Taylor hummed along to the melody they'd written as Gracie played the piano, nodding her head to the beat they'd both envisioned.
They'd been writing music since late into the night before and now they sat together on Taylor's living room floor as it approached almost 3 in the morning.
A notebook lay next to Gracie, only a bridge scribbled down hastily on its pages.
She looked up and met the eyes of her friend, raising an eyebrow at the look she was given. "What?"
"I'm not judging you, you know that right?" Taylor mused. "But does this song have anything to do with a certain ex that you ran into last week?"
Gracie sighed and paused her playing. "Olivia told you about that, I see."
The blonde shrugged, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "No, actually. Phoebe did."
"Wait, what?" She spluttered, sitting up straight. "How does she know?"
Taylor chuckled, taking a sip from the wine glass that had been forgotten earlier in the night. "Elle told her in a panic, I guess. She wanted to know why you were there, so Phoebe asked me."
"Well what did you say?"
"Nothing!" Taylor insisted, raising her hands in faux defence. "I didn't even know you'd run into her, let alone where."
Gracie groaned, rubbing at her face with her hands. "Great. Fuck, now it's some big thing." She paused, staring at her friend with wide eyes. "Wait, does she think I was there on purpose? Like to see her?"
"Probably not." She shrugged. "She didn't say anything like that."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck. They probably think I'm some stalker or I'm trying to get her back or-"
"Gracie." Taylor's firm, but gentle, voice cut through her panic. She reached out, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's fine."
"It's... fucked. In all honesty."
She frowned. "I don't know what happened between you two in the first place. Why's it such a big deal that you ran into each other? You told me it wasn't even a serious relationship."
Gracie sighed heavily, leaning back against the couch and closing her eyes. "I know I did. But I may have lied? I don't know." She cracked an eye open to gauge her reaction. "Maybe! It's complicated."
Taylor laughed. "I get it, I do. If you're comfortable why don't you talk about it?"
She took a deep breath, contemplating the concept. "It's weird, you know? I don't think I've ever really been... comfortable with it."
"With what?"
"Like, us both being girls, you know?" She murmured. "That makes it weird to talk about."
Taylor's expression softened, and she nodded gently. "I get that." She said quietly. "I hope you know there's nothing wrong with it."
"I know that." Gracie pursed her lips. "I think I've just been scared this whole time."
"Is that why you broke up?"
"Kind of," She responded after a moment, her voice almost a whisper. She shifted on the floor, her fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on the piano keys. "The whole relationship was complicated."
