Somewhere in the Middle

The Lucky One

Jamie couldn't help but ask himself the same question over and over again while they were together like this:

Why haven't we done this sooner?

It just... worked. The way they were with one another—the way they listened when the other had an idea, the way they worked around each other to fit those ideas together, the way they smiled when what they had written sounded as incredible as they thought it would.

They should've done this sooner.

Why hadn't it happened?

"And then go right into the bridge from there," Jamie said, looking at his scribbled lyrics, and watching as Luke fiddled around on his computer.

"Alright," Luke said from where he was sitting across the bed from Jamie. He pulled his beat pad in front of him. "I'm thinking the progression should sound something like this..."

And he played a drumbeat on loop, looking up at Jamie as Jamie considered the sounds, the driving beat that would lead them into the bridge from the second chorus, the last change-up that would hopefully surprise everyone who listened in the best way possible.

Jamie nodded. "Yeah. Yeah definitely. And Greg can add to that whatever little flourishes he wants when we play it live."

And then he laid the words over it, singing over the space between them and filling the room with sound. With music. The only way he'd ever felt comfortable exposing his true feelings, his real heart to the world.

He hadn't hesitated once with Luke in the room. If anything, it was only more exciting, to hear a song come to completion with a sound that was more than just his voice and guitar. A sound that included a bass line and drumbeats from the word go. And Luke could put the whole thing together as they were sitting there, right on his computer.

"Dude," Luke exclaimed, drawing the word out after Jamie had sung the four lines of the bridge. He was smiling, and reeled back as he lifted a hand to cover his mouth. "That sounded sick."

Jamie laughed because he couldn't help but agree. What had just happened between them—what had been happening between he and Luke for over a week now since Jamie had heard that first track—was pure magic. Smiling, laughter, excitement... those were the only possible reactions in the presence of magic.

"Lay that shit down," Jamie said, "I'll clean this up."

"Clean what up?" Luke asked, sliding his headphones over his years. "Those lyrics are bomb."

Jamie glanced down at the notebook before him. "Nah. They could use some tweaking. Like I want to have a two syllable word on the downbeat, and something better than 'happy' to describe the feeling of falling, you know?" He stared at the page, hearing the melody in his head, waiting for the right lyrics to form in his mind.

"This is why I don't write lyrics," Luke said, settling the earphones over his head. He clicked away at his computer. "I don't know how you do it, man."

Jamie smiled, but stayed quiet, mouthed the words as the melody sounded in his head.

They were quiet for a few minutes, as they were every so often. Precious silence that allowed Jamie to rework the lyrics, hearing the finished product in his head, and allowed Luke to lay the song down as a rough demo until they could get into a studio.

It was amazing how well it worked. Amazing how well they worked together. And in the same silence, Jamie regretted not working with Luke sooner. Regretted the way he'd closed himself off this past year when the words didn't come, rather than open up to allow someone else's thoughts to fill his vision.