This Song Saved My Life (All Time Low Fanfiction)

Love Yourself So No One Has To

"Play it," Connor said. I looked up from staring at the white keys on the piano, the rest of the group surrounding me. I shook my head.

"No. Connor, you know I can't play or sing or any of that crap so stop asking me to," I replied. He picked up a guitar and sat down on the bench next to me.

"I will if you will," he said. Wow. He must be really serious about this, if he had volunteered to play and sing as well. I sighed.

"Fine," I replied, thinking of a song. "Hallelujah?" He nodded, smiling at the title. I took a breath and placed my hands on the piano's beautiful keys, playing the introduction almost flawlessly. He started playing the guitar he had picked up with precision. I started singing quietly, but heard someone let out a breath and felt everything go away. "I heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the lord, but you don't really care for music, do you?" I started, singing louder as the song progressed, letting my voice do what it wanted. On the second verse, I heard Connor start singing and kept playing, trying not to think of how much better his voice was. His voice was perfect - it screamed and begged for release from its resting place in his heart, and he gave it what it needed. Every word he sang drew me closer to the song, as if I had written it and had based on a memory. Then we both sang, my voice doing a higher harmony above his. Until the third verse, when he left me alone except for a few hums. My voice broke as the suspense in the song built, until Connor started playing louder along with me, and we both screamed the chorus, and fell back into a routine of the next verse until the song was over, and my voice gave out.

There were tears in my eyes when we finished, and it brought me back to when John taught me how to play. Connor put the guitar down and everyone in the restaurant was clapping, some even cheering. I saw Alex sheepishly put his phone back in his pocket, and realized that he had just recorded the entire thing. I was about to get up, starting to break down. I didn't want that to happen - not here, where I had finally done something well in my life. Connor wrapped an arm around my waist and drew me into his shoulder, where I wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed my cheek, and I felt his hot breath on my ear.

"That was fantastic," he said so only I could hear. I felt myself blush furiously. "And you're beautiful when you blush." I laughed slightly, unwinding my arms from around him. Everyone eventually stopped clapping and things like that, leaving us to go back to our booth. We sat there, eating in silence for awhile.

"You guys were fantastic," Rian said. I smiled, kicking Connor's foot slightly. He also smiled.

"Thanks," I replied as I took a sip of my drink. "I really don't think so though."

"Well you are, so deal with it," Jaxon said.

"And stop complaining. Both of you are super talented," Max added. I sunk deeper into the booth, trying not to blush from all of the compliments I was getting.  Alex handed me his phone, which was pulled up onto YouTube. Connor leaned in so we were both looking at the screen, when Alex handed us a pair of earphones. We each put one in and touched the play icon. I stared at the screen, seeing the shaky recording. It was us, which is what Alex had been doing when he had put his phone down. I buried my face in Connor's shoulder and smiled like an idiot as I heard our voices in perfect harmony, screaming out the chorus with nothing but love in our voices. Not for each other, but for the song. At least I didn't think so. I finally brought myself to look at the rest of the video, and the description as well as the title. Ransom L. Sullivan and Connor Williams - "Hallelujah" was the title. 15 year-olds Ransom-Lullaby Sullivan and Connor Williams play "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley at Hard Rock New York, on the Imagine piano. Both are participating in the TWLOHA Songs Save Lives program and are from the Memphis School for Juvenile Delinquents.