Song used in this chapter is Fade Into You from the tv show Nashville, video is on the side, I discovered it the other day and decided to use it in a oneshot, it's a great song and the lyrics are beautiful so have a listen
When I woke up that morning, it was still dark outside, the only source of light being the thin strip at the bottom of the door that told me the hall light was on. I shut my eyes and rolled over, stretching my arm out, expecting it to curl around Sophie's body, but instead fell onto empty bedsheets. My eyes flickered open again at the strange sensation and I frowned.
I blew out a sigh as I knew that I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep knowing Sophie was up and about somewhere. The clock read 2:13am. She couldn't have gone far.
I pushed myself up into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before I pushed myself out of the bed. I picked up a random t-shirt that had been thrown on my bedroom floor the day previous and pulled it on over my torso as I shuffled out of the door.
The sound of guitar strings being quietly plucked began to drift into into my ears as I moved further into the flat. I stopped when I reached the doorway of the kitchen.
Inside, Sophie was sat on the stool at the kitchen island with her guitar rested on her knees, her notebook in front of her on the counter as she scribbled something down in it. The lights were turned off in the kitchen, the only light coming from the hall behind me and one of those big Yankee Candles, which Sophie had lit and placed near her on the counter, it's sweet, orange-y scent drifting gently over to me.
I watched as she placed the pen down and turned her attention back to the guitar in her lap, quietly strumming some chords as she began singing some unfamiliar lyrics to herself.
"In your heart, in your head,
in your arms, in your bed
Under your skin,
Til there's no way to know where
you end
And where I begin"
She smiled to herself for a moment and pushed her glasses further up her nose, which was adorable, before she grabbed the pen again and wrote something else down in the notebook. She was obviously happy with that bit.
I took a step away from my spot in the doorway and into the kitchen, further towards Sophie until I was stood behind her. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head, before I rested my chin on her shoulder.
"Mornin" I said in an amused tone, my voice a little croaky from having been asleep, "you writing?"
"No, I'm cooking a roast" she deadpanned
"Too tired for your sarcasm" I mumbled as my eyes scanned over the writing scribbled down on the notebook in front of us. At the top of the page were a few attempts at a title, which had all been crossed out bar one that read Fade Into You. Underneath that were lyrics and guitar chords penned in Sophie's loopy handwriting, some with lines through showing them as no longer wanted, others without.
"What's it about?" I asked.
"Just stuff" she shrugged.
"Just stuff" I teased, mimicking her northern accent.
"Piss. Off." She replied flatly, taking her guitar and poking the head of it sharply into my stomach.
"Ow!" I yelped, making it seem far more painful than it actually was, "I bet I'll bruise in the morning" I pouted as I rubbed my stomach.
"It is the morning" she shot back.
"I'm going to go sit over here" I told her, ignoring her comment as I picked up the spare stool and took it around to the opposite side of the kitchen island, sitting down on it to face her, "so you don't injure me again whilst you play me that song"
She stared back at me blankly, the light from the hall hitting her face in just the right way to illuminate her features wonderfully.
"Go on" I encouraged.
"No-"
"Soooo-phieeeeeee" I whined in an annoyingly childish voice, "please please pleeeeeeeeeee-"
"Fuck's sake, fine" she snapped, pulling that face she pulls when she's trying to act like she's more annoyed at me than she really is.
She adjusted the guitar on her lap and cleared her throat hautily, before she began strumming some chords.
"Nathan is a twat,
Right now his hair looks crap,
He thinks he is a stud,
Let's be honest, is he fuck?"
She stopped singing and started laughing, particularly at my deadpanned expression. I managed to keep a straight face and glared back at her.
"What do think? Could it go on my first album?" She grinned, "bonus track; Ode To Nathan"
"I think you can shove it where the sun doesn't shine" I replied flatly.
"Rude"
"Sing it properly" I said, folding my arms and resting them on the counter in front me. She let out a quiet breath, before she began to pluck the correct strings on her guitar, a wonderfully sultry tone emitting from it. Her eyes fell upon the notebook in front of her in favour of looking at me, because she gets all embarrassed if she's looks at me when she sings, but I watched on anyway as the notes began to leave her mouth as smoothly and as sweetly as liquid caramel.
"If you were the ocean and I was the sun
If the day made me heavy and gravity won
If I was the red and you were the
blue
I could just fade into you"
Sophie makes music seem so effortless. Give her a pen and a guitar and she can write a masterpiece in one hour flat. Give her any tune and she will sing it as naturally and easily as the birds sing in the morning. She doesn't even have to try. Music isn't what she does; it's what she is.
"If you were a window and I was the rain
I'd pour myself out and wash off your pain
I'd fall like a tear so your light could shine through
Then I'd just fade into you
In your heart, in your head,
in your arms, in your bed,
Under your skin,
Til there's no way to know where
you end
And where I begin"
I was mesmerised. It was honestly like poetry to my ears. The tune was delectable, the plucking of the strings so melodic and harmonious to Sophie's voice, her tone tessellating seamlessly with each note the guitar created.
"If I was a shadow and you were a street
A cobblestone midnight is where we first meet
Til the lights flickered out, we dance with the moon
Then I'd just fade into you"
I realised that the thing that astounded me most about the song wasn't the melody or the lyrics, but more the fact that she'd formulated the whole thing whilst sat in her pyjamas, in our kitchen, at 2 o'clock in the morning.
"In your heart, in your head,
in your arms, in your bed,
Under your skin
Til there's no way to know
where you end
And where I begin
I wanna melt in, I wanna soak through
I only wanna move when you move
I wanna breathe out when you
breathe in,
Then I wanna fade into you
If I was just ashes and you were the ground
And under your willow, they laid me down
There'll be no trace that one was once two
After I fade into you"
The chords drifted off and she stopped singing, looking up at me again.
"I'm gonna add some 'ooh's and stuff at the end but yeah..." she explained, trailing off with a small shrug. It's often amusing how casual she is about her music; I mean, she's literally just written this amazing song and performed it for me perfectly without missing a note and she's just so oblivious to how ridiculously talented she is.
"It's good" I smiled, nodding, "like, really, stupidly, ridiculously good"
"You wanna sing it with me then?" She asked.
"What? Now?" I queried, a little confused.
"No, when I put it on my album"
"You want me to sing on your album?" I smiled, feeling very flattered.
"Well, most of it will probably be about you anyway" she shrugged nonchalantly to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, "you might as well be on it"
"Oh Sophie" I breathed, placing my hand over my chest dramatically, "I'd be honoured to feature on your album"
"I won't bother if you're gonna be a dick about it" she replied in a flat tone.
"I'm not being a dick, I'm genuinely flattered" I tutted, shaking my head playfully.
"And I better be fucking featured on your album, you know"
"Miss McKinnon" I grinned, leaning over the table to take my hands in hers, "of course you will be on my album, I'd have you on every song if I could"
"You could have me on every song" she said bluntly, "it's your album"
I laughed, "yeah, well, I could, but that would defy the idea of it being my album, wouldn't it?"
"Only a little" she smiled, one dimple appearing in each of her cheeks.
"You know, you never fail to amaze me" I told her sincerely, squeezing her hands, which were still enclosed in mine.
"I think you need to go back to sleep" she replied, rolling her eyes.
"I'm being serious" I chuckled, "I think it's one of the best songs you've ever written"
"Better than Ode to Nathan?" She teased.
"Yes, better than Ode To Nathan" I nodded, before I leaned forward, puckering my lips and closing my eyes. I waited a few moments and... nothing.
I opened one eye to see her looking back at me with a blank expression.
"This is part where you kiss me because I've just told you how amazing you are"
"My guitar's in the way" was her excuse, holding her arm out but making no effort to actually stretch out to reach me, "I can't reach you"
I flared my nostrils at her for a moment, before letting out a long, overdramatic huff. I lifted myself off the stool and placed my hands on the counter in front of me, pushing my body up until I was on my knees on the counter. Then I leaned down, cupping Sophie's face in my hands and pushing my lips against hers.
She laughed against my mouth, but kissed me back deeply, pulling away for a moment to say...
"You're such a dickhead"
I just grinned and kissed her again.
"Come back to bed" I said, kissing the corner of her mouth before nudging her nose with mine and resting my forehead against hers. She nodded and pushed her mouth back to mine.
Thank you for reading, I wrote this in between revision, I've still got 8 exams left, bad times :(
But good luck to anyone else who's still doing exams at the moment :)