When Worlds Collide

Notes of Inspiration

The weekend passed relatively quickly. I flew to New York to work in the studio with Jack, continuing on my album, which I'll be releasing soon. I FaceTimed with Travis often, and now I'm lying in bed. It's Sunday night, and tomorrow I have to get up early for school. I'll see Travis and my students again, and I'm excited. My eyes grew heavier until they finally closed, and I fell into a deep sleep.

The shrill beeping of the alarm clock pierced the still darkness of the room, a monotonous, insistent tone that repeated relentlessly. Beep. Beep. Beep. It was loud and unforgiving, as if it were pushing time forward itself. Each beep seemed sharper, more urgent, until it finally drove away the last bit of peace and filled the room with a nervous energy. I hit my phone and turned it off, annoyed. It fell silent, and I briefly enjoyed the quiet before finally dragging myself out of my warm blanket. I was on my way to the bathroom when I bumped into Selena in the hallway.

"Good morning," we greeted each other.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked her. She just nodded.

"Are you going to be around tonight?" She nodded again and added a sleepy "yes."

"Okay, how about wine and dinner? What do you think? I need a break."

Her eyes sparkled, and she smiled. "I can never say no to that, and you know it."

I got ready, and my driver took me to school. On the way there, my phone started ringing. 'Hello, Tree, what's up?' I greeted Tree on the phone.

'Hey, Taylor, I just wanted to let you know that I'm coming to school today. I'll hurry and hope I can make it before the first class starts.'

'Okay, take your time. It's not a big deal if you don't make it on time.

"Good morning, princess," said a familiar and comforting voice. His emerald eyes greeted me warmly, and I sat down, placed my bag on the chair, and leaned in to kiss him. "Good morning."

"How are you?" he asked while gently resting his hand on my knee, lightly stroking it, giving me a sense of safety and security.

"I'm good. I'm excited to keep teaching, and we made a lot of progress this weekend."

"That's great! You'll have to play me something sometime. I want to hear the masterpieces you're creating. Here's your coffee," he said, sliding it over to my side. I accepted it gratefully and let the warm liquid flow down my throat.

I was lost in thought, which he noticed, and he gave my knee two gentle squeezes. I snapped back to attention and asked him, "Do you think the students will be surprised?"

Travis smiled, his eyes twinkling with a mixture of warmth and amusement. "Surprised? Definitely. I bet they've missed you already, and they'll be even more eager to see what you have in store for them today."

I took another sip of my coffee, feeling the rich warmth spread through me. "I hope so. I just don't want to let them down. Balancing all this teaching, the album sometimes it feels like I'm juggling too many things at once."

Travis's hand slid from my knee to gently hold my hand. "You've got this. You're always doing a million things, but you handle it with so much grace. And if it ever gets too much, you know I'm here for you, right?"

I smiled, my heart swelling a little. There was something about the way Travis made everything feel lighter, like no matter what challenges came my way, he'd be there, steady and reassuring.

"I know. Thank you," I said softly, squeezing his hand in return.

He leaned in, brushing his lips lightly against my forehead. "Anytime."