isn't it? [taylor swift]

chapter 10

"His name is Dylan Redcrown."

"Yeah, we got that part," Selena murmured, still sitting slightly tense on the other side of Taylor's couch as Leia explained what had happened the night before.

Leia sighed, knowing her friend was upset about her having spoken to Justin at the party - and that she had been photographed looking a little bit too comfortable for their group of friends' liking. She ran a hand over her face as she pulled her hair into a tight ponytail while reaching back out to grab the water bottle Taylor had given her when Cara had arrived with her in tow.

Leia was too caught up in defending herself that she hadn't even noticed how uncharacteristically quiet Taylor had been since she had started talking about the man she had been introduced to the night before.

"He's an old school friend of Justin, the only reason I'm speaking to Justin is because he approached me and said his friend wanted to be introduced. And considering all of you bailed and I was on my own, there wasn't really anything I could have done other than meet his friend without making things incredibly awkward," Leia said, her voice a little tighter towards the end of her statement as she reminded them all that they had all left her there without any support.

"A school friend?" Selena interrupted, her voice slightly distance as she furrowed her eyebrows while she thought about all the years her and Justin had spent together. "I don't think I've ever even heard Justin speak about him. Weird."

They all shrugged it off before Gigi spoke up, her long body spread out across the couch Leia was sitting in. The model's legs were on her lap, but Leia had grown so used to this that she didn't even mind in the slightest.

"I shouldn't have left you there," Gigi decided, a hint of skepticism in her voice as Leia tried to convince them that the man wasn't shady at all, despite his bad choice in friends. Leia smiled gratefully at Gigi, appreciating her loyalty and willingness to admit her mistake.

"It's okay, Gigi. I didn't expect things to turn out like this. Dylan seemed genuinely nice, and he didn't give off any weird vibes," she remarked as she took a sip of water, the cool liquid soothing her parched throat. "He's got this laid-back vibe, you know? And he definitely wasn't anything like Justin."

Leia yawned slightly, raising a hand to cover her mouth out of habit as she stretched her limbs out slightly. Cara and Taylor shared a quick look of knowing at why the girl was tired, and the younger Delevingne sister was quick to notice the small shoot of pain that seemed to spread through Taylor's eyes. Cara was well aware that both of the girls had been harbouring secret feelings for each other, but until one of them finally admitted it to the other she knew that they were going to continue to hurt each other.

"Bad sleep?" Selena asked, her expression a little more relaxed despite the one thousand thoughts running through her head. Call her paranoid, but she was so concerned that this Dylan boy was just another ploy from Justin to get back at her again. He had never been happy with just letting Selena mind her own business and despite being broken up, it seemed that his mind games would never stop.

"We didn't really sleep," Leia admitted before she could stop herself. Cara let out a low chuckle as Gigi groaned at the imagine, reaching out and smacking her best friend with the nearest cushion she could get her hands on. "Oh come on guys!"

Leia blushed, realizing she had revealed more than she intended. The room filled with laughter and playful teasing as Gigi and Cara continued to make light of the situation. Taylor, however, remained silent, her eyes fixed on Leia with a mixture of longing and pain.

Taylor's mind was fixated of the mention of Dylan Redcrown. There was something about him that intrigued her, that stirred a deep curiosity within her. She had spent years navigating the treacherous waters of the music industry, learning its secrets and surviving its pitfalls. And yet, here was a person who seemed to be completely unknown to her - somehow finding himself at one of the most respected afterparties of the year.