Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I technically met Stella during the Red Era. I was still singing We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and I Knew You Were Trouble and wearing red everyday, not just on my lips. But when I think about meeting her, I think about 1989. I think about how I had a Blank Space and I wrote her name... Stella with little hearts around it in my notebook. She had no i’s in her last name either, a pity because I would have loved to dot them with hearts.

Let me start off by saying, I’m bisexual. Some of my songs really are about boys. Some of them aren’t. It’s easy to fudge the details. Sometimes I’m singing about green eyes when I’m really thinking about Stella’s brown eyes. And that good girl faith in a tight little skirt? I think of Stella every time I sing that line.

Stella was from London and she went to school there, too. Lived there most of her life. But as the fates would have it, we met in New York City.

It was in a bookstore. Grenwald’s Used and Rare Books. She was working there for the summer. It was a quaint little place that felt like an elegant old library. There was a sort of magic in the air. The old books felt like they must have been filled with ancient wisdom and stories from long ago.

Stella was restocking the shelves and she had a ladder leaning so she could reach to put books on the top shelf. She wasn't the tallest girl in the world. From her, I could see up her skirt if I wanted to, but of course I forced my eyes not to go in that direction.

She was humming along to herself as she stocked the books. A familiar tune. A very familiar tune.

“On a Wednesday, in a cafe, I watched it begin again...” she sung to herself. I was quite certain now that she hadn’t noticed me yet. The store was empty except for me and her and she hadn’t seemed to notice me come in.

I wanted to get her attention, but I didn’t want to scare her. If I startled her and she fell off the ladder I would be truly sorry! So, I walked down another aisle, my feet treading a bit heavier in my red Keds than I normally would, trying to get her to notice someone was in the store without startling her.

She went back to humming instead of singing the words. “Is someone there? Can I help you?”

I loved her accent and I was thinking about how cute she was. I had known I was bisexual for a few years now, but I had only ever acted on liking a girl once. It was a drunken kiss with a girl at a party who turned out to be straight. It wasn't exactly an experience I remembered fondly.

Stella wore thick wool socks under her sneakers, a blue flowing skirt and a cardigan sweater. Her shoulder length brown hair laid about her head in messy curls and she had the appearance of a woman who was always busy doing something or other. I could relate.

“Hello,” I said. “I was wondering if you could help me find a book.”

“A book!” Stella said. “You’ve absolutely come to the right place for that. Oh, I shouldn't say that. Then we won’t have what you’re looking for. It’s impossible to keep every book in stock. There’s just so many of them, you see. I’m rambling...”

She stepped down from her ladder and got a good look at me for the first time. “Oh, my. You’re Taylor Swift!”

“I am,” I said, smiling broadly. She seemed charmed to meet me and I could say the feeling was mutual.

“How lovely to see you in person! I do love your songs, though I haven’t gotten around to see you perform live, I’ll admit... Oh, I’m rambling again. What book was it that you were looking for?”

I was feeling particularly brave so I thought of a good way to let her know I was interested in her. “I was wondering if you had any LGBT fiction?” I asked her.

“Oh, boy, You have come to the right place then. We don’t have a ton, but it’s much harder to find books of that sort in a mainstream store. They do generally order them in for you if you ask though! Come with me, I’ll show you the section.”

My heart skipped a beat as I walked down the aisle with her and she showed me the LGBTQIA+ Fiction section. It was about three shelves long which was fairly impressive. “Oh, look. Here it is. Clearly labelled. I should have looked before I asked.”

“That’s quite alright, that’s what I’m here for. There’s nothing I quite like more than talking about books. It’s a slow day today anyway,” she said. Her nails were short and unpolished.

“Do you have any recommendations?” I asked.

“Well, I suppose it depends what it is you’re looking for,” she said.

“I was thinking something with two women who love each other and nobody dies,” I said.

“That I can help you with!” She smiled brightly. “Again, the mainstream media likes to kill us lesbians off, but you know if you find a book written by a real woman instead of a corporation, you can find some really lovely stories that don’t bury your lesbians.”

“I would like that,” I told her. “You seem to know what you’re talking about. Do you have any favourites?”

“I quite like Gerri Hill,” she told me. “She has a ton of books. Different ones for different moods. If you’re simply looking for romance I would try Artist’s Dream or Snow Falls. If you want a sci-fi sort of story Paradox Valley is a very interesting action and alien story. Oh, I shouldn’t spoil it!”

“You know what?” I said. “If they aren't easy to find in your regular bookstore, I think I might just buy all three then I’ll have some reading material for a while.”

“That is a wonderful idea!” she said. “You can never have too many books, that’s what I always say.”

“Thanks for your help,” I said. She was really fun to talk to and I was sad I was leaving, but I was running out of excuses to talk to her and I didn’t know that I was really brave enough to ask her on a date.

“Are you ready to go then? I can check you out at the front,” Stella said. I didn’t know her name yet at that point.

“Okay,” I said, somewhat glumly.

“Oh, there’s one more book at the front I think you might be interested in,” she told me. She reached under the counter for a moment as if looking for someone. “This book is by Stella Queen. New up and coming lesbian author. I think you might like her. This is a signed copy.” She pulled the book out from under the counter. It was called Wild Strawberries and the cover was cute with a photo of a strawberry field.

“I’ll take this one, too!” I said. I wanted to be brave. I wanted to ask her name. Ask her if she wanted to hang out sometime. But I didn’t. I paid for my books and walked out of the store.

That was when I noticed the photograph on the back cover of the book. It was the cute hipster girl from the bookstore! I had her name and I had her book! I couldn't wait to read it. Gerri Hill would have to wait until later.

I opened the front cover to look at where Stella had signed the book. Underneath her phone number was written.

Stella Queen

867-5309

Nice to Meet You, Taylor!

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I was thrilled to have not only Stella’s book, but also her number. My instinct was to text her right away, even though I knew she would still be at work. Instead, I found a little coffee shop and found a place to cozy up with Stella’s book and a nice Iced cap. I read the first chapter, then the second, then the third. It was a very good book and it was refreshing to read a story just about women. The story was about Randy, a woman who owned a strawberry farm and Caroline, who had fled the city to escape an undeserved bad reputation. Randy lived a simple small town life, while Caroline was used to hustle and bustle of the city. Still, I thought they made quite a nice match.

I pulled out my phone and tried to think of something clever to send to Stella. Something thought provoking about the book, maybe. Or something flirtatious and sweet. Or something funny and lighthearted.

Taylor:I love this book you recommended for me. :) - TS

Stella: Oh, yeah? Which one?

Taylor: Wild Strawberries. You know the one YOU WROTE.

Stella: Oh, that one. It’s okay, I guess.

Taylor: It’s amazing, you’re just being modest.

Stella: How far did you get??? I don’t want to spoil anything.

Taylor: Just the first few chapters! I'm going to be REALLY disappointed if there isn’t a happy ending.

Stella: No spoilers!

Taylor: You’re infuriating.

Stella: If you don’t like me, then why text? ;)

Taylor: Because I do like you. We should hang out sometime.

Stella:I get off work in an hour if you want to come meet me?

Taylor: Yes, I’d love that! I will see you then. :)

I hadn’t gotten very far from Grenwald’s Used and Rare Books so I spent a bit longer reading before walking back to the store to pick Stella up. I wondered where we would go. What would we do? I was the one who asked so in a way I felt like the one responsible for the date. Or was it even a date? All I had said was that we should hang out sometime. And that I liked her. I didn’t say how much I liked her or in what way.

I paced outside the store nervously for a little while before it was time to go inside and pick her up. Pick her up? Was that the right phrase for it?

I didn’t even have to go in, because right on cue at exactly five o’clock Stella came out the door. “Taylor!” she said, beaming up at me.

“Stella!” I said. I gave her a quick hug, and that’s when the paparazzi noticed me. They started taking photos of Stella and I.

“Oh my God,” Stella said. “Does this happen everywhere you go?”

“More often than I’d like,” I admitted.

“Taylor!” Someone was yelling. “Can I ask you a few questions?”

“Taylor, who are you seeing right now?”

“Is it true you’re back together with Reese?”

“Come on, let’s get in a cab,” I suggested. I put my arm out and the next cab stopped for us, Stella and I got into the cab.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

“Anywhere!” Stella said, laughing. I think it was kind of a rush for her the first time she ran into the paparazzi.

“Go, go, go!” I said. “Just get us away from here.”

“Anything you say, ladies.”