the stars in your eyes | t.s. one shots

first kiss (2)

Taylor pulls at the neckline of her baby tee to get some air after the end of the scene, looking intently at Ms. Paine to wait for feedback. Fridays are always review days. Ms. Paine asked her cast to please run 'The Lonely Goatherd,' which is one of Taylor's favorite scenes in the show. She loves every scene that she gets to do with Lila and Kinsley, the two elementary school girls who were brought in to play the youngest two Von Trapp children. But this song is also a little bit of a moment of chaos- just because there's so much happening. All seven of the children dancing about and Taylor, as Maria, playing and giggling right along with them to block out the noises of the thunderstorm.

She's glad she's being kept busy today. The prospect of what's happening after rehearsal has been hanging over her head all day, but she's been trying so hard to push it away. Because it's the big Friday. The day she's going out to dinner with Travis.

She hasn't told anybody. Not even her mom, who thinks she's going out with Gavin after they're let out today. Gavin, however, thinks she's got plans with her mom. Her other friends didn't care enough to ask her what she's got going on tonight. And she's going on a date with Travis Kelce on a Friday night.

Taylor doesn't know why she feels so weird about telling anyone. She's never kept anything from Gavin before, and rarely anything from her mom. But she can't bring herself to admit that Travis is taking her out this evening, for the sole purpose of making sure that her first kiss isn't a stage kiss. That's really freaking embarassing.

She's got a different outfit stashed in her backpack for the date- a little dress and cardigan and ballet flats. As she went about her day envisioning it, she realized that she's probably going to look like an elementary school teacher, but she can't do anything about that at this point. She's going to change in the bathroom after they're freed, then she's going to climb right into Travis's shotgun seat and they're going to go out.

And he's going to kiss her.

For the past few days, Taylor has been worrying about the kiss. She's been watching TikTok tutorials on how to be a good kisser, on what to expect when it happens. What if she sucks at it? What if she's so bad at it that Travis doesn't want to ever do it again, not even on the stage, in character? That could sabotage the whole show. Taylor can't let that happen, so she's going to have to make sure that this goes well. And she really doesn't know how to ensure that.

Part of her hopes that rehearsal is never going to end. Even as they're dancing together, working on the Ländler, it feels so different. They're in character, they're acting. But as his hands are on her waist, she still wonders why she ever said yes to this. God, what an idiot she is.

Not only is tonight going to be her first kiss, which by the way, is a weird thing to schedule three days in advance, but it's going to be her first ever date. She doesn't even know how to act on a date. What is she supposed to talk about? What is she supposed to not talk about? Why is this so complicated?

And of course, there's no way to stop time. As luck would have it, an earthquake or tornado or tsunami doesn't strike and ruin their evening. Ms. Paine dismisses everyone and Taylor slips into the bathroom to change. She puts on some mascara and lipstick and gives herself a once-over in the mirror. Deciding this is as good as it is going to get, she slings her backpack back over her shoulder and walks out of the bathroom. Travis is standing right there waiting. He's wearing his same jeans from the school day, but he's traded out his tee shirt for a casual button-down.

"Hey," he smiles at her. "You ready?"

"Yep."

"You look gorgeous."

She laughs. "Travis, I look like a kindergarten teacher."

"No you don't. Now, let me take your bag and let's get out of here. Come on, I've got a reservation at 6 and it's a 20 minutes drive." He pauses, holding out his arms while she obliges the request for her backpack. She's got to admit that it's particularly heavy today and hurting her shoulders, so she can't argue with Travis. If the patriarchy is going to exist, she might as well use it to her advantage. "Can I hold your hand?"