“What if we slowed it down?” Howie sighed, as he and AJ continued to argue over the sound of a song. Our interview was earlier in the day and I don’t think I could really even tell you much about it. After the infamous ‘Anyone special?’ question…yeah…my mind left. So, now, it was late evening and we were gathered in the recording studio, not making a whole lot of progress.
“I don’t think it should be slowed any more. If anything, it needs to be more upbeat.” AJ replied. He had been in an off mood all day and I wasn’t completely sure why. He seemed irritated with everyone and everything.
“Well, it’s not working the way we have it. We can’t speed it up that much…it’s a love song, for pete sake! So, what do you propose we do?” Howie countered.
“I told you what I thought, besides, it’s more of a ‘losing you’ type song,” AJ argued back. Yep, this was going to go on for a while. I shook my head and left the room. Walking down the hallway, of the recording studio, I headed towards the exit. My eyes narrowed, as I opened the door and was met with the bright sunshine.
“Wait up, Nick!” I ignored Brian’s voice and continued my journey, into the warmth of the midday sun. Finding a bench, nearby, I plopped down and waited for Brian to come along.
“What do you want, Brian?” I asked, as he took a seat beside me.
“Are you okay? Why weren’t you arguing with them? You always argue with them!” He was right. I did usually argue right along.
“Not in the mood, I guess,” I shrugged. I had woken up in a bad mood that morning. I had a nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t explain what it was, or why it was there, but it was putting me in a very bad mood and it had even woken me up at 5 a.m.!
“Spill it already, Nick.” Brian’s glare met mine, as he searched for a better explanation. I didn’t know how to explain it, though.
“I just woke up in a bad mood.”
“Is there a reason for this bad mood?”
“Yeah. I just don’t know what it is.”
“That makes no sense. How could you not know why you are in a bad mood?”
“I have just had a really bad feeling all morning, but I’m not sure why.”
“Hey guys!” Brian and I both turned to see AJ headed our way. He was lighting up a smoke, as he neared the bench.
“Give me one of those,” I requested, holding my hand out. Both guys looked at me funny. AJ responded with only a cocked eyebrow. “Just give me one.”
“Is he okay?” AJ turned to look at Brian, as he held out a Marlboro for me.
“I’m fine. Just…I dunno…stressed, maybe.” AJ flicked his lighter and I leaned forward, puffing on the cigarette, to get it lit.
“Anyways, Howie and I came to an agreement on the song,” he said as he leaned his head back to blow out the smoke, from his lungs. I took a long drag off my own cigarette, fighting the slight couch rising in my throat.
“What would that be?” Brian questioned, as he kept shooting me that ‘you really shouldn’t be doing that’ look.
“We decided that it wasn’t our decision.”
“What?” I scrunched my eyebrows and shaded my eyes, as I looked up at AJ.
“They’re your lyrics, Nick. The song should be sung the way that you want it to be.” He shrugged his shoulders as he held the smoke, up to his mouth.
“I don’t know if it will sound good, the way I originally thought.”
“Well, all we can do is, try it and see,” Howie approached us. “What were you thinking?”
“I was, kind of, hearing it starting out really slow and soulful. Then it picks up pace at the chorus, almost like you’re trying to convince someone, the importance of what you’re saying. You know. At first it’s like you’re pouring you heart out, and then they don’t believe you, so you get all into it, trying to prove it or whatever. You know?” I shrugged it off, knowing that they would, probably think it was dumb. I’m not, exactly, full of great ideas.
“Wow.” Brian sat back, pursing his lips and nodding his head.
“That’s actually…” Howie trailed off, looking deep in thought. I’m sure they were trying to hear it in their minds.
“…a really damn good idea, Nick.” AJ grinned widely. “It makes perfect sense, really. Speeding up in the chorus would help express the frustration a guy would feel, in that situation.”
“I think it just might work,” Brian chuckled, slapping my knee. I looked at each of them, a bit surprised that they accepted it so well. Only Howie hadn’t expressed his thought.
“I’m disappointed.” Howie’s face frowned, “How did we not think of that, AJ? We’re losing our touch.” His face relaxed as a smile crept up. “Now let’s get back inside.”
“Yeah, let’s do this!” AJ flicked his cigarette butt and sprinted towards the studio. I stood up and dropped the smoke to the ground, putting it out with my sneaker. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, before following the others.
Walking back into the studio, AJ handed me a guitar, “Play it, Nicky. Show us how it’s supposed to sound.”
“Um…okay…” I, hesitantly, took a hold of the guitar and sat down. I drew in a deep breath. “Here goes nothing…” I cleared my throat and strummed the guitar. I had spent all afternoon working on this song. Sure, my creative juices had been flowing like Niagara, but I still wasn’t sure that it was ready for recording.
“How come, You never know what you’ve got, until it’s gone? Too bad, because I never felt this good with anyone. How fooled was I, into thinking I was gonna be alright, okay, fine? So everyday, I try a little harder to forget her. Lie here, convince myself, tomorrow will be better!
“The trouble is I can’t get her out of my mind when I close my eyes at night. Who’s gonna save me, now that she’s gone? The trouble is, there’s a part of me that still can’t let go of her memory. And now I know what it is…love is what the trouble is. Love is what the trouble is.
“How come she said, ‘You never wear your heart, where I can see’. Too bad, ‘cause now I’m the one, who’s sorry, yeah. How stupid was I, into thinking I was gonna be alright, okay, fine? So, everyday I find a little something to remind me. No matter, how hard I try, I can’t put the past behind me!”
“Damn, Nick!” AJ’s voice caused my eyelids to shoot back open. I had gotten so lost, in singing, that I had forgotten they were even there. I had even stopped playing the guitar!
“Well, now that we know how it should be sung, let’s get to it,” Howie said, stepping up to the switchboards. Brian stood there, just looking at me. I cast my gaze to the floor, a bit embarrassed. I had no idea what he was thinking of me, at this point. For once, I couldn’t read his face.
“Funny feeling, isn’t it?” He finally spoke, kneeling next to me. I glanced at him, through the corner of my eye.
“More like creepy,” I sighed. “It’s driving me insane. I don’t know whether I should laugh at myself or cry because I miss her so damn much.”
“That’s love, Nicky boy.”
“Yeah, and love bites.”
“That lyric has already been taken,” he chuckled loudly.
“I thought it was ‘love stinks’?”
“Yeah…they’ve both been used. Stick to the mushy stuff…it works better for us,” he gave me his signature, cheesy grin and we joined the others behind the glass. We laid down the track in record time, I think. The sound came out pretty damn good, actually. I was rather surprised…pleasantly surprised. Another shock was that the guys decided they wanted that to be our first single, off the album.
The biggest surprise, though, wasn’t until WAY later that night. After we left the studio, I went home. Straight home. I was kind of worn out, so I just decided to chill, in front of the T.V. to watch a movie. Over an hour later, my doorbell rang. Not having a clue as to who it could be, I walked towards the door with curiosity.
“Sam? What are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?” I looked at the man with my eyebrows furrowed. I stepped aside to let him in.
“Nick…we need to talk…” he sighed. That sinking, dark, nauseating, bad feeling crept back into my stomach, tying it into knots. I knew, now, that what he was going to tell me was probably the cause of this bad feeling that haunted me all day.
“O my God, what happened? Is there something wrong? What’s going on? Where’s Jordan? Is she okay? What happened to her?” I started questioning him at lightning speed. I quickly ushered him into the living room and I started to pace, waiting for him to talk. It couldn’t be good.
“Nick…you better sit down…”
Chapter End Notes:
Lyrics are off the BSB Unbreakable album. You should, all, already know that I didn't write them. HAHA. For information on the song(s), who wrote it(them), and stuff...take a look at the album cover because I assure you, none of the legal rights belong to me!
