Eliza rolled out of bed and was startled to see Taylor, standing in her kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee.
"Hey, sorry, I just stayed here last night. Kind of crashed on your couch."
"No, you're good. I'd rather you stay here than loose on the streets."
Taylor poured another cup of coffee and handed it to her. She let out an awkward sigh, as neither of them knew exactly what to do in this situation.
He downed his cup of coffee and placed it in the sink. "I've gotta go. Band practice." He shrugged.
"This early on a Saturday?" She jokingly inquired.
"Never stops." He laughed as he put on his shoes. "See you same time next week?"
"You bet."
He shot her a wink as he walked out of her front door.
And, just as he said, a week later, Eliza found herself standing in the front of the crowd watching him play.
They made eye contact, prompting a wide smile to spread across his face. Julia looked over, recognizing what was going on.
"You're funny." Julia laughed, calling over the crowd.
Eliza just shrugged, happy to be there.
Taylor's band finished their set, and he found her at the bar just moments after he packed away his equipment.
"Funny seeing you here." Taylor said as he took a seat next to her.
"The only funny thing here are those pants." Eliza said, looking down at Taylor's hot pink cheetah print swim trunks.
"Hey, you better watch it. Who else is supposed to walk you back to your apartment tonight?"
Eliza laughed. "You're so right." She said, downing another shot.
And, just as Taylor predicted, he found himself walking her home many hours after the sun had set.
"Taylor, what are we?" A question Eliza never would have asked had she been sober.
"I like you a lot, Eliza. But I'm just not in a place for a relationship right now. I'm working on my band, now's just not the time. But I like you, don't forget that."
"So... friends with benefits?" Eliza laughed.
"Sounds good to me."
They walked back to Eliza's, hand in hand, looking up at the stars.
About a month went by, and Taylor and Eliza became closer than ever. The pair were true friends with benefits, but with strong emphasis on "friends." They became best friends, with both of them just trying to navigate their mid twenties in one of the biggest cities in the country.
"Can you drive me up to a buddy's house tomorrow afternoon?" Taylor asked one day over the phone. Eliza's teaching gig was going well, and she had enough money to afford a car. So, she became his personal chauffeur, driving him all across town.
"Is it another audition?" Eliza asked, trying to restrain the excitement from rising into her voice. Taylor's band had broken up about a month ago, and since then he had no stable job. He had been hunting for drumming gigs almost every single day, none of which proved to be successful ventures. Eliza was praying that he could pull a win.
"Yeah, but this one is kind of a crap shoot," he sighed. "Some new chick is looking for a touring drummer. Seems kind of high profile. I heard about it through a friend, so I figured I might as well give it a shot."
"You never know. You might just be the guy they're looking for."
"Ah, I wish. See you tomorrow at four, Liza."
She smiled as he hung up the phone, having nothing but love for her best friend.
The next day, she pulled into his apartment complex exactly at four pm. He was already standing outside, sporting a blue collared shirt, tan khaki shorts, and his favorite pair of black flip flops. His drum sticks were hanging out of his back pocket.
"Look at you, dressing all fancy." Eliza said as he strapped on his seat belt and pulled the car out of the driveway.
"Least I could do. Figured that if I showed up in the usual fit they might not even let me play."
"Good thinking." Eliza laughed, thinking about what kind of impression he was gonna make, drumming in flip flops.
She dropped him off at the address he gave her.
"Hey, good luck." She said as she hopped out of the car.
He shot her a causal salute and he shut the door and turned to walk into the building.
She parked, and about an hour later, Taylor came walking out.
"So, how did it go?" Eliza asked before he even sat down in the car.
"I got a call back." He whispered, clearly in shock.
"You did!" Eliza screamed, thrilled for her friend.
"Yeah, apparently only like three guys got one. Here, they gave me this tape to listen to. It's some of the songs on the album being released later this year." Taylor cracked open its case, shoved it into the dash of the car, and cranked up the volume as loud as it could go.
"I want you to know, that I'm happy for you." Came blasting through the speakers.
And there Taylor and Eliza sat for an hour, simply listening to the music. Neither of them spoke, neither of them moved. When it was over, Eliza slowly turned to where he was sitting in his seat.
"Taylor, you have to get that gig. This is gonna be one of the greatest albums, like ever."
"I know."
Taylor spent the next two days learning every single song on the tape, perfecting each fill and adding his own little twists where he saw fit.
While she was driving him to his second audition, Eliza caught a glimpse of nervous Taylor, a sight she had simply never seen.
"I would wish you luck, but you don't need it. Because you're great. Go in there, kill it, and see what happens." She picked up his hands. "I believe in you."
He kissed both her hands before picking up his drum sticks and walking in.
After an hour and a half of an agonizing wait, Taylor came strutting out to her car.
"I got the gig!" He screamed as soon as he shut the door.
"Oh my god Taylor, that's amazing!"
"I can't believe it. The girl's name is Alanis Morissette, and she's killer. She's got this energy, man. I've never seen anything like it. She'll be a star."
"So, tell me about the job!"
"The album's already cut, so I won't be working in the studio. But, I'm the drummer in her band. We've got some promo shoots to do in a few weeks, and they even want me in the music video for her lead single. The album comes out in two months, and then the tour starts. She's booked all across the country and we're even playing a couple festivals, some in Europe."
"Wow, Taylor. Just wow. This is incredible! If anyone deserves this, it's you. I can't believe you're gonna be in a music video! And playing festivals?"
"I know. I don't even believe it myself."
Eliza laughed, so purely happy for her friend.
"I'll just miss you a lot, you know. On the road and stuff."
"Oh my god, you're gonna be having the time of your life. Don't even think about that. And you bet your butt that I'll come to some shows."
"You'd do that?" Taylor said, hope rising into his voice.
"Of course! I wouldn't miss my best friend playing on a festival stage for anything."
"Thank you Eliza, I really mean it. You've helped me so much, I can even think of where I would be without you."
"Yeah, probably 'cause without me, who would drive you around all the time?"
He laughed and playfully slapped her hand. "Yeah, you're right."
The next few months went by like a whirlwind. Taylor was always gone, rehearsing with Alanis or shooting videos or getting ready for tour. When the album dropped, it's like the world changed. Eliza couldn't go anywhere without hearing one of the many hits on the radio. Many of the venues they had booked were upgraded in size and many more large scale festivals were added to the schedule. Eventually, the time came for Taylor to leave and embark on his first tour. And, of course he still hadn't bought a car, so it was up to Eliza to drive him to the airport.
"I'm excited to come and see you this summer." Eliza said on the drive over.
"It'll be so fun, having you at the shows and stuff."
"Yeah, I can't wait."
Taylor sighed. "Promise you'll answer when I call?"
"Of course. Promise you'll keep yourself out of trouble?"
"Well, see, that's a tricky one."
They laughed. "If you need anything, please call. You know I would do anything for you."
She drove him to the section in the parking lot where the band was meeting, and helped him unpack his luggage.
"I love you, Taylor." Eliza said during their parting embrace.
"I love you too, Liza."
And with that, Taylor was gone. Eliza knew that he would be having the time of his life on tour, and just hoped that he would come back in one piece. Los Angeles was going to be too quiet without him there.
She got back into her car, thinking of the two months before she planned on attending one of his festival shows. She began to drive, and turned up the radio to break the silence.
On came a simple guitar riff she didn't recognize, so she turned it up a bit louder. When the singer's voice broke the air, it's like her heart stopped in its tracks.
"Well, I talked about it, carried on. Reasons only knew. But it's you, I fell into."
Eliza could only feel blinding rage. In that moment, she was transported back into her teenage body, just trying to make do in her small Virginia town. Back when she was producing Scream's album. Back when she was dating Dave. Her memory was clear as day. He led her into the studio, filled with roses and candles. He sang her that song, one that he wrote just for her.
"Our song. Just for you and me." Dave whispered in her memory.
The memories came pouring back into her soul. He promised, that day in the studio in Virginia, that nobody else would hear that song. A song written about her, just for her. And, all these years later, it was being played on the radio.
"What a jerk!" Was all that Eliza could think as the song came to a close.
"And that, folks, was a track off of the Foo Fighters debut album! It just hit the shelves last week, and boy oh boy it's good. Sounds like Dave Grohl isn't finished yet with the music business. It's so good I might just play you all another one. Here's "I'll Stick-"
Eliza slammed the off button on her radio as hard as she could, not wanting to hear any more about just how "fantastic" Dave was.
Months went by, and eventually it was time for Eliza to attend one of Taylor's shows. She had decided that a festival sounded the most fun, so she picked one he was playing in Europe, and decided to make a vacation out of it.
She flew over, and in a twist of fate, it was Taylor who would be meeting her at the airport.
"This is how you really know you've made it. You're the one picking me up."
"Boy, have I missed you." Taylor laughed.
He drove her to the festival ground, where they had some time to kill before Alanis and Taylor took the stage. He showed her around backstage, excited about explaining all of the perks of being the drummer for one of the most popular singers of the year.
"And here, I get my own dressing room!" Taylor exclaimed, throwing open the door with his name on it.
"Taylor, this is great!" Eliza was truly proud of her friend.
She took a seat and began to flip through a magazine sitting on his couch. There was a knock at the door, and Taylor hopped up to answer it. Eliza kept reading as Taylor stepped out into the hallway.
"Eliza, there's someone I'd like you to meet. We've been playing some festivals together, and he's really cool." His friend stepped in, and Eliza wished she had never looked up from her magazine.
"This is Dave Grohl, you know, the guy from Nirvana?"