Kaylor: The Timeline

Chapter 6.2

July 15, 2014

As Taylor picks through the grocery bags her security has brought back for her, her phone rings.

"Hey, Tree," Taylor answers, putting the phone on speaker mode as she continues unpacking and organizing groceries.

"How was everything after I left?" Tree asks, sounding a bit concerned.

Taylor smiles a little. Knowing that a publicist genuinely cares about your welfare can be rare, and Taylor is glad she found that rarity in Tree, along with her being cutthroat and professional at her job. "Eh. It could have been better, I know she is really freaked out. She's trying to act like she's not though," Taylor replies. "I think we'll be alright."

"I'm glad to hear it," Tree says. "Well, I have some bad news." Tree adds, moving on from pleasantries far sooner than Taylor would like.

Taylor's breath gets hitched in her throat. She stops what she's doing and leans against the counter and lifts the phone in her ear. "What?" How can there already be a problem?

"The candids of you and Karlie. Your fans posting them on different social media platforms like Instagram, they're captioning them 'Kaylor' or commenting 'Kaylor.'" Tree replies.

"What's 'Kaylor'?" Taylor asks, wondering where the problem is lying in this situation.

"Karlie plus Taylor equals Kaylor. It's a couple name," Tree answers.

Taylor's eyes widen, shocked by what she's hearing. "They don't— Why would they do that? They don't do that with my other friends!" Taylor replies, beginning to sound anxious.

"I mean, they do a little bit, but not really like this. Not at this level. I'm not sure what came over everyone, but it seems every time I look, more and more people are saying 'Kaylor.' It's catching on," Tree replies.

"But, like, do they think we're dating?" Taylor asks, pinching the bridge of her nose. Already? How is this happening already?

"From what I can tell, no. Not yet. I'm sure there are a few, but I can find you people who think you're dating your cats if I search the Internet hard enough," Tree replies drily.

Taylor can't even bring herself to crack a smile. Not yet. "Is this bad? What does this mean?" Taylor asks.

"Well, to be honest with you, I don't know what this means. It sort of depends on what it turns into. Fans all have their 'ships,' they're nothing really to worry about. It's just something we need to watch, be aware of, because this 'ship' isn't fictional," Tree answers.

"Worst case scenario?" Taylor asks.

"How about best case scenario first?" Tree says with a laugh. "It fizzles out, just a weird day where everyone seems to like that couple name, as unoriginal as it is," Tree says. "Or, they just really enjoy your friendship and will love seeing you and Karlie together every time you are seen out."

"Okay," Taylor replies unsteadily.

"Worst case scenario, well, that would obviously just be fans convinced you guys are really dating. If the fans are convinced of it, it will trickle out of social media and begin stirring up rumors in the media. It might start with blind item reports, maybe little jokes in major media outlets, but nonetheless it's exactly what we don't want. We don't want people to have a reason to overanalyze your friendship," Tree replies.

"Yeah, definitely not," Taylor grumbles. "So do we need to do anything differently than what we talked about yesterday?" Taylor asks.

"Not yet, we just need to keep an eye on this. I mean, it wouldn't hurt doing yourself some favors. I'm not going to tell you guys to not spend time together in public, but the less you're seen together can obviously be helpful. Minimal social media interaction can be good, too," Tree answers. Taylor is quiet, wondering if this is the beginning of the restrictions she had feared yesterday, certain there would be some. "Taylor, just use common sense. All is well, for now. How about we just avoid anymore road trips?" Tree says with a laugh.