Bad Idea (Kaylor) | Completed

Chapter 9: The Cara Delevingne Apology Tour

Note: When I originally started thinking of/outlining this story, I had a good idea of everyone's backstories in this universe and up until this chapter, it never occurred to me how super angsty this story actually is. That being said, there's a trigger warning for abuse mentions in this chapter, please read with caution.

It had been a week. An entire week that Taylor had gone since she last spoke to Karlie. Karlie, who up until a week ago, she had spent every single day with. A week, nine hours, and forty seven minutes. Not that Taylor was counting. At the thought, Taylor drug her pencil down hard along the page and snapped off the tip again. Rather than dare to sharpen it, instead, she threw it down in a huff and hoisted herself onto her bed. 

"Ooh, are you being a moody artist again?" Gigi asked from the other side of the room. Taylor glared back at her. "Yikes, okay, sorry," Gigi raised her hands in defense. "So, just wondering in a completely normal non-judgemental way, are you planning on studying for finals at all?" She asked. Taylor gave her a look. "I know you're upset and all, but come on, is it really worth ruining the semester over?" Logically, no, it wasn't. Taylor knew that, but she also knew that moping made her feel better. "Come on, Taylor," Gigi said, walking towards her. "I'm going down to Zayn's to study, you're welcome to come. We actually came up with this system where-" 

"Gigi, I'm fine, really," Taylor said. "I'm gonna study, I just-" she sighed. "I just need a break from all the school shit for a little." 

"Fine, Gigi sighed. "But if you change your mind you know where to find me." She picked up a few textbooks and left, leaving Taylor alone with the silence in the room.

She tried to take a nap, but couldn't get her thoughts to slow down enough to let her sleep. She was used to feeling like this; tense, distant, but this time it was worse. Everything beyond her room felt too far or too much. She glanced guiltily toward her desk where her textbooks lay unopened. Before she could coax herself into studying, there was a knock at the door. 

Taylor buried her head deeper into her pillow, ready to pretend she was asleep once Gigi came through the door. Normally, she would knock first, then look for her key, always complaining things get lost in her bag when Taylor would reprimand her. Strangely, the knocking didn't end after a minute like it usually did. Gigi must have forgotten her key. Taylor sat up, barely containing her annoyance as she crossed the room to open the door. 

"Can you please stop leaving without your key?" Taylor huffed into the hallway. Immediately, she realized the person in front of her was not Gigi.

"Hey," Cara said. "Can we talk?" She asked after a beat, frowning into the crack of the door. 

"How did you get up here?" Taylor asked with barely contained contempt. She hadn't forgot about the mailroom. If fact, it's all she had been thinking about. She definitely hadn't forgot Cara's role in all of it. 

"We do still have mutual friends, you know," Cara sighed softly, picking at the paint on the doorframe. 

"I'm not really in the mood to talk," Taylor said quietly. 

"I can do most of the talking," Cara shrugged. Reluctantly, Taylor opened the door, widening it just enough to let Cara pass. "So, you're the final stop on the Cara Delevingne apology tour," Cara joked, clapping her hands down awkwardly at her sides. 

"Apology tour?" Taylor cocked an eyebrow at her. "I thought Cara Delevingne doesn't apologize to anyone." She said, mocking. She pulled out her and Gigi's desk chairs and turned them to face each other, gesturing for Cara to take one. 

"Yeah," Cara sighed as she sat. "Well, as painful it is for me to admit this, I fucked up." The corners of her mouth were turned up, but her eyes lacked any hint of a smile. Taylor didn't smile back.