Shining Hearts (A Garmau AU)

Chapter 2

(Wait for the song's cue)
Garroth's POV
I shift from my spot in the grass, leaning over to unzip the zipper on my fabric guitar case. I take out my guitar and let my fingers strum the strings.

I play the notes, each strum causing a different sound. I let myself get lost in a beautiful melody.

I remember one song that my mother taught me when I was eight. I loved it so much, it was so calming, so peaceful. I change the positing of my hands to play that graceful song.

I remember its name now; Hotel California.

(Start song)

I feel my eyes grow hot as I hear the sounds. A yearning for home, for my parents, for the good times, appears in the pit of my stomach.

All of the little activities that we had done as a whole, they made me the happiest.

I remember going around giving my friends "free hugs" when I was five.

When I was six, I was at a fairground with my family, I loved that place.

I remember meeting one of my best friends when I was seven.

I met Laurance a year later, but by then, my friend had moved to a town called ScalesWind.

I have barely any memories of her anymore, I can't even remember what her name was, only that she had long, raven black hair...

I remember trying to help mother with her baking and dropping the entire bag of flour on the floor. It exploded everywhere, it even dusted our dog, Midnight, completely white all over except for her nose. I remember laughing at the mess with Vylad when he came into the kitchen because he heard our dog howling at her coat.

I feel my throat constrict as I try to suppress the tears. I try to stop thinking of the memories but they just keep coming.

Ten years old: Midnight died from a cancer in her heart.

Eleven: My dad started drinking, he came home every night, drunk, causing my mother to have a fit.

My dad unknowingly whipped a chair at Zane in anger, causing the scar that Zane has to this very day.

Twelve: My mother and father got into a head on collision with another car; killing them.

I tell my mind to stop, but it continues.

Thirteen: My grades in school slowly started to drop.

Fourteen: I started neglecting my family and friends.

Fifteen: I gave up hoping things could be better.

Sixteen: I started to stress out too much when trying to bring my grades back up.

Seventeen: I stopped trying to have fun.

Eighteen: I decided not to go to collage.

Nineteen: I went through depression.

Twenty: My friends managed to stop my depression and self-hatred.

Twenty-one: I took up playing guitar; my favorite hobby.

Twenty-two: I stay home most of the time, my friends keep me company by inviting me to play mmo games.

No matter how hard I try to prevent it, I feel the warmth of tears start to roll down my cheeks.

When it was winter, Laurance, Vylad, and I would have a snowball war and I accidentally hit Zane in the eye once. MAN WAS HE MAD!

In the spring, we all would have a cook out, I used to love Laurance's sister's homemade mac and cheese.

In the summer we would go camping and make up games to play. I loved swimming, I used to pretend that I was a fish and swim around underwater.

In autumn, we would compete to make the largest pile of leaves possible, sometimes we would put all of our piles together and jump into it.

Then there was trick-or-treating, we all were mischevious when it came to that.

I finally manage to stop my flashbacks, but tears were already falling from my eyes slowly. I place my guitar back down beside me and wipe away the tears with the backs of my hands.

I look up and I notice I had drawn a small crowd who were all looking down at me with large smiles. Then, they started to clap.

Something small lit inside me, but it quickly died out.

I hadn't realized it, but I had been playing for an hour. It push myself up from the ground, putting my guitar away. The crowd starts to disperse, and I start walking back home.

Playing guitar had always been one of my favorite things to do, it may be the only thing that I really thought of as enjoyment. It soothed any nerves that I had and it brought back memories.

Maybe it was something that I could consider fun?

I played often and this allowed me to be able to play music and not think about it. It's like, that one thing that a person knows and enjoys best.

That thing for me is the guitar.

I can spill my heart and soul into it, compose something meaningful, and still be able to blend it into a melody.

That is why I like it.

Maybe I can bring my guitar to that party Laurance was talking about and just play it in the back, so nobody would notice.

I walk home, guitar on back, thinking of things I can do while at the party.

Maybe read a book?

Listen to music on my phone?

Watch videos?

Then there is always my guitar.

I feel my arm roughly hit some else's arm as I walk. I snap back out of my thoughts, it was that girl again.

"Sorry." I apologize when she looks like she was about to throw a fit.

"No, it's fine. I was about to overreact over that!" She says with a giggle.

Why does she seem so vaguely familiar?

It's just something about her...

What is it?

"Um, hello? Why are you staring at me?" She says, tapping my shoulder.

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry! You just look like someone I used to know." I say.

"Oh,okay then. Well, see ya'!" She says, walking away with a wave of her hand.

I nod, placing my hands in my pockets, I continue on to where Laurance said I should meet him at the party.

(A/N HEY! First one of these in this book! Anyways I don't really have a guitar irl, but it is something I have been wanting to try my hand at. I do own a piano, which is basically the only instrument I have.

I think I'll try to post a chapter of this book every other day, BUT it will not end up being as long as The Passing Time.

If you haven't noticed, I try to post every two or three days for that.

I know, I'm lazy. Anyways, keep on smiling!

Caio!
-Gabby)