Fate Will Unite Us (Pentatonix Fanfiction) (ON HOLD)

Chapter 9 (Kevin)

            Kevin took his cello case out from the back seat of Avi's car and they walked to the small building they were parked outside of. He read the sign that read Endless Noise Studios and could feel his nerves again. He still couldn't actually believe he was doing this. The only reason he agreed to do this so soon was because of Avi's persuasion. He followed Avi silently as he entered and they were greeted by a blonde man with a short beard and glasses.

Before Avi could introduce them, a tall brunette ran in from the back. "Avriel! I'm so happy to see you again!" She embraced Avi in a tight hug and Kevin couldn't help but try to hold back his laughter looking at their height difference. She was at least six feet tall! And hella gorgeous too.

Avi pulled back with a smile. "It's great to see you too, Mary. I miss coming down here. Sorry I haven't been keeping in touch since... well, you know."

They both smiled at him understandingly and the guy put an arm on his shoulder. "It's okay Avi. We miss her too. We're just glad to see you're doing much better."

          Kevin took that moment to reflect over the past couple of months. Avi was certainly doing much better. Getting over depression from survivor's guilt was like getting over a natural disaster. No matter how the person tried to get over it and move forward, the damage left behind and the casualties from the event would always serve as a constant reminder and pull them back to their dark state. But after moving in with Kevin, Avi had definitely improved by leaps and bounds. While he had some down days or a breakdown or two, it was becoming less frequent and he was socializing more often. He was even making use of his temporary unemployment to write more songs. He was certainly proud of Avi's progress thus far, and his medication seemed to be helping him.

There was a very brief silence before Avi took a step back so he could face all three of them. "Well, let's get to business. Kevin, I'd like you to meet Grant and Mary Catherine. The best music producers I know in all of LA." He gestured at the blonde and brunette who shook their heads with a smile to deny the last sentence. "And guys this is Kevin Olusola. The next big cellist in the music industry."

          Kevin nudged Avi's shoulder before shaking hands with them. "It's nice to meet you, and no, I'm just average. Avi is exaggerating."

Avi continued. "And you're being way too modest. Anyway, the reason I booked the studio today is because K.O. here is going to record his very own E.P., and since you guys love doing projects like these and he's pretty new to this, I was hoping you guys can help him with the production stuff. Then we could release a few videos on his YouTube channel to promote him. He's already got quite a following, and the videos would help boost the promotion for his EP."

"That's a great idea! Come on to the back, we can start setting up the stuff and plan things out. Since this is the first time you're self producing an album, we'll be here to help you with anything and everything you need. Have you got any ideas for the cover art, set list and all that jazz?" Mary asked turning to Kevin as they walked into the recording room at the back of the building.

          "I have a few ideas for those, thanks to Avi here. I've got 4 covers and an original piece prepared. I was thinking we could name the EP Renegade; that's the name of the original."

"Interesting, I can't wait to hear it!" She smiled kindly at him before getting the recording equipment from the store room to set up. Kevin smiled at her retreating figure before he snapped out of it.

As Avi walked into the back room, he stopped and looked around the place with a somewhat sad smile, as if he was reminiscing. He looked at the photographs lining the walls before his eyes stopped on one particular picture. It was of himself, Grant, Mary and Sarah taken at an event. They looked so happy. Avi had his arm over Sarah's shoulders and both of them had bright smiles on their faces.

Mary had noticed him looking at the picture and put her hand gently on his shoulder. When he turned to face her, she gave him a comforting smile. He returned the smile, before walking past me into the sound room. Mary just looked over at him sadly, then at Kevin before she went back to adjusting the microphones.

          Kevin walked over and sat on a little stool Mary had put out for him in the recording room and opened his cello case. He took out Beyoncé while Mary put up the mic. "Set up another one for his voice too," Avi told her, helping her bring another mic stand out.

"You sing too?" She questioned with interest. "Avi didn't tell us that."

"Sort of. You'll see." Avi answered for him. Avi had told Kevin not to mention his beat-boxing skills to them yet. They wanted to see their reactions when they first heard him. If Kevin could impress them with his innovative skills, they were confident he could impress his future fans as well.

Mary finished setting up both mics, then she and Avi joined Grant in the sound room as Kevin set up the cello. As he place the bridge of the cello against his shoulder and tugged at the strings, he could feel his heart beating fast in his chest. He had never been in a recording studio before, so he still couldn't believe that he was in one to record one of HIS own pieces. It was very exciting, surreal and scary at the same time. He jumped a little when Grant's voice came through the speakers into the soundproof room.

"Let's try recording some samples to test the microphones and makes some adjustments, then we can start recording the test runs of the full pieces." Grant played around with some of the sound instruments as Kevin played a few chords and scales on the cello. When he did a few bass drum and snare sounds to test the mic near his mouth, Grant and Mary exchanged a confused glance while Avi just smirked.

           When Grant finished making the adjustments, he told Kevin to do a full test run of his song. Kevin took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself down. Then, as the other three watched from behind the glass divider, he started playing the cello. He plucked the strings as a soothing intro began, and as he placed the bow against the strings and started moving it, the others instantly recognized the piece he was playing as Julie-O. They were just beginning to wonder how he was going to sing along to this piece, but when he opened his mouth, their jaws fell open. They watched in awe as he expertly beat-boxed to the wonderful music, which he also played with such perfection. It was as if the man was in a trance as the bow moved fluidly across the strings. It was truly fascinating to watch.

          Once the song ended, Kevin looked up through the glass barrier into the sound room to see Grant and Mary staring at him with astounded expressions while Avi still had the huge grin on his face. He broke the silence with a question. "Was that okay?"

"Was that okay?" Mary parroted. "That was amazing! Wow, Kevin. That was some real talent there! I have never in my life seen or heard anybody beat-boxing while playing an instrument like that."

          If he wasn't already dark skinned, the blush on his cheeks would have been obvious. "Thank you, Mary. I appreciate it."

"Okay then Kevin, let me just make a few more minor adjustments here and we can give that song another go. Then we can play it back and see how it sounds." Grant tuned the equipment a little more then signaled Kevin. Then Kevin was off again, making mesmerizing music with his cello and vocal percussions. And all three people watching him had the same thought running through their head.

This man had great things in store for him in the future