Chapter Thirty-
Moth
"I didn't think you'd want to talk to me ever again. Are you going to sue us or something?" I ask Ezra.
The rest of Eclipse and I are standing in the lobby of the recording studio. He asked me to bring them, but I'm not sure why. He seemed pissed the last time we spoke.
Ezra clears his throat and looks at each of us before zoning in on me again. "No. Listen, what you did was beyond stupid. You act like a child, but although I think your loyalty is going to ruin your career, I can respect it. I also respect you which is why I've done my research stalking the band's website and looking up videos of your gigs online. People keep contacting me because they want to work with you guys. More stations want to play your music and other artists want to collaborate with you. To put it simply, your risk paid off, so I'm offering you a deal. All of you."
He grabs contracts from the desk to hand one to each of us. "Since you're already on thin ice with me, this is my only offer. There are rules you'll have to abide by and I don't want any more of this vigilante shit. My decisions are final. Take those home and read them carefully with your parents. They'll need to sign too if it's what you want."
"Rules like what?" Caspian asks curiously as he flips through the pages.
"You'll practice daily at home and on weekends, you'll practice here unless I get you a gig. I'll hire a manager to take over the website and social media accounts. All gigs will either be booked by me or will require my approval. Caspian, you're going to stop ruining your drums. Gwen is the lead guitarist now because she's better than Moth. Jonis isn't allowed to sit when we rehearse in the studio and definitely not when you're performing. Laila is going to show me every instrument she and her alters can play so that I can decide if she should be stuck on synth all the time, and I'll be at liberty to assign the vocalist to the songs."
It takes a moment for everyone to process his words, but once we do, there are surprisingly few complaints.
"You're not letting me play? I'm the guitarist." I argue, earning myself a glare.
"She was right. I looked back at your videos and your timing is bad. You need to work on it, and playing the other guitar part will help. She's also better than you."
"What do you mean by assigning vocalists?" Gwen asks, tucking the contract into her bag.
"You all write songs and some are pretty good, but there are songs that Moth writes that would be sung better by a female vocalist and songs that you write that would be better if he sang them. There are also a few songs that I think shouldn't have all of you playing. Gwen, you're a good writer, but a lot of your songs sound out of place with drums and two guitars. It may be better to have a wider range when it comes to genre. Unfortunately, that means that some of you can't play every song."
We look around at each other, and it seems like everyone is trying to see what the others think. Despite singing and playing lead, I've never been the leader in our band. I don't feel like I should be the one to make the decision, but right now, they're all looking at me.
Gwen smiles and gestures for me to respond for us. "What do you think, golden boy?"
I turn back to Ezra, seeing him as more than just my mentor. He's my friend, and I feel like he has my best interest in mind. "This is what's best for the band?"
"Yes."
"Then we'll do it. We'll learn anything you want to teach us, we'll practice as much as you want, and we'll accept your final decisions when it comes to our songs. I trust you." I explain, hoping with every part of me that I'm making the right decision.
"I was hoping you'd say that, but I also bought you guys a little gift in case you needed more persuading." He informs us, leading us down the hall to the recording studio. We walk in and through the glass, I can see instruments in the booth. Brand new instruments that each have the band name on it: eclipse.
"Oh my god," I mutter, hearing shouts and squeals from everyone else as well.
We walk into the booth and each move directly toward our instruments. The guitar meant for me is gorgeous. I pick it up from its stand and gently strum the strings. They're brand new. The body is black and gray, and seeing the band name on it makes my smile grow wider.
Jonis picks up the bass guitar, grinning ear to ear at the shape. He's wanted a Flying V guitar for as long as I can remember, and now he's finally got one.
Caspian runs his fingers over the unbroken cymbals on the drum set, biting his lip to hide his grin as he sits and taps the kick drum a few times.
Laila smiles at him as she walks past to gently press the notes on the synthesizer she got, humming slightly as she tilts her head. "This feels like a piano."
"The keys are weighted. I figured that someone with classical training shouldn't be slumming it with a cheap keyboard." Ezra answers.
"Mine is pink!" Gwen shouts, picking up the bubblegum-colored guitar before plucking a few of the strings.
"I heard you have a little girl at home too, right?" Ezra asks. Gwen nods slowly, so he moves to the corner of the room to grab something before handing her a small toy guitar that matches hers. "I saw this and couldn't resist the thought of a baby rockstar."
Gwen smiles and takes it from him, blinking quickly in an attempt to hold back her tears. "You didn't have to do all of this."
"Speak for yourself. I can't wait to play this thing. We have to go home and rock out with Ava. I always feel so bad telling her no when she wants to play with mine." Jonis explains, still enchanted by his instrument.
I look down again, letting my fingertips glide over the word eclipse. I don't regret what I did for a single second, and I know Ezra can see that. Everything I could've gotten in LA would've meant nothing without them.
"Well, since you've officially had your first hit single, let's consider this a gift. I expect you all back here right after school tomorrow. Got it?"
"Of course. We'll be ready to work." I assure him, letting my heart beat faster in my chest. This is it. This is everything I've ever wanted. My dream. I'm finally getting it.
***
I pull Frankie closer to me, ignoring the way his hair sticks to the sweat on my body. We finally got enough alone time to get busy, but I love holding him close after we finish too.
"Frankie?" I mumble, trying to find a way to tell him what I read in the contract. "What are your plans for when we graduate?"
Frankie looks up at me, his chin resting on my chest as his hair gently falls over his shoulder, tickling my skin. The dim lights shine off of his skin like they're trying to entice me into touching him more. He's beautiful.
"I was thinking about taking a gap year to figure out what I want to do, but I talked with some of Teagan's friends about their jobs and I think I want to be a psychiatrist. I've been looking at colleges already. Why?"
I reach out to run my fingers through his hair to trail down to his bare back. I feel my chest tighten as I answer. "If the band does well, Ezra wants us to tour when we graduate."
Frankie perks up and looks at my sad face curiously. "That's great. You'll be able to play your music everywhere. Maybe I could defer a year and be a roadie for the band."
I shake my head slightly and sigh. He finally figured out what he wanted to do with his life. What kind of person would I be if I let him throw that away: if I let him discard his 4.2 GPA to follow the band around?
"No. You're a genius, Frankie. You can help people, so I can't just let you follow the band around wherever we have to go. I don't know how long it will be or how busy we'll be. You love school, right? You want to go to college."
"I want you, and I can't do long distance again. I can't be with someone if I can't be with them." He argues, reaching up to trail his fingers over the piercings in my ear. "It's my choice."
"I can't let you give up your dream to help me chase mine," I explain, burying my face in his hair to inhale his scent. I thought for a long time and already knew the conclusion we were going to get to.
I don't want to let him go.
"Why not?"
"Because I wouldn't do it for you," I admit, trying to stay honest despite feeling like the truth will hurt his feelings.
My music is everything to me. This band was my whole life until Frankie showed up. I love him. I love him so much that I'd wait years to be with him again, but I can't ask him to sit at college and wait for me to show up. That's not fair to him.
"I know." He mumbles softly, pulling away from me to sit up. He brushes his hair over his shoulder and glances back at me. "So we're breaking up?"
"No. Not yet at least." I take a deep breath and sit up as well, wrapping my arm around his waist to pull him closer to me. "My dad is moving here since he got a job offer at a bigger hospital and Ezra said he'd stay at the studio here so he can work with us. I'm not going to graduate for a few years. I was kinda hoping that you'd want to be with me until then."
"We're still going to be friends, right?" He sniffles and reaches up to wipe his eyes gingerly before looking at me again. "You're my best friend."
"Of course. I'll be there for you forever. Anytime you call or text, I'm there, okay?"
He nods and stares at me for a minute before leaning in to kiss me. I let my eyes flutter shut as I kiss him back, feeling him straddle my waist and push my chest so I'm lying back on the bed. "You're mine until then and I'm yours too."
"Yeah. I'm yours and you're mine." I agree, letting my hands trail up his thighs to his waist.
He's like an Angel above me. His hair, face, and body are all innocently pure. His personality is the epitome of goodness. He's perfect.
I'm just me. I'm reckless and have anger issues. I get on people's nerves for fun, and tattoo myself. I have a gazillion piercings, hardly shower, mouth off, disrespect authority figures, and most people think I act like a demon.
I don't know how I ended up with him. Was it because I flirted with him the first day we met? Was it because he kissed me back the day he came to my house, or is love some sort of destiny written in the stars? Nobody would've thought we'd be together. Nobody thought we'd fall in love.
I move my hands up more, seeing the small tattoo on his ribs, the only blemish on his body. Right, if Frankie has taught me anything since the day I met him, it's that I should welcome the Unexpected.