reputation | a taylor swift fanfiction ✓

track 1 | ...ready for it?

march 3, 2016; met gala

there will be no further explanation. there will just be reputation.

taylor swift smiled at the phrase she had just typed into her phone. she didn't know what it would be used for, but it was catchy and clever. she'd thought of it that morning, while she showered. taylor didn't normally shower in the morning, but she had a big event today—specifically, the met gala. and now, she was on her way to the venue.

she looked out the window of her limo and saw the paparazzi desperately trying to take pictures. taylor smiled to herself and put the phone into her pocket. she tied back her short, bleached hair as best as she could, though it was useless because her makeup team would do it over anyway. 

the ride wasn't long. she lived in new york already, so she would only have had to ride thirty minutes, if not for the traffic. her driver had said it would take an hour. taylor was tired, so she put her head on the head rest and closed her eyes.

~

"miss swift?" said her driver. taylor blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked out the window. they had pulled up to the metropolitan museum of art, where the met gala was going to be held. paps were swarming around the building, trying to get pictures of the next celebrity pulling in. taylor put on her sunglasses and hat, and stepped out of the car with her management team. they formed a block around her and walked inside, trying to dodge the cameras.

once inside, her team left to talk with the people managing the met gala. taylor went to the hair and makeup area and was greeted by her makeup artist and stylist.

"hi taylor!" they chorused. taylor gave both of them hugs, and her makeup artist made her sit down so they could pretty her up.

"what are you going for today?" taylor inquired.

"something bold. not a lot of color. it's going to go with your bleached hair."

"sounds cool," said taylor. she pulled her phone out again. not wanting to plan her album with people watching, she scrolled through her tumblr. most of the posts were about how her fans were waiting for her new album. they had given it a makeshift name, ts6. she smiled, and closed the tumblr app.

"hold still," said the woman. she had finished styling taylor's hair, which didn't look much different than the style she had done this morning. the woman pumped some primer into her hand and rubbed it on taylor's face. she closed her eyes as the woman did her face.

taylor sat still as her makeup artist filled in her eyebrows. she lined taylor's eyes and put more mascara on her already-curled eyelashes. lastly, she took out a lipstick tube and swept a fresh coat of color onto her lips.

"look," said her makeup artist, handing her a mirror. taylor looked. there was almost nothing eye-popping near her eyes; the focus had obviously been drawn to her lips, which were painted a very dark, almost black maroon color. taylor spun around to look at her.

"thank you," said taylor. her stylist handed her a silvery dress that looked like it had been made using the skin of a snake. taylor did not know this at the time, but this outfit would be part of the downfall of her reputation.

they ushered her into a dressing room. taylor undressed and put on the undergarments they had put in the room for her. the stylist helped her zip the dress. once done, they both came out and taylor looked expectantly at them. "and my shoes?"