Jaylor One Shots

Insecurity

Joe is at the BAFTA's this year. The movie he was in had been nominated for a couple of awards and his publicist told him it would be a good idea from him to attend, to help him gain some popularity or whatever. None of that really mattered to him anymore, he'd much rather be at home with Taylor, where he knew she was probably curled up on the couch with her cats. He'd offered for her to come tonight, he always does but he knew she wanted to keep their relationship private and he's totally understanding of that. 

He's sitting at a table, surrounded by his co-stars, participating in light conversation. After a while, he decides to get up and head over to the bar. He sits down on a stool before ordering a whiskey on ice. He looks around for a little bit before he accidentally makes eye contact with Tom Hiddleston. Crap. He tries to avert his eyes quickly but he sees him making his way over. 

"Hi, you must be Joe. I'm Tom." He sticks out his hand for Joe to shake, which Joe does politely.

"Hi, nice to meet you." 

"Can I sit?" Joe nods, not being able to help feeling a little inadequate next to Tom. A world famous actor. 

"So, are you enjoying the night?" Tom gestures to the bartender 

"Yeah. It's a great opportunity to get to be here. You?" 

"These things get a bit repetitive, kind of over it to be honest." Joe realises that Taylor says similar things about award shows. Clearly it's something he doesn't get because he's not up to the same standard as them because he's just starting out and hasn't been to many of these. They both get their drinks and Tom stands up, slapping him on the back

"Well. It was nice to meet you. See you 'round." Joe's left there feeling out of sorts. He just ran into Taylor's ex. They used to be pictured everywhere together. Come to think of it, she used to go out with all of her exes. But not Joe. The rational part of his brain is telling him that she's learnt from the mistakes of being public with her relationship, and wants theirs to work. But after seeing Tom, and thinking of her past exes who have all been full celebrities with long lists of accomplishments, he can't quite help but feel inadequate. He can't stop the thought 'maybe she's ashamed of me' swirling around his head. It's all getting a bit too much for Joe, his insecurities are shining through. He gulps down his whiskey before asking for another one, silently praying the night will be over soon. He just doesn't want to be here anymore. 

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The night draws to a close and Joe's been off for the rest of the night. Ever since he ran into Tom he's been feeling insecure, inadequate and just overall confused. Why would Taylor dump someone as successful as Tom for someone like Joe? He slides into the back of the car which takes him back home. He pulls out his phone to see a few messages from Taylor, asking how it's all going. He sighs before putting his phone back in his pocket, not particularly wanting to come across as rude with whatever response he could come up with. He's only about ten minutes away from home anyway. 

Joe tries to pull himself together as they pull up to the front door. He looks at his watch, 12am. Joe sighs, knowing Taylor will definitely still be awake. He runs his hands through his hair and steps out into the cool London nighttime air and quickly walks into the house, not leaving any opportunity for the paparazzi to see him. The house is dead quiet, meaning Taylor probably is upstairs in bed at least. Joe takes off his shoes, jacket and tie before moving to the kitchen to get some water. He doesn't particularly want to tell Taylor that he ran into her ex, or explain how he's feeling right now. Joe continues trying to quiet his mind and ignore the insecurities that are eating him up but it's not really working. 

After a few minutes, he hears the sound of someone walking down the stairs. He knows it's Taylor. He sees her appear, wearing one of his old t-shirts with her hair held back loosely in a ponytail.