isn't it? [taylor swift]

Chapter 67

The toast had gone cold. Leia didn't mind. 

She'd loaded it with raspberry jam, and that was doing enough heavy lifting for her mood. She sat cross-legged on the couch in one of Taylor's oversized hoodies, mug balanced against her knee, flicking idly through her phone while the morning news blared from the TV across the room.

"...broke Ticketmaster," the anchor was saying, the edge of disbelief thick in her voice. "I mean, when's the last time a pre-sale got a congressional response?"

Leia glanced up just as the screen cut to a grainy clip of fans screaming in their cars and waving their Eras Tour confirmation emails like golden tickets. The chyron below read: "SWIFTIES SHUT DOWN THE INTERNET: What's Next for America's Most Powerful Woman?"

The next segment was worse - two anchors sipping coffee and talking like they were at brunch, their voices chirpy as they tried to dissect into Taylor's personal life, photos of Joe flashing across the screen and various pictures of Taylor going for brunch with Leia and many of their other friends.

"Between more Grammy nominations and this, I mean... do you think she even sleeps?"

Even though the attention had been on Leia, Taylor had been nominated for a few Grammys too - unsurprisingly and well deserved. Georgie, who had starred in the All Too Well short film had asked Taylor that if she won, if it meant Georgie also was a Grammy winner - something that Leia could only roll her eyes at.

The remote clicked.

The screen cut to black.

Leia blinked. Taylor was standing near the arm of the couch, hair still damp from the shower, hoodie sleeves pushed to her elbows as she placed the remote back on to the table. Leia smiled gently at her, knowing that she hated all this speculation.

"They're going to drop it at midnight tonight" she said, calm but clipped as she flopped on to the armchair beside Leia. "Tree's sending the statement so that it'll be in the press by tomorrow morning."

Leia lowered the toast as she took another bite, her hunger gone suddenly. 

"The breakup?"

Taylor nodded. "By noon, everyone's going to know I'm officially no longer with Joe."

There was no smile in her voice, no triumphant swell. Just a quiet sort of finality.

"You okay?"

Taylor hesitated. 

"Yeah. I just wanted you to hear it from me before it hit every feed on Earth."

She reached for Leia's now-abandoned toast, took a bite without asking. The screen still glowed black in front of them.

Leia watched her chew, then said quietly, "Have you and Tree talked about... timelines?"

Taylor glanced at her. "For us?"

Leia nodded.

Taylor leaned back, sighing through her nose. 

"We're calling it amicable. Which, I guess, technically is true since we both checked out a long time ago. Tree's already prepped responses in case people speculate about a third party. She's good at phrasing things in ways that sound honest without giving anything away."

Leia pulled the blanket up over her lap, suddenly aware of the weight of it all. Not just the PR dance, but how easily this could all be misread. Headlines, assumptions. Her name.

"I don't want people thinking you left him for me."

"I didn't," Taylor said quickly. "And you know Tree's right, people will make up whatever timeline they want regardless. But the truth is, the public only just found out today. As far as they're concerned, we've just ended a six-year relationship."