The Redhead, and The Dreamer.

This time his living room smelled like cigarettes and sex, and I couldn't help but let my nose scrunch up a bit as I let the unwelcome scent take over my senses. I asked him if Crystal had been over recently, and he said no. That only made me wonder what could have possibly went down in that room recently to make it smell so awful.

He sat down on the couch, guitar in his lap, and I sat down on the floor in front of him. I was trying so hard not to stare, but he was still beautiful even after everything he'd ever put me through. People can't help but stare at beautiful things in most cases, and there was no way in hell I was any kind of exception.

Ethan started strumming around rhythmically on his guitar. I was unfamiliar about some of the chords, and the strumming pattern was way more complicated than anything I'd ever be able to play myself. I was a bit jealous of his skills, but I let the feeling slide. I didn't even know why I had even shown up in the first place. I didn't need to mix in any more complicated feelings than there already were around in the air. That was a semi suicidal sort of move I didn't need to play around with right about then.

"So," he said after a few minutes of me just watching him play in awe. "You have any new song ideas?"

I couldn't write songs about sitting too close to someone who would probably never want me while he was sitting here so close. "No," I said. it was the safest thing I could say at that moment, and therefore, the best.

"Well, we need at least one song of our own before we try to go out and do anything together." He flipped through a few more chords. "How about..."

And then I had it. I mean, sure, these new chords were familiar and simple. The strumming pattern was nothing special either, but it still was enough to get me humming. The humming was enough to get me singing, and the singing was enough to make Ethan's eyes light up.

He nodded lightly. "I like it," he said after we'd worked our way through the first couple verses and a decent chorus. "It's a little bit girly and overrated, but it's still pretty good."

I shrugged and let him play through the intro before opening my mouth again. "It easiest to find your way through the back door of someone else's dream." It was true. These words had come from so deep in my soul, it kind of hurt to rip them out and put them out in the open. "And every now and then I feel a little light heart. I was so used to, doing what you told me."

I'd come when I knew I shouldn't have. I felt like I'd jump off a building if it would save him sometimes. Did that mean I really was a follower?

Ethan looked at me with this incredibly smug look as I sang.

"Who's this one for?" he asked eventually, but I just shrugged. This time he didn't try to pressure me into answering the question and just let it float around in the few feet between us.