Disclaimer: I do not own Nashville or any of its music, characters, and dialogue.

Nashville's Sweetheart

5

As December rolled in, the temperature in Nashville began to drop as everyone's spirits began to rise, fresh with the excitement of Christmas. At school, the hallways and classrooms were loaded with Christmas decorations. In Rayna's third period American history class, Mrs. Henderson had made stockings for everyone in all her classes (which completely filled the left-side wall), and in fifth period English, Mr. Fraser was making them all write Christmas poems.

"Oh, come on now!" he exclaimed as everyone rolled their eyes and slumped their shoulders. "Writing poetry is fun! Especially when themed. Y'all can't write even a tiny, little Christmas poem?"

Even though she wanted to write her own music one day, Rayna wasn't quite fond of poetry. Words on a page seemed simply like words on a page without the accompaniment of music, and it just didn't feel the same. Nevertheless she supposed that she had to do it, so when the final bell rang and everyone scurried out of class, Rayna ditched her school uniform and then made her way over to one of the coffee shops downtown to get going on her poem.

When she walked through the doors and approached the counters, however, she stopped dead. Standing behind the counter with a dark green apron tied around his neck was Deacon Claybourne, his eyes bright and his smile wide as he was talking to a customer. A young, attractive, female customer.

"So what'll it be this time? Tall caramel cappuccino?"

"Oh, I don't know," the woman said slowly, tilting her head to the side and staring over at the menu. She out a long, drawn-out sigh and then giggled. "I always get the same thing. Can you help me decide?"

As he suggested different drinks and she questioned him intently on each one, Rayna felt a strange feeling surge up in her chest. She didn't know why, but she felt jealous. She didn't like how that woman kept batting her overly-mascaraed eyes at him, and she didn't like how he kept smiling at her, as though immune to her charm or as though he actually enjoyed it.

Again, Rayna didn't even know what was going on between herself and Deacon. They hung out at Monday nights at a bar before and after her set, but still, she felt a sense of connection to him. She knew that he wasn't her boyfriend and that he didn't owe her anything, but his interaction with that woman still made her feel uncomfortable. She felt her heart start to beat faster as their conversation continued.

When the woman finally ordered her drink and moved down to the other side of the counter to pick it up, Rayna took a deep breath and stepped forward, bracing herself and trying to calm down.

As soon as he saw her, surprise and delight shined in Deacon's eyes, spreading to his smile. He also looked a bit embarrassed as he straightened his apron and ran a hand through his hair, but he didn't look like he had been caught or anything. Maybe Rayna had been imaging the flirting between him and that woman; maybe Rayna was just getting too ahead of herself.

"Why hello there, sweet thing." The butterflies were back, and Rayna felt a smug sense of joy overcome her at his affectionate greeting. He hadn't called that woman "sweet thing" or "darlin'" or anything, so that was good.

"Fancy seeing you here," she teased him, smiling at how his eyes crinkled in an embarrassed sort of way. He was so easy to read. At least for Rayna.

"Yeah, well, a guy's gotta pay rent somehow."

"I thought you were gonna play full time?"

"I will," he said quickly, "but, you know, it takes time." A few seconds passed between them with Rayna glancing over at Deacon and Deacon glancing over at her when she wasn't glancing at him. "So," he finally said, "what brings you here? Your school around here?"

In that moment, Rayna again became fully aware of the kind of life she lived and how it compared to Deacon's. She still didn't know too much about him, but she knew that he had finally gotten himself a small, cheap apartment on the outskirts of town, she knew that he drove an old, beat-up pickup, and she now knew that he worked in a coffee shop. This wasn't at all like the life she led in Belle Meade, and if Rayna were to be honest, his life was the kind of life she respected. Actually, it was the kind of life she secretly had always wanted for herself, and she wasn't sure how Deacon would react if he knew about the kind of world that she did live in. Rayna was thankful that she had changed out of her school uniform because she wasn't ready to go there yet.

"Yeah, ya know, it's around," Rayna answered with a smile. He returned the smile as their eyes met, and Rayna felt that thing between them. It had been growing stronger the past couple times they'd talked, and even right there in the coffee shop, it wasn't something she could deny. It was like a current of electricity running between them, and it was strong and powerful. The mere force of it almost took Rayna's breath away.

"So what it's gonna be?" he asked her, his eyes bright again. "I can hook you up with any kinda drink you want. I've got mocha coffee, caramel coffee, butterscotch coffee – you name it! I'll make you the best one you've ever had."

"Hmm," said Rayna thoughtfully, "I like sweet drinks. What's the sweetest one you have?"

"You mean somethin' sweeter than you?" He smiled at her again, and Rayna felt her cheeks flush. Now this was definitely flirting, and he was doing it with her, not Miss 20 Questions now sitting over to the right, watching them. "I think I've got just the thing. Go on and have a seat and I'll bring it out to ya."

"How much is it?"

Rayna pulled out her wallet, but Deacon shook his head. "This one's on me. I'll have it out soon."

When he brought it out to her, Rayna stared down into the steaming liquid and then took a sip. It indeed was the sweetest coffee she had ever tasted.

"I told ya I'd be able to make the best you've ever had," Deacon said proudly. He was sitting comfortably at her table. It was just Rayna in the shop now since the other woman had suddenly got up and left after Deacon sat down with Rayna. Her abrupt exit had pleased Rayna more than it should have, and she still didn't even know why. What was she trying to prove? What was she doing?

"Thanks, Deacon. This is just what I need to get goin' on this poem."

"You're writin' a poem?" Rayna had barely written anything in her notebook, but Deacon reached over and took it from her, laughing at her protests. "'Twas the night before Christmas'... Swell start there, buttercup."

"Well, I just started it," said Rayna defensively, but her voice softened because he had called her buttercup. Buttercup. "It's really hard for me to write poems. It just doesn't sound the same without music."

"Music?" Looking from her to his watch, Deacon grinned slightly. "You know, I get off in about twenty minutes, so if you want, I can grab my guitar from the back when I'm off and we can try and put some music to your 'poem' here."

Twenty minutes later, he was back with his guitar, a scratched, well-used thing that nonetheless fit him perfectly, and he began to strum along on the strings, his eyes focused intently on the strings.

It was the first time Rayna heard him sing. He took her notebook, which had a few lyrics scrawled inside, and he played around with the words and adjusted the melody, his eyes flickering over at her every now and again. She felt herself lost in a trance as he quietly crooned, and before she knew what she was doing, Rayna joined in, matching the pace and harmonizing with his voice.

When their voices mingled together, it just felt so inexplicably right. Rayna never had any formal training and she didn't really know what she was doing, but somehow, she knew how to match his notes and how to bring out a richer quality to them. Deacon went along with this and eventually let her lead, nudging the notebook closer to her and grinning as she picked up her pencil and jotted down lyrics for them to try.

There were more customers in the shop by this point, and a few of them turned their heads to look over at them. Deacon wasn't working anymore, but if he felt embarrassed to be singing and creating a Christmas song at his workplace, he certainly didn't show it. In fact, he looked the most relaxed Rayna had ever seen him.

"Ready to take it from the top?" he asked her, repeating the beginning sequence as she set down her pencil.

"Yep," she answered, and after a couple bars, they both began to sing:

Twas the night before Christmas

And all through my heart

My blood was a pumping,

Fast from the start.

From the first moment I saw you

The emotions were there,

Hanging from my shirt sleeves

with tender loving care.

It was quiet in the shop now as they continued to sing, but they didn't even notice. They were too busy gazing at each other as Deacon continued to play the chords, and Rayna felt something stir in her heart.

as we embark on the holiday

Enjoying this time,

My heart grows fuller

Just knowing you're mine.

Every experience with you

Makes my heart pitter patter.

The gifts and the food?

None of that matters.

He repeated the opening sequence even though they didn't have any more words written down, and Rayna felt her breathing pick up. There was something sensual about the way he was leaning over his guitar and staring at her, and when they were singing, that current of electricity had intensified. She suddenly felt overwhelmed and wanted to jump across the table and kiss him, but she held back, trying to even her breathing.

"That was... Cool," he finally said, his hand falling down on the table. Was his voice a little breathy, too? Was he trying to control his tone?

"Yeah," Rayna agreed, looking away from him and over at their neighboring tables. A girl with glasses smiled at her, and her companion, a guy with a beanie over his messy brown hair, gave her a nod.

"You ever, uh, write songs like that before?" Deacon wasn't looking at her, either, and Rayna felt that he was nervous to be asking this question.

"No," she said truthfully, for she hadn't. "I've never written anything before, so... No."

She indeed had never written anything before, but with Deacon, it had been so easy. It seemed effortless as he played some chords and threw out some words, changing the way he sang them and then balancing the notes to better match the words. More importantly, their song had actually sounded good, so Rayna wondered how his other songs sounded. He had told her before that maybe she could sing one of them one day, and Rayna hoped that he hadn't forgotten that.

"Well," said Deacon, standing up and slinging his guitar over his shoulder, "we should do this again sometime." He was trying to sound casual, Rayna knew, and she stood up, too, not able to suppress her excitement.

"I would really like that, Deacon." That was the truth, and as he smiled and put a hand on his neck, as if embarrassed, Rayna again felt that overwhelming desire to lean over and kiss him. What was wrong with her? "I'd love it, actually."

"Alright," he said, his tone again calm and casual. Rayna didn't quite know how to take that. She had felt the chemistry between them while they were singing, and she knew that he had felt it, too. How couldn't he? She saw it in his eyes and the way he had looked at her, the way he seemed to have wanted her. But now, his eyes were guarded.

"I'll see you on Monday night, then?" she called out as he turned away.

"Yeah," he said, throwing her one last smile as he ducked under the coffee shop counter. "Most definitely, Rayna. See ya then."

Song: "My Heart Before Christmas" by KYB.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think of the story so far!