leave the room. Maybe she didn't want to hear her conversations on the phone. But when Tree was gone, the silence felt heavy. Marc was supposed to stand at the door and not pay much attention to her other than her safety. Taylor was supposed to ignore his presence. So she held her tears and fears back, not willing to break down in front of her bodyguard.

Terror threat. What was that even? And what was the target? Her? Her fans? Was it already published? Taylor quickly took her phone and googled but she didn't find anything. So it wasn't official yet. The people didn't know. They were in danger and didn't know about it. Weren't they supposed to announce the cancellation at least? Some time passed and not one question was answered but Tree was back to explain some more. "It's not published yet", Taylor mentioned. "The organizers will publish it soon. They're in contact with the authorities too. It's not in our hands right now", Tree said obviously hating not to be in full control. "Did you call your parents?", Tree asked but Taylor shook her head. "What should I tell them? I don't even know anything", she complained. "Travis? They'll be worried when it hits the news. Text him at least. So he doesn't have to wait until we land in London. I'll call your mom and explain what I know", Tree proposed another plan.

Taylor nodded again but didn't move then. "Pack your things? We leave soon", Tree said, and that finally made her stand up. They finished everything up in Vienna and Tree watched surprised at how well Taylor held herself together. She expected tears and fear. Instead, she seemed remarkably neutral. But Tree knew it was a matter of time, so she stayed around her after writing a long message for Andrea who didn't answer her phone. And maybe that was right because there was a certain tension in Taylor's whole body. Her heartbeat sped up every time she walked around a corner, put the bathroom light on, or opened a closet. As if at every moment there could be someone waiting for her.