Bastille Imagines

Winner!

You won. You can't believe you won. As soon as you noticed that same unmistakably familiar logo for the competition you entered a while back on the envelope you knew you had won. Your efforts have paid off and now you get to see them.

The competition was too good to be true; talented song writers/producers wanting to experience what it's like to work in a studio were to send their own piece of music to be analysed, then finally chosen out for a winner. You. It's right down your street having practiced making music and learning over the years. That minute long project you spent months and months on, hoping that it would be up to the standards of what were the judges were expecting. You downloaded, installed and bought all the possible music-making programmes there are to bring your ideas to life.

You eagerly open the letter just the confirm your victory.

Congratulations Winner!

You have been selected out of the 5,479 participants to visit and work in the studios alongside Bastille. Your project was a great success and we believe that you have potential to expand on your talents. Date, time and address are stated below. We hope to see you there!

You had to re-read the letter three times for it to stick in your mind as you expect it all to be a dream. But reality's playing fair for you, it's true, no matter how many times you pinch yourself. You now have an infestation of pride manifesting in your mood and the satisfying feeling of self achievement fills you up. You never win competitions, not like these. You contact everyone you know and inform them of the news each giving the same upbeat 'congrats!' or 'well done' response. It just only makes you feel better.

~~~~

Today's the day. As much as you are excited you are twice as nervous. What if you're mind goes blank? What if the equipment they use is too advanced and too complex for your knowledge of understanding music? You had no choice but to force yourself to banish these thoughts and think positively.

Strolling down the street listening to your own music, you spot the studio. You know that the four men - particularly one of them - that have inspired you to create music were in those buildings waiting for your arrival. They let you in without any hassle and direct you to the seemingly peacefully comfortable studio room. It is exactly as you imagined it; the all-important desk where the sound boards and keyboards lay, the big rectangular window letting you see into the recording room, and the various different instruments each having their own style to shape and colour. It's magnificent.

Before you get to engrossed with the equipment you hear a quiet mumble and someone clearing their throat. You were so lost gloating over the fact that your imaginations have came true, you fail to notice the one and only man you have ever dreamed of meeting.

Dan Smith.

He stands sheepishly in the middle of the room before offering his hand. You take it so, keeping your composure to a tolerant level.

"Hi." You greet, with the biggest grin bearing your pearly whites.

"Hi, welcome! I'm Dan and before we start, congratulations."

"Thanks so much!" You say a bit too enthusiastically. Dan seems to be taken back by your eagerness. "Sorry, I'm just really excited to be here." You quietly mumble.

"It's alright, I have to admit - it is pretty overwhelming when you first walk in here. So shall we start?"

You nod your head and take a seat alongside Dan who was powering up everything ready to be played and fiddle with to your hearts content. You notice that these sound boards are all familiar to you, you know exactly what each switch, channel and button does known from past experiences.

"What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna try and find the rest of the guys, they seem to have wondered off and should've been back by now. You can mess around and get yourself used to it. I'll be back in 5 minutes." He smiles before wondering aimlessly into the maze of corridors.

Within two minutes your demo has a steady beat, within three minutes you have a melody that goes complimentary with the bass line you've produced. So far you seem to be content with what your mind has conceived. You fiddle around with the sound board trying out various voices and sound effects to connect with your puzzle of a song. You listen to it continuously thinking about different words that would make sense and that would slot into the music perfectly. You mumble some, change them, write some down and record them. With all this time spent on focussing on the music you forget about Dan who wondered away ages ago. You listen to what you have created so far, judging on if you've kept up to the standard of your best ability, seemingly so, you pause it for a brief moment once again having a moment of clarity that you are actually fulfilling your lifelong dream.

"Sounds wicked." You hear a voice behind you. Your head whips round to see four men all standing like an audience to you. Unnoticed, they snuck in stealing you of your privacy and listening to your creation. You blush a deep red, those complimentary words having complete control over you that you can no longer contain yourself.

"Thanks."

"You did all that in...7 minutes?" Kyle exclaims, that face turning into an expression you've only seen in pictures. You smile and nod, proud of your talents but also not wanting to come across as being obnoxious, you let the modesty inside you be the source of what your reactions reflect from.

"I guess? I suppose I just got carried away." You quietly mumble to yourself running a hand through your long, silky hair.

The guys didn't linger around the doorway for much longer when they came in and took to what seemed like their normal seats. Kyle's flattened spot on the sofa became occupied and continues to lose its volume. Dan sat at his desk chair tucked right under the desk so that his legs cease to exist. Will sat patiently on the single chair awaiting orders or requests off of his front man. Your eyes find Woody, who annoyingly but amazingly, taps away at the speaker beneath him creating miniature beats randomizing with each new beat he produces.

"Seems like you don't need our help." teases Kyle, resting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes as if sleeping.

"I'm open to tips or advice?" You suggest, you know your piece isn't perfect but with trained and experience musical minds it could significantly improve. You turn your head towards Dan.

"Plus I'm not much of a singer..." You mutter, hoping Dan would catch on at what your saying to him. He momentarily buffers simply staring at you before answering.

"Hm? Oh, sing? Yeah I suppose." He smiles, sending your old time crush feelings to a craze, returning back to you.

~~~~

Within the small amount of productive hours you had completed what you think is your best project ever. After some persuasion and pressure Dan had convinced you to sing with him, repeatedly telling him that it's better for him to sing solo, but he was very persistent.

The end result was perfect. Everything seems to run smoothly and was completed within the time limits that you had, thanks to the head start you had at the very beginning.

"I'm quite enjoying this," nods Kyle, bobbing along to the catchy beat you created, also catching him mumble a few of the lines.

"Yeah, I'm loving it. No offence but I didn't actually think this would be as successful as it is." Mentions Will, somewhat doubting your talents, but you accept his remark from his point of view. You simply sit, accepting the uplifting compliments from each of the members. It delights you knowing that all four members of a very successful band are enjoying your music lifts your confidence significantly.

Today has been the best day of your life, not only have you experienced making your own music in a professional studio with Bastille, but your creation has also been included in Bastille's new single promised by Dan. He believes that plenty of people will love it as did he.

But more importantly, he also promised that he'd take you for coffee.

A/n: Thanks for the patience you guys have, I've been going through that dreaded writers block but I think I'm out, fingers crossed. This will have a continuation to this so be expecting a part two!