The Unexpected

30 || Guitar Strings

"Hand it over," Luke commands as he takes the Taylor from my hands. "Stop overthinking this. You're already super talented with music, now you just have to work on it. I want you to visualize the guitar in yours hands."

I look at him in disbelief and say, "you're kidding me."

"No, I'm not. Close your eyes and do what I said."

"Luke this is so dumb," I complain.

The blonde boy let's out a sigh then replies, "if you want my help, do what I say."

I close my mouth and begin to picture me with the guitar. "What now?" I ask.

"Now, imagine yourself playing a song. Maybe pick one you usually struggle with. I want you to picture yourself playing it perfectly. You know how to play it, you just might not always execute it very well," Luke explains.

A small smile hints at the corners of my mouth as I do as Luke says. I can feel the cool nylon strings against my fingertips. The guitar plays effortlessly and without fault. Chords fill my ears, all strung together to make a song. Somehow I now know what I need to do to play it better once the guitar is actually in my hands.

"Okay, come back to me," a voice says with a chuckle, breaking my day dream.

"How exactly will that make me a better guitar player?" I question.

"Well, that, among other things, will help you develop as a musician. Along with doing that visualizing thing regularly, I want you to learn something new every day. Whether it's an entire song or a single chord, learn something. Every day. Understand?"

I nod my head in response before he continues, "also, record yourself. You don't have to do perfectly in the recording, but watch and listen to find your mistakes and work on them."

"That's all I have to do?" I ask.

"It's not hard to get good at guitar," he responds. "It just takes dedication. And, you're not bad either, there's just room to improve."

"Okay, well can we learn a song now?" I prod, hoping he'll say yes. I've been waiting to play a song with Luke ever since we all had that jam session a while back at Michael's.

"Not until you do those other things."

I pout, hoping he'll change his mind, but instead he crosses his arms to let me know that he isn't going to budge. Giving up, I walk towards Luke's kitchen to see if Liz left any food for him. The amount of times Liz makes meals for Luke then drops them off for him is insane. I don't think the boy knows how to make himself some food unless it's his precious toast with vegemite.

As I look in the fridge, I hear the front door open then close. Finally finding something, I pull out some mac and cheese. I grab a bowl out of one of the cabinets then spoon a serving into it. Excitedly, I place the beautiful snack in the microwave and wait patiently. While I'm leaning against the counter, Luke walks in with another person trailing behind him.

"Hi, Skye!" he says with a dimpled grin as his arms reach for me.

"Ash decided to drop by," Luke explains. "I tried to get rid of him, but once he knew you were here, he wouldn't go."

"Well, I for one am glad he came by," I say as I shoot Luke a glare. Ashton's arms are wrapped tightly around me making me feel small as I stand so close to him.

The microwave begins to beep and I go to retrieve my lunch. The steaming food is too hot to eat, so I set it on the counter and turn back to face the boys.

"So, S," Ashton begins. "I've been thinking, and you should try writing."

"Definitely!" Luke chimes in enthusiastically. "You seem like you have a lot to say, but don't really have a way to express what's going on in your head. It doesn't necessarily have to be like lyrics, but I think you'd be ace at it."