SAND
Glancing briefly at my watch, the bar has just opened two hours ago but my set doesn't start until 10:PM tonight. Which means I have time to coax the elderly cook to feed my ravenous stomach.
Walking into the bar, the faint strumming of an acoustic guitar filled the air. Someone was tuning an instrument. An unfamiliar face seated in the stage, elegantly adorned in designer attire, with a serious expression on their face and slightly pouting lips.
"Hey, Plug!" I greeted P'Yo's boyfriend, who was also the bartender.
"Sand! You're early! Planning to charm Edi again for some food?" Plug smiled knowingly.
"You know it, bro! Who's that?" I gestured towards the unfamiliar face.
"That's Ray! Remember Yo mentioned wanting someone for early evening music before your gig? He came in yesterday, and Yo instantly loved him. He'll be performing on the same days as you, starting at 7:30 PM," Plug explained.
"Is he in college?" I wondered aloud, unaware I'd spoken my thoughts.
"He's the same age as you. From what I gathered when I offered him a drink to ease his nerves, he just returned from the US," Plug gossiped.
Nodding absentmindedly, I checked the time and it's still 7PM. I'll be back in time for his set. I wanted to see what he was capable of, if P'Yo instantly loved him. P'Yo is picky.
But it could also be that pretty face, could never get it past P'Yo. Look at Plug! P'Yo obviously has a thing for pretty faces.
A little devil in my head actually whispered "so do you Sand." I smirked as I walked into the kitchen.
Coming back, I walked to the bar to the sound of a very sultry voice introducing himself. His Thai is fluent but his accent betrays the length of time he had not used them.
"Hey, Sawasdee Everybody. I'm Ray and I'll be with you tonight for the next two hours. I hope I don't bore you with my songs and If ever it does, I'm respectfully requesting for you to stare at my face instead and your boredom will surely be gone in an instant!" The singer smiles so seductively as his crescent moon shaped eyes slowly move across the crowd.
Plug had a huge smile on his face. He whispered, "you know off stage, Ray is actually very quiet and almost brooding. I'm surprised. That looks like a very different person."
Shrugging at Plug's comment. Certainly understanding that most times our persona on stage will be quite different from us in real life. As for me, it feels so extraordinary when I'm standing on stage and the crowd starts hyping. It's just a different feeling, the blood starts pumping just a little bit faster than usual and the crowd merges into a blur of cheering individuals.
The initial performance was a rendition of an English acoustic song. It was simple, no frills, just a charming face accompanied by a guitar, yet observing the early audience, they were all fixated, enthralled by the boy. I found myself similarly captivated. Within the first few lines, I realized I was completely drawn in.
The depth in his voice is incredibly soul-stirring, possessing a husky quality that draws you in completely. Every word he sings resonates deeply, as if he has experienced every bit of the emotion he expresses in his songs. There's a rawness to his emotion that accompanies each note, reaching into your core. He commands the stage as if he owns it entirely. Despite being slightly shorter than me, if my assessment is accurate, his stage presence is absolutely larger than life.
"Sand?" Plug calls for my attention repeatedly, finally drawing me back from my captivation by the singer.
Glancing at Plug, who wears a knowing smile, I retorted, "What?"
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The Rockstar & The Balladeer : A SandAyan Story
FanfictionAyan's dream has always been to be a songwriter and singer, but he was forced to take over as the CEO of his mother's record company when she passed away. Now Ayan's dream had been reduced to singing in a bar a few times a week under the name Ray. A...
