Chapter 17: First Fight

The tension in the studio was high, the air thick with frustration and unspoken words. Ava sat hunched over the mixing board, her jaw clenched as she fiddled with the levels for what felt like the hundredth time.

Behind her, Taylor paced the length of the room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. She'd been antsy all day, a ball of nervous energy that set Ava's teeth on edge.

"I still just don't think the bridge is working," Taylor said abruptly, breaking the tense silence. "It needs... something else."

Ava bit back a groan, her fingers hovering over the controls. "Something else? Taylor, we've been over this a million times. The bridge is fine."Taylor shook her head, a stubborn set to her jaw. "Fine isn't good enough! I need this album to be perfect."

Ava felt a flare of irritation, hot and sharp in her chest. She spun in her chair, fixing Taylor with a hard look. "Oh, so now my work isn't perfect? Is that what you're saying?"

Taylor's eyes widened, a flash of guilt crossing her features. "That's not... I didn't mean it like that. I just..."

"You know what?" Ava cut her off, pushing away from the board. "I need some air. Let me know when you're ready to stop micromanaging everything."

She stalked towards the door, her blood boiling. Behind her, she heard Taylor's frustrated huff, the sound only stoking her anger."Ava, wait!" Taylor called out, a note of pleading in her voice. "Can we just talk about this?"

Ava whirled around, her eyes flashing. "Talk about what, Taylor? How nothing I do is ever good enough for you? How you keep picking apart every little thing, like I'm some amateur who doesn't know what they're doing?"

Taylor flinched, but didn't back down. "That's not fair. You know I respect your work, Ava. But this is my album, my name on the line. I have to be sure it's the best it can be."

Ava scoffed. "Oh, please. Like anyone would dare criticize the great Taylor Swift. Your fans worship the ground you walk on, Tay. They'd probably find a way to turn even the shittiest bridge into a fucking meme."

As if to prove her point, she grabbed her guitar, strumming a mocking approximation of the offending bridge. "Ooh, look at me, I'm Taylor Swift's bridge," she sang, her voice high and nasally. "I'm not quite right, but who cares? The Swifties will eat me up anyway, but Taylor wats to be all anal about this shit!"

Taylor's mouth twitched, a reluctant smile tugging at the corners despite her best efforts. "Okay, now you're just being ridiculous."Ava set the guitar aside, a wry grin playing at her lips. "Yeah, well. You're being a fucking meme right now, so I figured I'd join in."Taylor shook her head, a startled laugh bubbling up from her throat. "Did you just call me a meme?"

Ava shrugged, "If the shoe fits."

Taylor gasped in mock outrage, pressing a hand to her chest. "Excuse you, I am a fresh and original delight. A meme, I am not."Ava smirked, shifting closer. "I don't know, babe. You've been pretty 'old man yells at cloud' about this bridge situation."

"Wow. Wow!" Taylor laughed, swatting at Ava's shoulder. "The disrespect. See if I let you touch my Grammy after that sick burn."

Ava waggled her eyebrows, her grin turning sly. "Oh, I'll touch your Grammy all right. And maybe a few other body parts while I'm at it."

Taylor laughed, never imagining her Grammys would turn into a innuendo. "Promises, promises," she murmured, her voice dropping to a lower register.

Ava stepped into her space, close enough to feel the heat radiating off her body. "You know I always deliver on my promises, Swift." She reached out, toying with the hem of Taylor's shirt. "How about we take a little break, hmm? I can think of a few ways to relieve all this... tension."

Taylor shivered, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. "What about the bridge?" she asked, but there was no real protest in her tone.

Ava leaned in, her lips brushing the shell of Taylor's ear. "Fuck the bridge," she whispered, her voice low and rough. "I'd much rather be focusing on other things right now."

Taylor's breath hitched, her hands coming up to grip Ava's hips. "You drive a hard bargain, Reed."

"You love it," Ava grinned, nipping at Taylor's earlobe.

"God help me, I really do," Taylor breathed, tilting her head to give Ava better access.

But before things could escalate further, the studio door burst open, making them jump apart like scalded cats. Kyle stood in the doorway, his eyebrows raised to his hairline.

"Well, well, well," he drawled, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face. "What do we have here?"

Ava groaned, burying her face in Taylor's shoulder. "Kyle, I swear to god, your timing is the fucking worst."

Taylor patted her back, but there was a hint of laughter in her voice when she spoke. "Hey, maybe it's a sign. The universe telling us to get back to work."

Ava lifted her head, pouting. "The universe can suck my d.."

"Okay!" Kyle cut her off, clapping his hands. "As much as I'd love to stand here and watch you two eye-fuck each other, we do have an album to finish and I'm here to play some bass for you. So how about we all put our pants back on and get to it, yeah?"

Ava flipped him off, but there was no real heat behind it. "Fine. But I'm not happy about it."

Taylor pressed a quick, consoling kiss to her cheek. "We'll continue this later," she promised, her voice a sultry murmur. "When we don't have an audience."

Ava perked up at that, a slow grin spreading across her face. "I'm gonna hold you to that, Swift."

Kyle mimed gagging, his nose wrinkling. "Ugh, you two are disgusting. I'm gonna need therapy after this."

"Hey, you're the one who barged in here," Ava pointed out, unrepentant. "That's on you, buddy."

"Yeah, yeah," Kyle grumbled, waving a dismissive hand. "Just keep it in your pants long enough to finish this track, alright? Preston's threatening to stage an intervention if he has to hear one more rant about the bridge."

Taylor's brow furrowed. "Is it really that bad?" she asked, biting her lip.

Ava softened, reaching out to tuck a stray curl behind Taylor's ear. "No, baby. It's not bad at all. I'm just being a stubborn ass because I hate admitting when I'm wrong."

Taylor's eyes widened, a grin tugging at her lips. "Wait, was that an apology? An admission of defeat from the great Ava Reed?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny," Ava murmured, but there was a twinkle in her eye. "Now come on. Let's take another crack at this bridge before you have a full-on meme-worthy meltdown."

Taylor laughed, bright and happy, and Ava felt the last of her frustration melt away. Yeah, mixing business with pleasure wasn't always easy. They were both passionate, stubborn people who believed fiercely in their art. And Taylor has never felt happier.

"Wait," said Taylor, "did we just have our first fight?"

Ava smirked, "if you ignore the amount of times I yelled at you while you were still with Joe... yeah."

"And we didn't end up killing each other?" Taylor was sure that when Ava and her get into their first fight, it would turn into a massacre.

"You didn't but I'll kill you if I need to wait to play any longer. Time is money, let's go!" Kyle quipped from other room with his bass at ready. Ava rolled her eyes and grabbed Taylor's hand, "Alright, let's go before he tells on us."

Taylor giggled and allowed herself to be taken back to the room where they finished producing yet another masterpiece.