two || ✓

one || fragile, broken

"what a shame, what a shame, we all remain such fragile, broken things..."

-

A calm air fills the room; and so, it begins. There is quiet, attentive chatter between a small few of the many people within the cramped space, as most of those waiting are not to speak.

"Are the other guys coming? Justin and them?" the impatient girl asks, and the man seated beside her shakes his head. She leans her head carelessly on his shoulder and closes her eyes, subconsciously embracing the moments of calm. On the other side of the couch, a rather exhausted man sits and watches them with a small smile, his own subconscious embracing the love he has for his best friends.

The door opens, and the three all stand with smiles dressing their welcoming faces.

"Hi! Welcome, guys," the girl says happily, even though it is two teenage girls who stand before her, but in their excitement, they do not seem to mind all too much. The tired man stands with a shy smile, finding his exhaustion slowly fading with every fast-drawn breath in the room.

The moment the two girls' eyes land on the three, an unmistakeable light shines in them, and their smiles spread wide across their bright faces.

"Oh, my God," one of them says under her breath, and the other waves excitedly.

"Hi, Hayley!" she practically yells, and the girl in question laughs and waves back.

"Oh my gosh, hi Taylor, hi Zac!" the other says, and they both smile and wave as well as the girls make their way over to them.

Though meet and greets can definitely be tiring or awkward at times, Taylor knows that they are always worth it. Seeing their eyes light up and hearing all their unique stories every time never fails to make him smile — and blush — and now is not an exception.

The three talk to the fans — or, listen to all they say — and Taylor can't help but smile. He takes a moment in his silence to look at the others, and the scene warms his heart. He watches peacefully as Hayley and Zac laugh along with and discuss the girls' exciting stories about how important their music is to them. Zac throws an arm around Hayley's shoulder as one of the girls reaches for her friend's hand, and Taylor feels a rush of the most reassuring happiness, of peace.

After everything that the band had gone through over the years, Taylor is so grateful that everything is finally calming down. The band's relationship has never been happier than it is now, and he truly believes that things are good, that there is a calm after the storm.

This is peace. This is joy. This is love.

Eventually, the red-haired fan turns to Taylor, and he has to look down a bit to face her.

"Taylor, you're such an inspiration for me, and I honestly can't stress that enough. I play guitar too, but I'm so bad, and you're just so, so good that I'm blown away." Taylor blushes a deep red, and his friends laugh at his flushed face.

"Oh. . . oh, thank you so much," he says with a quiet voice and a shy smile, and Zac puts his other arm around Taylor.

"Sorry for his awkwardness," Zac says with a laugh, and the girl just smiles at Taylor.

"Do you have any tips for me? I'm genuinely so bad," she says.

"Oh, I'm sure you're not," the humble guitarist responds. "I think everybody sees themselves as far worse than they really are."

The girl's louder friend then steps up beside her and says, "Nope, I can confirm. I love her, but she sucks." Taylor's mouth struggles to function as Hayley and Zac burst out laughing.

"Wow, you two are just the sweetest, aren't you?" Hayley asks teasingly. The red-haired girl sticks her tongue out at the other and intertwines their still relatively small fingers.

"We are," she says, and Taylor turns back to her.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what tips would be helpful," he starts with a smile. "But I'm sure I could give you some." Both girls turn towards him as he thinks, and he discusses as much as he can think up off the top of his overworked head. Meanwhile, he notices Zac pull Hayley aside momentarily, away from the three.

"Hey, H," he says, and Taylor subtly turns his attention to them. Hayley smiles at Zac in response. "Can we talk for a sec in private?"

Taylor continues answering the girl's question to respect their privacy, but before he can hear Hayley's answer, their manager calls them over for last pictures.

"Oh man, already?" one of the girls asks, and Taylor smiles sadly.

"Ah, I guess so," he answers. "But it's been so nice talking to you two."

The girls then ask for a hug from him and he happily agrees, having to lean down to reach both of them. When he pulls back, he hears Hayley ask, "Sorry, Z. Can it wait?"

Zac nods with a smile. "Yeah, it's all good, Hayles."

As Hayley heads over to talk to the two girls before the photo, Taylor turns to Zac and raises an eyebrow. "Everything good?"

"Yeah, of course," he answers, calmly joining the three girls getting ready for the photos. "Don't worry about it."

When the flash goes off, Taylor risks a glance at Zac on his right. He smiles at the camera, but his eyes flicker momentarily to Hayley on the far left. She simply stares ahead and smiles wide, carefree and happy. Zac's eyes return to the front before he can notice Taylor.

Watching the scene, Taylor finds his heart warmed and nostalgic, reminded of that peaceful night spent driving in Zac's car — their midnight outing consisting only of the three of them, accompanied only by whatever had been in their pockets and in their minds.

He remembers the way Hayley had seemed to let go of all the fears and troubles she had been carrying with her for the longest time, her peace made obvious by the carefree laughter that lit up her eyes in a way he hadn't seen since they were kids. He remembers the way Zac had turned to him and noticed that loving realization in his eyes, smiling affectionately as he looked at Hayley to find the same. He remembers the stream of reluctant tears down Hayley's face when Zac had pointed out the boys' observations of her happiness, and he remembers their warm embrace that followed. He remembers the love, and he holds onto that memory.

And finally, with another flash of light, Taylor turns his attention back to the camera, his smile now coming more naturally than it had in a while.

-

hello again (:

for my first full-length, multi-chapter book on here, i wanted to do something special and unique. it started simply as a one-shot, but it felt so different that i decided instead to expand on it and grant it a book of its own, a story and idea of its own, and so you can trust me when i say it is. . . special. but as can be expected with me, i do not often deliver "special things" in the positive light, and so this book's heaviness is what renders it as captivatingly different as i had found it.

this is one of the heaviest concepts i have yet to explore, and i just need to say before you continue: i am so sorry.