In the studio, Justin and Nicole were hard at work. They had finished the song and were now finishing up the music. Usually the music would come first and then lyrics would be built off of that. But at that time, the words just flowed out and they went with it. The tune he had been messing with on the keyboard weeks earlier was now done on a guitar, with the same beats in the background. It was an uptempo R+B ballad. Sort of like most of his songs; such as Better Not Together or Take It From Here.
Justin came out of the booth after finishing the piano. He looked at Tim who sat next to Nicole. He nodded, listening to the playback and tweaking a few things. “How do you like that?” Justin asked the girl.
“I love it, it sounds perfect with everything else we used.”
“Cool. Ready to start the vocals?” Tim asked.
She bit her lip and looked at the singers/producers in front of her. “Um, I guess so.”
Justin chuckled softly, blue eyes gleaming behind his glasses. “Stop second-guessing yourself. You rock and you know it, girl. You came this far, just a bit more and we’ll be done. Now, just like we were practicing, ok? Get in there.”
The first couple run-throughs were awesome, they just had a few glitches. Mainly with how she breathed and held the notes. Justin looked down at his notebook and ran into the booth. “I’m sorry, J. That one line keeps getting me.”
“It’s ok, we just have to adjust it. Try it like this.”
She nodded and then the next time she sang the verse, it went off without a hitch. “Ok, now we do your verse and the chorus?”
“Mhm. Ready? After we get this down we can call it a night.” He nailed his verse first time through, but he wanted to do it a few more times. Once he was happy with all the tracks, he smiled brightly and turned to Nicole. “Go on in. Just make sure you keep the breaths in the right spots and you'll be fine.”
Chorus: Side by side, we'll conquer it all
Side by side, we gave it all
Everlasting, forever, never-ending
The middle of the chorus, a giggle broke through the microphone and over the speakers. Tim, who was adjusting the soundboard, looked up at the noise. The young girl immediately quieted and continued singing.
On you my heart is depending.
Oh, side by side, we’ll make it through,
Side by side me and you.
Struggles, confusion, then love anew.
Again, the bubbly noise rang through the room. Tim once again snapped his head up. Looking between Justin sitting next to him and Nicole in the booth, he saw the talented singer hiding his smile behind his hand. “J!” he scolded but with a hint of amusement.
“I’m sorry, man, I um thought of something Trace said earlier?” he answered unconvincingly. The smiles were still on their faces and Timbaland knew the lie.
“Oh yeah? Why is she laughing too?”
Justin looked at Nicole and shrugged before laughing again. “Ok, it’s late and we got it the first time. Let’s go.”
The veteran producer sighed and chuckled as Justin collected their belongings. Everytime they’d look at each other, he would make a silly face and Nicole would laugh. He shook his head, listening to the quiet chatter. Those two sure had chemistry when it came to music. They had a few key things in common and could always make each other laugh. But when it came down to doing work, they were totally serious. Justin was an amazing teacher and Nicole was eager to learn. She always seemed so bright and took everything in to make it just right. It was hard to believe they’d only known each other for a month or so.
When they’d gathered their things and said goodnight to Tim, they were on their way.
---
As Justin pulled the car up to the hall of dorm rooms, he turned to Nicole. “You did a really good job today. You've got an amazing talent.”
“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you. I look up to you a lot with music.”
“Well thank you. You have a real gift, girl and you should share it if it’s what you love doing. People are going to love you,” he told her. “If they don’t, well, don’t stop doing what you love, ok?”
She nodded and he came around to open the door. Helping her to her room, they smiled. “I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
“Ok, thanks for the ride home. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. Goodnight.” He turned to go back to the car. But stopped a few steps away and turned back. Walking up to her, he carefully tucked a piece of hair behind her ear whispering, “you're going to shine, Star.”
Nicole watched as he smiled softly and left. Her jaw practically dropping for the second time since they met.
Chapter End Notes:
AN: next chapter will sadly be the end :(
Story Tags: Be the first to add a tag to this story
