TREVOR #2
Choosing not to comment again on the attitude, Trevor thanks him once more and juts his head toward his office.
Noah takes the hint and steps aside, allowing Trevor to go in.
But to Trevor’s growing annoyance, Noah follows right behind him.
Trevor rounds his desk and sinks into his stupidly expensive chair.
His ass doesn’t even get a second to enjoy it, though, because Noah is hovering over the other side of the desk, still looking disappointed or disgruntled or whatever the hell he is.
“What?” Trevor asks warily.
“Jasper Bell is in the conference room.”
“Now?” Trevor frowns. “Our meeting isn’t until...”
“He got here thirty minutes early,” Noah fills in for him. “Unlike some people.”
“Okay, can you chill?” Trevor finally snaps. Because seriously. Noah’s always been wound a little tightly, but lately it seems to be getting worse.
Noah winces. “Yeah. Sorry. I just wanna make sure things go smoothly here, and that we don’t make any mistakes.”
Trevor glances at the framed photo on his desk. He hasn’t done much decorating in here, but the photo of him and Skyler on their wedding day was the first thing he put out. Looking at Skyler on the happiest day of their lives helps him find some patience before he returns his focus to Noah.
“I appreciate that,” he tells him. “I really do. But things are going great so far. Better than we could’ve expected, honestly. You need to relax, man.”
With a self-deprecating smile, Noah says, “We all know I’m not the best at that.”
Definitely true. And that’s why Trevor’s concerned. Because Noah took too much responsibility on his shoulders years ago when it came to the band. Tried to control stuff he had no way of controlling. Trevor saw what that did to him, and he doesn’t want it to happen again.
“I promise if there’s any kind of problem, I’ll let you know,” he assures his friend.
“Okay.” Noah’s demeanor visibly shifts into professional mode, but his next words dampen the effect. “Let’s not keep your little protégé waiting any longer.”
Trevor sighs, grabbing his coffee as he stands. Noah’s right about not keeping Jasper waiting, but—“I wish you’d stop calling him that.”
“I could call him Goth Skyler instead.”
“Stop.”
Giving a short nod, Noah says, “I’ll try.” Then he spins and heads briskly out of Trevor’s office, urging Trevor with a, “Now come on,” over his shoulder.
Trevor can’t figure out why Noah doesn’t like the new artist Trevor signed.
It’s clear to Trevor that the guy is immensely talented.
And he loves how Jasper is totally open about his sexuality.
He made it clear in his first meeting with Trevor that he wasn’t willing to hide who he is in order to get a record deal.
Trevor assured him that he was interested in the whole package.
That who Jasper is as a person is as equally important to Trevor as who he is as an artist. Because he’s tired of the entertainment industry pushing shitty people to the top and then expecting the audience to separate the art from the artist. And, of course, he’s really fucking tired of crusty old executives acting like an artist being openly queer would be detrimental to their career.
Fuck that.
He swore to himself he would do things differently with his own label.
As Trevor opens the door to the conference room, he catches Jasper practically launching himself out of his chair to stand before Trevor even takes a step inside. “Hello,” Trevor says, pretending that wasn’t a little awkward.
Jasper looks nervous. “Hi. Sorry I was so early.”
“That’s not something to apologize for,” Trevor tells him with a shake of his head. “I was running a bit late.”
It’s hard not to smile at the memory of why he was late, but he manages. He gestures for Jasper to sit back down, then takes his own seat at the head of the unnecessarily long table. Noah sits opposite Jasper, and after the required pleasantries, they get down to business.
Jasper shares ideas he had for changes on a few of his songs. He plays them clips he recorded on his phone and articulates why he thinks the changes work better.
One thing Trevor’s noticed about Jasper is how he manages to come off as totally confident in some situations, while seeming entirely unsure of himself in others.
It’s strange. Trevor can tell that Jasper is confident in his music—as he should be.
But it almost feels like he’s so grateful to be given this opportunity that he’s afraid of making a misstep or pushing too hard for something.
It reminds Trevor of the way he and the other guys were when the band was formed.
And though he would never manipulate or take advantage of his artists the way their label did to them, he wants to make sure Jasper understands that he can and should always advocate for himself the way he did in his first meeting with Trevor.
After they go over Jasper’s ideas, and Trevor gives him the green light to make the changes, the three of them head downstairs to the recording studio to start laying down some vocals.
While Jasper gets set up in the booth, Trevor and Noah settle in on the other side of the glass.
Trevor watches Jasper remove his leather jacket, revealing a full tattooed sleeve on one arm and a line of leather and beaded bracelets going up the other.
A silver chain hangs from one hip over his dark gray jeans, which are cuffed over a pair of black combat boots.
His black, shaggy hair curls around his face.
It nearly obscures his eyes, but from seeing him up close in the conference room, Trevor’s pretty sure he’s wearing eyeliner.
Okay, so maybe Trevor can see why Noah would call him “Goth Skyler.”
“Let’s start with ‘Mind Over Matter,’” Trevor says once Jasper is perched on the edge of a stool, the headphones around his neck and a water bottle on the table beside him.
He sounds great on the first verse, but then in the chorus, his voice cracks on a high note. Immediately, he tries again, and although he doesn’t crack this time, it still doesn’t sound right. Before Trevor can tell him that, Jasper grimaces and says, “Sorry. I can do it, just gimme a sec.”
Trevor reaches forward, pressing the button on the switchboard that allows him to talk back. “No worries, take your time.”
Noah shakes his head as Trevor leans back in his chair again. “I just don’t see what the big deal is with this kid. He’s not that great.”
“He’s not a kid,” Trevor reminds him.
“He’s twenty-four. Close enough.”
“He’s only six years younger than you, and plenty older than all of us were when we joined the band.”
Noah frowns, looking contemplative for a moment. Then he says, “And look how well that turned out for us.”
Trevor sighs. Even though Boys Will Be Boys was a massive success, he understands what Noah’s getting at. They were too young to be thrust into near instant fame and deal with all the shit they dealt with, but that’s not the point.
Jasper definitely isn’t a kid, and he is great. He has the potential to be incredible. Trevor could see that in him right away.
This label has earned a respectable reputation faster than Trevor could have hoped. He’s already signed some really talented acts. But this. This is what he’s been waiting for. Someone like Jasper Bell to come out of nowhere and stun the world.
Jasper is authentic, he cares deeply about his music and the messages he wants to convey through his songs, and he’s got everything in him to be a real star. The kind of artist people will remember decades after he stops making music.
Like Skyler.
Trevor won’t say that Jasper is going to be the next Skyler James. Because Skyler is so uniquely in his own lane that it’s hard to imagine anyone else comparing.
And Jasper isn’t wearing sequins and waving rainbows. Instead, he sings about being queer in a way that’s understated. That’s quietly beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking. Simple and nuanced in the same breath.
The demo he sent was great, but the first time Trevor watched him sing in person, he knew Jasper had something special.
He drew Trevor’s focus right to him, to the emotions painted on his face.
He’s captivating, hard to look away from.
He peels back his own layers with every note and makes you desperate to find out what’s waiting at his core.
Honestly, it’s crazy that Noah doesn’t see that.
But Trevor has a feeling that whatever Noah’s issue is with Jasper, it has less to do with Jasper and more to do with Noah.
He’s still sensing something might be going on with Noah.
Something beyond the typical work stress.
He has no idea what it could be, but he hopes Noah will come to him if there’s anything he can do to help.
They take longer in the studio than they expected to for today, but by the end, Jasper has recorded vocals for three tracks that everyone is happy with. Even Noah begrudgingly admitted they sounded good.
After Jasper leaves, Trevor has a few phone calls to make and a new demo in his inbox to check out. He’s just packing up his stuff, finally ready to head home, when he gets a text from Skyler.
Peanuts or blueberries?
What? he writes back.
For dinner.
Trevor smiles. He has no idea how peanuts could be used in a dinner, and blueberries sound like dessert, but he never underestimates Skyler’s cooking skills.
Peanuts, he answers. Because Skyler’s already sweet enough, and Trevor’s planning on eating him for dessert.