supercut (Kaylor one-shot collection)

if we stop keeping a secret

This is a prompt I received a long time ago and I love it a lot, so thank you, Anon! I'm sorry it took so long! Also special thanks to Megan for helping me out with the ending, you're brilliant and I love you.

So this is basically about a Secret Session where the general mood is not 'Hey guys, this is my new album' but 'Hey guys, this is my new album and it's about Karlie. Surprise!' It's fluff with some angst for good measure. Huge disclaimer: the fans written about in this story are not (based on) real people and I don't mean any disrespect to anyone who's attended a Session or who otherwise fits the profile of the fictional fans in this one-shot. Also a disclaimer: I've never actually attended a Secret Session (cue sad sighing) so I don't know if this is an accurate description of one. But then again, it is already something that will never ever happen, so I was not really aiming for accuracy.

Thank you for reading  & enjoy!

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It's been a while since the last time Taylor felt this anxious. As she reminisces about moments when her chest was this tight because of nerves, her thoughts wander back to award shows and performances when she was a teenager, when the showbiz world was still big and intimidating. Performing isn't that scary anymore, and she hasn't been to an award show in over a year. She doesn't get this anxious anymore.

But tonight is different. Tonight, everyone is on edge. Taylor's dad annoys everyone with the incessant humming of the national anthem. Abigail drops a plate of appetizers. Austin snaps at her security—something he never does. And even Karlie, who is always the epitome of calmness, has a pale face and a tight-lipped smile.

"The first group will be here in fifteen minutes," Taylor informs her girlfriend when she enters the kitchen. "When they get here, we'll both be upstairs. That will give them time to do the administrative part and get comfortable. We'll go down at 6:30."

Karlie is leaning against the counter. She looks distractingly good in her skinny jeans, and Taylor is reminded of why she's putting herself through all of this.

"I know. Believe it or not, but I caught this the first 500 times you went over it."

"I'm just—so—stressed!" Taylor groans, and she softly kicks the counter in frustration. "Why are we doing this again?"

Karlie leans forward so she can grab Taylor's hand and pull her in. "Because we want this."

Taylor smiles tensely as she tries to relax against Karlie's tall frame. "After tonight, our lives will never be the same."

"Isn't that kind of exciting?"

"No, it's kind of nauseating."

Karlie chuckles. "Fair enough."

---

The fans arrive and Taylor watches them from the bedroom window. She loves how excited they all look, how warmly they greet each other, how lovely their smiles are. For one moment, she manages to convince herself they will be happy for her. But she knows that's not how it's going to go.

She sees familiar faces and remembers liking Adam-related posts on their Tumblr blogs. It seems batshit crazy in retrospect, but it's how she once sold that story. She pictures herself confessing. It was all fake. Publicity. PR. She can almost hear herself say it, but she doesn't know how she's ever going to get the words out.

Karlie stands behind her and rests her hands on her hips. "You okay?"

No. "Yes."

"We can still blow the whole thing off."