Friday comes quicker than Adam wants. Too quick. Adam is tired and he drags himself out of bed, limbs heavy. Chris comes and gets him at ten am sharp, chatting eagerly to his brother about future arrangements. Adam is tired. He plasters a smile and nods to what Chris says, paying enough attention that he could give an answer if needed.
The car is already there again. Adam sighs. Walking into the backroom, Adam nods at the three waiting men. None of them pay him any attention. They're staring at sheets, a few of them littered around the room. Chris is quick to hurry to the other side of the room, grabbing a handful of sheets before shoving them at Adam. He smiles that wide smile.
“It was the song we arranged together awhile ago remember?” Adam does remember, it was when he’d had more drinks than ever only to discover that he was a lightweight. He remembers the swaying floor and dizzying lights. However, he doesn't remember the song they arranged. Just that, well, the did one. His eyes quickly dart to the sheet in his hand.
“Ring of fire?” he says, voice thick with confusion.
“Yeah! We were - ” Chris clicks his fingers rhythmically and “ – trying something new! It was the reggae thing, remember now?” He raises a brow. Adam gives a half shrug but before he or Chris can do much else, Austin speaks.
“You sure a reggae beat goin’ to work? I mean,” he scratches his neck, “it’s a risky one don'cha think?”
“It was,” Chris shrugs his shoulders, indifferent, “an experiment. It’s one thing to make music the way the original is, entirely new thing to make it yours.”
Austin looks at them. Adam had shuffled to the chair again. He really likes it. Austin bites his lower lip. He nods, thinking.
“That's true.” He grins. “If anything, it'll be fun.” Tim nods in agreement. Rob is busy reading. Chris claps his hands together.
“Great, so where should we start?” Tim looks Chris, smiling.
“I suppose the bass and drum line first?” he suggests, to which Chris nods.
“If you and Adam want to get started on that?” Adam nods from his chair, eyes still fixated on the sheet as he reads. He gets up and god he must be getting old, and he swears he hears a joint crack. He shuffles to the couch and rests himself on the arm of couch, beside Tim.
“Well, Johnny Cash definitely had no baritone voice,” Adam says, “so maybe you’d want to sing Tim? And Austin and Rob can still do the harmonies and riffs.” Tim leans in closer to Adam, eyeing his sheet with a brow raised.
“That could work.”
“Tim has an amazing range!” Chris calls from the kitchen, doing something that Adam had already forgotten about. Adam hums.
“So, Chris’ll cover bass, you main vocals, and Austin and Rob will fill in the harmonies and riffs,” Chris comes back in the room.
“That sounds good.”
“You said it has a reggae beat right? How we gonna make that one work?” Rob says, a little unsure. Chris reaches out for Adam’s sheet and younger hands it over easily. Chris moves next Rob and points at all of Adam’s annotations.
He says its all about the rhythm and key they play in. That’s an easy one. Adams stomach shivers, shakes and ripples with sickness. Chris hands him back the sheet.
“There’s a key part for you guys,” Adam says, eyes searching his paper, “here. Its a layered harmony, the baritone, the high tenor and the tenor, mostly because it'll contrast with previously deep vocals and build it up before the beat drops.” The anxiety that curls in his stomach makes him feel like it’s a cop out of an explanation. He agrees.
“That sounds amazing,” Rob smiles, “you guys did this yourselves?” Chris grins.
“Yup. Drunk off our asses too!” he laughs. Adam smiles a little.
The rest of practices is normal. Normal as in, holy fuck, three people I don’t know and am currently making plans to spend an entire career with. That level of normal.
If Adam was smart he’d talk to Chris or Chance or Jenika, god forbid anyone. But he doesn’t. He’s a big boy now and he can do this by himself. It’s not new; his heart is liquid, being poured into everyone else’s cup whilst his cup is empty.
By the end, Adam feels slightly hysterical.
--
So what do you think? Also, I hope you don't mind the slightly shorter chapters, it just means that I can get more done because I'm worried less about how much I'm writing.
Thanks for reading!
YOU ARE READING
Faith(less)
Fanfiction"Every story has a beginning, middle and end. Not necessarily in that order." - Jean-Luc Godard Sometimes you think your story has long since ended. Maybe its never even started. This is a story about a man who thinks his...
