"The others are here today. We're practicing," Braxton said.
I couldn't concentrate on his words as all I could think about was his warm hand engulfing mine and pulling me gently along with him through the hallways of one of TalentNest's studios where they usually made their music.
The building was huge and spacious. The furniture was artistic. Everything looked so sophisticated there that I instantly felt small.
Today when he was about to leave, he had unexpectedly asked me if I wanted to tag along and although I said I didn't want to disturb him at work he had insisted me to go with him. He wanted to show me their studio and that was where we were headed.
He pushed open a door with his back as he talked to me about why they felt the most comfortable in the most isolated part of the building. Nobody was around which also put me at ease. I pulled off the scarf from around me, no longer fearing that someone would mistake me for Juliet.
As I was putting it away in my bag, I felt fingers in my hair flattening the wisps of hair against my head that had broken free from the ponytail because of the scarf. I would never get used to him touching me. It wasn't anything unpleasant or even unwelcomed or inappropriate. It just startled me everytime he reached out and made skin contact.
The door opened to a wide lounge area, a long couch curved along the wall in a control room where Imani sat with a couple of papers in her hands. It was massive, with a vast panel having various buttons and controls where Darius Wells was sat with another man. The walls had the band's photos all over and it had a music inspired interior.
I gaped around at the lavish space. The control panel looked out into the live room through a glass window where I could see a mic stand. In there stood Park Geun with his eyes closed, no doubt singing.
Upon seeing him, I stopped and turned to Braxton. "I am interrupting your work. Maybe I should come back later," I whispered in his ear because I didn't want the others to notice me and get annoyed at my presence.
"No, it's all right. They could use a break anyway. Come on," he assured and pulled me forward with him. "Hey guys," he said to them and at once their attention was on us. The man next to Darius signaled Geun to stop. "I brought Julia along today."
"Hi, Julia," Darius said in greeting while spinning in his chair to face me. "It's your first time here, isn't it? Welcome."
"Thank you," I rushed to say. At least he didn't look unhappy at my interruption. "It's so beautiful. Making music here must be such a joy."
"I know. I thought the same when I saw it for the first time," he said, then gestured to the man next to him. "This is Tito Sanz, our sound engineer."
"Hi," he said. "I'm Tito."
"But we call him Tits," said Park Geun as he exited the vocal booth.
Imani grunted from where she sat on the couch.
"Which Imani doesn't like but we don't care," he added. "Nice to see you here, Julia. Are you here for the first time?"
"Yes," I said.
"You want to try singing in the live room?" Darius asked.
That left me speechless. "I–I don't want to impose."
"It's all right. We could use a break anyway," assured Darius. "Braxton goes on and on about how you'll be a great singer one day and yet we haven't heard you sing yet. Come on, get behind that mic."
The thought of singing in front of the whole band plus the sound engineer, Tito made cold sweat break out all over my skin. I dabbed at my moist temples with a handkerchief. "Maybe some other day."
"Now is as good as any other day," Geun said.
I looked to Braxton for help but he too was encouraging me to sing in front of them.
"Some singer you're hoping to be," Imani scoffed. "Singers are required to be confident and I haven't met any singer who refused to sing. Braxton really exaggerates your talent."
"Imani!" Braxton warned. "Don't talk like that to her. She's just a little shy. Everyone was before they debuted, even you so stop judging her. She really has a great voice."
"Don't mind her," Tito spoke. "She's always had a stick up her ass. We're used to it."
"Shut up, Tito. Go mix the sounds or something," she snapped. "And you," she fixed me with a glare. "I've had enough of you leaching off of Braxton. I can't believe you're shamelessly accepting all that he's doing for you. You're just a whole new level of gold digger. I don't want you here. This is the band's recording studio. You don't belong here. Get out."
I was too shocked to react. I knew Imani disliked me but I didn't know it was so much that she basically hated me. The four men in the room were just as stunned.
"Imani, what the hell? That was so rude and unnecessary," Tito was saying. "I'm sorry, Julia."
"What has gotten into you?" Braxton said, his hand still in mine. "She's getting these opportunities because she deserves it. You don't need to be so openly jealous."
"Oh please, I'm not jealous of her. I don't think gold digging qualities are anything to be envious about. I certainly am not," she said.
"Don't call her that."
"So now she's more important to you than I am?"
"Well when you act like a little cheonyeo, then even I find it difficult to like you," Geun mumbled.
After that the voices became a blur and so did my eyes with tears. Braxton was agitated. Imani and him were in a verbal spat but I couldn't comprehend their words. As things escalated, Geun tried to intervene and calm things down. Tito was out of his seat and trying to make Imani sit down again. Darius was yelling at both of them to shut up.
I realized after I'd moved that I was walking out of the room, leaving the mess behind me but I didn't stop as the voices faded into the distance as if they were never there.
I found myself on a wide balcony with a steel railing where I leaned and dangled my arms from. It looked out at quite a scenery– a few tall building, some roads and lots of greenery.
Footsteps echoed on the tiles, approaching me. It wasn't until I felt a presence next to me–and an expensive cologne washed over me–that I realized that it wasn't Braxton who had followed me here.
I looked over to see it was Darius. He mirrored my position and rested his arms on the railing, our elbows lightly grazing each other. His hand played with the bracelets on the other one.
I didn't know what I should say to him. He was the only member I had interacted the least with.
"Why didn't you say anything to her?" He asked after a few minutes passed with me still struggling to say something to him.
"How can you expect me to? She's your band member and she's loved by millions. She's a star. How can I say anything to her when all she said was the truth. I am accepting all these opportunities quite shamelessly." I looked at him to see if he was disgusted by me. His face was blank. I couldn't make out what he truly thought of me. "I don't know what you think of me for that but I want you to know that I plan on repaying him for everything."
"You should've said something to Imani. I know her. I know she wanted you to snap back. It's how she makes friends, sees if they are worthy of her or something. She doesn't like pushovers."
I wanted to laugh. I couldn't imagine her doing all that before deciding to be friends with someone. It was ridiculous. "That's really...weird. Why can't she make friends like a normal person? Why be mean first and test them?"
"You'll have to ask her that. So the next time she acts like a bitch, speak your mind. Tell her that just because she's found some stardom doesn't mean she gets to act all entitled and and talk shit about others."
"I can't believe saying that would get me on her good side."
"It will, trust me. But on the off chance it doesn't, I'll take full responsibility and make sure she knows it was me who told you to do that."
"Thanks, I guess. Are the two still yelling at each other?"
"I don't know. Geun must have calmed them down. It was wrong of me to put you on the spot. I should've considered if you were ready or not. I'm sorry."
"Oh, no. It's okay. I should get over my fear anyway. I will do better next time."
There were several moments of silence that followed. It was painfully awkward. Then finally he said something. "They've had fights before but it never turned into full on screaming matches. This is a first. Braxton must feel really protective of you." There was a question in his eyes he did not put into words.
But he didn't need to. I knew he was wondering what my exact relationship with Braxton was and the answer was quite simple. There was nothing but friendship. I shook my head. "It's not like that. We're just friends. He did what anyone would do for their friend."
"You wouldn't know. You aren't the one who has spent years working close with him." He backed away. "I'm going to check up on those two idiots." He turned to walk away but stopped and faced me again. "Oh and don't take this negatively but do yourself a favour and don't leave an altercation meant for you midway for others to fight. As much he'd like to, Braxton can't fight every battle for you."
I nodded, slightly embarrassed at my flight response. "I panicked. I just wanted to get away."
"And it's all right as long as it doesn't become a habit."
This was the longest I'd talked to Darius Wells. At first glance, he had seemed uninterested. He had always seemed more concerned with his band than anything else. But today he looked wise to me. Someone I'd love to be friends with, if I dared to wish for so much when I'd already been blessed with more than I should ask for.
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