The Rock Rollercoaster

23.

HEY YOU GUYS! WELCOME TO CHAPTER 23! AND BY THE WAY...... THERE'S OVER 2,000 READS ON THIS STORY AND I'M SO HAPPY I CAN'T EVEN ASDFGHJKL

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"Lyra? You know, its ten PM." Charles says, tapping on his desk impatiently.

I huff. "Then leave. I'm staying here."

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I jolted awake, fresh from another nightmare. Panicked, I looked around myself completely confused.   This wasn't my room. It wasn't even my apartment. This room had grey walls, posters of all my favourite bands stuck to the walls, with quite a bit of clutter on the floor and desk. I was currently in the huge double bed, wrapped in the black bed covers. I sat all the way up, running a hand through my hair.

I hugged my knees to my chest, still covered in the duvet. Burying my face in the covers, I recognised the scent and immediately knew where I was. My panic subsided, and I breathed out deeply. Nate's room. This was Nate's room. And I... I was in Nate's bed. I had slept in Nate's bed. My first thought was guilt - what would David say if he knew that I'd slept in Nate's bed? And then reality crashed around me. David wouldn't care. Not anymore.

Ignoring the stupid fluttering in my tummy, I slid out of the bed. I was still wearing the cotton shirts and vest that I had thrown on after Nate had left my flat this morning. Or yesterday morning. I didn't even know the time!

Stretching my arms above my head, I padded over to the door. I pulled it open a crack, and then peeked out of the gap. I was looking into a small sitting room, with barely any furniture. Just a shabby sofa, tiny TV and a small coffee table. The rest of the room was bare, except for the left wall which was covered in guitars. As in, there were about ten guitars mounted upon the wall - electric, acoustic, signed.

And on the sofa, with his back to me, was Nate. I could only see his back, but his shoulders were hunched over something.

"You could've just taken me back to my place," I said, seating myself next to him.

He glanced at me, a hint of a smile playing around his mouth. "You left your bag in Number Four, and Danni locked up so its still there. I'm guessing your keys were inside it."

I nodded. "Why didn't you wake me up then?"

He touched my cheek, and grinned. My heart flip-flopped. "I know its kind of cliche, but you looked... Well, I didn't want to wake you up."

I blushed, but he removed his hand. I glanced at the piece of paper he was scribbling on. "Are you writing a song?"

He nodded. "I was wondering if you wanted to help? I mean, you said you were feeling inspired, so I thought you might..."

"You don't even have to ask. What's it about?" I said, inching closer.

He sighed. "I want to do something for my grandpa. But not just a song about how I miss him - that's too obvious. So I was thinking something about just grief in general, you know?"

I nodded. "I get it. So, kind of like No One But You?"

He frowned. "I suppose so. I actually hadn't thought of that."

I smiled sadly. "This is going to be one of the hardest songs to write, isn't it?"

"Judging by how far I've gotten with it so far, yes. Yes it is." Nate said, running a hand through his  hair frustratedly. "I just can't sit back and mourn without doing something for him."

"If it helps, I wrote a few poems and lyrics about my mum a few months after she died. Maybe we can use those to give us a direction?"

And with that, we started writing. And I was right, it was difficult. Not because it hurt, although it certainly did. But because it brought back memories that I had forgotten. And the fact that I had forgotten them scared me. But Nate helped a lot. He understood, because now he'd been there too. We bickered as usual, but the lyrics eventually became beautiful. So beautiful I felt tears welling. And when we figured out the music, I knew this song would be our best.