30. Harlowe
Azriel Ivy was kind of goofy for a guy I was scared of ten minutes ago. He kept rubbing his butt on the sexy angel statue I’d been playing in front of and now that he knew the cold could have broken my violin, he was a mess while we walked back to his art studio.
“Do you want my jacket? You can wrap your violin case up like a sexy leather burrito.”
“Won’t you get cold?”
“My nipple rings will keep my nipples warm.”
“Liar. My nipples are pierced, and it’s worse in the cold.”
“Damn. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
“Can you even handle my tits?”
“I could make art with those. Have you seen your boobs?”
“I’ve actually touched them, which is more than I can say for you.”
“Dude, harsh. Are you saying never or just yet?”
“I’m saying I’ve met both of your boyfriends. Orion is kind of a jerk, but Misha is really nice and I like him. I’m not doing that to him.”
“Oh, Misha would be invited if you’re down. We don’t have to bring Orion, but he’s like a barnacle. He’s all pointy and rough around the edges, but he grows on you. And you have to swear to never tell him I called him a barnacle or I won’t let you see my studio.”
We were standing outside a door that not only had every keep out and no trespassing sign you could possibly buy on it. He’d also put crime scene tape all over it.
“So, I take it you really don’t want people in your studio. Is the door booby trapped too?”
“Did Misha blab when you were building cat houses? And no, I don’t let anyone in here.
Misha and Orion are the only ones allowed.
Sometimes, my mouth says things before my brain processes them and it was my mouth’s idea to invite you to my studio to warm up.
When my brain caught up, I was okay with it.
I’ve got a futon and blankets in here because sometimes I take cat naps so you can warm up.
“And I wasn’t joking about the coffee. I fell in love with Vietnamese coffee on tour and I’ve got a set up in my studio.
Misha won’t drink it because he says it makes him jittery in class.
Orion only drinks coffee that would make a barista want to punch him in his barnacle face.
I also never said that. You in? You have to pinky promise never to tell Orion I called him a barnacle. ”
I held out a pinky. Azriel Ivy wasn’t so much scary as he was slightly unhinged.
I was a fan of his work and I was getting a chance to see what he was working on.
I wasn’t exactly sure why he was letting me see it when no one else here was allowed, but I wasn’t going to question it too much.
I’d only seen Immortal Nightmare live once when they were first starting out.
After that I just had to see what they posted to their social media, but I could see Azriel’s art at local galleries sometimes.
In addition to the million keep out, no trespassing, and crime scene tape, Azriel had about three deadbolts on the door. I guess he really didn’t want people in here. I was honored, really.
I stepped inside and it wasn’t what I was expecting. He had a futon shoved in the corner and a small side table with some coffee contraption. There was an easel set up in the corner and the other corner had sculpting tools and a sculpture. I narrowed my eyes at the stone.
“Is that a half goat, half penis with the face of Johann Faustus?”
Because it looked like something had gone horribly wrong with a satyr.
I had a feeling Azriel was the campus vandal.
The lower half was like a satyr or faun and the top half was a giant dick.
The dick looked like what Dr. Faustus would look like if someone made a sex doll out of him.
His mouth was in that weird blow job position.
Azriel just shrugged innocently.
“Maybe. Maybe the goat man should have expelled that bitch when she harassed Misha.”
“No, I agree with you on that. Why am I here?”
“So, I’m probably going to do this wrong. Just to warn you. We don’t want to be here, but we have to be. Immortal Nightmare collaborates all the time, but it’s not always how we want. If you see us up there with someone famous, it was something we had to do for our contract.
“I’m up there doing my thing by myself, but Misha brings in dancers and Orion plays with other musicians sometimes. They both prefer bringing in unknowns. It’s not an ego thing. We were unknown once. We want to help other artists.
“I can’t go into too much detail, but some contracts aren’t worth it. If they promise you the world, you’re probably not going to like how they give it to you. If you don’t hate them, you’ll hate yourself. And, Harlowe, it’s always them you should hate.”
So, I guess that answered why they were here. It was something with their contract. If they’d lost it, they could probably get another unless they’d been blackballed. I didn’t think they had been or they wouldn’t be here.
I just didn’t know what any of that had to do with me.
“Immortal Nightmare didn’t break up. Orion will bring in other musicians to play his music, but he loathes writing with them in nearly all scenarios.
He’s only ever met a few people he’d like to compose with.
He felt that way when he saw your subway video.
Misha started subconsciously moving when he heard the music and I got an idea for a painting. We want to collaborate with you.”
What the actual fuck? Why were all these people wanting to work with me all of a sudden? It was flattering, but it literally never happened to me before.
“Woah, you look ready to maul my sack. It was a compliment.”
Yeah, sometimes, people thought I was angry or in a bad mood and I was just thinking. Sometimes, it was why Apple didn’t just call their charges Apple Juice and other times, it was about why fucking Immortal Nightmare wanted to collaborate with me of all people.
“No, I’m just confused because this didn’t happen in undergrad.”
“Mm hmm and did the people you went to undergrad with know you can compose like that?”
No, they didn’t. My undergrad program let me take music composition classes as electives, but I couldn’t double major. I probably would have had a nervous breakdown if I tried because music was a lot of work. I had to choose, and I chose performance because it had better job prospects.
“Not really.”
“Well, we do. And Leif does too. He originally wanted Orion to score his ballet, but apparently he’s scared of Orion and me.
We aren’t trying to steamroll you, but Misha would be playing the lead in that ballet.
The concept sounds interesting and Leif is talented as fuck.
Go look up the Seven Deadly Sins on the school website. He did Wrath with that Cullen guy.
“We’re interested in collaborating with you and Leif on this ballet.
Nothing is set in stone. We need to know if we can all work together.
We are going to have a meeting in our dorm room with Leif and hopefully you to see about bringing this ballet to life.
I think Misha invited Cullen so he can throw hands if we’re mean to you.
“We aren’t forbidden from performing. If this collaboration goes well, we’d like to do more with you. When you graduate, your name would be out. You could have any contract you wanted or a solo career. You wouldn’t need anything this school would get you.
“You have the talent to make it without Blackvale’s help.
You could just piggyback off of Immortal Nightmare to get your name out.
Then, you could tell anyone to get fucked if they offer you a contract that asks too much or is imbalanced.
And before you say anything, that is exactly why Orion and Misha prefer to work with unknowns.
Orion doesn’t usually want to compose with anyone unless he’s really inspired, but he does like working with other musicians.
And we’re all inspired by your subway video. ”
That…made a lot of sense. I didn’t think he meant someone was going to offer me a contract for my soul, but there was a singer I liked in high school who stopped making music after two albums because her label was working her like a dog and had her presenting as the complete opposite of what she actually was.
Still, I hadn’t met Leif. I’d spent limited time around Orion, who’d I’d be spending the most time with on this ballet. Misha and Azriel seemed cool, but I wouldn’t be working with them.
“So, we are meeting in your dorm room to see if we’re all copacetic?”
“Yes. We’ll cook dinner since we’ll probably be awhile. You mentioned grilled cheese to Misha, and that’s one of his comfort foods. Leif isn’t into sex or relationships, but he does like carbs and cheese. It’s a win-win. And Cullen might be there to make sure everyone behaves. You in?”
I mean, all of this was a huge honor I wasn’t sure I deserved. I’d never scored an entire ballet before, but Orion had. I could use his help if we could work with each other.
“I’m in.”