Keeping Secrets (An Anonymous Novella)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

            The following morning, after Ethan had kissed her goodbye and left for his princely duties, Chloe pulled out her computer. Her usual routine consisted of scrolling through her notifications and answering a couple of MuseTunes messages. There were always way too many for her to answer all of them, but she did her best to get to as many as she could.

            She loved getting back to people. Their general excitement and encouragement was not only contagious, but warmed her heart. It was good to know that all the trouble she had previously gone through with Frank and Danika was worth it.

            All in all though, she was ecstatic that people enjoyed her music. She got a lot of compliments about how she managed to bring a lot of emotions to most of her songs and covers. That had always been her goal all along.

            After all, it was music that run their world, not MuseTunes, though a lot of time she felt people forgot that. Most of the teens and rising stars were only after the fame and the popularity, so much so that they forgot the reason that they started making music in the first place. Yet it was that music and motivation that pushed them forward and allowed them to enjoy their own successes at the end of the day.

            That motivation got Chloe to sing another cover. It was a gentle piece, an acoustic version of one of Danika's first singles that she did, before she really hit the big time. The song itself weaved a tale about a girl who led a heartbreaking life as a puppet for those around her.

            Although, when the song first came out, it had more of a beat and had been sped up unnecessarily. Chloe held a firm belief that that was why the song wasn't the most popular. The producers had taken away its potential by playing down the emotion of the song and turning it into some horrible version that attempted to bring its listeners to their feet.

            Chloe knew better.

            That's why she picked the song, and at first, as she ran through it and stripped the audio down to the piano melody, she figured she'd sing it for herself and not post it anywhere. However, when she turned the camera on and plugged in her portable Apogee microphone to begin singing she decided she'd be more open minded about the whole thing after she finished.

            It took her upwards of about an hour and a half to get the piece sung exactly how she wanted with all her extra flourishes and another two hours to cut and edit out the parts that she didn't want to keep. After that, her computer software took the time to smooth out the piece and make it flow a bit better.

            She was just about to run through and listen to the final version when someone knocked on the door. Frowning at her computer, she clicked a few buttons to bring up the audio sound and called out for the visitor to come in.

            "Hey," Ian poked his head in. "Can I come in?"

            "Sure." Chloe pulled out one of her earphones. "But only if you listen to this real quick for me."

            Ian slid into the room and sat cross legged on her bed. "What is it?"

            She shrugged, playing off all her hard work. In reality, she was way too eager to share her cover. It turned out pretty awesome, and that made her happy. "A cover I just put together."

            "Really? Cool." Ian looked honestly interested. That boosted her excitement.

            She played the song for him, watching his expression for any signs of horror or disgust. "What do you think?" She asked when it was over.