They'd had every intention of attending the Met Gala after party. Leia had been given a list of instructions by Riven, knowing that if she wasn't somewhat prepared by her publicist for her first big event like that, that she would most likely end up putting her foot in her mouth and ruining her career before it even got off the runway.

The drinks had been flowing pretty quickly after dinner had been finished. Karlie had been making out with some male model at another table within twenty minutes, Gigi and Zayn had disappeared to who knows where and Blake, who was seemingly the only sober one, had spent almost ten minutes trying to get Ryan to stop asking Leia any question that entered his mind whenever he looked at the girl he had just met.

Taylor had even been dancing basically on Tom Hiddleston, something that Leia never thought she'd ever see or even imagine in her entire life. She was pretty sure that the girl was still with Calvin Harris, but judging by the way none of her friends seemed to negatively react towards the scene before them, Leia wondered if that information was incorrect.

Therefore, if anyone had told Leia before that night that she would end up staying the night at Taylor Swift's house in a massive sleepover with all of her friends instead of at the after-party that Riven had spent hours prepping her for... well, she would have instantly called them out for talking nonsense. But then again, that's what she used to think about having any of her singles be released let alone become an international chart topper in the space of a month or two.

But there she was, sprawled out on the floor of Taylor Swift's living room, surrounded by giggling celebrities in various states of inebriation. The room was a whirlwind of laughter and music, pulsating with the energy of newfound friendships and shared experiences. Leia couldn't help but feel a pinch of disbelief at her current situation.

To be even more honest, Leia had always imagined that hanging out with the Swift Squad - or whatever the press had been calling it - would require signing multiple NDAs and years of close friendship, not one night and one too many drinks at the Met Gala. She couldn't wait to call her sister in the morning, knowing fine well the girl was probably already seething with jealousy all the way from the UK.

Case in point, Leia was currently resting her back against Selena's legs as the ebony haired girl weaved her hands through Leia's hair to try and make the perfect dutch braids. The actor-turned-singer hadn't even been with them for most of the night at the Meta Gala, but she'd been with them during the time they'd all managed to get from the venue to the apartment.

Leia wasn't really sure why she had even been invited - she had been Karlie's plus one to the event, but the model had gone home with the guy she had spent half the night making out with. She'd said a goodbye to Leia, and then had left her in the company of her drunk friends. It wasn't soon after that when a number of them started to head over, and Taylor demanded that those that remained skipped the after party and had wine and pizza at her place instead.

From across the room, Leia smiled at two of the Haim sisters - Alana and Danielle, watching as they tried to figure out what pizzas they were needing to feed the group of them that had decided to crash at Taylor's house. She'd been a bit overwhelmed when they'd first came over, the trio all talking over each other as they joined the dance floor with her and Gigi, but now that they had all gotten changed into animal onesies that Taylor had lying around (why, Leia would never know), things seemed a lot more relaxed.

"Leia's allergic to jalapeños!" Este informed them from the other room as her and Taylor brought through a mug of hot chocolate for each of them. Leia smiled at Taylor as the blonde passed her the mug, their hands brushing for a second as the exchange occurred. There was a slight second where they paused, but Selena groaning behind Leia made their gazes drop as Taylor returned to handing out the mugs to the rest of the girls.

"How did you know that?" Leia muttered, confused before Selena interrupted.

"No way!" Selena groaned, sad that the pizza she had been wanting would cause Leia to have an allergic reaction. "That's it, I'm not finishing your hair."

Leia laughed along with the rest of them, knowing that Selena was only joking. The British star simply shrugged, not really knowing how to respond to Selena's disappointment with her allergies.

"Hey, as long as I don't eat it, you're good to go," Leia informed her, throwing her head back and laughing as Selena jumped on to Taylor's couch and started doing a celebratory dance. The room erupted in laughter as Selena's celebratory dance sent everyone into fits of giggles. Leia couldn't help but feel a warmth spreading through her chest.

The night carried on with more laughter, dancing, and shared stories. Leia couldn't remember the last time she had felt so carefree, so accepted in a group of people who seemed to genuinely like her for who she was. When the pizza arrived, things calmed down again and it was clear that a lot of them were slowly starting to sober up now that they had lined their stomachs.

While the others continued to dig into the pizzas, Leia noticed that Taylor had stood up to walk over to the girl. Despite only having met hours before, there was something about Taylor that made Leia feel like she had known her for her whole life. Smiling softly at the blonde, Leia titled her head as she listened to what Taylor was about to say.

"Since Gomez got distracted," Taylor joked, laughing as Selena grunted back in reply from where she was picking out a pizza with the Haim sisters. "I'll finish your braids if you want?"

Noticing how Taylor almost seemed nervous to ask, Leia grinned brightly at the girl and nodded, scooting forward so that Taylor could jump up behind her on to the couch where Selena previously had been sitting. Moving back against the blonde's legs once she had settled into the couch, Leia had a sudden feeling of relief spread across her at being accepted into this group of friends as if she had always been a part of it.

Leia took a sip of her hot chocolate, relishing in the sweet warmth that filled her mouth. She glanced around the room, observing the different dynamics between the girls. Selena and Alana were whispering secrets to each other, their heads bent close together, while Este and Danielle were engaged in a spirited debate about their favourite pizza toppings.

Even though she was sitting there with them, Leia almost felt like she was having an out of body experience. She marvelled at how easily these famous women shed their public personas and revelled in their genuine friendship - something that she'd been significantly lacking in since she'd moved across the country to try and take her career to the next level. Her only friend growing up had been her little sister, having been branded as 'weird' by her classmates, and never having stayed in one place long enough to make lifelong friends either.

"You're fitting right in," Taylor said, breaking the comfortable silence between them as she continued to sooth her fingers through Leia's hair. Leia blushed at the comment, almost feeling like Taylor was able to see right through her and into her mind. "It's nice."

"It's more than nice," Leia replied softly, turning her head slightly to meet Taylor's gaze. "It feels like...."

She trailed off, not wanting to freak the blonde out by telling her it almost felt like home. She'd known her for less than eight hours, and telling her that would have been a little bit ridiculous. Sure, they were drunk, and sure Taylor might not have remembered it, but the last thing she wanted was for Karlie to tell her that her friends thought she was a freak.

Taylor's eyes softened, a tender smile gracing her lips. Leia had never seen someone convey so much emotion with just a look. She'd never met someone who seemed as genuine as Taylor did from their very first interaction, and it was almost like Leia was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and the girls persona to change.

Leia knew it was a massive deal, maybe not to anyone else in the room, but this was something Leia could have only ever imagined. When she had first made friends with Karlie, she hadn't expected anything to really come of it. She had convinced herself that Karlie was going to get bored of her quickly and they'd simply just stay as acquaintances, so the fact that she was here was amazing to her.

Taylor's hands paused for a moment before resuming their gentle braiding. Leia could sense that there was something more she wanted to say. There was a vulnerability in Taylor's eyes that mirrored her own, as if they were both teetering on the edge of a precipice.

"You know," Taylor began, her voice barely above a whisper, "it's not easy being in this industry. It can be lonely and cutthroat."

Leia nodded, understanding exactly what Taylor meant. She had already experienced some of the harsh realities of fame in her short time in the spotlight. The constant scrutiny, the pressure to conform, the feeling of losing oneself in the pursuit of success. Despite her parents warnings though, Leia had rose-tinted glasses about the industry and Karlie had warned Taylor of that long before that evening.

"If you ever need anything," Taylor said, her voice a little louder now as she finished tying the end of the braids. "I'm happy to listen."

"Thank you," Leia replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She couldn't help but wonder how someone as successful and famous as Taylor Swift could possibly relate to her own struggles.

Taylor nodded, her hand reaching out to gently squeeze Leia's shoulder. The simple touch sent a wave of warmth through Leia's body. Tugging at the zipper on the onesie that Taylor had insisted she wear, Leia wondered if she looked like the most flustered fox to have every existed. In fact, at this point, she was sure that the colour of her cheeks probably matched the fox red colour that decorated the onesie.

Just as quick as the vulnerable exchange had started, it finished as the blonde whipped out her phone and flung it across the room towards Alana who screamed as she noticed the device flying towards her. Luckily for Taylor, the singer had a remarkably good athletic set of skills and managed to catch the phone before it smacked her straight in the face. Leia gasped slightly at how quickly that had just happened, but Taylor didn't even seem phased by the disaster she almost created.

"Alana! Take a photo of Leia and I!"

Leia swore that in that moment, she died and had transcended to somewhere else.

Grinning as Taylor leaned down to wrap her arms tightly around her, Leia knew that this photo was going to go straight on her instagram with Taylor's permission, of course. There was no way she could get a photo of the moment when things felt like they were clicking into place for her and not want to post that everywhere.

And as they all gathered around the floor of Taylor's living room to eat pizza Leia wondered if this was going to become a frequent event in her life. She didn't mind if it was.

____

It had only been a week since the afterparty that Taylor had held for the few members of her friend group that had attended the Gala, but Leia had been on such a high ever since then. Not only had she had the best night ever with her new best friends, but she was also having great success in the charts.

Karlie had told her the next day over lunch that Taylor and the rest of their friends had nothing but good things to say about the brunette, and Leia was almost glowing at the news. She had been worried that they were just being nice to her because they felt bad that Karlie had brought her and then ditched her for some guy - who as it turned out was not a model, but rather a wealthy businessman called Joshua, who Karlie had been on-and-off with since 2012.

That explained why none of Karlie's friends seemed even surprised when Leia had been left behind, she figured. It would have been nice to know beforehand that her favourite fling was going to be in attendance, and that she might get abandoned, but Leia supposed that everything happened for a reason. Had Karlie not left that night, she might not have ended up bonding with Taylor, Selena and the Haim sisters.

It appeared that her success in the charts was a by-product of the entire evening. Her streams had jumped moments after her interview (which had turned out to be live, so just as well Karlie had been there), with lots of Swifties spreading her name once they heard her mention her admiration for Taylor. It seemed like the woman's fans loved to hear others praising their leader, and Leia couldn't help but agree with them.

Be The One had jumped from number eight to rest peacefully at the top spot on the charts in both the USA and the UK for a few days now and Leia honestly felt amazed at how quickly everything was progressing for her. Her followers on Instagram had literally doubled overnight, mostly from the fact Taylor herself had posted the photos of them all at her apartment - including the one of her hugging Leia.

While her album was certainly nowhere near ready to even be named, she knew that this early success would hopefully carry some momentum for when she finally released it in the later months of the year. All week she had been constantly floating in and out of the studio recording new material and she also found herself now in demand on talk shows and photoshoots that she could never have imagined.

Her manager, Adrian, and her publicist, Riven, had been working in overdrive. They'd gone from having a small Z-list client to having a client that was rubbing shoulders with A+++ listers in less than two weeks. She knew they were feeling a little out of their depths, but she knew that she was sharing that feeling too.

She didn't want to become just another manufactured popstar. She wanted her music to be a reflection of herself and her experiences, and she wanted to use her platform to shed light on important issues. She knew how quickly it could all fall apart - she could easily be the next one-hit wonder.

So as the weeks went by, Leia's schedule became increasingly hectic. Between interviews, live performances, and studio sessions, she barely had time to catch her breath. She was scheduled for her first televised performance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night, and she believed that her manager was trying to work around her schedule to fit in a quick visit to James Corden in the upcoming weeks too.

Leia was truly overwhelmed.

She'd always had a bit of a casual friendship with Karlie. They'd speak for a few days, then go silent for a month or so. She'd thought that would be the case for her friends too, but it seemed they were a lot more keen on staying in constant contact with their newest toy. Leia told her publicist that she kept thinking it was all just while she was fun and new, but Riven told her that he knew a publicity stunt when he saw one - and she wasn't famous enough for the girls to keep her around on that purpose. A humbling comment, but very true.

Not only had she been spending more time with Taylor and the rest of the girls, but she was currently on a hike up to the Hollywood sign with Taylor as the two had ditched their usual gym routines for something a bit more exciting. She'd been visiting her in Taylor's favourite studio, since Leia was now renting a place in LA and needed somewhere to record her music. Taylor had suggested she come and check the place out, so that's exactly what she had done. When Leia admitted she'd never seen the Hollywood sign, Taylor had dropped everything and demanded they go visit.

While Leia enjoyed being alone with Taylor - well, alone, if you ignored the two bodyguards that followed the two girls from a distance - she also felt a great fear of scaring the girl off. Her friendship with Karlie worked because they often didn't see each other, but Taylor had been so keen to hang out whenever they were both in the same area. Taylor clearly did not feel the same fear as she was chatting away without a single care in the world, sharing her personal life with Leia as if they'd known each other forever.

Leia couldn't help but wonder if their growing friendship was just a passing phase, a temporary excitement for Taylor until someone else caught her attention. She didn't want to be just another acquaintance in Taylor's long list of friends. She knew that Taylor was a superstar, someone who was used to being in the spotlight and always surrounded by people.

"It was different, you know?" Taylor told Leia, her eyes sparkling slightly as she tried to talk about what she had discovered at the Met Gala. Leia was enthralled by the conversation, feeling like she was being told top secret information. "Like yeah, I love Calvin but the love's seemingly gone a bit..."

She trailed off as she tried to find the right word to use. Leia snapped her fingers as she took a sip from her water bottle, having an idea of the world that Taylor was trying to find.

"Cold?" Taylor nodded, appreciating Leia's choice of words.

"Yes, exactly. Cold. And it's not just because we're barely spending time together, but because I think I'm realising that I'm like losing myself in our relationship. I just find myself being so focused on... being the perfect girlfriend or something, like, the perfect partner, that I feel I've been forgetting who I am as an individual."

Leia listened intently, her gaze fixed on Taylor as they continued their hike up the trail. The Hollywood sign stood tall in the distance, a symbol of dreams and aspirations. It seemed fitting for their conversation. She wondered how many people Taylor had brought on this hike, how many secrets she'd shared on the trail.

"But when I was dancing with Tom, it was like nothing else mattered!" Taylor gushed, Leia smiling gently at her friend while she gushed about her chemistry with the British actor. Leia had known from Karlie that Taylor and Calvin hadn't been seeing completely eye-to-eye in the past few weeks, but Leia hadn't expected that Taylor would be gossiping with her about something so personal when they didn't even know much about each other.

"I think if that's what you're feeling and if things with Calvin seem like they're done then you should act on it."

Taylor pondered for a second before nodding her head in agreement at the girl's words. Turning to face her new friend, her smile dropped slightly as she realised just how much Leia was seemingly struggling from their hiking trip. The girl was sweating a lot heavier than Taylor, and she was almost as red as the lipstick that Taylor had been so fond of wearing.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asked, slowing to a halt as she allowed Leia to lean forward, resting her arms on her knee caps as she tried to catch her breath. The brunette nodded, waving her hand randomly around in the air as she took another chug of her water bottle.

"Yeah, em, I'm not really used, uh, to this heat," Leia explained through sighs, allowing her breath to regain as she looked towards the superstar. Expecting Taylor to be disappointed in her for not managing what was apparently an easy hike, Leia waited for the blissful look on the blonde's face to drop.

But it didn't.

Taylor nodded, passing the brunette her own water bottle as she turned and started to slowly head back down the path that they had came. Leia stayed still, confusion written across her face as she watched Taylor start to leave. The blonde paused, looking over her shoulder with a smile as her eyes connected with the upcoming singer.

"Well Hudson, are you coming or what?" Taylor laughed, her white teeth poking over her lips as she grinned. "We're almost there!"

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originally published: august 2018

rewritten: february 2024