Uproar

Chapter 40

Mike

"Where are they?" I asked frantically.

"Well Chester texted saying he's sick. Again," Dave sighed.

"And Rob?" I asked.

"Had to go see his mom. Give Rob a break though. This is the first time he misses a session."

I groaned. "Fine. I guess we can just work on 'Drawing' since most of it's samples."

I was getting anxious. We're so behind it's terrifying. I was working all night on lyrics, trying to text Chester to see if he would give me ideas or lines, but no reply. Well I only texted him twice, but that didn't matter anymore.

"We need to add something at the bridge," I said as I opened Pro Tools and opened up Drawing.

"Well first you should make it a sane length Mike. We're not righting lyrics for a twelve minute track," Joe said groaning.

"Yeah, a lot of the parts repeat anyways," Brad piped in. I scowled and looked at the screen. They're right. The song was long and I didn't think the label would want any of the tracks to exceed six minutes.

"Okay," I caved. I was really proud of this song we wrote and I felt a little hurt that they wanted me to change it. But they did have a point.

I began trimming the song, finding the repetitive parts and getting rid of them. This took maybe half an hour and once I was done, there was about three and a half minutes of audio.

Letting out a long breath, I turned my chair and stretched my back. "Alright, we can edit and add more of what you all want. There isn't much we can do without Rob."

"Well I was thinking we can replace the synth with an actual group of strings," Dave suggested from his spot on the floor. "I already sent an e-mail to a few of my orchestra buddies and Don contacted some people."

I nodded. "That sounds really good actually. Do you think you can compose a part of the song on your cello? See how it'll sound?"

Dave shrugged, "Sure."

Joe sat down next to me and opened his laptop. "Check this out."

He hit the space bar on his laptop and clips of some scratching played. "For the song maybe? We can always switch it up a bit."

"Yeah," I said as I bit my nail. I was glad everyone was pitching in, but again, there wasn't much we can do unless we were all here. Like Don had said.

"Dammit," I muttered. Joe looked up at me, puzzled.

"What?"

"We need to get started on vocals for three songs. Just samples for two of them but one song's almost done and we need to finish vocals on it," I groaned helplessly. Stress from thinking of not meeting the dead line by January weighed on me, making me feel terribly anxious and angry.

"Fuck! Why does he do this to us?" I hissed. 

Joe shrugged. "I don't know, but have you actually looked at the guy? I think he's close to biting the dust, sadly."

"Oh don't defend him," I snapped. Joe shrugged.

"He's a jack-ass, yes, but that doesn't mean he's not my friend Mike."

"You're like everyone else!" I slumped in my chair and crossed my arms. Joe rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You're acting like a child."

"So is he," I grumbled. He glared at me and murmured something about needing a vacation. I sighed and looked at the digital clock on the desk. It was close to five and we weren't able to get anything done.

I sat up correctly and grabbed a nearby note pad. I flipped it open and began writing for a song we called "Pretty Birdy", trying to come up with a chorus.

After putting two lines together, I flipped the notebook closed and decided to just call it a day.

Rob

I hung the towel up and ran a hand through my hair, spiking it up. I searched the medicine cabinet for some hair-gel and ran it through my hair, keeping the spikes up.

I walked out of the bathroom and saw Chester still sleeping. His skinny form was spread out on on the side of the bed, the covers thrown over him sloppily, his chest rising and falling slowly. I smiled as I watched him sleep. It was the only time he seemed at peace. 

I had heard him crying the night before. I couldn't help but feel like he had trouble coping with what we did the previous night. I didn't seem too affected by it, at the time. I thought he was accepting what this was becoming. I knew we had potential. But I also knew he was confused, still struggling. 

I made my way towards the bed and sat on it. I reached out to Chester and traced a finger around the koi fish tattoo on his arm. I began to shake him lightly.

"Hey...Ches. Wake up," I said softly. He groaned and his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey," He yawned. I smiled and lay down next to him. 

"Hey." He stretched and grabbed the blankets to cover himself properly. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, for the most part. I thought you would've left for the studio by now?"

I shook my head, "Don't worry. I texted them and told them you're sick and that I had to meet my parents somewhere."

Chester nodded and nuzzled his face in my shoulder. "I knew you wouldn't want to wake up early considering how late we stayed up last night."

"What time did we sleep?" He asked, his voice muffled against my shirt. 

"Around midnight," I chuckled.

He held me closer. "I don't want to get out of bed," he groaned.

"Then don't. I'll bring you breakfast, or lunch actually. You don't have to get up."

"You're too nice Robbie," he chuckled, rolling us so we were on our sides. When the covers slipped too low, he pulled them back up to his chest. I raised my hand up to the blankets, slowly tugging them down.

"You don't need to cover yourself..." I said quietly. He looks away, somewhat red. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his nose. He groaned and wrapped his arms around me again. "You said only last night Rob..."

"I know," I chuckled as I pulled him close again, pecking his lips playfully. "You're just adorable."

He blushed again, burying his face in my chest. "God this is so confusing."

"I know," I sighed. I could tell I was making him frustrated this way, telling him I need to get over him, but then coming back a near-pleading mess last night.

The truth was, I was only waiting on Mike now. We all were. I knew it was only a matter of time before he gives up this act of hating him. Well, if it is an act. I know Chester needs Mike now. In this state, I know Mike's the only one that can pull him out of this.

"I'm gonna bring you something to eat," I kissed Chester's forehead and sat up.

"Okay," he mumbled.