The VIP tent was already a small city - people moving in and out, security radios crackling softly, champagne flutes half-drunk on scattered side tables. Above it all, music pulsed low from the stadium speakers, like a heartbeat held just under the surface. The show hadn't even started, but the buzz had already hit a fever pitch.

Leia stood near one of the canvas flaps, arms tucked close to her chest, cradling a bottle of water she hadn't opened. She was dressed in utter rebellion - not glamorous, not camera-ready, not even trying. A faded Junior Jewels T-shirt hung loose on her frame, Sharpie signatures (including Taylor, Scott and Andrea's) scrawled across the fabric in glittering marker pens, paired with soft plaid pyjama pants and an old pair of Converse she'd nearly thrown away last year.

And fans were losing their minds.

Even from inside the tent, she could hear them - high-pitched shrieks and breathless commentary drifting from behind barricades.

"She's wearing the Junior Jewels shirt-"

"Those are pyjama pants. She came in pyjama pants!"

Leia smiled, a little crookedly, and sipped her water at last.

"You're trending," Georgie said, sidling up beside her with a smirk. "#LeiaErasTour is number four in the US and climbing."

Leia rolled her eyes, unbothered. "Good. Let them think I'm soft. Then I'll emotionally destroy them by crying during marjorie."

Austin appeared with a second water and passed it to Georgie, eyeing Leia's outfit.

"So this is what we're wearing now?"

Leia looked down at herself. "She told me to wear something casual."

Georgie raised a brow. "And you listened?"

"She literally said, 'If you wear something sexy, I'll get worked up onstage and blame you.'"

Georgie snorted. "Fair."

Leia's gaze drifted back to the open flap of the tent. The sky beyond was deepening to indigo now, the sun slipping behind the stadium's curve, and the first opener's crew was moving in position. Any minute now, the crowd would erupt again and this time, it wouldn't stop.

She touched her wrist absently, her thumb grazing the edge of the anniversary bracelet Taylor had given her on her birthday at the studio in New Orleans. Leia turned just in time for Georgie to crash into her, arms wrapping around her waist, the two of them swaying slightly as they laughed. Georgie was in a silk jumpsuit the colour of disco balls and danger, her lips already stained pink from the first round of champagne.

Austin was grinning in his more subdued button-down and blazer.

"You look like you're trying to blend in and failing miserably."

Leia mock-bowed. "Thank you. That's exactly what I was going for."

"Do you feel ready?" Georgie asked, stepping back to study her. "I mean, this is it. The show. Your girl. And I've seen some of the rehearsals - it's batshit beautiful."

Leia exhaled slowly, fingers playing with the edge of her sleeve. "I think I'm more nervous than she is. Which is probably not how this is meant to go."

Austin gave her shoulder a warm squeeze.

"She's been buzzing about this all week. You know that, right?"

Leia looked down into her water. The ice had mostly melted.

"She asked me not to come to rehearsals. Said she wanted me to see it all at once. Like the fans do."

Georgie raised a brow. "Romantic."

"Cruel," Leia corrected, but she was smiling.

There was something strange about being here, at the center of it, and still feeling like a satellite. Not excluded, just... hovering on the edge of something momentous. The tour had taken over their lives for months - scheduling, fittings, choreography, planning, security. But this was the first time Leia felt the sheer weight of what it meant. This wasn't just a concert. It was a cathedral.

"I'm gonna run to the bathroom before the openers start," she said, brushing Georgie's hand lightly as she passed. "Don't let anyone drink my water."

"You say that like it's vodka," Austin called after her.

Leia slipped out beneath the edge of the tent, moving through the cordoned-off pathways that led backstage, past gaggles of crew members with headsets and sharp, confident purpose. She kept her head slightly down - not hiding, but not inviting attention either. Fans were already pressed to the edges of the barricades that framed the stadium's inner corridors, phones out, hoping to catch glimpses of anyone they recognized.

As she neared the entrance to the private restrooms, she paused to tug her sleeves up just slightly, the night air warmer than she'd expected. Her skin buzzed, like it had absorbed the excitement and didn't know how to contain it.

That's when she saw her.

Tree Paine, ever-formidable publicist, standing a few feet ahead in a navy pantsuit, clipboard in hand and earpiece tucked into her copper hair as she pulled at the device, passing it off to one of the crew before turning around with the intention of starting her own move to the tents to watch the show. She spotted Leia instantly and broke into a smile that softened the lines of her usually unreadable face.

"Well, if it isn't the girl of the hour," Tree said, stepping toward her.

Leia laughed, caught off guard. "Pretty sure that's someone else tonight."

Tree shook her head and opened her arms. "Come here."

Leia let herself be pulled in. The hug was warm, firm, the kind meant to calm more than congratulate.

"You holding up okay?" Tree asked quietly. Leia nodded into her shoulder.

"Just trying not to cry until at least the bridge of champagne problems or people will really think something weird is going on if I'm sobbing as soon as she starts cruel summer."

Tree pulled back and smiled, her voice lowering to a near-whisper as she leaned in again.

"She's so, so excited for you to see it in full production. It's all she's talked about all day. That look on your face when the lights go down? That's her real opening night."

Leia's throat closed. She blinked hard.

Behind them, someone gasped - a fan, filming from the side gates. Another held up a phone and waved. Tree didn't flinch.

"Let them film," she murmured. "Let them guess. You don't need to hide joy."

Leia stepped back, touched Tree's wrist once in thanks, and gave a small nod to the crowd behind the barricade. A few fans squealed. Someone shouted her name. Someone else - bless them - shouted, "You look hot, Leia!"

She grinned and waved once before slipping through the door to the restrooms, the noise outside muffled instantly. Inside, it was quiet. Cold. Dimly lit.

She leaned over the sink, bracing herself with both hands.

When she exited, the air outside was warmer than she remembered. Maybe it was just her skin, still cooled from the marble chill of the bathroom, or maybe it was the atmosphere itself - everything electric, everything stirring. The stadium buzzed beyond the walls like a living thing.

Leia stepped out into the corridor again, the noise hitting her in soft pulses: radio chatter, footsteps, distant cheers. The edges of her vision felt a little sharper now. Her heart still beat too fast, but it wasn't anxiety anymore. Not really. Just anticipation strung tight beneath her skin, waiting for release.

Tree was still leaning against the wall just ahead, phone in hand, thumb swiping through what Leia guessed were set times or group chats or some poor panicked intern's latest update. Her clipboard was now tucked beneath her arm like it had been in battle and won.

"There she is," Tree said without looking up. "Still breathing?"

Leia gave a dry laugh. "Barely."

Tree fell into step beside her as they began to walk. The path back to the VIP tent wound just behind a row of cordoned-off fan zones... the kinds of places superfans were strategically allowed to line up, cameras poised, ever hopeful for glimpses of dancers, managers, or as of tonight Leia herself.

She felt it happen before she even saw them.

"Wait, are those pajama pants?! Icon behavior."

Tree sighed under her breath. "And here we go."

Leia grinned. They turned a corner, and there they were... about a dozen young women behind the rail, decked out in friendship bracelets and colour-coded outfits, their faces flushed with excitement and eyeliner. One had glitter hearts drawn around her eyes. Another was in a full custom-made folklore cardigan. They were clutching phones like sacred objects, already mid-record.

"Leia!" one of them squealed, practically bouncing in place. "Hi! You look amazing!"

Leia tilted her head and leaned slightly closer, hands stuffed into the pockets of her plaid pajama pants. "You guys have very low standards."

"No!" another girl shouted. "You look adorable! You're giving like... bedtime and fearless."

"Junior Jewels queen," someone else said reverently, like they were naming a deity. "We weren't ready."

Leia laughed. "Well, you can thank anyone except Taylor. She begged me not to dress up but I knew I had to."

More screams. Several fans gasped. One clutched her friend's wrist in a way that said: this is important, this is going to be a moment.

"Wait," a girl in a lavender Eras hoodie said, leaning over the rail, voice rising with curiosity, "have you seen rehearsals though? Was it amazing? Are you like sworn to secrecy or something?"

"My girlfriend said she wanted to see my face the first time I saw each era, so she asked me not to go to Taylor's rehearsals - she got to go, of course, but I agreed cause I'm a good girlfriend."

The group erupted into shocked chaos.

It was less a reaction and more an explosion - the kind that lit the air like fireworks and pressed at Leia's skin like static. The shriek that came from one girl's mouth was so piercing it bordered on operatic. Another dropped her phone entirely, hands flying to her face like she was shielding herself from the sheer impact of the moment.

Leia took half a step back, laughing now, the sound bubbling up from somewhere that had nothing to do with performance. It wasn't stage laughter. It was real, delighted and half-embarrassed. It tugged her cheeks higher than she meant, crinkled the corners of her eyes. It surprised her, how much joy she felt from them feeling joy - even if they had no idea what they were actually reacting to. Tree even was laughing, not even annoyed at Leia for teasing them like this.

"She's here. She's in the crowd, isn't she? Your secret girlfriend is here!!!"

The girl in the pink sequined Lover dress turned to her friend with wide, tear-bright eyes. "That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard in my life. I'm not kidding. I think I'm gonna throw up."

Their voices swelled and layered, rolling over one another like waves, tripping in a race to be the first to understand something that, to them, was brand new. To Leia, it was old. Sacred. It lived under her ribs, not out in the open. But now it was echoing back at her in chorus form, wrapped in sparkle and disbelief.

She folded her arms loosely over her chest, weight shifting to one leg, letting them have the moment. The sunset made the gold in her hair glow warmer, catching the ends like threads of fire. Her Junior Jewels shirt, oversized and wrinkled, hung off her frame with studied ease — something adolescent and honest about the look. Like she hadn't been dressed by stylists, hadn't been trained to polish every inch of herself into star-quality. She just looked happy.

"Like I said, she said she wants to see my face for the first time during each Era," Leia added lightly, eyes scanning the crowd of glitter-soaked fans, bracelets jangling up their arms, cameras pointed directly at her. "Apparently my emotional breakdown is her love language."

She hadn't meant to say it like that - hadn't meant to offer them a sliver of something real. But it slipped out the way it always did when it was about Taylor. Not for attention. Not for mystery. Just... truth, barely disguised.

She didn't lie. But she also didn't correct them.

"I know you're like not telling people for her own privacy, but is like your girlfriend in the crowd tonight too?" one of them asked breathlessly.

Leia shrugged, the tiniest lift of one shoulder, coy but not cold. "Something like that, I think. Hope she's enjoying it."

Tree, who had been standing next to her like a statue in Louboutin heels, finally exhaled - a sound like steam barely escaping a pressurised kettle. Her face didn't shift much, but Leia didn't need her to speak to hear the sentence she was holding in: You're unbelievable.

And she was.

She knew it. She also didn't care.

Because somewhere behind all this, somewhere behind the scaffolding and fog machines, somewhere backstage where the scent of hairspray and adrenaline lived like incense, Taylor was waiting.

Taylor - who had spent six months building this show, piece by piece, like it was a cathedral made of memory.

Taylor - who had kissed her wrist the night before and whispered, Don't blink when I start. I want to watch your heart be mine in real time.

Taylor - who was the girlfriend in the crowd, and the star of the stage, and the quiet, breathless reason Leia had been able to write again.

The fans didn't know that. But she did.

She let the silence bloom for one last second, then gave them a final wave and turned away, the canvas path soft beneath her feet, her hair brushing against the backs of her shoulders as she walked. Her bracelet shifted against her wrist, the one Taylor made her wear. Somewhere behind her, the screaming turned into the frantic clatter of typing - captions already being written, posts already forming.

Tree fell into step beside her, face unreadable.

"I'm not going to say anything," Tree murmured.

"You just did."

Tree pressed her lips together. "I'm honestly more impressed than anything else. That was... kind of incredible."

Leia glanced sideways, half a grin on her lips. "I know."

Tree huffed. "Ego."

And still - she smiled.

The stadium loomed larger ahead now, the lights burning brighter as the opening acts began to take their places. The whole night still hovered, waiting to begin.

But for now, Leia let herself bask in the in-between. In this one secret stretched loud across the sky, and all the people who didn't know they were cheering for a love story that had already changed everything.

____

The show felt less like a concert and more like time bending. Three hours had passed, but Leia didn't feel time at all, only the adrenaline humming in her bloodstream, the ache in her cheeks from smiling too much, the warmth blooming somewhere below her ribs every time Taylor glanced toward the VIP tent. The music washed over her in waves, era after era like lifetimes collapsing into glitter and gold, the scream of the crowd rising and falling like breath.

Her voice was already half gone. Her heart was doing laps. But she had never felt more alive.

Now, the stage darkened again - not completely, just enough to shift the energy. Something cooler. Sleeker. Like velvet poured over glass.

Leia blinked against the lights. The intro to Lavender Haze curled through the air, all smoke and synth and heartbeat, and her chest swelled as Taylor reappeared in glitter. The Midnights set had begun.

Everything around her softened. Time stilled.

Leia stood near the edge of the VIP tent, one hand on the rail, eyes fixed to the stage as if tethered. The sound system pulsed through the soles of her shoes, the bass echoing inside her bones. She couldn't look away. Not now. Not during her album. The one Taylor wrote like a confession. The one that had stitched them back together.

She didn't notice Tree approach until she felt a gentle touch at her elbow just before the next song after Midnight Rain started.

"Step back a little," Tree murmured, low enough that only Leia could hear. Her voice was calm but certain - the kind of tone that carried weight without needing explanation. "Just... a few steps."

Leia blinked, confused. "Why?"

Tree gave her a knowing glance. "Trust me."

Leia frowned but obeyed, taking a slow step backward, then another, moving deeper into the shadowed part of the tent. From here, she was less visible. The spotlight didn't catch her face anymore. The crowd's view would blur her into the background. It felt like retreating, but Tree's hand gave her wrist the gentlest squeeze of thanks before slipping away.

And then the lights shifted again.

The stage lit up in shades of blue and smoke.

The sound of Vigilante Shit dropped like a blade.

Leia's breath caught.

It wasn't just the intro. It was the stance. Taylor — her Taylor — stepped forward in that blue bodysuit, sharp as sin and soaked in confidence. Her silhouette was all curve and cut, her shoulders pulled back, her gaze deadly.

Then came the chair.

Taylor turned, smirked, and dropped onto it like gravity bent for her.

Leia's brain flatlined.

It was visceral. Primal. Taylor moved like she owned the stage, the crowd, the oxygen in the room. One long leg stretched out, commanding. Her hips rolled, deliberate. Her eyes cut toward the VIP tent — just once, just long enough — and Leia's lungs forgot their job entirely.

"Oh," Leia whispered aloud. "Oh."

Beside her, Austin let out a choked snort. He was trying very hard to look away. He failed.

"Jesus," he muttered, laughter twitching at his mouth. "You okay over there?"

Leia didn't answer.

She couldn't.

Because Taylor was moving again - prowling, straddling the chair, flicking her hair back like a dare, like a threat. The lyric sliced through the speakers: Don't get sad, get even.

Leia's knees nearly buckled.

Everything inside her coiled tight. She could feel her pulse in places she hadn't remembered it could pulse. Heat flared under her skin, climbed her neck, pooled low in her belly. She was blushing - full-body blushing - and she was grateful Tree had pulled her out of view because her face was not safe for public consumption.

Austin was shaking beside her now. He bit his knuckle like he was in pain, tears of silent laughter threatening his vision. Leia elbowed him without looking away.

"Don't," she hissed.

"You're-" he broke off in a giggle, turning away. "You're so screwed. My dad can't even look at you right now."

Leia couldn't respond. Her throat had closed around the words. All she could do was stare as Taylor dropped again, one arm draped over the back of the chair, the other dragging down the front of her thigh with the slow burn of a woman who knew exactly what she was doing.

She was going to kill her.

Taylor was actually going to kill her — publicly, theatrically, and with choreography.

Leia swallowed hard. Her fingernails dug into her palms. Her entire body buzzed like static, her breath coming short. Somewhere behind her, someone dropped a phone. She didn't even flinch.

Taylor pivoted again, locking eyes with the crowd.

No — not the crowd. With her.

Just for a second.

And Leia knew.

She knew it was intentional. Every step. Every shift of her hips. Every slow drag of a hand down that unfair, illegal bodysuit. It wasn't just a song. It was a message.

And Leia had received it loud and fucking clear.

When the lights finally dimmed again and the music faded, the audience screaming like animals, Leia stood frozen in the dark, her mouth parted slightly, her hands still clenched by her sides.

Austin leaned close, voice full of wicked glee. "Do we need to get you a bucket of ice water or..."

Leia didn't blink. "Shut. Up."

He laughed, full and free.

Tree, still standing somewhere nearby, didn't say a word.

But Leia was sure she was smirking.

And onstage, Taylor was walking away — triumphant.

Leia had never been more in love.

Or more completely ruined.

_____

Around her, everyone was a mess. Riven had his hands up like he was worshipping something divine. Georgie was crying freely now, makeup smudged in soft crescent moons beneath her eyes. Tree had tears on her cheeks and was pretending not to notice. And Leia — Leia could hardly breathe from the joy vibrating inside her. Not one second of the past three hours had been wasted.

She turned just in time to feel arms wrap tight around her waist.

Andrea Swift, radiant in a sequined denim jacket, pulled Leia into the kind of hug that made her ache. The kind of hug that belonged to people who had waited for this moment — all of it — for far too long.

"I'm so glad you're here," Andrea whispered fiercely, her voice trembling.

Leia clung back, eyes squeezed shut. "I wouldn't have missed this for anything."

Another arm wrapped around them both — Scott, face flushed with emotion, gathering Leia and Georgie at once.

"She did it," he said roughly, voice thick. "God, she really did it."

Georgie let out a sob that turned into laughter halfway through. "You should've seen Leia during Vigilante Shit, she almost collapsed."

Leia pulled back just enough to wipe her face. "You're one to talk. You've been crying since Lover."

"I don't think I need to see Leia during that," Scott replied, causing everyone to burst into laughter. "I don't even want to think about that."

Around them, the energy was electric and holy. Friends were hugging each other, some of the dancers were crying as they made their final bows, and the sound of the crowd — 70,000 people screaming, dancing, living — poured over the edge of the stage like a tidal wave of shared belief. It didn't feel like the end of a show. It felt like the end of a chapter. One Taylor had written, fought for, bled over — and won.

Confetti rained around them like stardust.

"I'm proud of her," Scott said, voice rough. "So damn proud."

Andrea nodded, holding Leia's hand now, pressing their clasped fingers to her chest.

"She was so nervous. Not so much about the setlist, and a little about the dancing — but mostly about you. She wanted you to love it. To feel all of it."

Leia couldn't speak for a moment. Her throat closed around the words.

"She watched me?" she finally asked, her voice barely audible over the roar.

Andrea smiled, eyes glassy with emotion. "Only every chance she got."

Leia looked toward the stage just in time to see Taylor reach her arms into the crowd one last time, spinning, basking, heart open to the night sky.

Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend...

The final lyrics lifted like prayer. Then the lights went out - one final, dramatic exhale - and the stadium exploded in sound. Fireworks went up, streamers flew, and the crowd erupted.

Leia cried.

This time, she didn't fight it. She didn't hold anything in.

She just turned, and let herself be pulled into a circle of arms — Georgie, Riven, Tree, Austin, Este, and Alana — all of them crowding in, hugging tightly, laughing and weeping and overwhelmed.

She didn't know who said it first. Maybe Riven, maybe Georgie, maybe herself.

But someone whispered, "She made it."

And suddenly everyone was saying it.

"She made it."

"She really made it."

"She did this."

They stayed like that long after the music ended, long after the lights dimmed, wrapped up in each other, wrapped in something that felt too sacred for words. Leia's cheeks were damp. Her mascara was a lost cause. She didn't care. She was shaking from adrenaline and awe, fingers still buzzing with the ghost of Taylor's voice, her body humming with memory.

Somewhere behind the stage, Taylor was probably collapsing into the arms of her dancers, maybe taking her first sip of water in hours, maybe crying too. Leia could feel it — the weight of the night settling into her bones like heat after cold. Like sunlight returning to a place that hadn't seen it in years.

Andrea touched Leia's cheek gently. "You made it too, you know."

Leia blinked. "What?"

"You were part of this," Andrea said. "Not just now. From the beginning. You gave her something to write toward. To hope for."

Leia couldn't answer that. Not out loud. Not yet.

But inside her chest, something uncurled — something soft and certain and burning.

Taylor had done this.

And somehow, impossibly, Leia had been her reason why.

____

Leia stood just outside the dressing room hallway, her back against the cool cement wall, arms crossed tight over her chest like they might keep everything inside. Her VIP wristband was still snug on her wrist, now smudged with confetti dust. Her Junior Jewels shirt clung to her spine with sweat, and her phone had long since died — not that she'd looked at it since the second Taylor walked on stage.

There were people moving around her. Crew. Dancers. Security. Some hugged, some wept, some just exhaled like they hadn't been allowed to for three and a half hours. But no one disturbed her. They knew who she was. More importantly, they knew whose she was.

Tree had walked her back here after the encore, pressed a water bottle into her hand and kissed the top of her head before disappearing down the hall with a murmured "She'll be here soon."

So Leia waited.

The ache in her feet was secondary. The spinning in her head, irrelevant. All that existed was the hallway and the echo of Taylor's voice in her bones.

She heard the steps before she saw her.

They came fast — sneakers on concrete, the uneven rhythm of someone too wired to walk slow, too full of fire to care. Leia turned her head.

And then Taylor appeared around the corner.

Still in the navy bodysuit. Still sparkling from crown to toe. Her hair was damp with sweat and loose strands were plastered to her cheek. Her mascara had streaked just slightly under one eye. Her smile was too big for her face, her eyes glassy with tears she hadn't yet let fall.

And she was looking straight at Leia like nothing else existed.

"Hi," Taylor breathed.

Leia didn't answer.

She ran.

One step. Two.

And then she was in Taylor's arms, arms that wrapped around her like instinct, like gravity, like home. Taylor's body was hot and shaking — not from nerves now, but from something deeper. Joy. Pure, crushing release. Leia buried her face into Taylor's shoulder, fingers fisting into the beaded fabric like she might disappear if she let go.

"You did it," Leia whispered, voice cracked with emotion. "You did it. You fucking did it."

Taylor exhaled a laugh that was half sob. "You saw the full show, yeah?"

"I saw everything."

Taylor pulled back just enough to see her, hands cupping Leia's face, thumbs brushing under her eyes. "Did you love it?"

"I didn't just love it," Leia said. Her voice shook. Her heart thundered. "I lived it."

Taylor's forehead dropped to hers, their breaths tangling. "You were all I looked for," she whispered. "Every time I turned. I just kept thinking — Is she seeing this? Is she still here?"

"I never left."

They stayed like that for a long time — pressed together in the quiet shadow of everything they'd survived to get here. Taylor's hands moved to her waist. Leia's fingers curled into the collar of her bodysuit. Neither spoke. They didn't have to. The silence was full of the crowd. Of thunder. Of love.

"I wanted you to see it all at once," Taylor said at last. "I wanted your first time seeing it to feel like magic. Like how I see you."

Leia bit her lip, eyes burning again.

"I was turned on for half the set," she muttered, and Taylor laughed — the kind of laugh that cracked through exhaustion like light.

"Good," Taylor said. "You'll need that energy later."

Leia flushed, then rolled her eyes, nudging her gently. "You're disgusting."

Taylor grinned. "You love it."

"I really, really do."

Another wave of silence passed over them. From somewhere far off, someone shouted congratulations. A round of applause broke out down the corridor. But it all felt like background. Like sound effects in a movie that had long since narrowed into a two-person story.

Taylor leaned in again, her voice suddenly quiet.

"Can I take you home?"

Leia looked up.

Not a joke. Not a metaphor.

A promise.

She nodded.

Taylor leaned down and kissed her - not a stage kiss. Not a secret. Not rushed. Just slow. Sure. Full of the quiet knowing that after tonight, nothing needed hiding anymore. Not really. Not like before.

______

"Every Night, Every Era": Fans Celebrate Leia's Heartfelt Support for Best Friend Taylor Swift on Tour

TMZ, May 1 2023

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour has become the cultural cornerstone of 2025 — but for some lucky fans watching from the VIP tent, there's been another star lighting up every city. Her name? Leia Hudson.

The singer-songwriter and recent Grammy winner has been at every single show so far, quietly cheering from behind velvet ropes, friendship bracelets climbing her wrists, and a grin that hasn't left her face since opening night in Glendale.

"She's been at every stop," one fan tweeted. "Not one or two nights. Not just the first one or opening weekend. Every city. Every Era."

And fans are loving it. Leia's consistent presence has inspired admiration, joy, and just the right amount of hopeful curiosity.

Part of the buzz began opening night, when Leia showed up wearing a Junior Jewels t-shirt and pajama pants — a nod to Taylor's You Belong With Me era — instantly becoming an online icon. Photos of her chatting with Tree Paine outside the VIP tent went viral, and videos from later in the night caused even more of a stir.

In one now-famous moment, fans asked if Leia had seen the show during rehearsals. Her response? Delivered with a coy grin:

"My girlfriend begged me not to go. She said she wanted to see my face the first time I saw each Era."

It was a soft, sweet comment — and it sent the internet spinning.

@archerandart
Leia being at every show, wearing Eras-coded outfits, and saying her girlfriend didn't let her go to rehearsals??? Bestie that's not friendship that's POETRY.

@repromance13
I know she said 'my girlfriend' and fans are being chill but I am not chill. I am feral. This is the greatest soft launch in lesbian history.

But before theories could spiral too far, fans were quick to point out that Leia wasn't referring to Taylor — and in fact, has been openly candid about her relationship.

In an interview with Jimmy Fallon last year, Leia shared that she was in a very private relationship with someone outside the industry. "She's not in music, not in film — she'd probably die if I even said her name on camera," Leia laughed. "We just like our peace. She's been a light in my life when I really needed it."

Since then, Leia has made it clear that while her relationship is private, it is very real — and sources close to her have confirmed that her girlfriend and Taylor are friends. One insider noted that "they get along incredibly well, and Taylor's been nothing but supportive of their relationship."

Which makes Leia's ongoing presence at the Eras Tour even more meaningful.

This isn't just a celebrity doing rounds or showing up for clout. This is someone choosing to spend her summer supporting a friend — not for press, not for promo, but out of pure, unwavering joy.

Fans have been documenting every moment: Leia mouthing lyrics with glassy eyes during champagne problems, hugging Andrea Swift during the Red set, dancing during Karma like she wrote it herself. She's become part of the tour's magic — a familiar face in the crowd, always present, always glowing.

@1989moonlight
Whether Leia is there as a friend or something more, the way she shows up for Taylor is absolutely beautiful. We should all be so lucky for our girl to be loved like that.

@alltoowellvinyl
Imagine writing an album like ethereal and still have everyone online thinking the most important thing you could do this summer is stand in the crowd and clap for someone else. Leia is a real one for not going feral cause ik i'd be livid if this was all people spoke about

Even Taylor's team seems to approve - with Tree Paine seen smiling beside Leia more than once, and Austin Swift reportedly joking that Leia is "basically crew now."

There's something undeniably moving about the way Leia has made herself part of this tour's rhythm - not on stage, not in lights, but in quiet devotion from the sidelines.

And as long as she keeps showing up, fans will keep cheering her on.

Because if Eras is a love letter to every version of Taylor — maybe Leia's presence is a love letter to friendship, to healing, and to joy. Not everything needs to be labeled. Some things just need to be lived.

____

The dressing room smelled faintly of eucalyptus and nerves.

Leia sat cross-legged on the velvet couch, nursing a lukewarm sparkling water and watching Taylor pull on her boots by the mirror. Riven was at the back corner of the room, scrolling through something with the intensity of someone trying to will the internet into silence. Tree stood near the doorway, one arm folded, the other hand clasping a tablet like it was a sword she might need to draw at any moment.

Taylor looked radiant. It was weekend seven already. They were in Nashville and there was just such an excitement to be here. Her hair was already curled, half-pinned, loose tendrils falling down the back of her Eras robe - a delicate lilac silk with embroidered stars trailing along the hem. She glanced at Leia in the mirror and smirked.

"You know," Taylor said, "I could just say it tonight."

Leia raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

Taylor spun slowly on her heel.

"I could tell them. Whole stadium. 'By the way, I've been in love with the same woman since before reputation and she's sitting right over there in an Eras Tour t-shirt, please make her feel welcome.'"

Leia snorted into her drink, flicking condensation off the rim. "Sure. And I'll wear a giant 'That's My Girlfriend' t-shirt and throw friendship bracelets into the crowd with your face on them."

Taylor grinned. "You could. You absolutely would."

"Oh, better," Leia added, leaning forward conspiratorially, "I'll jump on stage during Lover and fake propose. I'll drop to one knee and everything. Really lean into the chaos."

"No," Riven said flatly, without looking up.

"I'm serious," Leia teased.

"So am I," he replied, still scrolling.

Tree didn't even blink. "Don't tempt me to lock both of you in here until the show's over."

Taylor crossed the room and flopped dramatically beside Leia, slinging one arm across the back of the couch, her fingers brushing over the curve of Leia's shoulder. Her touch was easy - familiar - but there was something restless in it too. That pre-show charge. That hum of adrenaline. It made Leia's heart beat differently, even now.

"I'm honestly being like really serious though. I mean, we could just do it," Taylor murmured. "Tell the world. Stop tiptoeing. We held off for the risk of people thinking it's a PR stunt but let's be real - I don't need a PR stunt and Leia doesn't either."

Leia tilted her head toward her. "And how do you want to do that, exactly? You gonna start changing all your pronouns to 'she' in the songs tonight?"

Taylor's eyes sparked. "I might."

"Babe."

"I might, Leia."

Leia bit back a smile. "I'm not saying I'd stop you. I'm saying Tree's about to have a coronary."

Tree cleared her throat loudly.

Riven muttered, "Oh no."

Tree stepped forward, her heels clicking lightly on the tile. "If either of you even think about pulling a stunt on stage tonight, I swear to God-"

"We won't," Leia cut in quickly, hands raised in surrender. "We're joking. Kind of."

Tree looked between them. "We have statements prepped. If you want to tell the world, you can. But not like this. Not as a punchline."

There was a beat of quiet — not tense, just still. A shared breath between the four of them. Riven finally looked up from his phone and glanced at Tree, then at the pair on the couch.

"Look," he said, softer than usual. "You guys have already done the hard part. The rest of it — the public part — we'll handle. When you're ready."

Taylor smiled at him, warm and grateful. "Thanks."

Tree crossed her arms again, though her posture had softened. "Just... give us a little warning before the fake proposal, okay?"

Leia laughed. "Swear on my life."

Taylor just hummed, a soft smile on her lips.

Oh shit, Leia thought, what the hell is she planning?