A/N: So crazystrings and I were sitting around shooting the shit and came up with this little one shot, hope you all enjoy it!! Please review!!!
"Ashley, I needed that song a week ago. You keep putting me off and I can't stall any longer. We've only got two days left off studio time. If that song is not on my desk by 10 am tomorrow morning, consider yourself out of a job." Jason ordered not waiting for a response before hanging up.
Still holding the phone in hand, "Well shit." She puts the phone down and walks to her piano and takes a seat at the bench. Blank pages staring back at her with a dozen more crumpled up staff papers littering the floor.
"Hell of time to have writers block. I have written thousands of songs, everything from breaking up to happily ever after. Why does a song about longing after someone give me so much trouble? I feel this is what it feels like the day the music died. No problem what so ever quoting other peoples work but for the life of me I cannot write this one messily song."
She pounds the keys in frustration, and quickly heads to her bedroom. The only way she was going to deal with this is getting out of the apartment. "Fuck this, I need to clear my head and the only way that is happening is if I go to Ego for a few hours and loosen up a bit." She took one last look at the piano before going out the door.
The attractive older blonde stands in front of the songwriter, offering a quick smile. "Damn Ash, long times no see."
Ashley slaps down a fifty, never offering up a smile in return. "Keep them coming."
"That bad huh?" The bartender replied.
"My life is shit."
"Brilliant, you're in that kind of mood? I haven't seen you this down since your ex took your car for a joy ride and totaled it." The bartender went off to mix up Ashley's favorite bad day poison.
Ashley scans the crowd muttering to herself. "All she can say is brilliant. My life is s.." She spots a beautiful blue eyed blonde stranger across the room. "Brilliant."
In her daze like state she turns back around to the bar. Just then the bartender places her drink in front of her catching what the brunette said. "Well it's good to see that your mood changed so quickly."
"No, but I think I just got an idea. Do you have a pen I can use?" The bartender runs off to get a pen from the cash register. Ashley turns back around quickly spotting the blonde.
An easy smile appears on Ashley's face, as the blonde returns a beautiful smile of her own, neither planning on anything more. Turning back and grabbing the offered up pen and a few bar napkins, she begins to write down a few sentences.
She smiles at me at a bar, she was with her friends, but I won't lose no sleep on that cause I got a plan.
After writing the line down, she slides it to the bartender. "Hey what do you think?"
The bartender promptly reads over the line. "I don't know, something about bar doesn't fit." She shrugs. "But I'm a bartender, what do I know?"
"Well it's got to be some kind of….hold that thought." Another blank napkin takes up residence in front of her. Without wasting time she writes:
Saw your face in a crowded place, and I don't know what to do.
Without asking she hands it over to the bartender. The bartender holds both napkins up in front of Ashley. "Even with the added line, bar doesn't seem to fit."
"Well fine give me another crowed place." Frustration laced her voice.
The bartender easily offers. "The mall."
"No, I'm not writing for a teenager girl."
"Airports are crowded."
"No, everyone is too busy getting to their gate to pay mind to someone else."
"I can't stand here all day and play this game with you Ash. One more, subway."
"Subway?" Ashley asks wondering where that suggestion came from.
The bartender replies. "Ever heard of a place called New York? I am from there, lots of subways. Most of the time I traveled with my man, or ex boyfriend, which is why I am in California now." The bartender leaves Ashley with her napkins to go help another customer.
Ashley wastes no time changing bar to subway. After reading it over again, she begins to wonder what the male artist she was writing for would think. Every song needs some good drama. This song is about longing so there has to be some kind of obstacle.
She smiled at me on the subway, she was with another man.
Being a lyrical genius makes one thirsty, I finished off my drink as I pondered where to go from here. Hoping my favorite bartender will return.
The bartender finally returned and looked down at Ashley's scribbling, "Have you made good progress? I see you need another drink."
"Yeah that and some more inspiration I'm feeling stuck again." Ashley started to frown slightly.
"Well ponder this while I'm mixing, how does this person feel about the mystery girl when they see her?" she smiled as she walked back to the wall of alcohol bottles.
Ashley looked back at the mysterious blonde across the bar. She thought how perfect this woman seemed, almost as if she was sent from heaven. Although the thought was cheesy it was okay because she was a songwriter, it was allowed.
Upon the bartender's return she looked at Ashley expectantly, "So what did you come up with?"
"She was sent from an angel just to be with him." Ashley stated while her creative gears were turning trying to figure out how to turn that into the perfect song lyric.
"Cheesy but it could work. I'll leave you to it Ash; yell if you need anything else."
She turned back to the blonde and observed her a while longer. This woman's smile was amazing, it was infectious. The idea of an angel and that smile seemed the perfect combination.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face, when she thought up that I should be with you.
It was perfect. After Ashley drained her second drink she knew she needed to get home to her piano. She could hear a melody start to form in her mind as she reviewed what she had written and she didn't want to risk losing any of the thoughts. As she approached the door she took one last look at the beautiful blonde with the piercing blue eyes who had served as her muse and thought:
But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you
It hit Ashley then what this song was all about. He sees a beautiful woman who he will never meet and never be with; he can only admire her beauty from afar.
Once she sat in front of her piano the words came more quickly as she played the melody. The old Ashley Davies was back. After three hours at her piano she had the song completed. You're Beautiful, her ode to the beautiful mysterious blonde at Ego.
A year later James Blunt was up for several Grammy's for You're Beautiful. Ashley sat at home watching the awards ceremony having chosen not to attend. When the award for Song of the Year came up she started to get nervous. After the list of nominee's was given she crossed her fingers hoping James would win. She leapt off the couch when they announced that in fact he had won.
"I have to thank a very important woman for this award. Ashley Davies, the amazingly talented songwriter without whom I would not be on this stage. You gave me an amazing gift through this song and I could never thank you enough…."