On the road with Ryder Crawford (Haylor Fanfic)

XVI - Beginnings

I began strumming and close my eyes to try and control my heart from beating out of my chest.

As I strum the intro, I picture myself inside my bedroom with my old guitar and notebook scribbling lyrics and chords.

Smelling what my mother was cooking downstairs, Abigail laying on my bed trying to do her homework.

The face of the beautiful boy I was writing about.

And suddenly a smile crept to my face, I'm taken back there in that moment again.

I'm there not anywhere else, then the words started to come out.

"Cory's eyes are like a jungle
He smiles; it's like the radio
He whispers songs into my window
In words that nobody knows
There's pretty girls on every corner
They watch him as he's walking home
Saying, does he know
Will you ever know?"

I bob my head as I strum my guitar and continued to the chorus.

"You're beautiful
Every little piece, love; don't you know?
You're really gonna be someone
Ask anyone
And when you find everything you've looked for
I hope your love leads you back to my door
Oh, but if it don't, stay beautiful"

I sang with my eyes closed, and a sentimental smile as I revel on the memory I was lost in.

"If you and I are a story
That never gets told
If what you are is a daydream
I'll never get to hold, at least you'll know"

Just as the song is about to end, my eyes spring open caused by the speaker ringing out with a voice from the other room and suddenly I'm taken back to reality.

"Okay... we're good." Ryder lazily and looks at Scoot with a smirk.

"You wrote this?" Scoot speaks to the mic and I nod.

"I was fourteen when I did so if it's a bit childish I'm sorry." I defend

"It's fine, not bad. What do you think Ryder?" Scoot asks.

"Definitely not singing it. But I guess for country style it's o-kay." He replies flatly swiveling his chair around.

"Sing another one-" Ryder continues but pauses like he was trying to remember something.

"Georgia stars do that one." He finishes.

My eyes widen as even though I finished the song, I haven't actually played it or polished it.

The two of them look at me expectantly so I gulp and decided there's no way out of this one.

He said the way my blue eyes shined
Put those Georgia stars to shame that night
I said: "That's a lie."

"Just a boy in a Chevy truck
That had a tendency of gettin' stuck
On back roads at night
And I was right there beside him all summer long
And then the time we woke up to find that summer had gone"

I lift my head to look at Ryder as I go into the chorus.

He catches my gazes and smirks, causing me to look back down the guitar.