[General POV]
"But before I do, I'd like to ask for a lifeline," Edward said, prompting laughter from the audience. To their surprise, he turned to the side and called out, "Taylor, do you want to come out here so we can talk about this together?"
The audience fell silent, holding their breath as they looked in the direction Edward was facing. Some were skeptical, thinking he was just acting out another skit, but their eyes widened as they spotted a streak of blonde hair moving toward the stage.
Moments later, Taylor stepped onto the stage, instantly lighting up the room. The crowd gasped and applauded enthusiastically. Dressed in a simple yellow dress with her blonde hair curled into locks, Taylor waved to everyone and walked to Conan and Edward, both who were standing as they welcomed her to the stage.
Conan feigned surprise, shouting, "What?!" several times. In the audience, Annie dropped her jaw at the sight of Taylor, and her eyes became dazed.
The daring scene made the fans want to snap some pictures, however, as there was a no phone ban inside the studio, they squirmed restlessly in their seats, with a lot of them having extreme reactions– silently.
"Oh my god, what's happening?" Lily, Edward's fan club president, asked anxiously. "Are they going to announce they've broken up publicly?" She mumbled, saddened by the sinking relationship.
As Conan reacted, he said, "This is not… what I had in mind when I asked the question. Wings?" He offered the bucket of chicken to Taylor, and she instinctively reached for it. "Oh—okay—"
Before she could grab it, Edward stopped her with a look of disbelief on his face. "Don't take that."
"AH!" Taylor exclaimed in realization, drawing laughter from the audience. She narrowed her eyes and scolded Conan, "You tried to pull me into your suffering!"
"A drowned man will always pull someone down with them," Conan replied dramatically, followed by an evil laugh. "Muahahaha!" He then abruptly stopped and greeted Taylor politely. "Also, this is our first time meeting each other. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Taylor responded politely.
"Please, have a seat," Conan said, resuming the interview as the audience quieted down.
"I guess we should get right into it. So, the big question is: Are the songs you both released in early December—'Hate U Love U' by Taylor and 'Daylight' by Edward— have anything to do with one another?" He asked.
The audience held their breath as they waited for the answer. Taylor and Edward glanced at each other before Edward told her, "Go ahead. You started the whole thing."
Taylor turned to Conan and finally answered, "Yeah. It has something to do with us."
The audience gasped and exclaimed in amazement and shock as they heard the confirmation. Many theories were floating around online, however, hearing it from the parties involved made it all official.
Conan widened his eyes slightly before he leaned in closer to Edward and whispered to the duo, "Are you guys sure you can talk about this?"
Edward shrugged and said casually, "We are going to talk about it when the whole project is finished, however, we don't think we're going to have a chance to do that anymore."
"Project? What project?" Conan asked, pretending to be confused.
Conan leaned forward, a playful glint in his eye. "Before we get into that, shouldn't you eat another chicken wing?"
The audience erupted in laughter, sensing the playful tension.
"OH COME ON!" Conan exclaimed, slamming both hands on the table, causing the crowd to roar with laughter. "This still pertains to the question! It doesn't count!" He whined dramatically, feigning exasperation.
Edward chuckled, glancing at Taylor. "Should we give him a chance?"
Taylor smirked mischievously. "We should. There's a lot to unpack here."
The audiences laughed, and Conan finally felt relieved. He leaned back, crossing his arms. "Alright, start from the beginning. So we can ALL be clear about this."
Edward nodded, his tone shifting to serious. "It all starts with the release of 'Tenerife Sea.' During that time, we hinted at a collaboration between the two of us at the end of the year."
Taylor continued seamlessly, her enthusiasm infectious. "We wanted to do something special for the fans. But, well, circumstances got in the way. Mostly because of Edward."
She shot him a playful glare, and the audience chuckled knowingly.
"What did he do?" Conan asked, leaning in with a gossipy grin, prompting more laughter from the crowd.
Taylor smiled, clearly enjoying the moment. "First of all, we planned to release six songs—one per week—until the end of the year. We challenged each other on songwriting, creating songs with the same theme."
The audience gasped in unison, intrigued by the planning. Lily, who has been speculating that the song was part of their collaboration, felt that she had hit the mark and celebrated silently, "I knew it!"
"Let me guess, the first theme is Love and Hate?" Conan speculated, raising an eyebrow.
"Exactly!" Taylor confirmed, nodding enthusiastically. "Both 'Daylight' and 'Hate U' mirror each other."
Edward added, chuckling, "Taylor called it a challenge, but it's actually a bet. "
Taylor looked startled. "No! It's not a bet!"
"It is a bet. A songwriting bet. We were arguing to see who's the better writer between the two of us, and it just happened. " Edward insisted, grinning.
"We checked the streams, and if Taylor lost, she'd dye her hair blue and wear cat ears."
Laughter erupted from the audience, and Taylor rolled her eyes playfully. "If Edward loses, he'll shave his head bald."
The crowd roared with laughter, enjoying the backstory. Those close to the duo knew they were being untruthful, so did some of the fans as they saw the startled expression of Taylor, acting as if she had just heard the story at the same time as them.
Just throwing out the fact that Edward and Taylor weren't together might divide the fans. They felt that it's not worth the risk considering the fact that both of them were still 'newbies' in the industry. Right now, they might be incredibly famous, but fame is momentary. They had to plan for the future too.
"So, who wins?" Conan asked, leaning back with an evil grin. "On a side note, I always carry blue dye and a shaver with me."
Edward laughed, shaking his head. "Neither of us won because someone can't go a week without stirring up controversy." His tone was laced with sarcasm.
Taylor gestured subtly towards Edward. "Him."
Conan laughed and so did the audience. Conan then asked, "Wait, let me get this straight. You were supposed to see who won, but then Edward punched a guy in the club, and that ruined everything?"
The audience gasped and murmured. Taylor sighed, looking a bit beleaguered. "Yeah, but it's not that bad. We can just postpone the release for a week. But then, Edward had to go to court."
"It's not really fair that she has to keep silent about it, but I had interviews after interviews about my court case. Then, I went viral again for carrying a bloodied cop to the hospital," Edward added, a hint of tiredness in his voice.
Taylor jumped in, "And then he fought some terrorists. Which completely ruined the competition."
"And my house got blown up." Edward concluded, the crowd's astonishment palpable. "So… yeah, the project got ripped to shred." He confessed.
Taylor gently patted his arm and said while chuckling, "I don't blame you though."
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the audience, their eyes wide with disbelief at the wild series of events. After seeing Taylor comfort Edward, the fans realized that they had a great relationship as that looked too casual to be faked.
Conan leaned back, taking it all in. "What kind of life are you having?!" he asked, incredulous. "I've interviewed people for over a decade, and never have I seen someone with a more hectic life. No wonder movie producers want your story rights."
"Conan, you want to know something cool?" Edward suddenly interrupted.
"What?" Conan leaned in, intrigued, expecting more details about Edward's chaotic life.
"When you first started hosting, I didn't even exist yet. You're really old," Edward deadpanned.
The audience erupted in laughter, while Conan sat momentarily speechless. Taylor covered her mouth, giggling, and playfully hit Edward's arm. The timing of his remark was so unexpected that it left her slightly dumbfounded.
"EXCUSE ME!?" Conan exclaimed, feigning offense. "I'm not too old! You're too young!"
"I never said 'too' old, but whatever," Edward replied nonchalantly, prompting Conan to tug at his hair in frustration. The crowd roared with laughter, their enjoyment palpable.
As he calmed down, Conan said, "I feel like you did that on purpose to change the subject."
"You caught that, huh?" Edward smirked in agreement.
Conan laughed maniacally. "But I'm not letting you off that easily! Why didn't you just release the next song amidst all the controversies? Taylor, please fill us in!"
Flustered, Taylor replied, "Well, the next theme is… Betrayal. So, the song is kind of a… diss track. If I release that first while the media is focused on his heroism, then I'll be labeled a…"
"Stone cold bitch," Conan finished her thought, a cheeky grin on his face.
Edward leaned forward, mock-serious. "What did you just say to her?"
"Wait! NO!" Conan pulled back dramatically, and the audience erupted in laughter. Taylor joined in, her laughter contagious, while Edward continued to tease Conan, and the crowd roared again.
"I apologize," Conan said to Taylor, feigning sincerity. "No, no," she waved her hand dismissively. "I'm not offended at all."
"Yeah, she knows she's a—" Edward began, but Taylor shot him a glare that made him quickly shut up. The audience chuckled as she maintained her fierce look, and Edward kept his gaze straight ahead, trying to suppress a grin.
Conan smirked, leaning into the moment. "Finish that sentence, Ed."
"A…beautiful girl." Edward complimented as he met her eyes, which made Taylor's angry gaze melt and she blushed as she faced the camera.
Edward glanced at the camera and said, "We can cut this part, right?"
"No!" Taylor protested, while the audience chuckled. Conan accused Edward playfully, "This is abuse of power! You might had paid for everything here today, but I still—"
"Still haven't said thank you," Edward interrupted with a cheeky smile.
"...Thanks?" Conan feigned confusion, raising an eyebrow.
Annie laughed out loud in the audience, while Abed, sitting beside her, mumbled with admiration, "He's really great at ad-libbing. I want him to act in my next show, but I won't have the budget to hire him."
After a moment of playful banter, Conan turned serious. "I'm curious: if you released the songs for your project, then why didn't you just tell everyone about it? Why keep silent about the whole thing?"
Taylor and Edward exchanged wary glances before Edward sat up slightly. "I guess I should be the one to explain. There are a lot of reasons for that, but mainly it's because of the 'shipping' of our relationship."
Taylor nodded, and the crowd exclaimed "Uuuu" in amazement. "See, this is what I'm talking about," Edward pointed at the crowd, eliciting laughter at the absurdity of it.
"What's the thought process here?" Conan asked. "Isn't shipping you guys a good thing?"
"I won't deny it's good," Taylor replied. "Edward and I are really close, so it doesn't bother us."
Edward continued, "But the shipping became so serious that some— and I'm not saying all of them—some fans began to attack every single person of the opposite sex we're in contact with."
Conan exclaimed in realization, "Ah, so you want to give them a middle finger?"
"Wha—no, of course not!" Taylor interjected quickly, shaking her head. Edward smiled and added, "The reason behind the project's narrative about breakup is to slowly ease them into the possibility that we're…"
"Over?" Conan guessed, raising an eyebrow.
"Friends," Taylor corrected him with a laugh. Edward continued, "So after 'Hate' and 'Love,' there'll be 'Betrayal,' and the last theme will be about 'Moving On.' At that time, we figured people will think that we're over."
Taylor nodded, adding, "Only then will we talk to the people and tell them all about the project."
"So you're playing them?" Conan asked accusatorily.
Edward smirked and said, "We have no choice."
Edward turned to the audience again and said, "So, we're thinking… maybe we can't release all of them as we has missed the timing and ruin the project, but how about we perform the last two songs here in the studio—"
Before he could finish his thought, the crowd erupted into a deafening roar of approval, cheers and applause filling the air as everyone enthusiastically agreed with his suggestion.
Conan smiled in satisfaction and turned to the crowd, "After the break, Taylor and Edward are going to perform the last two songs live right here in the studio!"
The filming stopped even though the camera was still rolling. Edward and Taylor talked with Conan for a while before both of them went to prepare for the show.
…
Beside the talk show set, there was a stage which was split into two sections. Taylor stood on the left side of the stage underneath the spotlight, while Edward's stage was still darkened.
"The song is called, Back to December." Taylor announced. Holding a guitar in her hand, she strummed the melody to the song as she stood in front of a microphone.
Even though Edward claimed that the entire songs were made up, Taylor didn't act like that. She sang, full of sincerity.
"♫♪ I'm so glad you made time to see me. How's life? Tell me, how's your family? I haven't seen them in a while♫♪" The crowd became silent as they enjoyed the song.
Taylor glanced upward, thinking about her memory with Edward. "♫♪You've been good, busier than ever. We small talk, work and the weather. Your guard is up and I know why ♫♪"
Closing her eyes, she sang, "♫♪Because the last time you saw me…Is still burned in the back of your mind…♫♪" . In the darkened stage, Edward gazed at her intently as he watched her performance.
"♫♪You gave me roses and I left them there to die♫♪" Taylor turned her head to the next stage slightly, as if telling it to Edward. Lily, the fanclub president caught it, and so did the camera.
As the cameraman moved behind Taylor, recording the performance facing the audiences, Taylor sang the chorus, "♫♪So, this is me swallowing my pride. Standin' in front of you sayin', "I'm sorry for that night"♫♪"
"♫♪And I go back to December all the time♫♪"
"♫♪It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missin' you wishin' I'd realized what I had when you were mine♫♪"
"♫♪I go back to December, turn around and make it alright…I go back to December all the time♫♪"
Edward chuckled slightly, thinking about his advice to Taylor, prompting her to change the song name from September to December.
The crowd began to enjoy the song immensely, however, they were directed not to make loud noises during the performances.
"♫♪These days, I haven't been sleeping. Stayin' up, playing back myself leavin'. When holidays passed and I didn't call ♫♪"
"♫♪ Then I think about summer, all the beautiful times. I watched you laughin' from the passenger side. And realized I loved you in the fall ♫♪"
"♫♪ And then the cold came, the dark days When fear crept into my mind♫♪"
"♫♪ You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye. ♫♪"
As the chorus began, the background singer also joined in to provide some harmony.
"♫♪So, this is me swallowing my pride. Standin' in front of you, sayin', "I'm sorry for that night!!" ♫♪"
"♫♪And I go back to December all the time♫♪ It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missin' you. Wishin' I'd realized what I had when you were mine♫♪"
"♫♪I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind. I go back to December all the time♫♪"
'My personal song was made for him, but I can't even claim that. I'm so pathetic.' Taylor thought sadly. She felt her breath choke, but she quickly suppressed her emotions as she continued to sing.
"♫♪I miss your tanned skin, your sweet smile♫♪"
"♫♪ So good to me, so right♫♪"
"♫♪And how you held me in your arms that September night. The first time you ever saw me cry♫♪"
The memory of the breakup they had after the VMAs flashed in her mind.
'Maybe, if I didn't act so childishly back then…We might have had more time together.' Taylor glanced at Edward again before she turned to the audience.
"♫♪Maybe this is wishful thinkin'. Probably mindless dreaming. But if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right ♫♪"
"♫♪ I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't. So, if the chain is on your door, I understand♫♪"
Even though she understood that they couldn't be together anymore, a part of her still wanted to hold out hope.
"♫♪But this is me swallowing my pride
Standin' in front of you, sayin', "I'm sorry for that night"♫♪"
"♫♪ And I go back to December♫♪
"♫♪It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missin' you
Wishin' I'd realized what I had when you were mine ♫♪"
"♫♪I go back to December, turn around and make it alright…I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind… I go back to December all the time♫♪"
"♫♪All the time♫♪" Taylor stopped strumming and closed her eyes.
The crowd applauded and cheered supportively after she finished her song. Taylor smiled and waved at them in gratitude as her stage light slowly dimmed. As the stage darkened, a single teardrop fell from her eyes.
The other side of the stage brightened, revealing Edward sitting in front of a piano.