NEXT DAY Justin sat at the small keyboard in the corner of the studio and played. He didn’t know where it had come from but the tune had been stuck in his head for a few weeks. He finally decided to see if he could get it down.
Nicole walked in quietly, the young man not noticing her behind him. She sat down, laying her crutches down and watching. He was playing a soft melody with a slow-tempoed beat from one of the pre-settings. His fingers moved gracefully over the keys as his head bobbed along with. He closed his eyes, letting the music wash over him.
Nicole thought it was beautiful. She loved seeing this side of him. As much as she loved his goofy side, over the years of being a fan and even the last few days of knowing him, she’d begun to like seeing him in the studio. It was a different side of him where he could create whatever he wanted and he looked peaceful. Suddenly feeling someone else’s presence, Justin turned his head. Opening his eyes and smiling he said, “hey, sorry, didn’t hear you.”
"It's alright," Nicole replied. "I wish I could play like that."
"That's what you're here for right?" he asked, moving over and tapping a place on the bench next to him. She went over, sat down, and giggled to herself that she sat that close to Justin Timberlake. He began to play and then said, “ok, you try.”
She looked down, embarrassed. “I-I um, I didn’t catch that.”
He looked curiously at her for a moment. “Just wondering, have you ever seen music on a page before?”
“Yes, but I usually get lost. I can follow sometimes but I’m not that good,” she answered.
“Ok, here’s where we’ll start then.” He opened a piece he was working on for this particular tune. “See the S shape at the beginning here?” At her nod, he continued. “That’s the Treble Clef. Under it, the C shape, is the Bass Clef.”
“Oh, ok. I see.”
“Good, if you remember that which keys are which, you're set. The higher notes are the Treble.” He took her right hand, placing it on the right side of the piano. Picking up her left, he placed it on the other end. “This is the Bass, the lower notes.”
She nodded, following him. “What about the notes on the page?” she asked.
“Reading piano notes is basically like reading a pattern. the notes are named with a letter, like A, B, C, D, E, F, or G...”
The pair continued like that for the rest of the day – Justin teaching, Nicole learning.
---
A few weeks later, Justin and Nicole were getting a lot of work done. It took a bit but she finally learned the stuff he taught her on the piano. Now they were working on ideas for a song. Currently they were walking down the street going to a diner Justin loved. Luckily it wasn't too far so Nicole’s legs wouldn't tire out. “Yeah, yeah, I like that,” he commented.
“Justin...,” Nicole interrupted uneasily.
He followed her gaze across the street where some paparazzi were watching him. He looked behind him towards the couple of bodyguards who would sure keep them safe. “It’s ok, just keep going and they wont bother us.” He hated being followed sometimes, especially with people not used to the cameras but it was a part of the lifestyle and he had to live with it.
They made it safely into the pizza place and were thankful no one bothered them. Sitting down, Nicole took out a notebook and passed it to Justin. He didn’t usually write things down for songs but felt it could work for ideas. “Ok, so let’s see.” He started humming a tune, the same one he did on the piano, without realizing it.
Nicole wrote some words down, concentrating on his tune. “Ok, how about this as a first line? And we could put it with what we’ve been practicing.”
He glanced at it. ‘Red Roses and candy hearts, that’s where the sweetest of my love starts.’ “That’s good, what else you got?”
‘Sweet smiles and soft words, you're voice can be heard over the crowd.’ She sighed, getting stuck.
“Here, try this: It singles out and catches my attention, Leaves me hanging in suspension. The beat flows through me as you draw near, I hear the words you whisper in my ear.
She nodded, catching his line of thinking. “And then: I whisper back everything you want to hear. And it takes away all your fear. Baby Girl, I can see it in your eyes, So much deep inside.
“That’s awesome. And we can make it into a duet, ya know like the guy and then the girl,” he spoke excitedly. She giggled, excited they finally had a start. They wrote a few more lines before Justin asked, “so how long have you been writing songs?”
Nicole snapped out of staring at his eyes. She blushed. “Um, this is my first one actually. But I always write poems and stuff.”
“That’s cool, that’s sort of the same. I mean, different results but you're still a writer.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
sorry this took so long. i had a rough patch where i was considering not posting but my friend convinced me to believe in my writing. so, heres chapter 4!
Chapter End Notes:
AN: we're in the middle of chapter5 so hopefully that will be soon.
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