Wild Card

The One With The Awkward Silence

Karlie was watching the city go by from the back of a black SUV, on her way to the Met Gala. She was nervous to say the least. Of course, she had attended the ball before, but it was still nerve wrecking. The Met Gala was the Oscars of fashion after all, and tonight she was wearing a dress from one of the best designers: Oscar de la Renta. The model looked down at her dress once more, making sure everything was in order, and, of course, everything was. Karlie breathed deeply in an attempt to calm herself.

Before the model knew it, she was in front of the waiting cameras. Adrenaline ran through her veins as the cameras flashed in an almost blinding manner. It felt like forever, but eventually she was inside the museum, relieved that she hadn't tripped on the way up.

Inside, waiters walked around holding trays of champagne as the guest mingled, talking to old friends or future business collaborators. Karlie ignored them all and focused on finding Oscar, wanting to thank him for the opportunity to wear his design. She looked around the room, every so often being stopped by someone, until she finally spotted him talking to a girl whose face she couldn't see. Karlie, happy to have found him, approached quickly.

When she was only a few feet away Oscar spotted her and called her name, the girl whom he had just been talking to turned around to face her. Karlie stopped walking instantly, too shocked to do anything. Oscar, however, walked towards her, bringing the girl with him.

"Karlie! Always a pleasure to see you," the designer said as he leaned in for hug, "have you met Taylor? She's also wearing one of my designs."

"Hey," Taylor said simply, her expression unreadable.

"H-hi." Karlie quickly cleared her throat, wanting to hide her stuttering.

"You two ladies will be sitting with me, I assume."

"Of course, Oscar," the singer answer sweetly, smiling at the old man.

Karlie resented Taylor's indifference, the model was struggling to even form words. While she had been thinking of the singer constantly, and worrying if she was okay, Taylor had obviously been just fine without her. She probably hadn't even thought of the model. She wanted Taylor to be thinking of her.

No. You don't want that. You want her to move on. You are with Josh, you love Josh.

"Well, let's go then. Our table is this way."

Throughout most of the night both girls had been good at avoiding one another despite being seated in the same table. Someone always came up to Taylor, whether it'd be to talk or for a picture, and occasionally someone would came to speak to Karlie. The constant interruptions made conversation between them nearly impossible, something both were thankful for.

But, as the night progressed, the rate at which people came to their table slowed down. Soon enough, Oscar had left to talk to some people, leaving both girls alone. Both were determined to not be the ones to speak first, leading to a long awkward silence.

This is ridiculous, Karlie thought, we are bound to bump into one another again, we should just talk, address the giant elephant in the room and get it over with.

Karlie cleared her throat in an attempt to get the singer's attention. It seemed to work, as soon as she made the noise Taylor faced her. It was clear from her expression that she was guarded.

"Hey." Hey!? Really? That's what you're starting with?

"Hello," Taylor said, a hint of surprise in her voice, probably not expecting the model to attempt talking.

"Ho-how you been?" Karlie cringed internally at the sound of her own voice.

Taylor hesitated for a minute before answering, "Good, you?"

"Good, too."

"That's good," at that moment their eyes met, causing them to burst out laughing. Karlie thought their laughter was overdone, but she didn't care, this was the first time it hadn't been completely awkward.

"So how is Josh?"

Karlie, was taken aback, she was hoping they could avoid this topic, she didn't expect Taylor to bring him up.

"He's good. He's been back at work for a few weeks now," Karlie was careful with her response, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

"I'm glad he's fine," Taylor said with a small smile.

Karlie didn't know what to say, she wanted to apologize for the way they left things off but wasn't sure how to bring it up, or knew if she should even bring it up.

"I got another cat," the singer shared suddenly, probably sensing Karlie's inner struggle.

"Really? What's her name? Or his name?" Karlie asked, happy to have something light to talk about.

"Her name's Olivia Benson. Detective Olivia Benson, to be precise," the older girl answer with the cutest smile Karlie had ever seen, a glint in her eye.

"How's Meredith adjusting?"

"Oh she hated it at the beginning," Taylor replied seriously, as though this was an actual thing she thought about regularly, "though, she seems to have adjusted to idea of her. Still keeps her distance, though."

"That's good! I'm sure they'll be friends in no time," at that point Karlie wondered if they would spend the whole night talking about cats, it seemed kind of ridiculous given how much they had to talk about.

"Oh, I hope so! Dibbles is such a good cat, she doesn't deserve Meredith's treatment." Taylor was shaking her head, as if disapproving of the older cat's antics.

"Dibbles?" The taller girl was amused by the nickname, but was less enthusiastic about Taylor's answer.

"Yep! Dianna came up with it, she thinks it fits her personality more," the singer said, avoiding looking at the model, instead sipping form her glass of champagne.

"Dianna? She's still around?" While her voice sounded nonchalant, inside, Karlie was filled with anger. She hated hearing Taylor speak of her so comfortably, she hated knowing that they were hanging out and talking. Deep down, Karlie knew she had no right to be mad, after all she had been the one to turn Taylor down after all, but common sense did nothing to calm her down.

"Yeah, we're kind of dating," Taylor's voice was quiet, she was still not looking at the model.

I hate her, I really do. "I'm happy for you two." Karlie was careful to not let her true emotions show.

Taylor finally looked up, looking for something in the model's face. After a while she seemed to have found it.

"So, Olivia, she's still very young so lately most of her days are spent sleeping and...."

They spent the rest of the night talking about random stuff, whether it'd be something Karlie saw while going for a run or Taylor's new album. They talked animatedly, sharing many laughs. They talked the way they used to talk before things got complicated. The topic of Dianna and Josh, had never been brought up again.

They ended their night with the promise of soon meeting again.

N/A: It should go without saying that I didn't re-read this. Hope you like this chapter. Xx.!