chapter eight | songwriting and accidents

THE WARM FALL air hit Mila's skin as she walked to the nearby coffee shop to pick up coffee for Gracie and herself, the sun almost blinding her. Since Jordan had decided to stay in the city for an extra day, the two friends had decided to use the day as a writing day. Luckily, she had made the order online, so she wouldn't have to worry about long lines and keeping Gracie waiting.

Once she got to the coffee shop, she walked inside, immediately going to the pickup side of the corner. "I need the order for Reyes, please." She spoke to the barista who walked over to assist her.

After receiving a nod from the worker, she stepped away to get the drinks. While she was away, Mila was suddenly hearing a sound from her phone. She recognized the sound, it was Gracie's ringtone. She looked down at the screen after pulling it out of her pocket to see that Gracie was calling her.

Once she accepted the call and held the phone to her ear, she immediately heard her voice. "Did you get the coffee yet?" She spoke through a yawn, her yawn revealing how tired she was. Mila told her to get some sleep, but it appears that she didn't listen to her. That was nothing new. "I'm dying here without it." She complained.

Mila let out a chuckle before she responded. "Now, is it the coffee you're dying without or me?" She jokingly flirted, soon hearing silence from Gracie's end. With a confused expression on her face, she pulled the phone back enough to see if the call was still connected and then held the phone back to her ear. "Are you okay over there? Was it too much for you?" She asked, hoping to get an answer.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just caught me off guard there for a second. For the record, that was barely anything." Gracie responded and cleared her throat. "Seriously though, hurry up, I need my coffee."

"Wow...I never expected Gracie Abrams to be so impatient." Mila teased. A moment later, the barista handed her the two cups of coffee and set her on her way. Gracie would be happy to see these in a little bit.

"Well, fuck you too I guess," Gracie replied, soon hearing a chuckle from her friend. Hearing Mila's laugh was enough to get her to join in. "I'll see you in a little bit, and that was for my coffee, not you." She teased.

Before Mila could respond, the call was dropped and she let out a sigh. "She kills me sometimes." She quietly spoke to herself.

She slipped her phone back into her pocket and then carried both drinks back to the hotel.

The two sat on the floor of Gracie's hotel room, crumpled pages of lyrics scattered around them and Gracie strummed chords on her guitar. For the last three hours, the two had tried to write this song that they would collaborate on, but they kept hitting dead end after dead end. They were in this state of frustration and hopelessness.

Mila tapped her pen against the page in a rhythm, trying to get something to click. So far, they were unsuccessful.

A frustrated groan escaped Gracie's lips as she leaned the guitar against the bed. "I need a fucking break, my brain is too fried for this right now." She spoke up, taking a sip of her now cold coffee.

"So is mine." Mila agreed, throwing her pen to the side. She leaned her back against the bed, staring at the wall. She let out a sigh, soon looking over at Gracie. "We can do this, we're smart and creative people." She added, trying to motivate her, maybe even lift her spirits a bit.

Gracie returned the glance, a slight grin on her face. "There's this other song that I've been working on, I think you'd enjoy it." She spoke as she picked the guitar up, beginning to strum the opening chord. "It's a little personal and exposes my feelings a little bit, so don't judge it too hard." She joked, letting out a chuckle.

"Oh my god, a sneak peek at the secret project? I'm interested now. Once Mila turned to give Gracie her full attention, Gracie strummed the chords of the song.

No, I know

I'm a walking contradiction and it shows

Got a history of being in control

I'm aware that I could end up here alone

But then we spoke

I had a backbone made of glass and then it broke

Now I stay up and I wait here by the phone

If you're ready, all I mean is we could go

And I've never craved someone's attention

As much as yours, thought I should mention that

Mila watched Gracie intently, a slight grin on her face. She loved watching Gracie perform, but seeing it in an intimate place like a hotel room made it so much more special. However, she wondered who this could be about. Did Gracie meet someone and didn't tell her? If she did then it's not much of her business anyway, she just thought that they were at the stage where they told each other everything.

Gracie continued to sing with a grin, going into the chorus.

I bet all my money that I will

Lose to you and hand you my life

Here's to hoping you're worth all my time

I might barely know you, but still

Don't love you yet, but probably will

Turn me into something tragic

Just for you, I let it happen

I let it happen

As Gracie continued to sing, she kept her eyes on Mila. It was like she was trying to send her a message telepathically.

With that, she strummed the final chord. "It's still a work in progress, but it's done for the most part. It just needs to be recorded in the studio." She quickly spoke, soon clearing her throat. She saw the questioning look on her face. She wasn't sure if she didn't like it or wanted to ask questions about it. "I'm open to any questions and suggestions you may have."

"Who's it about?"

That question caught her by surprise. Of all the questions she could have asked first, that was the one she went with. "Went for the direct questions there, huh?" She teased, hoping to dodge the question. She knew it was no use though, Mila would have done anything to get that answer out of her.

"Yes, now, tell me who it's about." Mila insisted, gently poking at her arm.

This was the moment that could make a relationship or break a friendship. The thought of it being the latter scared her. She almost didn't want to say it, but she was too deep into this now. She let out a breath to keep calm and then she said it.

"It's about you."

Just like that, the room fell silent. The weight of the confession hung in the air. Mila opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it when she couldn't get words to come out. Gracie felt her heart pounding in her chest, wanting to take it back, but it wasn't possible. It was out in the air now, there was no way to take it back.

Gracie went to speak once again, her voice no louder than a whisper. "I wasn't sure what I was feeling at first, but then I got the idea for the song. Once I started writing, everything suddenly made sense." She explained, looking at her friend only to see the shocked look on her face from moments ago. "It was you, Mila. It's always been you."

Mila blinked, attempting to speak again, but Gracie couldn't wait any longer. She closed the distance between them, a hand resting on her cheek as she pressed her lips to Mila's.

The kiss was tentative at first, but Mila didn't pull away. Gracie was relieved by that, but she didn't kiss back. That wasn't a good sign.

Once she pulled away, Mila's face displayed the same shocked reaction she had moments ago. Gracie felt that she had ruined everything, all she could do was hope that everything was okay. "I...need a minute to process and think this through." With that, Mila stood up and made her way to the door. "It's nothing against you, I promise. I just need a minute."

Once Mila was gone, Gracie let out a shaky breath, leaning against the bed.

It's been hours since she had kissed Mila. The moment replayed in her head over and over again. The look on Mila's face haunted her.

She wished she could know what Mila was thinking, but she didn't have superpowers. All she could do was wait and panic about the whole thing. Honestly, she wasn't even sure if Mila would ever talk to her again after this. She wished she had some guidance for something like this.

She let out a breath and got up from the floor, and then the door opened. It was her manager. "I saw Mila run down the stairs, she said she was going to get some fresh air. What's up with her? We have to leave soon." Jordan pointed out, soon seeing the guilty look on Gracie's face. She knew that she had something to do with it now. "What did you do?" She asked with a stern tone, basically demanding an answer.

"I kissed her..."

Jordan was getting a little annoyed, but she chose to calm down to de-escalate the situation. This was very important to Gracie, so she had to treat it as an important thing to her. "You care about her a lot, don't you?" Jordan asked curiously and calmly.

She then earned a nod from Gracie.

Jordan let out a sigh, hating the fact she was doing this, but then she spoke again. "There's a cat cafe nearby, she might still be there." She quietly spoke, now watching as Gracie swiftly left the room.

Gracie stood in the elevator, impatiently waiting for it to reach the lobby. She was desperate to get to Mila and fix things before it was too late and she hated her forever.

Once the elevator reached the desired floor, she ran into the lobby and made it outside the building and there she stood. The girl that she had kissed just moments ago. Mila spotted her and carefully approached her. "Look, I'm sorry about-"

Before Gracie could finish her sentence, Mila cupped Gracie's face as she pressed her lips to hers.

Just like that, all of Gracie's worries disappeared. For once, she didn't feel like she messed anything up. The two felt like this was exactly where they were supposed to be. Mila had pulled away to look at her, a slight grin on her face. "I freaked out back there and I'm sorry for it. I guess I'm still working through some past relationship stuff, but I'm getting there." Mila explained, earning an understanding nod from Gracie. "I would love to give this a try, but I need a little bit more time."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, I get it. I'm more than willing to wait for you, I just hope it doesn't make things awkward between us."

"Hey, we have a title for that song now. Us."

Gracie smiled at her, taking Mila's hands in hers, and stared into her eyes. "So, I take that as a sign that we're okay?"

Mila nodded, her smile growing wider. That was answer enough for Gracie, words weren't necessary right now. "I think we have a song to work on." Mila finally spoke, keeping a grip on Gracie's hand and guiding her back to the hotel room.

The scary part was over now. The only thing left for Gracie was the long part, the waiting. She could live with it though, for Mila, it was worth it. Soon enough, she would have the girl that she never expected to fall for.

Now, she stays up and waits by the phone.

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AUTHORS NOTE!

guys this is the longest

chapter i've ever written

and i love it so much. mila

and gracie are my babies

and they mean the world to

me. i hope you all enjoyed

and i hope there's no mistakes!