till forever falls apart | Taylor Swift

75

real life

"Okay, are we recording?" August asked, looking up from the piano.

Jack nodded from across the booth and gave her two thumbs up.

August took in a shaky breath and adjusted the headphones over her ears.

"Whenever you're ready," he said.

Closing her eyes, August began playing the small melody she had written that merged into the intro of Ryne's Song.

And then she started playing the song, completely raw. She got through the whole take before finally looking up.

"Okay, and this is where it transitions into Moral of the Story," she finally said, finding Jack and Jon, perched over the equipment before them. To her surprise, she also found Taylor's eyes in the back of the room, folding her coat over her arm. "Oh... hey!"

"Hi! That sounded amazing! You wrote the bridge?" Taylor asked, smiling widely and August nodded.

"Yeah, we just did, actually," August explained. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought we had plans," Taylor replied, her lips quirking up amusedly.

"Yeah, at like eight," August answered with a small chuckle.

"It's seven—thirty," Jon said through his mic.

"Well, shit," August chuckled, grinning sheepishly at Taylor who let out a soft laugh.

"We still have some recording to do, right?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders and folded his arms over his chest, leaning back in his swivel chair. "Nope. I think we're good actually. This take was perfect. I can work with it."

"I thought my voice was kind of wavering at first," August said, getting up from the piano.

Jack shrugged again. "It's more real," he told her. "It was raw, August. I think that's the take we should go with, with a bit of editing and some backing instrumentals. But it's up to you."

"I agree," Jon said, nodding his chin in Jack's direction.

August looked up at Taylor expectantly. The blonde looked slightly taken aback. "What do you think, Tay?" August asked.

Taylor hesitated a little, brushing her bangs behind her ears. "I... well, I loved it. I have to agree with Jack. I think it sounded pretty intense. Like you're laying your heart bare on the record. But I don't know, I might be biased."

August trusted all their opinions. The song was never going to be perfect to her, anyway. It was always going to be just a bit too painful. She drew in a heavy breath and nodded, cracking her fingers.

"Alright, we'll get back to it on Monday, then," August finally decided and sent the team a small smile before heading out to them.

Taylor was the first to meet her right outside the recording booth, her arms open wide. August couldn't help but grin as she walked right into Taylor's embrace. She tipped her head back and pressed a kiss on Taylor's cheek before pulling away.