Capítulo 14: Chapter 14: Bright Lights in the Big City
<Ethan's POV - West Hollywood EDITION Hotel>
"Ethan, over here!" I hear a familiar girl's voice calling me. I look in her direction and see her wearing a black high-low dress. 'Wow, she looks beautiful in that', was all I thought.
"Hey, Taylor! You look amazing. Trying to look pretty for someone tonight?" I joked.
"You were coming, so I had to look good." She said with a smirk. She was probably trying to get me flustered, but that won't work on me. I'm too good for that.
That would have been the case if I was not a blushing mess right now, but at least my flustered look made her smile and chuckle.
"So, you can sing in a concert for the first time and not have a problem, but when a girl teases you back, you fold?" a voice from our side said with a slightly teasing tone and it was none other than Chris.
"Can you blame me? I'm a teenager." was all I could retort.
This earned a hearty laugh from every member of Coldplay and of course, Taylor.
"I'm also a teenager, aren't I?" Taylor said.
"Yeah, well, you've got more experience in these situations. Or else, your songs would not be as relatable as it is right now," I told her which made her shrug and smile.
"So, what else can we do here? You older people can drink, while Taylor and I can't. This is unfair, you know? I even played more songs than you guys." I jokingly told Coldplay.
"Well, you just have to wait ---like what? Seven years?" Jonny said.
"As if this party would last that long. I saw a lot of people leave already, you know?" I told them, which made them laugh again. 'Should I maybe try being a stand-up comedian? Nah! I'd rather sit.'
Damn, that was so corny!
"Well, there's really not much to do. We'll probably leave after a while as well. We have an early flight tomorrow to go back home." Chris told me which made the other members nod.
"Then, I wish you safe travels. What about you, Taylor? Would you be leaving early as well?" I asked her.
"Why do you ask? Are you going to ask me on a night out in the city?" Taylor said in a slurred voice.
"Are you drunk? Who gave you alcohol? I just looked away for a second," I asked.
"Actually, she was drinking before you got here. It was just some cocktails, so maybe she downed it too fast which made her like this," Chris said.
I then felt arms wrapping me on my waist while a head made its way to my shoulder. "Come on, let's go out. Nothing's fun here anymore," was what Taylor said.
"Uhm, I don't think that would be wise. Where's your manager, anyway?" I asked her.
"I sneaked out. She didn't want me to come to this party, so I left our hotel. I want to unwind for a bit and look for inspiration for my upcoming album," She said, though weirdly, the slurring she had earlier seemed to disappear all of a sudden, which made Chris and I look at each other, and then he whispered to me, "I think she just wants you to get her out of here."
I looked at Taylor, and back at Chris who I just nodded at.
"Well, come on, Taylor. Let's get you back to your hotel. Let me just make a quick call to a friend of mine." I left for the balcony for a bit to call Phil.
"Hey, Vitamin P! Are you still in the area? Can you come back? I'm leaving the party already." I told him.
"So soon? What happened? Was it boring?" he asked, but then he continued, "Well, anyway, I'm still at the parking lot. There was an open magic shop nearby and I went there first. I looked around, but it's all for basic tricks so I didn't have anything to bring home."
"Huh? Well, that's convenient. We'll be right down, Mr D. Thank you!"
"Wait! We? Who's co---" Before he can ask more, the line cuts because I walked back inside. I guess they have some jammers inside. Well, it would be a surprise to Phil.
I walked back to where Coldplay and Taylor were. She's acting groggy, but honestly, since Chris pointed it out, it was too obvious. But since she's acting like that, I have to play my part too.
"Hello, Taylor?" I tapped on her shoulder to get her to focus. "I have someone waiting for us downstairs. Let's go!"
She nodded, and I put my hands on her waist to "assist" her in walking, which made her blush.
I looked at Chris and the band. "Well, take care again, guys. Until the next time we meet." I smiled at them.
"Yeah! Next time, you might be a full-blown artist, so we should collaborate" Chris said, while the others looked in agreement.
"I'll take you up on that" I smiled at them.
With that, Taylor and I walked to the elevator. It's a private one which leads to a back door, where Phil dropped me off earlier. Once inside the elevator, Taylor's drunk acting stopped right away, and she was looking at me with a beaming smile.
"So, was my acting believable?"
"Oh, it was. You can even win an Oscar," was what I told her in a joking tone.
"You don't have to be sarcastic," she rolled her eyes with a smile.
At that, I chuckled, and when I did, she did as well.
*ding*
The door of the elevator opened, and I bowed and gestured towards it.
"My lady," I looked at her with a smile.
"My good sir," she said while locking her arms in mine.
The two of us walked side by side. Luckily when we got out of the Hotel, Phil was already there waiting for us.
You should've seen the look on his face when I walked out with Taylor Swift. He was so shocked that until I talked to him, his mouth was wide open. I think I even saw a fly get inside.
"Phil, this is Taylor. Taylor, this is my good neighbour and friend Phil Dunphy. He's a fan"
"Uh, yeah. Hi! I loved Teardrops on my Guitar! I remember playing a song for my wife when we were dating, but the string snapped and hit my face. I tried to hold back the tears, but I can't 'cause it hurt so bad."
With a look of disbelief on both our faces, Taylor and I turned to each other and looked back at Phil, chuckling. Phil also did, and he shook Taylor's hand.
"It is nice to meet you, Mr Dunphy."
"Oh, please, you can call me Phil," he said. "So, where are you two off to?"
Taylor then whispered something to me.
"Phil, can you bring us to the Griffith Observatory?" I told Phil.
"Oh, but I think it's closed already. Are you sure?"
"Yeah, we're just going to look at the Los Angeles night skyline."
"Hmm, trying to be romantic, huh?" he said in a teasing tone.
This made Taylor and I as red as tomatoes.
"What? No! We're just friends who are both curious about a view that we haven't seen yet. Right, Ethan?" Taylor hurriedly said.
"That's right. I haven't been there either, so I want to see it for myself, and not just from pictures."
"Whatever you say, guys." He smirked at us before we all got in the car. Before starting the car, though, he looked back and smirked. "Don't worry. I'd stay in the car while you guys enjoy the view."
"Phiiiilll!" was all I could say.
*let's skip to the good part, shall we?*
It didn't take long for us to get to the Griffith Observatory. Since it's already night, there's almost no one there, except for some security guards, and some walking couples.
"Hmm, I don't think this place would be good enough for the view. I know a good spot in Griffith Park. Would you like to go there?" I asked Taylor.
"Uhm, yeah, sure."
I got out of the car, opened Taylor's door, and helped her out of it.
"Thank you!"
"No problem."
I then looked at Phil and talked to him.
"Hey, Mr D? Can you wait for us here? We're going to rent some bikes to go to the spot I told her about."
"I thought you were not being romantic, Vitamin E, but why all do all this?" He said with a smirk, but before I could answer — "Haha! You should see the look on your face. Just go and have fun. I already told Claire I'd be waiting for you so you could come home safe, and she agreed. Just don't do anything you're not supposed to do, okay?"
"Thanks, Vitamin P! I'll make it up to you!"
Before I could even ask what he would want, he already answered, "How about another lightsaber?"
"Deal!" we shook hands, and I went off with Taylor.
"What was that deal about?" Taylor asked.
"Oh, he asked me for a lightsaber since I told him I owe him for the help today."
"So, you're nerd buddies?" Taylor asked in a joking manner.
"Well, you could say that," I said with a smile.
We then walked towards the bike rental and took two bikes. There was also a souvenir shop next to the rental, so I bought Taylor an "I love Griffith Park" T-shirt and jeans so she could change since her dress was not appropriate for biking.
She was able to change quickly. Not even 15 minutes, and she was out of the changing room.
"Even in those clothes, you still look as good as earlier. How do you pull that off, Taylor?" I asked her, which made her smile and say, "I'm just that great with anything on".
When we went out of the souvenir shop, I noticed she shuddered a bit, so, like the gentleman I am, I took my blazer off and put it on her.
"Here," I said as I helped her wear it, "I don't want you to get sick and have your manager nag me. She looks like she would chew my head off if I did."
She chuckled and said, "She probably would".
We then got on our bikes and went to Cathy's corner. The ride there took some time, but since we were both fit, we were able to get there in just a bit over 30 minutes.
Taylor and I got off our bikes and placed them right beside the bench. We sat on the bench, the city lights stretching out before us like stars scattered across the horizon. Taylor rested her head on my shoulder, and I felt a strange warmth settle between us.
"That was tiring, Ethan, but it was fun. More so than the party earlier. Thank you for this, and for going along." she said softly, like a whisper in the quiet of the night.
I smiled, staring out at the view. "It's no problem at all. The time I spent with you today was the most fun I had in quite some time, so thank you as well."
For a moment, neither of us said anything. We just sat there, the air between us buzzing, as if the silence itself was urging us to do something more.
The view in front of us was beautiful, but without meaning to, I glanced at her and she was already looking at me. Her eyes drew me away from the view and made me focus on her. The city lights and the world around us felt so distant now.
It was just the two of us.
She shifted slightly, and I could feel her breath catch, as though she was weighing her next move. My heart pounded, faster than I wanted to admit. Was this going where I thought it was?
Her face was inching closer, so close that I could see a hint of hesitation in her eyes. A part of me wanted to pull back, to make sure that not a single line would be crossed, but a bigger part of me wanted to close the gap between us.
Time seemed to slow down, and before I could think about it too much, her lips brushed mine. It was soft, tentative. As if she was asking a question that she wasn't quite sure of.
For a split second, I froze, but my instinct took over and I kissed her back. Our lips locked together, now a quiet yet undeniable connection. My mind went blank, and the feeling was all I could focus on.
When we pulled away, Taylor looked at me with wide eyes, her breath a little uneven, as if she couldn't believe what just happened which I couldn't either.
"Wow!" She whispered, her cheeks flushed.
"Yeah, wow!" I echoed, trying to catch my breath.
"So, that happened," Taylor said while biting her lip, but looking shy. "I'm not going to jail, am I?"
"Hmm, you might be." I joked which earned a playful punch from her.
"So, what now?" I asked her.
She then had the look of someone deep in thought. After some time, she just gave up thinking, "Ugh! This is so not fair. Can you just change your birth year?"
I then laughed at that idea, but she pouted.
"I mean it's not illegal for us to date, as long as we're not doing anything bad," I told her. "Though, it'll probably be best if we kept it private since the public might be too harsh."
"Well, then, I guess you're my boyfriend now."
We then spent some time talking about what her plans were since she doesn't really live in LA, but she told me she'd be staying around for a while since she doesn't have any events in the coming months. The concert we did was the last for now, as she will be focusing on writing her new album.
'Well, I can't wait to listen to Fearless again. That album made me start to become a fan back in my first life'
As we were talking, Taylor looked at the floor briefly and noticed an earwig crawling there.
"Ahh!" I heard Taylor scream until a bright light was all I could see.
*to be continued*
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
YooJaeHyun
YooJaeHyun Hi, Guys! I know I said I'd be posting two chapters, but some relatives came over today and made me busy. This chapter was the only one I could finish. I'll be posting again tomorrow, though, so don't worry. And sorry if I didn't do justice in the romantic part. I just tried to emulate some of the romance stories I read before since I'm not good at putting romance into words.
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