Chapter Twenty-Six
Kylen
“Big day today, huh?” Raven says as we walk toward the music room.
“Yeah, I’m really excited.”
The guys and I have been practicing “Better With You” for a few days and now we’re ready to record it.
We’re not using anything professional, but we’re going to make it as well produced as we can.
We’ll have a few cameras placed and Raven will be recording with her phone, taking different angles, zooming into our faces and the like. It’s going to be epic.
The guys haven’t arrived yet. I spend some time setting up, and Raven’s so kind to help. Even though the song is hers, she could have given it to us and walked off. But no, she’s involved in this, too. It means just as much to her as it means to the guys and me.
“By the way, I want to thank you again for what you did for Robin,” Raven tells me.
“I don’t exactly know what happened, and I won’t pry because I want Robin to talk to me about it if and when she feels comfortable, but I’m glad you were there for her.
I don’t know if anyone else would have gotten through to her. ”
Taking a break from setting up, I face her.
“She’s a good kid. I know she’s going through a hard time, but I hope my words brought her encouragement and comfort.
I don’t want to tell you what to do, and I don’t want to betray her trust in me, but I would suggest you call her more often.
The poor kid is really lonely, and I think it would make her feel much better if she knew her big sister was always thinking about her. ”
She nods. “You’re absolutely right. Sometimes I get so caught up in my own stuff that I forget to check in on her. Maybe I’ll call her every night to see how her day went. Thanks.”
I smile, say, “No problem,” and we get back to work.
We’re placing the cameras and phones in the correct places when I hear two guys arguing down the hall. Sounds like Jasper and Leo are here.
“She did so not use her telekinetic powers,” Leo is saying as their voices grow louder.
“Sure she did. How else was that tree uprooted? Seriously, dude. Did we even watch the same movie?” As soon as they step into the room, Jasper’s lips kick into a bright smile. “Rave!” He jets over to her, wraps his arms around her waist, and lifts her a few feet off the floor.
Laughing, she wiggles. “Why do you always do that?”
He steadies her to the floor. “Because if not for you, we’d never get famous.” He beams.
“As if we’re gonna be famous,” Leo mutters, focusing on his bass guitar.
“Of course we will,” Beck says as he enters the room, drumsticks poking out of his backpack. He sets the bag down, opens it, and pulls out his sticks and a stash of snacks. He throws different bags to each of us.
He flings a bag of ketchup potato chips to Raven, who seems surprised. I tell her that I told Beck before he went on a snack run what our favorites are.
He holds up his hands. “Not gonna judge, but that’s nasty, man.” He nods to her potato chips.
Raven shrugs, tearing the bag open and biting into a few chips. “Clearly, you don’t know quality food.”
He chortles. “Toss me the bag and let me try some again.”
She hands it to him, and he takes a handful of chips and throws them into his mouth. After chomping on them, he makes a face like he’s trying to figure out if he likes them. A second later, he shivers. “No, man. Heck no.” He passes the bag to her.
Raven laughs. “More for me, then.”
“Dude, can we stop with the snacks and focus on the song? We don’t have all day,” Leo complains.
Beck lifts a brow at him. “Dude, she’s hanging out with her boyfriend tonight, so don’t bother stalking her.”
He blanches. “I’m not stalking her! Besides, I wasn’t thinking about Lilah at all. Just reminding you guys that Harrington doesn’t want us here all night, that’s all.”
Jasper waves his hand. “How long is it going to take us to record the song? We’re pros and ready.”
“This song needs to be perfect,” I tell them. “Because the lyrics are perfect. So if it takes us a hundred tries, so be it.”
Jasper rolls his eyes. “Mr. Perfectionist.”
We finish our snacks and take a practice run of the song before we’re ready to record. Then we check all the cameras and mics to make sure everything is connected properly. Raven sits before us, her phone ready to record, too.
Looks like we’re all set.
Beck slams his sticks together, giving us the beat, and then we start performing. We all have wide smiles on our faces as we put everything we have into it.
Raven walks around the room, tilting her phone in different directions, catching us in various angles. I grin at her phone as she focuses the camera on me, belting the song as my fingers strum the guitar.
We’re all having tons of fun. It’s not the first time we’re recording ourselves, but this feels different.
Probably because we have a great song. I don’t expect us to go viral or anything, but I hope we get some more subscribers.
Even if this band doesn’t lead anywhere, it’s still nice to share something with my best buddies.
It’s too bad Raven won’t be in the shots. I want the world to know she’s the talent behind all of this, but I understand she’d rather stay hidden, and that’s totally okay.
I’m a little sad but also relieved when we’re done. We stop the cameras from recording, then quickly watch them to make sure there are no mistakes.
Everything looks great so far.
Beck beams. “We look sexy.”
The rest of us laugh.
As we watch and study the different angles, I can’t really find anything wrong with it. We’re smiling and having the time of our lives. And Raven captured us perfectly.
“It’s perfect,” I say. “All it needs is some editing and it should be ready in a few days.”
The guys cheer and high-five. Jasper spins Raven around a few times, making her giggle. I smile because I love that she’s involved in this. It wouldn’t be the same without her.
“Raven, you sure you don’t want us to make a video telling the world you wrote the song and composed the music?” I ask her.
“It’s fine. I’d rather not.”
“But you do want us to thank you in the credits, right?”
She shakes her head. “I’m just not ready for the world to know who I am. That might change one day, but for now I’d appreciate it if you kept me out of it.”
We nod in understanding.
I smile at her. “We’ll just credit you as our super amazing songwriter.”
She blushes. “Thanks.”
We watch the footage again and again, not able to get enough of it. This is the best performance we’ve done so far and I can’t wait until it’s posted online for the world to see. Fine, maybe not the world, but at least our less-than-a-thousand subscribers. And anyone else who might stumble upon it.
“Did I tell you guys how talented you are?” Raven says after we’ve watched it for the tenth time.
“Aw, shucks,” Beck says as he elbows her in the ribs. “That’s real sweet of you to say, Raven.”
“It’s the truth.”
Leo whoops. “I really love this girl.”
Jasper slings his arm over her shoulder. “Who doesn’t?”
Raven frowns. “I can name most of the kids at this school.”
“They’re losers,” Jasper says, which makes her laugh.
I sling my arm around her shoulders once Jasper lets her go. “We really appreciate your help. Seriously, Raven, you’ve done so much for us. We can’t thank you enough.” I hold her close, wishing I could kiss her on the cheek. But I know that wouldn’t be a good idea. “Thanks.”
“One time was enough, dude,” Jasper says with a chuckle. “I think she got the message.”
“Like I said, it’ll never be enough. Anyway, we’ll meet tomorrow after school to edit it, then hopefully we’ll post it soon.”
The guys cheer again.
Raven picks up her backpack from the floor and pushes her arms through the straps. “Well unfortunately, I have homework.”
Leo frowns. “Same. Got a test tomorrow and I’m not in the mood to study.”
“Who is?” Beck grumbles. “But for the first time, my parents were actually proud of me and it felt good. I don’t want to let them down, you know?”
I rest my hand on his back. “That’s great, man.”
He nods with a goofy smile. “Looks like I might be going to lame college with the rest of you losers after all.”
Footsteps sound before someone stands in the doorway. It’s Lilah, and the second Leo sees her, he perks up. Rushing to her side, he says, “Can I help you?”
She glances around. “I lost my notebook and thought maybe I left it here during choir practice.”
Like he has engines attached to his feet, Leo zooms around the room, looking for it. The rest of us help as well, but we can’t find it.
“Babe, what are you doing here?” a voice asks. Her boyfriend steps into the room, wrapping his arm around her and bringing her close to his chest. He takes one look at us, decides we’re not important, and leads her away.
“I thought my notebook was there,” she says.
He snickers. “You and that notebook. I told you I’ll get you a new one.”
“I want my notebook. All my thoughts are in there since I was thirteen. Those memories are priceless.”
“Meh, that’s lame middle cool stuff. You can just start over in a new notebook with thoughts and memories of me….” His voice trails off as they get further away.
Leo plops down on a chair with his arms crossed. “So not fair. That jerk doesn’t care about her precious notebook while I would turn the entire world over for it.”
Beck slaps him on the shoulder. “Sucks, man, but you’ve got to give up on her. It won’t happen and you need to move on or you’ll go insane pining after her.”
He scowls at him. “If I want to pine after my soulmate, I’ll pine after my soulmate.”
Beck holds up his hands as shields. “Fine. You do you, man.”
I pat Leo’s back. “Just talk to us whenever you need to. Even if it feels weird or whatever. Remember, we’re here for you.”
“Me, too,” Raven tells him with a smile. “If you ever need a girl’s ear, I’m available.”
He smiles. “Thanks, guys and Raven. Means a lot.” He sits up. “Did you notice she turned around before they left? She looked back at me.”
We exchange glances, unsure what to say.
“No, dude.” Jasper shakes his head with a regretful look. “I didn’t see that.”
The rest of us inform him that we didn’t see that either. He slumps in his chair and decides to stay here and think while the rest of us pack our things and leave.
“I hope he’ll be okay,” Raven says as she, Leo, Beck, and I make our way out of the school building, where the wind slams into us like a sucker punch.
Beck says, “He’s a strong dude. He’ll be fine. I just wish he wouldn’t be so hung up on her. It’s obvious she doesn’t plan on breaking up with the guy.”
“I want Leo to be happy,” I say. “But maybe there really isn’t much we can do, other than to be there for him.”
They nod in agreement.
We reach the girls’ dorm and stop before the building. The guard outside is reading a magazine, looks up to make sure we’re not up to no good, then resumes reading.
“Are you guys going to work on your project?” Beck asks Raven and me.
She shrugs. “We still have to finish building the Globe Theatre, so it might be a good idea.”
“Globe Theatre? Can we see what you’ve got so far?” Jasper asks.
Raven leads us into the building. Jasper and Beck take a few moments to check it out.
“Dude, why is the girls’ dorm always cleaner?” Jasper asks with a chuckle.
“Because guys are animals?” Raven teases.
Jasper chortles. “And you know you love us anyway.”
“That’s debatable.”
He sends her a wide grin, exposing his teeth. She just laughs.
We climb the stairs to her room and she gestures for us to enter. Jasper and Beck are amazed at how tidy the room is. There are some books and stacks of paper on the desk, and one of the dressers has folded clothes on top of it, but for the most part it’s clean and neat.
“Grandma Barrett would be impressed,” Beck observes.
“Yeah, you can learn a thing or two from Raven and Sophie,” I tell him.
He clutches his chest. “That hurts, man. Anyway, you’re a hypocrite, Ky. It’s not like your side of the room is clean.”
“Mine is heaven compared to your side.”
“Not true.”
I lift a brow at him.
“Fine, maybe. But that’s not important right now. Check out this guitar.” He strides over to where Raven’s guitar rests against the wall.
“Right?” I say. “It’s awesome. This is the instrument that composed Raven’s amazing songs. We should bow to it.” I dip my head and body forward. Jasper and Beck do the same.
“Please, oh mighty guitar, in your merit let us have millions and millions of views,” Beck says, eyes closed like he’s praying.
That makes the rest of us laugh.
“You’re making my guitar a little uncomfortable,” Raven says.
Jasper plops down on Sophie’s bed. “So where’s the theater?”
I point my thumb to the pathetic circular object on the shelf. He and Beck go to check it out.
“That’s all you’ve got so far?” Beck asks.
“Trust me, it’ll look amazing when it’s done,” Raven says.
They stay for a bit and we talk about many different things.
I think Beck is stalling because he doesn’t want to do his homework.
But after they finally leave, Raven and I spend a few hours working on the theater.
We still have a lot to do, but that’s okay because we have enough time.
We decide we’ll pick this up at a different time, bid goodbye to each other, and then I leave the room.
Before I go, I give her a quick hug, thanking her again for all her help with the recording today.
She hugs me back, saying, “Anytime.”