Rising Above: The Luh Tyler Chronicles

Lost in the Beat, Lost in Thought

Tyler sat at his desk, fingers resting lightly on the keys of his laptop. The beat he'd been working on for days played through his headphones, but something was off. Normally, he could lose himself in the rhythm, letting the melody flow from his mind onto the screen like second nature. But tonight, nothing clicked.

He leaned back, frustrated. No matter how many times he adjusted the tempo or changed the bassline, it wasn't hitting the way he wanted it to. Every track he made felt flat, like it was missing something. Or someone.

Kayla.

Her laugh, her smile, the way she talked about her art like it was more than just sketches on paper—it was all Tyler could think about. Ever since they'd met at the coffee shop, her presence lingered in his mind like an unfinished lyric. The way she'd asked him questions about his music, the way she genuinely seemed to care about what he was creating—it was different. She wasn't just another face in the crowd, and he couldn't shake the feeling that she was supposed to be a part of something bigger in his life.

He pulled off his headphones, running a hand over his face. "Man, what's wrong with me?"

Before meeting Kayla, music had always been his escape. No distractions, just him and the beat. But now, whenever he sat down to create, he found himself thinking about her—wondering what she was doing, whether she was sketching something new, whether she thought about him, too.

Tyler stood up, pacing the room. He needed to clear his head. He grabbed his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he found her name: Kayla Thompson. His thumb hovered over the screen. He thought about texting her, asking if she wanted to hang out again, but something stopped him.

What was he even going to say? That he couldn't focus on his music without thinking of her? That every track felt incomplete without her energy around? It sounded crazy, even to him.

But still, the feeling gnawed at him.

He tossed the phone onto the couch and went back to the keyboard, trying to drown out the thoughts with work. The beat dropped again, but it didn't move him the way it usually did. His fingers hovered over the keys, frozen. He sighed, pushing away from the desk.

Kayla had gotten under his skin, and he couldn't pretend otherwise.