A Place in This World - Taylor Swift x Fem OC

Chapter 15

"Will you go to prom with me, star girl?"

Arina is silent for a long time. Too much time, if you were to ask the blonde currently freezing her ass off. The imaginary music in their head stops like a scratching record, and their bodies almost crash into each other as they halt to a pause.

"...I need you to say something." Taylor says, but it's more like a beg. Why isn't she saying anything? Did she do something wrong?

Arina's voice seems to fail her, for she tries to say a million things but all she can do is stare at the girl she loves like an absolute idiot.

Finally, she manages a small "Tay...Taylor..."

Taylor's hands fall from her waist. The tears are forming and she feels like running back to the truck and crying like a little kid to her mom. Of course Arina didn't forgive her. She couldn't fix everything she's done to that poor girl with a typewriter and a dance straight out of one of her own favorite rom coms.

Her feet are taking her backwards without her even noticing, but Arina grabs her hands and puts the shivering ones back on her body.

"I wasn't saying no, song bird. It was just...surprising."

The flicker of hope that was previously burned away comes back, stronger than last time.

She can deal with surprising.

Without another word, Arina's hands slung around Taylor's shoulder, they lean in at the same time, noses almost crashing into each other as giggles silence out the pouring rain.

"So...thoughts on prom?"

"I think it's a wonderistic social clique. Let's do it."

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Tim huffs dramatically the moment coach blows the final practice whistle, practically throwing his body on the floor next to the sideline bench is sitting on. The girl doesn't even spare him a glance, eyes focused on the words in her book like it holds the secrets to the damn universe. He tries the dramatic huff again, and this time her eyes flicker to him, but go directly back to her book.

"God Rina! You didn't just run 20 sets of 2 minute sprints! Spare maybe just a little bit of comfort?" He mutters, but she knows him well enough to know he isn't mad.

She hums, finally putting her bookmark in her personal copy of Fahrenheit 451 and shoving it into her backpack. "Well there's a reason I can't run laps. Has to do a little something with that." She points to her still full brown paper lunch bag, crinkled from her nervously picking at it while trying to work up the courage to eat it a few hours earlier.

He glares, and she lets out a snort of laughter.

"Not funny and you know it. Too soon."

The cowboy grabs the bag, sorting through it before he throws it into her lap, "Gonna hit the showers. If at least the apple slices and juice are gone when I'm back, I'll buy you a record while I take you home."

At the prospect of the new vinyl she's been eyeing like a tiger around its prey, she begins to chew on the apple slices. It makes him grin, and he flings his sweaty tall at the back of her head while walking away to which she flips him the bird.

She's only three chapters deeper into the book and only has 2/6 apple slices down when she can see dirty old tennis shoes stop right in front of her. She can recognize them, with the pen from being so bored in class she drew on herself and her friend. Her best friend.