Act One, Chapter Six

1.4k words
slight cw // drinking

"Do you think you're ready to start meeting new music people?" Jack asks Mikah, who is currently laying on the floor of the studio. "Like, other than me?"

Mikah laughs, "I guess." She shrugs, "I haven't told anybody I'm even working with you, so it might be weird when I'm like, Oh my god, I just met [insert famous person here], you know?"

"I don't think it would be weird, I mean, people know you're trying to get into music, so,"

"That's truuuue," Mikah groans, sitting up, "I promise I'm not usually like this, it's just one of those weeks."

Jack chuckles, "Don't worry, half of the people I work for treat me like a secondary therapist, I'm used to it. But seriously, you can come to me about anything, even if it's just that you're in desperate need of a new friend." Mikah let's out a breathy laugh, her best friends were supposed to move in with her, but they couldn't find an affordable place for all of them, so now she's stuck with her brother.

Jack clears his throat, "Sorry if this is a weird question, but I feel inclined to ask: is everything like, okay, at home?"

"Yeah, yeah,. I'm fine. Living with my brother is just hard sometimes."

"Okay, just..let me know if you need anything."

***

It's nearly 2 AM, Taylor's sprawled out on the couch, glass of wine in hand, her friends sitting on the floor around the coffee table.

"I need to be kissed, like right now, or I think I might implode."

"That seems like a fairly easy thing for a girl like you to do," Selena quips, taking a sip of her drink, "Didn't some guy try to ask you out with a friendship bracelet?"

"Yeah, like a football player or something," Abbie adds on,

"Travis Kelce," Taylor shrugs, "It was a cute gesture I guess, but I dunno, I just really wasn't in the right spot when it happened."

"And he has a mustache!" Blake chimes in, "Massive red flag, if you ask me." The room erupts in laughter, all of them taking a drink to that. All of them equally drunk,

"It's only a red flag if they're capable of the full beard and yet still choice the 'stache," Selena says, leaning against the arm of the couch,

"No, exactly!" Taylor says, taking yet another mouthful of wine, "M'gonna be so fucked up in the morning, my god."

"Don't worry girl, we'll all be fucked up together." Abbie grumbles, "I'd go and get us water but I think I'm glued to your floor."

Taylor laughs, "I am very much glued to this couch. I think I'm just gonna camp out here tonight, you guys are welcome to join me or take one of the bedrooms, I don't really care." Blake immediately stands up, running to find blankets and pillows,

"No way you're banishing us to the bedrooms! This is a sleepover!"

***

"Harry Styles is single, right?" Selena whispers into the dead of night,

"EW! Dude..no, I could never.." Taylor exclaims, everyone else bursting out laughing, "I'm genuinely offended you'd even imply I'd get back with him."

"One way or another, I will hook you up with someone!" Selena teases, poking Taylor's arm,

"That is not threatening at all, goodnight." She flips around so she's facing the back of the couch, pulling the blankets up to her chin and practically passing out once she manages to tune out the background noise.

***

"Are you sure you're okay, honey?" Taylor's mom asks for what felt like the 50th time that week, she's calling almost every day now. Which means she's worried.

"Yes, I'm fine, Mom, I promise." Taylor sighs, "I just went out and had a few drinks last night and I'm tired. I promise I'm okay and I'm eating and all that, okay?"

"Okay, just..if you need anything I'll be right there okay?"

"I know, Mom, I know." Taylor smiles a bit, "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Taylor leans back on the couch, maybe that was a little bit of a lie. She's not 100% okay, but she's definitely semi-decent, and she's eating. Her people would kill her if she slipped up, especially right now with tour and everything. The amount she's been getting drunk and subsequently coming to work with some sort of ache or reflux is only somewhat questionable at best.

Her phone buzzes next to her, she ignores it at first. Assuming it's just Selena trying to set her up again, but no, it's Jack

Jack: hey are you free saturday?
i'm throwing a little get together at EL bc i have a friend who desperately needs to meet new people
no pressure obv but i'd like it if you could come

Taylor: You know I'm always up for a studio party
What time?

***

"I'm going out!" Mikah shouts, she hears her brother moving around in his room,

"Where do you even go when you say that?" He shouts back. Since when do you care?

"To see friends? I'm 29, what else would I be doing?"

Ayden shrugs, "How am I supposed to know what old people do?"

Mikah exhales sharply, "I'll be home sometime between midnight and 2." I need to get out of this house or I'm going to scream.

"Hey man!" Jack exclaims as Mikah walks through the doors of Electric Lady. She takes a good look around, there's not an insane amount of people, but still more than she's used to.

"Hey!" She says, "Hope I'm not too late.."

"Nah, you're fine," Jack takes a sip of his drink, "I have some people I want you to meet, then you can just make yourself at home." He walks Mikah over to a small group of people cowering over what looks like a very intense game of Uno,

"So, Mikah, these wonderful people here are Lana, my wife Margaret, Claire and Tay- She's around here somewhere.."

"She said she was going to the bathroom like, 20 minutes ago, I think she's hiding" Claire shrugs, slamming a card down on the table causing groans to fill the space around them,

"I'm gonna go get a drink, I'll be back," Mikah says, Jack flashing a thumbs-up in response.

How Taylor's gone unnoticed for the past good while is a question not even she can answer, she's literally just been sitting in the corner, taking the occasional swig of whiskey to try and center herself—much to no avail, and ending up just plain tipsy.

Mikah stays by Jack for about an hour until she needs to get another drink, and while walking up to the bar she notices Taylor, still in that corner, drumming her fingers on her now-empty whiskey glass. Forgetting about her drink, she goes over to her,

"Hey," Mikah murmurs, Taylor looks up,

"Hi."

"Mind if I join you?" Mikah asks, she couldn't tell if she genuinely wanted to, or if she just wanted to understand why the people who (Mikah assumes) are her close friends seemed so put off by her earlier, "I'm Mikah, by the way."

"Taylor," the Blonde says, sitting up straight and extending her hand for Mikah to shake, "Jack's talked a lot about you

"He's said a lot about you, too," Mikah smiles, sitting down next to Taylor, "Are you okay? Your hands are shaking." Taylor looks down, sighing

"Yeah, I'm just tipsy and kinda overwhelmed, if I'm honest."

"Ah, I totally get that."

"I just feel like everyone here has someone, you know? Someone to make out with, someone to drink with, whatever." Taylor says abruptly, "My boyfriend hated this stuff, I shouldn't miss it, but I still do, I dunno. Break-ups are weird like that."

Mikah listens to what the other girl is saying, nodding along. Despite only having known her 10 minutes, Taylor was drunk and clearly needed an outlet and Mikah was more than happy to be it. "I'm sorry," She says gently

"Don't be, it's stupid."

"It's not stupid, break-ups are a big deal. You're allowed to grieve."

Taylor sinks her head down to her knees, feeling herself get choked up, "Fuck, I needed that,"

"No problem," Mikah says, cautiously laying a hand on Taylor's shoulder. She looks up, making brief eye contact with the girl sitting next to her. It only lasted half a second, but she couldn't help but notice her eyes. Something about those eyes.

"I just realized, you don't have a drink and my glass is empty," Taylor says, trying to shake off whatever that was,

"What are you trying to say here?"

"Can I buy us drinks?"

🩶🩶🩶

I HAVE RETURNED!!! being a theatre kid is a full time job but i have an entire week off school next week so expect at least an update or two
also idk how to play uno so they may or may not just be playing blackjack with uno cards
not proofread
vote, comment, don't ghost read etc love all of youuu