Jaylor One Shots

Break-in

Taylor wakes to her phone ringing beside her, the vibrations on the side table loud enough to pull her from her slumber. Groggily she climbs out of bed, quickly tip-toeing out of the room to avoid waking Joe up. Closing the door gently behind her, she answers it.

"Hello?" She says softly down the line, rubbing her eyes as she moves further away from their room. 

"Hi Taylor, it's Ben. Sorry did I wake you?" A deep voice comes from the other end of the line, recognising her security manager she begins to worry a little. 

"No, no - I was up late anyway. What's wrong?" She switches on the lights, running a hand through her hair as she sits down on the kitchen stool.

"We just wanted to inform you that your Tribeca apartment was broken into." Taylor freezes, why does this keep happening? She's suddenly extremely awake. 

"Did...did they catch the person?" She asks hesitantly, praying that he says yes. 

"Yes, they found him sleeping in your bed. As far as we can tell, he decided to take a shower as well." Taylor's heart drops, her whole body freezing, she can feel her heart pounding in her chest. She feels disgusted, how can her own home not even be safe?

"Oh. Okay. Thanks for updating me." She mumbles, trying to end the call before she goes into full panic mode. 

"I'm sorry it happened. We can discuss your security system and updating it if need be at a later date." She closes her eyes. 

"Okay, thank you - bye." She says abruptly before hanging up the phone, promptly letting it drop onto the kitchen counter. Taylor rests her head in her hands and her shoulders drop. She can't believe that it happened again, she's tired of it at this point. What if she'd been there? What if Joe had been there? Was this guy armed? What the hell did he want from her? She tries to focus on her breathing as she begins to spiral. She's so lucky she's in London but New York is her home, where she spends most of her time. Now, she's not sure if she'll ever feel safe there again. This is why she carries QuickClot army grade bandage dressing just in case - especially now she's sharing her life with someone else. She hates having to think this way, hates that she can't even feel safe in her own house because there is always a chance that something like this could happen. Because people take it upon themselves to post her addresses everywhere. This is one of those times where she's frustrated with the life she chose. She just wants to be able to put out music and people leave her be after that. 

Taylor gets up with shaking hands and pours herself a glass of water, trying to calm down. It's not really working at all. 

"Taylor?" She hears call from behind her, causing her to jump - subsequently dropping the glass that was in her hand. She watches as it shatters on the cold, tiled floor. 

"Shit." She mumbles. She looks behind her and sees that it's just Joe. Her heart is still beating heavily in her chest from the shock and fear.  

"Don't move, you'll cut yourself." She watches Joe grab the vacuum cleaner and suck up all the glass at her feet. Once he's done, she still hasn't moved. She's still trying to calm herself down, doesn't want to worry Joe. It's a lot to deal with - for anyone. She's still scared the dangers of her life will cause him to run, she's done her best to become invisible but of course times like these are inevitable. Joe moves towards her and places his warm hands on her arms.

"Are you okay?" She forces a smile and nods.

"Just needed to get some water." She doesn't know why she even tries - he's always been able to read her. Joe looks into her eyes and sighs,

"Taylor, I thought we didn't do this anymore. Hiding your feelings isn't helping anyone." Before she can protest, he pulls her body to his and she starts to feel safer pressed up against his warm skin. She closes her eyes and buries her face in his neck. He gently runs his fingers through her hair, happily comforting her despite having no clue what has actually happened.

"What's wrong love?" He whispers softly. Taylor feels tears building up in her eyes, she's trying so hard to keep them from falling. 

"A man broke into my Tribeca apartment and slept in my bed." She explains, her voice cracking. She feels Joe's body tense up for a moment before he goes back to soothing her. 

"It's okay love, he can't hurt you here." Taylor squeezes her eyes shut,

"But someone else could. It's just too real, this is the reality of living in the spotlight. I'm never going to be truly safe." She whispers into his chest. Tears begin falling out of her eyes and she's unable to stop them now. Joe tightens his grip around her, not really saying anything else. She knows he knows she's right. 

"I don't want you to get hurt." She mumbles in a small voice, her biggest fear. Not necessarily herself getting hurt - which is scary enough on its own. But now, Joe being hurt, because of her. That's her worst nightmare. He lives with her, she knows her stalkers hate him because they think she's theirs. Joe rubs her back,

"No one's going to hurt me. I promise." This just makes her cry more. She knows he can't promise her that, anything could happen. The thought of losing him to one of her stalkers just sends her into a deeper panic spiral than before. She hadn't quite been in this position before - sharing her life in this way. Joe has such a normal life without her, one where he didn't have to worry about being hurt or killed at any given time. Joe picks her up bridal style, carrying her carefully back to their bedroom. She still has her eyes firmly shut and her face buried in his chest, crying. He sits down on the bed, pulling her onto his lap. 

"Taylor, love, I need you to breathe." Taylor tries her best to gain control of herself again, and with Joe's comforting words and hand rubbing circles into her back - she begins to centre herself. She feels her body slump against Joe, exhausted from the nights events. She doesn't have any fight left in her, is so sick of feeling like this. He continues to hold her close, gently playing with her hair. 

"Feeling better?" He murmurs softly. She nods against his chest, feeling completely emotionally drained. He kisses the side of her head and she feels her eyes beginning to droop shut. She can feel him gently move her so that she's lying down, wrapping his arms around her, allowing her head to rest on his chest. She presses her body as close to his as she can, not wanting to ever let go. She'd protect him with her life if it really came down to it.

"How are you feeling about this?" She says softly, realising that Joe has to be freaked out to some extent. 

"I am worried, it's you they're after and I don't want them to get to you. I swear to you, I'm going to protect you. No one's ever going to hurt you." He says fiercely. She knows that Joe worries about her safety, just as much as she worries about his. Her being in the public eye all the time affects the both of them now that they're sharing a life together. 

"I'm sorry." She whispers. 

"What on earth are you apologising for?" She sighs,

"It's my fault that this is something we have to worry about. You never asked to be dragged into all of this...this mess. I'm sorry that this is a part of our lives." Joe tightens his grip around her as she speaks, as though she might run away from him. 

"Don't ever apologise for that. It's not your fault. People just can't seem to get it through their heads that your private life isn't theirs. That our life is just for us. Besides, I would go through all this a thousand times if it means I get to be with you. Because I love you so so much Taylor, don't ever forget that." Finally, she looks up at him. Into his ocean blue eyes - their depths are filled with love and concern. She can also see that he's shed some tears tonight so she reaches up to wipe them away. She watches as his cheeks redden a bit when he realises she's noticed. 

"I love you too." Taylor throws her arms around him, holding him tight. "So much." They hold onto each other as they drift back off to sleep. Tonights events will need to be dealt with tomorrow, but for now they just want to comfort one another.