A Love Like War

"Kristin?" Alex asked as he slowly exited the sound booth.

"That's me," I replied, still nervous about what he'd say.

"What's she doing here?" Alex asked Jack quietly, as if I couldn't hear him.

"She's here to sing the female vocals for our new song. We were all talking about it and agreed she'd be the best for the song." The way the words rolled off Jack's tongue so cooly was comforting. The whole band (save for Alex) wanted me to sing on their track. I could feel my confidence growing . . . Until Alex talked.

"This is the amazing vocalist you guys decided on? Wow. Next time let me help pick. Can she even sing?"

"Alex, can you just not be an asshole to Kristin for once? She's an amazing singer and I think she could really help out our record. Just cooperate, kay?" Rian said, and then all eyes were on him, since he was never one to really stand up to Alex.

"Fine," Alex spat. He trudged back into the sound booth like an angry little kid whose mom just told him he couldn't have candy before dinner.

I noticed then that the man controlling the sound booth had finally turned around and was looking very confused. He was skinny and had sandy blonde hair and glasses. I figured he was new to this job.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself, I'm Kristin," I told him, chuckling.

He smiled crookedly. "Joe." We shook hands. "So you're singing too?"

"Yeah, that's the plan," I said.

"Alright, then--" he hit a button on the panel and grabbed a small microphone and spoke into it, "--Alex, I'm gonna let you sing the whole song so Kristin can get a feel for how it sounds, and hear her part. While she's practicing we can finish up recording with you. Sound good?"

Alex huffed and I nodded politely.

Joe hit a couple more buttons and then stood to adjust the volume on a decent sized speaker right next to the control table. Then he sat back down in his chair and nodded to Alex as a signal to begin.

He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes,
Started making his way past two in the morning,
He hang been sober for days...

Leaning now into he breeze,
Remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees,
They had breakfast together, but two eggs don't last
Like the feeling of what he needs...

The song was beautiful, and I was shocked that Alex had actually written the lyrics. But the most astonishing thing about it was Alex's voice. I'd heard him sing before, but I'd never really listened to him sing. His voice was so smooth and strong and . . . Relaxing? I found myself letting my eyes close and a small smile forming on my face, just enjoying the music. The rough background track was playing in the background, probably Alex just playing his guitar.

"This is the part you'd sing," Jack told me quietly as Alex reached the bridge.

I'm not coming back,
I've done something so terrible,
I'm terrified to speak but you'd expect that from me,
I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt,
Now the rain is just washing you out of my hair...

And out of my mind,
Keeping an eye on the world,
So many thousands of feet off the ground,
I'm over you now,
I'm at home in the clouds,
Towering over your head...

It sounded easy enough to sing. It was a short part, but there were quite a few high notes in there I was worried I'd have trouble with. But hey, that sound control panel was there for a reason.

Alex was out of the sound booth shortly are he finished the song, and he didn't look happy about the performance he'd just given.

"I fucked that up so many times," he said, shaking his head angrily.

"Who cares?" Jack said. "Kristin got the idea of what she needs to sing, that's what's important."

"Anyway, I thought it sounded amazing," I put in, still shocked by how much I'd actually liked the song.

Alex hesitated, scrutinizing my face to be sure I wasn't joking, then said, "Thanks."

"Okay, Kristin, here are the lyrics," Joe said, handing me a sheet of paper with words scribbled out in what I assumed was Alex's handwriting. "Now let's get to work!"