The Weight of my Dreams

Chapter 1: The Beginning

" I'm here, I'm here," Venus yelled out as she walked into The Groovy Room. It was a tiny shop at the corner of Third Ave and Elm in Downtown Nashville. I gave her a questioning look as she came through the doors but didn't worry too much about it because there was always some reason for her to stroll in 10 or 15 minutes late. " Where were you, Vee?" I chuckled as she came behind the counter. Venus rolled her eyes and made up a silly excuse, and went on her way to get ready for her shift. It was a slow day, but to be honest, vinyls were losing their novelty to people, so it always was. We had a few regulars that would come in when we got in new shipments, but it wasn't much other than that. It was nice sometimes, though, given that I had to study for my classes most days. I went to Nashville Music Academy to further my studies in Piano and cello, hoping that I could make a career out of it one day. Vee came back to the front after organizing some things throughout the shop and spoke in a hushed voice, "Y/n, did you see those guys who were in here a few minutes ago?" she looked at me with a slight grin and a face that could only mean mischief. I looked at her with a slightly raised eyebrow and responded in the same hushed voice, " no.. I must have missed them while I was cleaning up back here." she looked at me and laughed, knowing that I was in my own world and would have missed them either way. We went on through the rest of our shift and did little tasks here and there, given that there wasn't much to do because it was so empty today. We closed up the store at 8 pm and started our walk back to our apartments. We lived a few blocks away and took the bus if we ever needed to go somewhere that wasn't within walking distance. I liked the walk each night after our shift, and it was almost peaceful. We talked but never about anything too serious because we were both drained from the day's work. We soon got to our apartments and walked inside and up the stairs. We live in separate places across the hall from each other because we liked our little piece of privacy in this hectic and intrusive world. We said goodbye and parted ways. I fiddled with my keys before finding the correct one and unlocking the door. I set my bag down on the kitchen table and went back to my room, and got ready to take a shower and decompress from the day.

After my shower, I got dressed in some sweat pants and an oversized band-tee. I quickly realized that I hadn't eaten all day as my grumbling stomach reminded me constantly. I made some eggs and toast and made my way to the couch, and turned on my favorite show, New Girl. After a few episodes, I decided that it was time to get some sleep. I made my way back to my room and placed a vinyl on my record player. It was one of the first I ever bought, Don't Play That Song by Ben E.King. I retreated to my bed and turned off the lights, ready for the day ahead.

My phone started playing a sporadic jingle signaling that it was time to wake up for the day. I rolled out of bed and made my way to the front room, and opened up the blinds to let in the light of the morning. I walked into the kitchen, started a pot of coffee, and turned Spotify on the tv to get rid of the silence. As much as I loved living alone, that was one of the downsides. There was always an eerie quietness about the place. Once the coffee was done brewing, I went on my way to get ready for the day. I put on some makeup and got dressed in a long grey skirt with a Led Zepplin tee-shirt and some Dr. Martens.

I finished my cup and made my out the door. Vee was waiting for me (which was out of the ordinary). I gave her a funny look and locked my door behind me. "Y/n, are you ready for work?" she piped up gingerly. I looked at her with a confused look and said, "not really," in a defeated tone. She displays a crooked smile " what if the cute boys are back?" she askes like she was manifesting that it would happen. I looked at her like she was crazy, and she simply rolled her eyes. " well, Y/n, I think they will be there" I couldn't help but giggle, knowing that the chances were slim to none. "Vee, you know that people rarely come in, let alone two days in a row." She sighed, knowing that I was probably right, but I could tell that the hope was still in her eyes. That's something that I loved about her, she was always a glass-half-full type of person, and it was refreshing with today's day and age. Although I told her it wasn't likely that those cute guys would come back in, I secretly hoped that they would so I could catch a glimpse of the handsome boys she kept talking about. We made our way to the record shop and stopped for coffee on the way to help us through the 8-hour shift. When we arrived, I unlocked the door so that we could set everything up for the day. We had 10 minutes till we opened, which was more than enough time. Venus was already in a state of boredom while she got the registers ready, and I was making sure that the lights were on and the blinds were open to be more inviting, I suppose. After the ten minutes had passed, I walked to the front window and switched on the open sign displaying its bright and chaotic lights.

A few people came in and browsed the store, but few bought something. A couple of regulars came in and made awkward conversations, but other than that is was quiet, except for the Billy Joel album playing. I retreated to the back for my break and left Vee to take care of things for 15 minutes. After about 10 minutes, she came barreling into the room, and she looked like she had seen a ghost. "what's up, Vee?" I asked in shock at her demeanor. She gave a short response, "they're back!" I looked at her confused, and my mind was racing as to who she could have upset. "Who??" I asked frantically, "the boys from yesterday!" she shrieked with excitement I hadn't heard in a while from her. I swiftly got up from where I was sitting and made my way up to the front to see them for myself. I was pretending like I was doing something useful, but I was scanning the aisles, and sure enough, there were two new faces that I had never seen before. They both had long hair past their shoulders, but they didn't look like brothers. The one with brown hair had softer features while the other with black hair had a stern-looking face with thicker eyebrows. But I could tell from their talking and smiling that they were nowhere near serious. I was lost in my thoughts as I realized that one of them was staring back at me. I quickly looked away and returned to what I was doing, hoping that he didn't see me staring for too long. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him chuckle and go back to what he was doing with his friend. They looked through almost everything, and I could see that they had some records in their hands to buy. Venus was looking at me and smiling as she could tell that I found one of the two attractive from the red tint that had come over my face. I organized the cash drawer while waiting for them to come up to avoid losing sight of the brown-haired boy. After a few more minutes, they started to make their way to me with their selections and set them on the counter. They both had kind eyes, which was surprising because most people who came in here weren't really in the best moods. " Hi guys, did you find everything okay?" I asked shyly. The black-haired boy responded promptly, " yeah, we came in yesterday, but we had to go, so we figured we would come back. We found more than we thought we would." he said with a chuckle. The brown-haired boy was standing next to him, but he wasn't saying much. I could feel his eyes on me as his friend, and I talked. Finally, he spoke, "I like this little place; it's pretty cozy." he said with a smile spreading across his face. After looking around, taking in the place one more time, he met his eyes with mine. He held them there like he was trying to read me. I looked away quickly. I could feel myself blushing again. I handed them their receipt after the darker-haired one paid. "Have a good day, you guys and come back soon," I said as they turned their backs to leave. They swiftly left, but one of them had some hesitation as he got to the door but didn't stop. I looked at Vee with my mouth wide open. All she could say was, "oh, I know you don't have to say it" I looked at her with amazement all over my eyes and said defeatedly, "I guess you were right about them coming back in.." she laughed and came back to the front, she was too nervous about being up here while they were so she kept her distance. Suddenly her eyes widened, and she went back to the middle of the store. I turned to see what made her so nervous, and the brown-haired boy was back. He walked right up to me and looked at me as if he was trying to figure out what he would say, and then he spoke.