Dear Rory,
I'm sorry about what I said.
I'm leaving for LA in two days.
Can we talk before then, please?
We can just drive around as usual.
I don't know how to do this if
you're upset with me.
Call me please. I'm staying at my
parents' house...
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Dear Rory, I'm sending this from Pittsburgh because Little Big Town joined me on stage tonight! I love them so much. Listen to their song Girl Crush. I think you'll really like it. Love, Taylor
———
A few minutes before the show starts, Austin offers to walk with Cas and I to the family tent where we'll be sitting along with his girlfriend, Sydney.
Apparently Scott and Andrea like to walk around and greet the fans beforehand. Scott always has a never ending supply of guitar picks with Taylor's face on them to hand out. He even gives me one that I keep in my pocket so that I could tease Taylor about it later.
"Oh, you guys are in for one hell of a show!" Austin exclaims, each of us taking a seat.
"Honestly, I have no idea what to expect," I respond with a chuckle. "The last one of her shows that I watched was in like 2007. I don't even know what she's going to do for three hours."
"A lot," Austin laughs. "Hey, by the way, how's Billy doing?"
My cousin Billy and Austin were in the same grade at school. They weren't best friends but they did hang out frequently.
"He's good! He's working for this consulting firm in Nashville— honestly, I have no idea what he actually does. Most of what he says is like confidential or whatever," I explain, making Taylor's brother laugh.
"Sounds about right— Oh, hey!" Austin gets up to greet a bunch of other people when the first opening act takes the stage.
I love concerts even when I'm not exactly sure I've heard all of the songs Paramore or Gayle sing. But I stand up anyway and lean against the railing separating the tent from the people sitting in front of the stage.
Man, that stage is huge. Even this close to it, the people standing on it look small. I can still see their faces pretty well though and the giant screens behind the stage help.
"Dude, honestly..." Cas comes to stand next to me so that I can hear them better. "This is... incredible. Like, I know we spent the last decade hating her for breaking your heart but... dude, not gonna lie? This is awesome."
I can't help but snort, looking at the clock that appeared a moment ago on the big screen, probably counting down the minutes until Taylor shows up on stage. "You spent more time hating her than I did."
"She hurt my best friend. What was I supposed to do? Let it go? Nu-uh," Cas shakes their head, smiling amusedly. "Just like we hate Dan the Engineering major, and that art major after that, and fricken on-again-off-again Francesca, and every person you've dated ever who turned out to be shitty. It's my duty, as your best friend, to hate them. No logic or reason needed."
