Hearts Parade of a Lyrical Life

Epilogue

Saturday, December 30th

It had been around two months since I had last seen Ryan. After Resident Vagabonds got signed to a record label it wasn't long before they dropped their first album with all the songs Ryan had written. They were an instant success and a huge hit, I remember how it felt when Ryan told me they would be leaving for a tour that same month.

"Already? The albums only just dropped, what about your studies?" I had asked. It was Ryan's dream but I wasn't so sure about him dropping out. Luckily for him the school agreed for him to continue his studies on the road by watching recorded lectures and handing in assignments online.

He left right at the end of October, we spent Halloween together as a final goodbye and he flew off that same morning. I fell asleep in his arms and when I woke, he was gone.

We had been keeping in touch, Ryan assured me this didn't have to mean the end of us, but alongside touring and all his assignments he didn't have much time to video chat. So I did the next best thing, I would sit at the front of every lecture, pay close attention, and ask any relevant or thoughtful question I could. I volunteered to read my writing to be critiqued, I answered questions, all because I knew he would be watching them on his computer wherever he was on that tour bus. My grades were better than ever, my teachers loved me, but best of all were the texts I'd get from Ryan,

Ryan: "I liked the questions you asked in class today, Professor Duke looked stumped."

Ryan: "Your poem was pretty, did you really write it in 15 minutes?"

Ryan: "I didn't even know the answer to that question, looks like you've taken my spot at the top."

We couldn't talk long, we never could, but the fact I knew he could at least see me made me feel more at ease, it was my way of reminding him I was there for him, the fact it boosted my academic performance was a plus.

————

No one had discovered Eden, the club was flourishing like no other. Grace did exactly as she said she would and the next time she spoke at Eden it was to announce her official status with the pretty librarian Jess. Kayla was the most shocked of all, with all kinds of probing questions like, "Why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone?" and "Have you guys kissed?" while Lucy sat next to her and giggled at her girlfriend's interest in her friends love life.

I have a key to the music room now. I like to go in alone to practice my playing, I've learnt covers of every one of their songs. Sometimes when I would get stuck on one part I'd text Jon asking what chord progression goes next, and sometimes he would get back to me, but I'd always figure it out. I had their songs playing in my head on loop every day. I would look around at the music room. It was now abandoned apart from me, it felt like a weirdly spiritual place. I would walk around and memories of various moments would come to mind, fights we had had, getting locked in with Jon, Spencer snapping the one and only time. It's funny to think of the things you miss.

In my better or worse judgement I reached out to Dallon, I wanted to hear what he had been up to and surprisingly, he wanted to hear about me. Dallon didn't ask me about the band, he didn't need to, they were on TV and social media. Dallon asked me how I was doing. We started spending time together twice a week, at first it was just to catch up, but then it became a sort of ritual. He would invite me out for breakfast on Fridays at the same small place we had gone to together before, and then on Sundays I got the honour of visiting him at the studio he worked in. We'd go into whatever room was unattended and Dallon would listen to me play and correct my form. I started composing original pieces and Dallon helped with them, bringing attention to style and melody. Then we would just sit, drink tea –or coffee in his case– and just chat. Not even necessarily to update but because it was nice to be in each other's company.