A Tale of Two…No, Three….Taylors.
For Anna, who didn't want a happy Alexis fic, and Kelsey, who did. I hope Anna isn't too disappointed. It's not a serious fic, so please don't take it seriously. Thankyou to an amazing writer who took on the laborious role of beta (and who may be embarrassed to be associated with this fic so I won't name her).
As Alexis squeezed between the pulsating, sweaty bodies in the crowd toward her seat, she once again could not believe her luck. Thinking back to the day Gina handed her two tickets to see Taylor Swift perform at Madison Square Garden, she again marveled at how her former step mom had seemed genuinely pleased with her reaction. Alexis had squealed with delight and thrown her arms around Gina, before remembering that it wasn't something that they'd ever really done; Gina had always seemed... not cold exactly... but almost indifferent towards her. It was as if Gina had been aware that she wasn't a part of the Castle 'inner sanctum'. And, as a result hugging her had always been…well… awkward. Alexis had been less than impressed when her dad rekindled his relationship with Gina, but if she was going to benefit from them being together with free, impossible-to-get concert tickets - then bring it on! One thing troubled her though; her dad's reaction to the tickets. Even though the gift had also been from him - according to Gina - Alexis couldn't help but wonder whether there was a story behind his peculiar behavior.
Alexis and Paige found their seats- front row no less- and jumping in excitement, they focused their attention to what was happening on the stage above them. The first supporting act was already pumping out something loud and hard- they were some sort of heavy metal rock band- great for 'head banging' but not really the girls' cup of tea. They were here for Taylor Swift, her love songs and tales of heartache, Romeo and Juliet, forbidden romance and the yearning for young love. Alexis turned to Paige, flashing her a delighted grin, happy to be here together. She really enjoyed her friend's company, and even through the Taylor Swift song 'Mine' was special to her and her new boyfriend Ashley, she was secretly glad Ashley had been unable to get out of a family event tonight; it meant that she could ask Paige to come along instead. When Alexis had called to invite Paige to the concert, the bestie almost had a heart attack. Even if her parents hadn't given their permission, Paige still would have snuck out to join Alexis. These tickets were impossible to get and a once in a lifetime opportunity, but Alexis was the sensible one, so Paige's parents had readily agreed to her request to go out, as long as they stayed together.
When they'd just about had enough head banging to last a lifetime, a new act was introduced. Apparently the guy had just won a talent contest on Australian TV, and they listened intently as it was explained that not only did he write his own songs, but he was going to perform a couple of these pieces acoustically.
The minute Alexis saw Taylor Henderson, she fell in love. All thoughts of Ashley had flown out of the window! By the time he had finished his first hit 'Borrow My Heart' she wanted Taylor to borrow her heart! She would have thrown herself at him if she could. Struck by his 'boy next door' looks and his beautiful accent, she was smitten. She thought she had never heard anything as sweet as the way he accentuated each word! In between songs, Taylor spoke about his love for his hometown, Melbourne, and Alexis vowed she would visit Australia as soon as she could. As he launched into his next performance, she could have sworn Taylor was looking directly down at her.
Finishing up with a sweet rendition of 'When You Were Mine', Taylor did indeed seem to be singing to Alexis. Not in the least bit embarrassed or self conscious Alexis briefly stroked his hand when Taylor Henderson reached down toward her. Grinning broadly, she blushed when he winked at her though. To her right Paige squealed, jumping up and down, but Alexis just stood frozen in place. Yes. She was in love. Whatever she had thought she had found with Ashley, now paled into insignificance.
After all the excitement and hype leading to this event, oddly the rest of the concert went almost unnoticed by Alexis. She sang along to Taylor Swift's greatest hits, danced with Paige and even screamed when Taylor Swift launched into 'You Belong With Me'. Her real life boyfriend, Taylor Lautner, joined her on stage, but Alexis' mind was elsewhere. She thought fleetingly how hilarious it was, that there had now been three Taylors on stage. Except she was only interested in one of those Taylors, and as the concert drew to a close she vowed to go backstage and find her true love.
As Paige bumped around beside her, trying to get a better look at the two Taylors now on stage, Alexis suddenly realized her best chance of getting to meet Taylor Henderson was to go backstage immediately, before the end of the concert, while everyone had their attention squarely on the lovebirds on stage. She motioned to Paige, using a ridiculous form of sign language that only the two of them understood, and then bounded off to the side of the stage. She noted the security guards, but there seemed to be an issue with some of the lighting or stage theatrics; they were momentarily engaged in helping some technicians try to shift some heavy looking equipment into place. She wondered briefly what sort of lighting display she was going to miss, but the thought was lost as she realized she only had to squeeze through one tiny gap to be backstage and out of the sight of the guards!
The first thing she noticed was that there were people moving in all directions. Apparently, despite the perfect performances taking place on stage, behind the scenes was chaotic and seemingly disorganized! It was easy for her to slip through the shadows in search of the object of her affection. Fortunately she found him quickly, sipping on a Pepsi Max, leaning against a back wall, his guitar packed in a big black case at his feet. He didn't even look surprised to see her, just held out his hand like the gentleman she presumed he was, softly purring, "Hi, I'm Taylor." Alexis was speechless- the meeting had been so easy to orchestrate and he just seemed too perfect. The enormity of this moment was not lost on her as she shyly took his slender hand and stated firmly, "I know. And I am Alexis. Alexis Castle." She pondered briefly whether it would be too presumptuous of her to lean in and kiss those beautiful, soft, sweet lips. It just seemed poetic, and the moment was lending itself to such intimacy- two strangers having fallen in love at first sight. Before she could seriously contemplate whether it was appropriate or not, and whether her father would approve of her sneaking backstage to kiss a boy, pandemonium broke loose.
Amidst screams of, "Fire! Fire!" there were suddenly people falling over each other to flee the backstage area! Still gazing into each other's eyes, it wasn't until a shrill alarm began to wail, and Taylor Swift herself ran past screaming, that Alexis realized something was terribly wrong! She could smell smoke, and was feeling her panic rising. Thankfully Taylor Henderson took her elbow gently and started to steer her toward safety, but then she remembered Paige. Paige, who had been permitted to attend the concert only because she was going with Alexis- the responsible one. With a sinking feeling of guilt, Alexis turned slowly away from Taylor Henderson. How could she have left her best friend alone, just to follow this Australian boy backstage? How selfish could she have been? Boyfriends might come and go, but best friends were for life, and she had left her best friend out there, at the mercy of a hysterical crowd, facing all sorts of terror. She turned toward the tiny gap she had squeezed through earlier, letting Taylor's hand drop from her fingers and forced her way out into the crowd. Just at that moment, Taylor Lautner lurched past, handling an out-of-control fire extinguisher. He seemed to be moving in slow motion and Alexis briefly wondered why he hadn't morphed into a wolf, as his 'Twilight' self surely would have. Stifling a hysterical giggle, she pushed through the people, most of them screaming, some of them being trampled- and started to search for Paige.
It took surprisingly little time for her to find her best friend, perched on top of a gigantic speaker to the side of the stadium. Having been unable to push through the crowd, Paige had apparently opted to go upward. Alexis could understand why, as she would be able to see across the pandemonium and seek a safe exit. Delighted and visibly relieved to see Alexis, Paige pulled her up onto the speaker and shrieked something about a pyrotechnic display going out of control, a series of massive explosions and then fire breaking out on stage during the finale. Realizing that the position they were in was not going to be safe for much longer, Alexis scanned the mess below for some sign of a way through the crowd. Her throat was starting to burn from the smoke and there were melting plastic chairs scattered all around, adding to the disaster the fiery stage dressings were falling to the ground. Amongst the sparking electric stage lights and smoldering props, members of the crowd fought toward safety and the panic rose higher within Alexis' chest; she thought fleetingly that she may not get out of this alive!
The fire department arrived and dozens of cute firemen were streaming down the sides of the crowd toward the stage, which was not completely engulfed in flames, yet. The girls were somewhat relieved to hear an endless array of sirens streaming up 8th Avenue outside the stadium. Alexis wondered, as the horrific scene unfolded before her eyes, whether her dad's unease when she had thanked him and Gina for the concert tickets had been because he had experienced a freaky premonition that something of this magnitude was going to occur.
Finally, just as they had started coughing uncontrollably, a firefighter noticed the girls huddled on the top of the speaker. He motioned a colleague over and together, they reached up toward the girls and pulled them down from their perch. Throwing them melodramatically over their shoulders, the firemen began directing crowd members toward an exit - one that could barely be seen through the smoke and commotion, but that the fire department was obviously aware of. Once outside, they unceremoniously dumped Alexis and Paige on the ground, checking briefly that the girls were unharmed before heading back into the din inside.
As Alexis began to fumble in her pocket for her mobile phone- she didn't want her dad to panic when he inevitably saw all the commotion on the late news- she heard a familiar cry. "Alexis, Alexis, oh pumpkin, are you girls alright?" It seemed her dad had used his relationship with the NYPD to get through the emergency services barricades, and sure enough, Detective Beckett was right behind him. The two of them looked so worried, and, as they enveloped the girls in the blankets they had taken from the medics on the scene, Alexis wondered where Gina was. She marveled at the fact that Detective Beckett was always the one to stand beside her dad, when he needed someone the most.
Tired but unharmed, feeling like she had miraculously and thankfully cheated death, Alexis looked back toward the stadium and the fire, which was now almost under control, and wondered what had happened to Taylor Henderson. Was he okay? Would she see him again? And before she had left him to seek out Paige, why the hell hadn't she given him her phone number…?