"i still can't believe that taylor swift knows who i am. and i'm going to her tour. wow." ria said over the phone to oscar.
he was in london, and she was in la, but they kept talking through the distance.
right now, she was getting ready for the show with alexandra and carla, whose boyfriends had decided they were already ready in their jeans and t-shirts.
ria didn't want to dress basic, so she decided to dress up like the rest of the fans do. she had chosen to dress up as taylor during the 1989 part of the set, due to the rumours of 1989 (taylor's version) coming out.
she had the glittery top and skirt in blue, alex wore the green version, and carla had the pink one.
"look, my fit. it's so 1989. i'm so excited." she put her phone down and twirled, showing off the tassels.
"you look very pretty, ri." he told her.
"thank you, osc." she earned a weird look from the two other girls for that. "do you like my makeup?" she pulled the phone up to her face to show it to him.
"it's really nice. you look pretty." he repeated.
"you've already said that, oscar." she jokingly rolled her eyes.
"but you look pretty. it's true." he justified.
"thank you. i have to leave now, i'll send you lots of videos and photos." she kissed her phone camera as she hung up.
"ri? that's new." alex asked ria.
"so is osc." carla added.
"stop. it's cute." she laughed.
"ria, are you sure that there's nothing going on between you two? apart from the obvious." alex genuinely questioned.
"no, there's nothing. we're friends who fuck from time to time." she explained, getting slightly agitated.
"okay. whatever you say." alex gave up.
"alright, it's time to see taylor swift!" carla interrupted the slightly tense mood in the room.
they left, but when ria sat in the car, she kept thinking about what alex had said. all the moments they'd had together where she felt just an inkling more than lust for him. the way his smile lit up any room he walked into. the way he looked at her. the admiration in her heart as she thought about him. no. she didn't. it was just friendship. she shouldn't overthink it.
they had vip tickets, so they were free from being harassed by people in the pit, but they still got the full taylor experience.
the girls screamed their hearts out to the setlist, and as it got to the time for the surprise songs, they got excited to hear what was coming. but, taylor didn't start singing. she had her guitar strung around her neck, but she hadn't played anything yet.
ria filmed the speech, and nearing the end of it, taylor motioned to look at the screen behind her. ria knew. alex knew. carla knew. arthur and charles had no clue, but screamed along with everyone else.
'1989 (taylor's version)' filled the screen, and ria screamed. her phone camera shaking so much from how excited she got.
after the extremely long applause, taylor went into new romantics, and everybody screamed along to the acoustic song.
the next surprise song was new year's day, and it almost made ria cry. the idea of someone becoming a stranger who's laugh she could recognise anywhere terrified her. and her mind drifted. to oscar.
but why? why did he plague her thoughts so much? why was he always on her mind?
she brushed it off and enjoyed the rest of her time in the large stadium.
finally, with loads of friendship bracelets on her wrists, ria managed to get out of the packed venue. they got back in their car and went back to their hotel.
once they'd arrived back to the hotel, the whole group of five crashed onto the beds. ria took a small lie down before taking off the slightly uncomfortable set of clothes she was wearing, and hopped into the shower. she cleaned herself of all the sweat and stadium germs, and of the thoughts of oscar.
once she got back after her shower, the other girls were also getting unready. so ria decided to film a mini vlog for herself to look back on in the future, doing her skincare. but she kept crying.
every few minutes she started crying again. the rest of the group tried to comfort her, but she kept tearing up. she put it down to the post taylor swift depression, but she knew there was something else brewing underneath.
the mini vlog consisted of many breaks to cry, and it reminded her of how grateful she was for her friends for being there for her no matter what.
"look, ria, i know this isn't just about the concert. what's going on?" alex demanded.
"no, it is. i'm just sad. i don't know why. actually, it's your fault. i wouldn't be crying if you hadn't brought anything up before. i wouldn't have thought about it." she said, sobbing.
"what did i bring up?" cries filled the silence. "ria, tell me.
"you brought him up." she answered.
"who?" charles asked.
"you can't tell anyone." she told them, like a child telling secrets on the playground.
"we won't. but who?" one of the brothers asked.
"oscar." ria responded.
"what about oscar?" arthur asked, clueless.
"i- i think i love him." she whispered.
"what?" charles seemed not to hear her, but the girls did, and gasped.
"i love him. i love oscar piastri." she said, the realisation dawning upon her as it did them.
