Limelight

Chapter Twenty-Five

~~Once Bitten~~

As the backing track to olive garden came to a close, Aaliyah let out a breath letting her eyes flutter open, taking her hands from her headphones before looking up to Xavier, who was still busy making adjustments with his soundboard, his brows furrowed and his mouth slightly parted in concentration. Aaliyah despite herself took the chance to take in his appearance, he had his hair styled into twists, some falling into his eyes as he worked. She noticed the new bandages around his fingers on his right hand. She was sure they weren't there the last time she had seen him, which was only a few days ago, she wondered what happened.

          Aaliyah cleared her throat gaining his attention and he looked up to meet his gaze, his twists flying back out of his face. He raised a thumbs up, before looking back to his soundboard distractedly, "Uh, that was a good one. I still think that the last hook should be sung in a higher key though."

         "Well, we can try it out and see what works," Aaliyah suggested, "But I feel like it might be a little out of my depth, not going to lie."

          Xavier was still working the board. "You've got a lot better, Lia. You'd be surprised at what you can do," He said in a distracted voice, though Aaliyah couldn't help the flutter in her stomach at his words, "Either way, we still need a few more run-throughs for layering, but otherwise, we're almost done with three-quarters of the songs on your album."

          Aaliyah grinned. "And that's seventy-five percent of my album finished!" Aaliyah pumped her fist in the air before taking her headphones off her head and hanging it off the mic stand before moving back into the control room where Xavier was. "Never been so relieved to be three-quarters done before," She said slumping into the seat beside Xavier, who only chuckled shaking his head.

          Xavier snorted. "It's not like when you're done you'll be any less busy," He said, turning in his chair to meet Aaliyah's eyes as she hopped up onto the table by his soundboard, "Once you're finished with your album, promotion begins, you get more interviews, photoshoots, tours and even more performances. Blair is already starting to discuss plans for your US tour." He said, flicking a lever before turning to look at her.

          Aaliyah felt exhausted just listening to him. She made a face before sighing, letting her shoulders sag. "Wow," She grumbled, "Way to bum me out," She said rolling her eyes.

          The corner of Xavier's mouth tilted upwards in a crooked smile, his dark eyes squinting a little. "Actually, I was trying to lead up to a question," He said, and Aaliyah shot him an expectant eyebrow, with her arms crossed. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I want you to sing around you for your album."

          Aaliyah frowned. "Around you?" She echoed not sure what he was talking about, "Which song is that?"

          "The song I showed you last week in the practice room, remember," He said, and Aaliyah thought back to the day in that room. She hadn't really been able to get that day out of her head, remembering his words, his smile, his face. He literally was the most beautiful boy she had ever met, she wondered how he always seemed to be by her side when she needed someone. It was an eerie gift, but a welcome one too, "I know it doesn't really tie in with the whole theme of your album, but—"

          "Of course, I would," Aaliyah breathed out in a smile, "It's a beautiful song, and technically, I did help with writing it."

          Xavier rolled his eyes, but his smile was unmistakable. "You helped with one line, though I suppose that means you should get some credit," He said in a low voice, raising his head a little, squinting a little as he usually did in thought, "And it still needs some work, maybe perspective should be changed a little so it suits you better. We also need to create a track for it before May. It shouldn't be so hard either, considering we're basically done with the rest of your songs—"