Harmony is brought back to reality by a quiet knock on the door, indicating that she has become lost in her thoughts again. "One moment!" Clearing her face of tears, she heads to the door and calls out before opening it.
Once the door was opened, she would see a teal troll with soft orange hair pop her head in, her manager, and one of her closest friends, Willow. "Hey girl, sorry to bother you, but someone named Floyd is asking to see you. Do you want me to have security escort him out or?" She trails off, noticing the look on Harmony's face at that piece of information.
Harmony takes a deep breath, letting it out through her mouth as she makes her way out the door only to stop to put a hand on Willow's shoulder and squeeze it. "No, I promised we'd talk, and it's only right that I hear what he has to say." She tells Willow. "But when I return, we gotta talk about Evan; he somehow snuck past security again." She groans as Willow rolls her eyes.
"More than likely, he's using his looks again." She'd grumble. "Well, go on then! Don't let me stop you! I just wanted to check in and see if security would be needed." She'd tell her before playfully bumping her hip against Harmony's and walking away.
She could be heard scolding a couple of backstage crew members who were caught wasting time before her voice faded as she turned a corner, more than likely to triple-check that everything would move smoothly for the entire tour planned.
Harmony shuts the door behind her and makes her way to her dressing room, guessing that's where Willow would have led Floyd for their talk. She hesitates outside the door, forcing her heart to calm down before she places a hand on the door and gently pushes it open.
The first thing she sees is Floyd holding up a picture taken when they were both young and the best of friends before they had started dating and years before they fell apart.
"I remember that day," She says, startling him as he turns around to look at her, setting the picture back where he found it on the dresser next to the mirror. "It was the day we finished our first song together." She says, a brief smile forming before it's gone.
"But it's all in the past; nothing we can do but move on from it." She says, refusing to look at him as she knows how easy it is to get lost in his eyes. "What did you want to talk about Floyd? As far as I'm concerned, there wasn't nothing left to discuss after you left me." She tells him with a resentful tone at the end as she defensively crosses her arms.
"Harmony, I am sorry for leaving you. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and looking back, I wish I had left you more than just a note-"
"What do you mean a note?" She says with a sharp tone in her voice. "There WAS no note, Floyd… No goodbye, no warning, you were just… gone…" she trails off, squeezing her arms closer to herself as if trying to close him off from her.
"But… I did leave a note, Harmony; I left it on your dresser before I left. I didn't want to leave you without explaining why I left." He says, sounding confused enough that it made her turn to look at him.
The scene shifts, switching from the current scene to one from the past as Floyd tells her exactly what had happened….
A frustrated Floyd watched as all his brothers stormed off, going their separate ways after the disastrous performance they just had despite the fantastic start that they had begun with.
He'd turn his gaze to his baby brother, Branch, who was upset over being the one to blame, to which Floyd would quickly reassure him that it wasn't Branch's fault and that it was time for the brothers to find their paths alone.
After ensuring that his brother was properly placated, Floyd would gift him his leaf vest, the garment so big on his baby brother that he was swimming in it before he'd head out, grabbing his guitar and making his way from the room where his baby brother and grandma were currently in.
Once outside, he'd start making his way to Harmony's pod, his hand in his pocket where the note was explaining why he had to leave and promising to return someday. Eventually, he'd make his way up to her bedroom window using his hair, the strands curling around a limb as he pulled himself up and through her window.
Floyd noticed that Harmony was asleep, no doubt having stayed up waiting for him as he quietly walked over to stroke her hair from her face with a smile. Taking in her features as long as he could before he was forced to turn around and leave the letter he had prepared on her dresser.
Once satisfied that she could see it, he turned back towards her and kissed her forehead tenderly before going out the window. He was unaware that a gust of wind would come through the window and push the envelope with his letter behind the dresser, hiding it from Harmony, who would wake up unaware that Floyd had visited her the night before.
The scene shifts back to the present time, Harmony looking so very torn while Floyd waits for her to sort through what he just told her. "I promise you, Harmony, I NEVER meant to hurt you." He swears as Harmony steps back away from him.
She looks at him with glossy eyes, unsure of how to process what was just revealed to her, as she clenches her hand over her aching heart. "That's the thing though, Floyd… You DID hurt me… Yes, you claimed to have left me a note, but you could have woke me up and talked to me! You could have told me everything! Instead, you chose to run away and leave me to pick up the pieces! Nothing you say or do will ever fix what you broke… You broke a pinky promise, Floyd! You promised I'd never be alone again! Well, guess what?! I was alone for so MANY years, Floyd… I had to learn how to pick up the pieces of my heart that you shattered all those years ago… I don't know what you were hoping would happen, Floyd… But our paths have diverged from each other, and nothing can ever change that…" She tells him as tears fall from her eyes.
She turns around as if to leave the room, having said her piece, when she is stopped by a gentle hand on her wrist. "Harmony, please don't go. Let me make it up to you," Floyd begs her with a cracking voice as his pain bleeds through.
Harmony stops in her tracks, not moving as she hears the pain in his voice. It takes her a moment, but she is able to pull her wrist from his hand and crosses her arms over her chest. She opens her mouth as a song full of raw emotion pours from her.
"maybe you don't like talking too much about yourself
but you should have told me
that you were thinking 'bout something else
I know you, you're like this
when it don't go your way you needed me to fix it
and like me, I did
but I ran out of every reason"
Harmony steps away when Floyd reaches out for her, pinning him with a tearful expression as she finally makes it clear just how hurt she's truly been all these years.
"now suddenly you're asking for it back
could you tell me, where'd you get the nerve?
yeah, you could say you miss all that we had
but I don't really care how bad it hurts
when you broke me first
you broke me first
took a while, was in denial when I first heard
that you moved on quicker than I could've ever
you know that hurt
swear, for a while I would stare at the page
just to see your name
but now that you're here, I don't really know what to say!"
She grips her hair, overcome by everything she had to say to him that she had forced behind walls to prevent herself from falling apart at the seams.
"I know you, you're like this
when it don't go your way you needed me to fix it
and like me, I did
but I ran out of every reason
now suddenly you're asking for it back
could you tell me, where'd you get the nerve?
yeah, you could say you miss all that we had
but I don't really care how bad it hurts
when you broke me first
you broke me first!"
Floyd steps closer to her, within reach to touch her as tears fall from his eyes from not just his pain but more so seeing how badly she was hurting and knowing he was the cause behind it.
"what did you think would happen?
what did you think would happen?
i'll never let you have it!
what did you think would happen?"
She slapped his hand away, demanding answers from him as she poured her heart and soul out to a man who broke her so thoroughly that the remaining pieces she was able to pick up no longer fit together the same.
She'd shove against his chest in a fit of rage as she repeated the question.
"now suddenly you're asking for it back
could you tell me, where'd you get the nerve?
yeah, you could say you miss all that we had
but I don't really care how bad it hurts
when you broke me first
you broke me first (you broke me first)
you broke me first, ooh oh"
She trails off, hands to her face to stop from crying due to how raw her heart felt as Floyd would pull her into a tight hug, not speaking just holding her as she cried against his chest.
Eventually, she'd pull herself away, wanting to get away from him before it could hurt her any more than it already had. As she walks away, Floyd gently grabs her hand, opens it up, and sets something inside, closing her fingers around it before letting her hand go.
"I meant what I said, Harmony. No matter how long it takes or what I have to do, I will make up for what I did to you," He tells her quietly before lifting his hand as if to touch her face, only to halt and drop his hand. "I'll be here no matter what," He swears as he walks around her to leave the dressing room.
As the door shuts behind him, Harmony opens her hand to see a detailed golden songbird sitting on a branch hanging from a delicate chain. Seeing this would make her cry even harder, clutching the necklace to her chest before dropping to her knees to mourn the love they both lost all those years ago.
(Hey all! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I had to edit the song to fit the scene so that some lines would be missing or changed around in the song. I am working on the next few chapters as work has been super busy lately but worry not my lovelies! I will do my best to ensure chapter 9 is out as soon as possible so you won't wait too long. In the meantime please feel free to leave comments on what you thought on this chapter or the story in general and with that, I hope everyone stays safe and know that you are all loved, strong, and so very special in your own unique ways)