Come Back to Me

I slouched down in my chair, leaning my head back, letting it hang off the back of my seat, still fuming over my friend's previous interrogations. I didn't need this right now and I don't understand why they always seem to pick the most inopportune time to start discussing my private life. I turned my head to the side, glancing over at the studio window and my eyes immediately grew wide when I spotted Zack looking straight at me, smiling, his face clearly displaying amusement. I turn away and quickly sat up straight in my chair, feeling my cheeks heat up. How long has he been standing there? Could he had possibly heard our conversation? I hear someone beside me clear their throat causing me to jerk my head and turn my attention back to the group. Grace had already finished tuning and was currently sustaining the custom A4 note harmonically that is used for standard musical tuning. They were all waiting, impatiently, for me to tune my A string along with my other strings so that they could all do the same. I quickly switched gears, putting all my focus back on track and concentrated solely on getting my A string to match the A441 pitch from Grace. As soon as I finish tuning the rest of my strings, Mina and then Katherine followed suit.

The conductor must have been running late so we used that time to our advantage and decided to quickly rehearse some sections before he showed up. We wanted it to be perfect not just for the album but to also avoid constant run throughs making us stay here more than needed. I was already exhausted both mentally and physically from recording most of the day and the worst part of it all is that after we were done at the studio we had to promptly head straight over to the concert hall, where our performance is being held in a few weeks, and rehearse even more for God knows how long. Obviously I didn't have a choice in the matter otherwise I would've said 'fuck that, I'm going home.' I don't think that Katherine realizes that too much practice is a 'bad thing,' note the sarcasm. Not only could it possibly cause tendonitis but also could result in extreme fatigue to which at that point our fingers would become careless and stiff making us flub the most simplest parts of the piece.

A few more run throughs on some parts we were having intonation problems with and typical banter towards Katherine's 'constructive' criticism had passed some time. Before we knew it, the conductor had walked in the recording room, quickly shutting the door behind, apologizing to everyone for being late. He scrambles up to the podium in front of us, mumbling to himself about the horrible traffic as he spreads out the music score on top of his stand. He and personnel in the control room exchange a few words before turning back, instructing us where to begin. It starts out a bit rough at first but we manage to keep it together and focus. There were a few times where we had to stop and change some technical things that the guys and staff felt was necessary in order for our sound to appear more unified. Time passes by fairly quickly and I'm surprised at the fact that we only needed to record 2-3 times before getting it perfect.

I begin to hear clapping and faint whoops of delight coming from the control room. Everybody was obviously pleased with the end result because the next thing I hear is a voice speak from the other side of the glass window. “And we're off guys, great job everyone. We're done with strings today so you guys are free to go if you want.”

I let out a heavy sigh of relief and personally thank our conductor. I then swiftly stood up from my chair and made my way out of the recording room before any of my colleagues had a chance to say anything. The last thing I wanted was for Katherine to suggest to the conductor or recording staff that we should make any final adjustments just for shits and giggles. She did manage to get a word out before I got to the door but fortunately it was only to remind me of our rehearsal following this one. I simply nodded towards her and rolled my eyes, but making sure my back was to her so she wouldn't catch my childish expression. I didn't need to be reminded every 10 minutes that we had rehearsal later; treating me like a little kid who had attention deficit disorder. I made my way out the door and made a straight beeline to the back of the studio where my violin case and other belongings were. I never thought I would be so eager to leave, but I was tired of being cooped up in one place for the past 10 hours. I then groaned realizing that I was going to be stuck in the concert hall for another couple of hours and silently cursed under my breath.

I removed my shoulder rest, placed it in the side compartment of my case, carefully placed my violin back into its usual spot then loosened my bow and slipped it into its spot as well. After making sure everything was secure, I zipped up my case, packed my music away and began to slip into my hoodie once again. As I'm zipping up the zipper, I hear heavy footsteps coming from behind me. When they made their way past me, I noticed from my peripheral vision that it was Zack. He casually leaned against the wall on his right shoulder, in front of me with his hands stuffed in his pockets. His eyes held a bit of sadness in them as he spoke. “You're not going to stay a bit longer? I get a break soon, I thought we could talk a bit more.”

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion as I took in his words. Since when did he want to be around me this much? Sure we hang out together but lately it has become more frequent. I shouldn't complain though, this is what I've hoped for....to get closer to Zack. I just didn't expect it to happen this quickly. I felt my heart slightly sink as I remembered I wouldn't have the pleasure of spending more time with him. “I'd love to stay, but I have to immediately head over to the concert hall right now for rehearsal. We have a performance coming up soon and I-....well Katherine wants to use that time in-between to our advantage.”

I felt the guilt inside me increase as I witnessed his facial expression switch over to disappointment. I was almost tempted to ditch rehearsal tonight but I wasn't in the mood to get bitched at again by Katherine.

“Well, is it alright if I call you up later in the week when you're free?” he asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

Something must be really bothering him if he's wanting to talk to me this desperately. It can't possibly be for the reason I'm thinking of. I decide to show pessimism towards his proposal but display a playful smile to raise his spirits. “I guess so...why? Is everything okay? Do I need to play therapist for you again?”

His frown immediately switches to a genuine smile following a light snicker as he pushes off of the wall, now standing up straight. “Nah, nothing's wrong. We've just hardly had any time to talk like we used to and when we do get the opportunity it's only for a short amount of time because of work or rehearsals getting in the way.”

I raised my brow at him, still curious about his sudden interest in wanting to spend more 'quality' time with me. He is usually always seen hanging out with the other guys or locked away somewhere practicing or writing music. “Sure...I mean I don't see any problem with that, though I might have to sneak away when the girls aren't looking to prevent myself from getting severely maimed by all three of them.”

“Even if we don't see each other until then, there's still the celebratory after party we always throw whenever we successfully finish an album, and you know you guys are invited. I, especially Jimmy, won't take no for an answer this time,” he said with a serious look on his face which told me I wouldn't have a say in the matter.

I playfully rolled my eyes at him while clicking my tongue. “That was a different matter, I didn't have a choice. We had a huge interview scheduled with a well-known music journalist who wanted to write an article about us. It was either gain more notoriety or go to a party, drink all night and possibly be forced again to witness Johnny pass out on the floor drunk wearing nothing but his boxers that are apparently two sizes too small.” I paused for a quick second and shuddered at the thought. “I'm still scarred from the mental image. Now weigh the two out and tell me which one sounds more reasonable,” I said with sarcasm while moving my hands up and down, imitating the set of scales that are held by Lady Justice.

There's a moment of silence between the two of us and my eyes widen as I watch Zack lower his head, knit his eyebrows together and place his index finger and thumb underneath his chin as if deep in thought. I place my hands firmly on my hips as I give him a 'WTF' facial expression.

“Dude! Are you seriously thinking about it?!” I spat out even though I shouldn't be surprised by his response.

He tries to hold back a grin, but fails miserably and lets out a hearty laugh loud enough for everybody in the studio to hear. He regains his composure but still displays a cocky grin on his face. “No, no, I'm just fucking with you Kels. I'm sorry, I can't help it....you're too easy to mess with.”

I slightly smirk shaking my head and walk up to him, playfully poking him in the chest. “Yea well, watch it. It may come back to bite you in the ass someday.” We both start laughing, getting caught up in the moment that I had totally forgotten what I was originally doing before Zack started conversing with me minutes ago.

“Kelsey! Let's go! We're wasting valuable practice time!” Katherine's voice made me jump slightly making me whip my head around to meet her gaze. She and the rest of my group were standing near the exit, their belongings in hand obviously waiting impatiently for me to catch up to them.

“Hurry up, or we're leaving without you,” Grace added.

“Is that a promise?” I said a little too cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear. I heard Mina briefly snort with laughter as both Katherine and Grace rolled their eyes at me clearly unamused. I turned back around to see Zack chuckling as well and I just groaned softly as I bent down to pick up my violin and the rest of my stuff.

I gave Zack an apologetic look but he just smiled and waved his hand in a departing gesture before whispering, “go on....I'll talk to you later.”

I walk over to where the others are, making sure to shoot Katherine obvious daggers in the back of her head, hoping the metaphorical weapons pierce through her thick skull and make contact with her brain. I felt Mina's elbow nudge into my side, tearing my gaze away from Katherine.

“Stop trying to always kill Katherine telepathically. There's not enough time between now and the performance to go searching for a replacement violist,” she whispered to me but ended up chuckling afterwards.

We headed out the door, the outside light nearly blinding me to death. Even though it was the evening, the brightness was still too much for me to bear compared to the darkness from inside the studio which my eyes had gotten so used to over the past couple of hours. As I turned my head to shield my face from the light, I saw that Zack was still standing in the same spot and seemed to not take his eyes off of me. I smiled nervously and he smiled in return while waving goodbye to me one last time. I made a mental note to myself to personally 'thank' Katherine for 'clam jamming' me.

Notes

Chapter 4 is up! I try to post a new chapter every week, but it all depends on my schedule. I hope y'all are enjoying this story still. I know it's still starting out slow, but it will progress, I promise. Again, sorry if I sound like a broken record, but feedback is great, it pushes me to write more.
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