tayvis ~ invisible string

first date (part one)

taylors pov:

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at my reflection, straightener in hand, but my hands were shaking so much I could barely focus. Why am I so nervous? I could stand in front of 70,000 people and sing my heart out without missing a beat, I could stand in front of thousands of people and talk without batting an eye, but this? A normal date, with a guy who wasn’t some tabloid headline? It was sending me into a full-on panic. I felt like I was going to pass out.

"Okay, breathe. Breathe, Taylor," I muttered to myself, trying to stay calm as I ran the straightener through a section of my hair, only to mess it up. Again. But the second I thought about actually seeing Travis tonight, my stomach did another nervous flip.

Blake was sitting on the counter beside me, her legs crossed as she sipped from her coffee mug, watching my mini-meltdown with a bemused smile. “You look like you’re about to pass out, babe maybe even have a heart attack,” she teased, eyes sparkling as she watched me unravel. “You’re acting like you’re about to meet the Queen or something.” she said nonchalantly as I panicked.

“I feel like I’m about to have a heart attack,” I groaned, setting the straightener down. “Why am I so nervous, Blake? I mean, I’ve been on dates before. Why is this one freaking me out so much? Why is this one turning me into a complete mess?”

Blake hopped off the counter and stood beside me, glancing at my reflection in the mirror. “It’s different because you actually like him. And let’s face it, it’s not just any guy, it’s Travis Kelce. You’ve been texting and calling him for weeks, and now it’s real. That’s bound to make anyone a little shaky. I was just as nervous as you when if came to my first date with Ryan."

I let out a heavy sigh rubbing my temples. “I barely know him. What if we don’t click in person? What if it’s awkward? And yeah sure, i like him but what if he doesnt like me? He likes prefomer me but what if he doesn't like the real me?” I protested, though I knew she was right. Sure, Travis and I had been texting and calling each other for a couple of weeks now, but I hadn’t seen him since the concert, and that wasn’t exactly a normal situation. Now we were actually going to be face-to-face, and that terrified me more than I wanted to admit.

Blake came over, taking the straightener from my hand. “You’re overthinking it,” she said calmly. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. The guy made a friendship bracelet for you with his phone number on it. He’s clearly into you, too.”

I smiled despite my nerves, remembering that ridiculous bracelet. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Besides,” Blake added, handing me the straightener back, “you’re Taylor Swift. You can handle anything. You’ve dated matty healy, proving you can face anything. You’ve got this.”

“I guess,” I muttered, but I wasn’t convinced. It wasn’t about who I’d dated before, it was about this date, with this guy, and how I didn’t want to mess it up.

Blake smiled sympathetically. “Look, you’re going to be fine. Just be yourself. That’s the girl he’s into, the one who texts him in the middle of the night and makes him laugh. Not the superstar (see what i did there). Just you.”

I sighed, feeling a little better. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right,” Blake said with a smirk. “Now, let’s pick out what you’re wearing. You’ve got the hair under control, but what about the rest?”

I glanced at the clothes laid out on the bed, an array of options, none of which felt right. “I have no idea. I don’t want to look too dressed up, but I don’t want to look like I didn’t try, either.”