There was little excitement for the next month. JC was working on new music, but he wasn’t sure if it would lead to anything, and he certainly wasn’t ready to share it with anyone, not even Allyson. On the other side of the country, Allyson put her nose to the grindstone as she worked to stay on track to graduate in June.
Then, in early May, after getting home from the second-to-last week of class of the spring semester, Allyson listened to a new voice message; it was from JC, and he sounded excited about something. “Hey, give me a call when you get a sec. Nothing urgent. I just want your thoughts.”
Allyson looked at her watch. It was 9:30, which meant it was 6:30 in California. Going into her contacts, Allyson pulled up JC’s name and pressed call.
“Hey! You’ve got good timing,” JC picked up on the second ring.
“Glad to hear it,” Allyson said in response, unsure if he was being sarcastic.
“We literally just finished tweaking something. So this music I’ve been working on – you know, the untitled project?” he asked.
“Mhmm,” she said into the phone as she sat down on her bed, confirming she was following.
“This is the latest song we were working on. I want your opinion. I need fresh ears.”
Allyson’s smile took over her entire face, it was so big. “OK!” she said excitedly. This was the first time JC had ever asked her opinion on anything that was still in the works.
“Now, remember this is a rough demo.”
“Got it.”
“OK,” JC said, as he punched the buttons in front of him to play the song.
When you need someone,
When it’s all gone wrong,
You’ll see that
I will be there for you always.
When the lights go out,
And the world breaks,
And your heart aches,
I will be there for you always
All of the days, always.
Turn around
You feel like it’s all gonna change
It’s written on your face
But girl don’t be afraid
Let’s talk about us
And the promises we made
How they still mean the same
The questions in your heart can’t be erased
You say I won’t come home
And that I’m leaving you alone, I know
But you’ll always be with me wherever I go
Close your eyes,
Hear what my voice says,
It all comes down to making choices.
When you need someone,
When it’s all gone wrong,
You’ll see that
I will be there for you always.
When the lights go out,
And the world breaks,
And your heart aches,
I will be there for you always
All of the days, always.
A music break took over before the song slowly faded out.
“That’s what we’ve got so far,” JC said as he placed the phone back up to his ear. “I wanted to go ahead and get it into a demo format, so I can work on it from there. What do you think? And be honest.”
“Honestly, I think it sounds absolutely amazing!” Allyson said, her grin literally stretching from one ear to the other. “I know you couldn’t see me, but my head was bobbing along the entire time. The music is great, and, Josh, you sound a-mazing!”
She couldn’t see JC blush on the other end. “Well, thanks. It’s something I’ve been working on for a little while now and just decided to pick it back up again and actually lay down some vocals. So you think it’s worth continuing?”
“Uh, yeah!!” Allyson said. “That’s 10 times better than just about anything else on the radio right now, and your voice is better than ’em all too!”
She heard an embarrassed chuckle come from JC on the other side of the phone. “OK then, I’ll keep plugging along at it. Thanks.”
“So does this mean you’re working on a new record?” Allyson asked, knowing she was pressing her luck.
“We’ll see.” He didn’t want to admit it, but this was the most hopeful he’d felt about a record in years. Now his response was less stock and more something he was excited to see what the future held. “So, how’s the studying coming?”
“Not too bad, actually,” she said, shifting positions on her bed. “I feel pretty confident in just about every class, and as long as I can get a B or better in each of my classes this semester, which I should, I’ll be golden for the summer.”
“That’s great! I’ll let you get back to it. Thanks for the feedback. Maybe by the time you get out here to LA, I’ll have a full song for you to hear.”
“I’d like that,” Allyson said. “You can make it my birthday gift.”
JC let out a short deep laugh. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She laughed along with him. “OK, talk to you later, Josh.”
JC looked over the recordings in front of him. He placed the CD he just played into a case labeled “Pre-LA.”
