Secrets

Chapter One

Karlie and her two younger sisters were singing along to the song that was playing in their car, windows down and laughing as they pulled into the parking lot of the venue. Today was the day.

"Noo, why?" Kimby complained as Karlie turned down the volume a little.

"I'm trying to find a parking spot, could you maybe help looking for one?" the older sister defended herself.

"What, and you can't see when the music is loud?" Kimby retorted, but did as she was told.

Karlie just rolled her eyes in response.

"Over there, Karlie!" Kariann said and pointed towards an empty parking lot.

"Thank you, well spotted!"

The sisters were surprised how many people had already arrived at Scottrade Center; the show wasn't going to start until two hours later. But then again, there was really nothing to be surprised about. This was a Taylor Swift concert, after all, and the singer always drew huge crowds and had a very dedicated fan base, most of them young women such as themselves. This would be their very first Taylor Swift concert, and the sisters had saved up for it for months. They had managed to get decent seats not completely at the back of the stadium.

They locked the car and made their way towards the entrance to join the other fans that were already queuing. The air was warm and there was not a single cloud in the sky, a pleasant mid-western summer afternoon.

Karlie laughed as she saw how some younger girls were dressed up in outfits from Taylor's music videos. Another group of girls carried signs with the singer's latest album title, Red, in blinking lights. Seeing their excitement made her even more excited, if that was possible at all.

Kimby grabbed her twin sister's shoulder and jumped up and down.

"I'm so excited! This is really happening! Today is already unforgettable!"

Kariann just laughed and shoved her sister off herself, too used to her antics.

They stood at the end of the line, anticipating the big event.

***

"Thank you St Louis, you have been wonderful! Thank you for being an amazing audience. This is going to be my last song!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and screams.

Karlie looked around from where she was standing in front of her seat, looked out at the thousands of people that filled the room, and then looked towards the singer on the huge stage again. This concert had gone by way too quickly. She would not complain if it lasted a few hours more, despite the already long set list and breath-taking show.

Taylor Swift had really outdone herself again, Karlie thought, she had loved every performance and every outfit. And the surprise guests! Karlie had thought she was dreaming when "Closer" started playing, a song she had been listening to on repeat since its release, and Tegan and Sara had walked out on stage, looking tiny next to the tall superstar. Karlie hadn't even known that Taylor knew them or liked their music, but now that she knew she did it made her appreciate her even more.

Kimby caught her sister's look and smiled, to which Karlie smiled back her signature smile, bright and big and contagious. She briefly squeezed her sister's shoulder, then turned towards the stage again where the song "We are never ever getting back together" had started playing.

She laughed at the dancers' outfits, who were dressed as clowns, ballerinas, bunnies ... they looked like a funny bunch. Taylor's outfit was cute, funny and hot at the same time, Karlie thought. The singer was wearing a red glittery swallow-tailed coat with long sleeves, and high-waist black shorts. Her long blonde hair was down. The outfit was completed by a huge black glittery top hat, a black neckerchief and black heels, and of course her red sparkling microphone. So Taylor, Karlie thought. She let herself get lost in her thoughts for a moment, enjoying the last song of the night.

Then suddenly, everything seemed to happen all at once, and in slow motion - Karlie didn't know which. Later she had trouble properly recalling the moment at all. It felt like time had been stopped for a moment, then fast-forwarded to keep up with the rest of the universe.

Kimby could see what was going to happen a few moments before it did. Taylor was in the middle of performing the song as she walked down the few steps at the center of the stage, miscalculated the width of the second to last step and slipped on the stairs in her high heels with her left foot first. Her ankle got twisted and she fell down the stairs, landing ruggedly on her right knee.

Kariann read her twin sister's thoughts, and in a split second they both reacted simultaneously. They kept their eyes focused on Taylor, blending out the noise of the stadium full of people around them. Thoughts completely focused on the singer, they used all their willpower and emotions to create an energy that conveyed from them towards her. When Taylor reached the second to last step and was about to slip, their combined force lifted the singer about an inch above the steps.

Taylor's eyes went wide, her mouth agape as she perplexedly looked into the general direction of the twins, not knowing what was happening but sensing their force. Yet, she did not panic and instead felt oddly at peace in that moment, feeling the good-willed nature of the energy around her deep in her chest. She closed her eyes, and before she knew it, she was lifted down the last step and landed safely at the bottom of the stairs again.

The moment was over.

The twins simultaneously closed their eyes and rubbed their temples, heads aching from the effort.

Time started moving again and while there were a million thoughts running through Taylor's head and the energy lingered in her body, the performance on stage was still in full swing. None of the dancers or background singers seemed to have noticed anything. She quickly recovered and started singing the song where she had left off.

She was glad that it was the last song because she suddenly couldn't get off the stage fast enough, feeling the need to be alone and process what had just happened - not the fact that she had almost fallen on stage and most likely would have twisted her ankle, but rather the fact that it hadn't happened and that she had sensed someone's presence and force that had spared her from the accident.

Before she knew it, the song had ended and Taylor had left the stage. Karlie still stood there motionlessly, dazed by the shift in the flow of time and space. Then she suddenly snapped out of it, now feeling hyper-aware of her surroundings, and turned towards the twins. She saw them still standing there, hands on their foreheads.

"Whatever just happened, it was you, wasn't it?" she hissed.

The twins turned towards her as well now. Karlie noticed how tired they looked.

"Yeah ..." Kariann said, not looking her older sister in the eyes.

People around them started leaving, but the three young women did not move away from their spots. Karlie plumped down into her seat, lifting her purse from under the seat onto her lap.

The twins remained standing. Kimby looked around to make sure no one was in ear-shot, then she spoke.

"I could see it happen. Taylor almost fell down the stairs. It was ... it was an instinct. What would you have done, Karlie? Let her get hurt?"

"You know very well what the rules are, Kimby" her older sister said, staring at her.

"But it happened, so now we just have to hope no one else noticed" she concluded, sounding defeated.

Kimby nodded.

"I bet she didn't even register what happened, she probably just blacked out for that split second there."

"Oh, I don't think so" her twin said.

"My gut feeling tells me she was able to sense our presence."

"We will see" Kimby responded.

"I hardly think that an international pop star like her is acquainted with any of our hocus-pocus stuff."

Kimby was wrong.

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Author's note (added later):

Thank you for reading! This is my new multi-chapter fic.

Please feel free to comment, I always appreciate feedback.

This story is loosely inspired by the book series T*Witches.