tayvis ~ invisible string

phone lights up my nightstand in the black

taylors pov:

The hotel room was dimly lit, the hum of the air conditioning the only noise as I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my phone. The show tonight in Denver had been flawless, but my mind wasn’t on the performance. It had been almost a week since I found out about Travis Kelce's friendship bracelet and the story that he left my concert disappointed. I’d laughed when I first heard it, but now… it was stuck in my head.

He’d come all the way to my show, made a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it, and couldn’t even hand it to me in person. I felt bad, honestly. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to meet people, I just had to be careful about protecting my voice. But something about the way he said he’d taken it “personal” kept nagging at me.

And that’s why I was sitting here, trying to work up the courage to text him. I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted out of it, maybe just to make it right. Maybe it was the fact that I found his gesture endearing, that it wasn’t some rehearsed line or strategic PR move. Just a guy who made a bracelet.

I took a deep breath, pulling up my messages. His number was already saved in my phone, thanks to that bracelet. I stared at the blank message screen, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to think of the right words. Something playful, light.

Before I could second-guess myself, I typed:

“Heard you left my show disappointed. Any way I can fix that?”

I hit send and immediately regretted it, feeling my nerves flare up. Was that too forward? Did I sound weird? Ugh, this was why I didn’t do this, dating or texting. It always felt like a guessing game.

My phone buzzed a few minutes later, and I grabbed it quickly, half-expecting some awkward response. But when I read his reply, I laughed out loud.

“Very funny, Jason. I know it’s you, bro.”

I couldn’t help but grin. Of course, he thought it was his brother messing with him. I imagined him sitting there, probably rolling his eyes, completely unaware that it was actually me. Well, this was going to be fun.

“Not Jason,” I texted back, biting my lip as I waited for his reaction.

The three little dots appeared, then disappeared. Then appeared again. My heart raced as I imagined him staring at the screen, confused.

“Wait… is this actually Taylor?” he finally replied.

I giggled, feeling the tension in my chest finally start to ease. He really didn’t believe it was me. I decided to prove it.

“Yup. Want me to send a picture for proof?”

His response came almost immediately.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need to see a pic or I’m calling Jason right now.”

I laughed, shaking my head. Travis seemed like the kind of guy who would definitely call his brother, so I opened the camera on my phone and snapped a quick selfie, no makeup, hair still a little messy from the show. I sent it, holding my breath as I waited for his response.

A few seconds passed, then his reply came in:

“Okay, wow. It really is you. This is… uh… not how I expected my night to go.”

I smiled to myself, leaning back on the pillows, feeling a little more relaxed now.

“Not every day you get a message from Taylor Swift, huh?” I teased.

“Definitely not. I feel like I should be cooler about this, but here I am, freaking out a little,” he texted back, and I could practically hear the smile in his words.