almost | taylor swift au

chapter 19

Gracie sits at her piano, her brown hair hanging down around her shoulders. She looks at the rain hitting against the window in front of her as she sits, all cozy in her New York apartment. This is her absolute favorite weather to write in, when the world is telling her to take a pause from her busy life and stay inside for a day.

So, with a mug of tea resting on the wooden top of her piano and her favorite fuzzy sweater hugging her body, she allows her fingers to lead the way as they dance across the array of black and white keys in front of her. She sings under her breath, her voice barely above a whisper.

The song that she's writing makes her think of a certain person who has recently come into her life. Of sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Of the secrets that lie behind those eyes, the stories that she has to tell.

Gracie has found that for the past few days, she hasn't quite been able to stop thinking about Taylor. Something inside her is telling her that she's found a friend who is going to be in her life for forever. That feeling, it's special. She knows that her story with Taylor is just beginning, and that makes her smile.

As she thinks about their evening together, she thinks about the way that they each poured their hearts out to each other. It felt like they'd known each other forever, like they were old friends. Taylor was like someone she'd met before, perhaps in a dream. She's somebody that Gracie can't seem to get out of her mind.

With those thoughts swirling around in her brain, Gracie puts pen to paper and writes the first lines to the song.

I met a girl once
I think that she ripped me open
She doesn't even know it
Does she even remember my name?
We sat on a sofa
She asked me a million questions
I answered and by the morning
Memorized her face

Gracie pauses. She has an idea of what she wants to do next, where she wants the song to go. She wants to name the character that she is writing about. But she wants to use a different name, not Taylor. 'Taylor' is the name of somebody who is going to be a superstar. Of somebody whose power is going to take over the world one day. 'Taylor' doesn't quite have that gorgeous, aesthetic ring to it, it doesn't evoke mystical images of a mysterious dream girl. It isn't a delicate fairy landing on a flower to rest its wings at the end of a long, hard night.

She bites her lip, thinking about what name she could use to evoke the mood she wants. Her eyes scan the room, searching for any sort of inspiration. They fall upon a framed photo on the wall of Paris in the rain, sandwiched between one of London and one of Rome. Nothing but mere wall decor that she bought at a TJ Maxx. But the photo makes her think of a French film that she saw once. Jean-Pierre Jeunet's masterpiece, about a young woman who views the world in a very special and unique way. Who finds adventure in the mundane and views the world through rose-colored glasses, no matter how cruel it can be to her.

And her name was Amelie.

It feels perfect. It's beautiful and melodic. It fits with the vibe of the song, though she can't quite pinpoint why exactly that is.

From there, the song flows. It becomes a very special song to her very quickly. She doesn't know if it is one that will ever see the light of day, but she likes it.

Tell me more, I would give all my time
All your words felt like a poem, a rhyme
Comfortable, handing you my whole life
When all your words felt like they were just right
So where did you go
Amelie, Amelie, Amelie?
Where'd you go?
Or were you all in a dream
Amelie, Amelie?
I don't know, oh

Gracie smiles to herself. She's proud of what she's written. It's introspective and personal, yet still a certain sort of broad. There are many different ways that it could be interpreted. To her, it represents the intense feelings of wanting to be friends with a person, of wanting to know them better and not knowing how to express that, or being too afraid to. It's something that she knows every young woman has experienced before, but something that she doesn't think people talk about very much. It's how she's been feeling about Taylor lately.