A Place in This World - Taylor Swift x Fem OC

Chapter 16

May 17th, 2007. The day of her high school prom was a day Arina would go on to think about almost every day for the next ten years, as stupid as it seemed.

She woke up giddy with excitement, a feeling so foreign to her that it drew cautious looks from her moms as she made breakfast. As horrible as it sounded, they'd never seen her this... happy. Should they be worried? Probably. She hummed an unfamiliar tune—one of Taylor's songs—while flipping the pancakes, and neither woman's eyes left her as they set the table. Her movements were light and almost graceful, a stark contrast to her usual hurried pace. She let out a sigh of contentment as she poured each of her siblings a glass of juice, her smile widening. Diana nudged her wife with a knowing look as she slipped on her shoes, getting ready for her shift at the hospital.

Once they were long gone to work, the confusion and the tiniest hint of fear were passed on to her siblings. Arina skipped around the house, packing their hockey bags with an unusual cheerfulness. They didn't even care that their favorite show was on TV; their eyes kept darting from the screen to her and back to each other, puzzled by this new version of their sister.

Finally, as they began their walk to the rink and Arina actually smiled and waved at the creepy old man next door, Jessie couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Why are you being so weird?" she blurted out, her face scrunched in bewilderment.

Arina's smile didn't fade as she hummed softly, "What do you mean?"

Parker scoffed, "You know what we mean."

Arina thought about it for a moment, then rolled her eyes. Yup. Right back to the scheduled program. "Little jerks. I'm just happy. Sorry that's so inconvenient for you. I'm just excited. Tonight is the prom, and everything's perfect. It's never been this perfect."

The twins were barely listening, already distracted by a squirrel fight in the middle of the road. Arina chose not to tell them about the tiny pocket of fear nestled inside her warm sweater of perfect.

Fear of what? She didn't exactly know. Maybe that Taylor wouldn't show up? But she promised she would. Maybe it was all a big joke, and when she arrived, everyone would crowd around her and laugh at her for thinking someone like Taylor Swift could like her. But Taylor would never let that happen, would she?

Arina pushed the thoughts further into her mind, focusing instead on happy things. What songs she wanted to hear, where they would go to eat after, what silly pickup line Taylor might use when she asked her to dance.

Everything is fine.

Everything is perfect.

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Prom day is a lot more stressful than prom eve, Taylor decides. Despite the fact her dress is laid out and her makeup is waiting for her at her desk, she runs around like a headless chicken, making last minute changes, screaming into her pillow, singing along to Tim McGraw in the shower.

And to top it off? She can find her favorite butterfly hair clips.

"Mom, can you help me find my..." Her words die in her throat with the way her parents immediately stop whispering when she enters the room, staring like they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She waits for them to say something, but continues when they don't. "Can you help me find my butterfly hair pins?"

Her mom nods, with a soft look, and her father sits down on the edge of their bed with a hand over his mouth like he has to physically keep himself quiet. The adults seem to be having a silent conversation with their eyes, like they used to at the dinner table when Austin and Taylor were younger and didn't want the kids to see them fight.