01
In the haze of twilight, I caught a glimpse of you,
A fire burning brightly, a love I thought was true,
Your eyes like embers glowing, a flame that danced so free,
I fell into your crimson world, where passion used to be.
- Alexia Rey in "crimson"
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liked by LivvyRated123, HarperInHD1999, and 870 others
alexiarey forever and always, right?
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"I'm so bored!"
Alexia Rey sighed as her sister's voice penetrated her thoughts, closing her eyes in an attempt to block out the noise as she stared at the near-empty Pages document on the computer in her lap. At the top of the page was a single word, "crimson," written in italics. Beneath that was one verse that she'd written at 2 am the night before when it had come into her mind. She had one AirPod in her left ear, and through it came a relaxing, repeating stream of Max Richter's On the Nature of Daylight.
"Come on, Lexi, can't you stop staring at that blank screen for one second? What's so important about it anyways? There's nothing on it."
Alexia reached for her phone and paused the music, removing the AirPod and turning to face her younger sister. She looked at her younger sister for a long moment, taking in her disheveled hair and the outfit that Alexia knew she'd worn the day before, too. "Where are Mom and Dad? Can't you bother them?"
Her little sister, Olivia, shook her head, "They sent me to you."
"How gracious of them," Alexia muttered before shaking herself. "What do you want?"
"Let's do something!" She walked to where Alexia sat crosslegged on her bed and, with no small amount of force, closed her computer. "Come on! You can't possibly want to keep staring at that blank white screen?"
"Livvy, I know you're enjoying your extended break from school, but I am trying to work."
Livvy scoffed, "You're working? That computer screen has been blank since Monday. In case you've lost track, today's Wednesday."
Alexia sighed again, "Fine. What is it you want to do?"
"Can we play the song game?"
"Again?" Alexia asked in resignation, "Sure."
"Yay!" Livvy said, throwing herself onto her sister's bed and taking her phone out of her back pocket. "I'll go first."
Alexia handed her sister her phone open to the stopwatch and lay backward, resting her head on the pillow at her back and closing her eyes. After a few moments of silence, a song began to play from the foot of her bed where her sister sat. She took in the first few seconds of familiar piano chords before speaking, "Set Fire to the Rain by Adele."
"Oh, come on," Livvy groused. "Why're you so good at this? 2.4 seconds."
"Music is my job," Alexia answered. "If I weren't good at this, I wouldn't have a job."
"What is your job again? Stare at a blank document on your computer?"
Alexia sat up to look directly at her sister, "First of all, the document you saw on Monday is not the one I'm working on now. Secondly, songwriting takes time. It takes patience. I'll forgive you because I know you don't have any patience."
"That was uncalled for," Livvy said, though she smiled slightly, well aware of her lack of patience. "Okay, your turn."
Alexia accepted the two offered phones, placing the one with the stopwatch on her knee as she searched for the song she wanted. She hovered her fingers over both screens before pressing them simultaneously. She watched the stopwatch tick upwards as guitar chords came from her sister's phone.
"We'll do it all," the song began, "Everything..."
"Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol," Livvy finally said, "I love that song. I can't believe it took me that long!"
"14.3 seconds," Alexia answered affirmatively.
"Okay, okay, you won round one. My turn again," she snatched the two offered phones back, and Alexia leaned her head backward once more, allowing her eyes to drift closed.
After nearly a minute of silence, piano chords filled her ears once more, causing Alexia to smile. She paused for a second, letting the answer sit on the tip of her tongue so she could hear more of the gorgeous track, knowing that once she spoke, her sister would immediately pause it, "Experience by Ludovico Einaudi."
"Aha, that took you a little longer," Livvy crowed, "19.1 seconds. I'm gonna beat you this round."
Alexia just smiled slightly and accepted the offered phones into her hands, already knowing what song she wanted to play. Once more, she started the timer as she pressed play on the song. For the third time in the four played songs, piano chords pierced the silence of Alexia's bedroom.
Though it took her a moment, Livvy spoke right before the vocals for the track began, "Power by Isak Danielson."
Alexia smiled, "Well done. That wasn't an easy one. 17.7 seconds."
"I take round two. Ready for the tiebreaker?" Livvy asked eagerly.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
She handed both phones back to her sister and, once more, lay backward, nestling her head into the soft cushion of her pillow. A different-sounding song filled her room moments later, categorized by its typical synth-pop sound. To Alexia's surprise, she didn't immediately recognize the song. She allowed the lyrics to fill her mind as she tried to search for the title but kept coming up empty. She knew it was a Taylor Swift song but couldn't remember the title.
"You know I adore you,
I'm crazier for you,
Than I was at 16,
Lost in a film scene,
Waving homecoming queens,
Marching band playing,
I'm lost in the lights,
American glory,
Faded before me,
Now I'm feeling hopeless,
Ripped up my prom dress,
Running through rose thorns..."
"Do you really not know this song?" Her sister asked in surprise. "It's been 30 seconds."
Alexia shrugged, "You know my weakness when it comes to Taylor Swift. I like her music, but I've never really listened to her new stuff with a tracklist in front of me. I could sing that entire song. I just don't know the title."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I get it: you've got a great memory and a wonderful voice. Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince is the title, by the way. Great song off her latest album, Lover. You really should listen to it all."
"I've listened to it all. I just don't know the titles. Sue me."
"Well, you've made it pretty easy for me to win now. Don't pick an unfair song like you did last time, though."
"Tragic by Tommee Profitt should not have been as hard for you as it was! I didn't think it was unfair at all."
"Yeah, well, not all of us listen to music at all waking hours of the day."
"Oh, please, since your school was shut down, that's all you've done during your waking hours."
"That's...besides the point," Livvy retorted. "You've been listening to music for longer than I've been alive."
"It's not my fault Mom and Dad got horny
eleven years after having me!"
"You know what? That's fair. Doesn't mean you don't have an advantage, though."
Alexia shrugged again, "So I do. It is your idea to keep playing this game. Besides, you are most likely going to beat me right now."
"True, so let's get on with it. Pick your song."
Alexia accepted the two phones back and took a moment to think. A sly smile crossed her features when she landed on her choice, and she searched for it. "Ready?"
At her sister's affirmative, she pressed play.
"I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us,
How we met, and the sparks flew instantly..."
"You thought you'd get me with an older Taylor song, didn't you? This is The Story of Us."
Alexia laughed, "You win. Well done."
"Thanks!" She beamed, though a frown marred her features a moment later. "You didn't let me win, did you?"
"I wouldn't do that to you," Alexia responded. "You beat me fair and square. Well done."
"I mean, all that says is that you need to learn the names of Taylor Swift songs. She's a master songwriter and singer, you know."
"Oh, I agree, Livvy, I really do. She's incredible. Honestly, I don't know why I haven't bothered to try and learn the names of the songs because, again, I could sing them all."
"Will you?"
"Will I, what?"
"Will you sing one of them for me? Can I choose it?"
After a moment's hesitation, Alexia nodded. "You can choose it."
"Do Love Story. Please do it. I love that song so much."
"Okay, okay, you don't have to beg me. I'll do it."
She stood up from her bed and walked toward the piano sitting beneath the only window in the room. She sat herself down on the bench, sliding the bench forward so her feet rested against the pedals. Unconsciously, she pulled the hood over her head, hiding her features from view. She noticed her sister settle herself down to her left, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Alexia shifted her focus to the piano keys in front of her and pressed a few of them to get herself into a rhythm. After a moment, she nodded slightly to herself and began to play. Her fingers flew nimbly across the keys with practiced ease. After a few moments, Alexia began to sing.
"We were both young when I first saw you,
I close my eyes, and the flashback starts,
I'm standing there,
On a balcony in summer air,
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns,
See you make your way through the crowd,
And say, "Hello,"
Little did I know,
That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles,
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet,"
And I was crying on the staircase,
Begging you, "Please don't go!"
She sang the entire song while playing the piano, doing her best to match the piano notes to the ones the guitar made in the actual song. When she finished, she took a moment to breathe and calm herself before looking around. She turned to look at her sister and found herself staring into the lenses of her sister's phone camera. Behind the camera, Livvy had a large smile splitting her face. "I know I've told you many times, but you're incredible."
Alexia smiled at her sister's kind words though her eyes remained on the phone in her sister's hands. "Thank you. Did you video me?"
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
"That depends. What do you intend on doing with it?"
"I want to post it."
"Post it where? Why?"
"Instagram, TikTok, anywhere really. That's beside the point, though. You are special, Lexi, really special. You've always been hesitant to share your talent, so I want to do it for you. Please. Please let me. I'll tag you and everything."
"Let me think about it, okay? I've explained to you why I don't like social media in the past. Besides, I'm not even dressed in a way I feel comfortable sharing," she finished, glancing down at the overly large sweatshirt hanging across her form, along with the gold chains around her neck.
"When will you give me an answer?"
"After dinner."
As if on cue, their mother's voice rose from downstairs, "Mis hijas, dinner is ready! Come eat."
"I'll hold you to that, but please, let me share you."
Though she knew she was repeating herself, Alexia responded, "I'll think about it."
With that, the two sisters exited Alexia's room. Livvy flew down the stairs well in front of Alexia while she walked more slowly, her phone in hand.
As the family of four sat down to eat, Elliot, their father, spoke, "Well, any progress today, Lexi?"
She went to speak but was cut off by Livvy, "Nope, nothing. I saw the blank page."
"Quiet, hija." Alara, their mother, chided Livvy. "Let your sister speak."
"Well, as Livvy said, I didn't make much progress in writing anything, but I think I got to a place where I have more of a chance of doing so. I can feel the words coming. I just don't have them yet."
"That's good to hear," their father responded warmly.
The rest of the meal went by quickly, broken up only by some small talk between the four members of the family. Since they were all trapped in the same house, there was little they could tell each other that they weren't already aware of.
Afterward, the four drifted into the living room to watch a movie. Before they could do so, Livvy pulled her sister aside and asked, "Well?"
"I'm unsure still. Give me more time."
"No, I want an answer now. Why are you so hesitant? You are incredible! You are beautiful! God knows I wish I had your talent and your looks. Besides, your hood hides everything from view and I'll edit it so the video ends before you turn to look at the camera."
"You are fourteen. You've plenty of time to grow into your looks. You've seen photos of what I looked like at your age!" Alexia looked down at her sister, receiving only a blank stare in return, "Fine. Post it. But only on TikTok. I don't want it on Instagram. And don't tag my account. You can put in the caption that I'm your sister, but I don't want any more information than that online right now. Is that a deal?"
"Sure!" Livvy responded eagerly.
Alexia stood behind her sister and watched as she edited out the last few seconds of the video so it stopped as the song ended, and watched her upload it to TikTok with no small amount of trepidation. "Did I make the right choice?" She wondered as she settled down to watch a movie with her family.