Dane and Zion

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

~Zion~

       Someone gently nudged me, trying to wake me up from my sleep. I groaned, turning my head to the other side so I was facing away from whoever tried waking me up. I closed my eyes tightly, hoping to fall asleep within a few seconds.

       I wasn't.

       "You going to wake up?" Dane asked, nudging my side once again.

       "No. I want to sleep. I'm tired."

       "Aren't you always tired?"

       "Yes. So let me sleep."

       "Or you can wake up before the teacher tells you to and gives you detention for sleeping. And we're scheduled to record more songs at the studio, so you can't really get detention."

       I sighed as I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Yeah, that's true. And I haven't gotten detention for a long time, so I don't want to break my streak."

       Dane furrowed his eyebrows. "Zion, you... You got detention just last week."

       "Like I said, I haven't gotten detention in a long time."

       "You think a week is a long time?" Dane asked. "That's worrisome."

       I shrugged, resting my head back on the desk. "I used to get detention, like, every other day so a week is a huge improvement. Though, it kind of feels weird not having detention in a while. Maybe I should get detention..."

       "Zion, I just told you that you can't get detention because we have to go to the the recording studio after school. Hey, is everything okay?"

       I didn't answer, though that would have been the best idea if I wanted Dane to think everything was okay. But I didn't want to lie to Dane. Not that it was lying, really. Just withholding the truth. 

       "Zion?" Dane asked when I didn't answer right away. He rested his hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle rub. "You okay?"

       I sighed, turning my head to look at Dane. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... thinking about my birth mother, I guess. I blocked her number, but she always finds a way to show up in my life afterwards. I really don't want to run into her. Ever. Or have her guilt me into sending her money, which has happened once."

       "I thought your mom said your birth mom not allowed to contact you," Dane said. 

       "Yeah, she's not. Just like how people aren't allowed to rob, murder, and all that shit but it has still been done."

       "True..."

       "Don't worry, though," I said. "I'm fine. I mean, I will be fine in a few days when this all dies over." Hopefully. I had a feeling this wasn't going to die down anytime soon. It never did. It lasted for a few weeks with her trying to get in contact with me, failing, then somehow succeeded, and her guilting me into giving her money despite me constantly telling myself not to fall for it.

       The conversation wasn't able to continue since the tardy bell rang and the teacher stood up in front of the class to start the lesson. I couldn't really concentrate on it, though. Not that not concentrating was anything new. However, normally when I couldn't concentrate, it was because I didn't want to.

       Now, this was against my own will.

       It felt like hours before class finally ended, but this was only third period. I still had one more class of the day, but at least it was yet another class I had with my boyfriend. I was going to try to focus but if I couldn't, I knew Dane would be more than willing to help me understand anything I missed out.

       Sometimes, I think he actually enjoyed school. For fun.

       Finally, school ended so Dane and I were finally able to leave this cursed building to head to the recording studio. I thought I wasn't going to be able to focus probably because of my birth mother trying to exploit me again. Just like the last time we had the studio booked.

       Thankfully, I was actually able to focus. It helped that I loved music and was able to get completely lost in it. I was having fun after the stressful couple days I've been having.

       Once the song we were working on was completed, Dane gave me a smile. "That sounded great, Zion. Wow, we're getting so close to finishing this album. Are you excited? I'm excited."

       "I'm excited too," I said. "To donate the earnings to BLM and to watch the sales completely wipe Carrie."

       "Those two things are completely unrelated."

       I shrugged. "So should we get started on the next song or call it a day?"

       "What do you want to do?" Dane asked.

       "Sing more. Please. I need the distraction. Oh, great, I'm no longer distracted. Fast, start the next song."

       "Alright, here it goes."

       Once again, I was able to get lost in the music. I was having the time of my life. The only other time I felt better than this was when I was on stage, performing to my heart's content. And whenever I was with Dane.

       It took a few recordings to get the harmonies in and to make sure the song sounded perfect.

       "Zion, it sounds so good!" Dane said once he stopped the recording. "Seriously, thank you for stealing that song that I wrote. I don't think we would be where we are right now if you haven't."

       "I technically didn't steal it," I said before taking off the headphones and hanging them on the microphone stand. I walked out of the booth. "I gave you credit."

       Dane walked over to me with a smile before pulling me into a tight hug. "And I'm glad you did. Seriously, I've never had so much fun songwriting. Thank you. For everything."

       "I should be thanking you," I said. "And what's up? You're being a bit mushy."

       Dane laughed. "What? I'm not allowed to hug my boyfriend? Or thank him?"

       "Dane..."

       "Fine, fine, you got me," Dane said, pulling away but keeping his arms loosely around my neck. "I've booked you a gigantic gig on December thirteenth. You will be opening for, what for it... Major Vocal."

       I blinked a few times, trying to process what Dane just told me. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

       "Major Vocal is doing something called The Twelve Days of Christmas, and yes, I know that's a song. Anyway, starting on the thirteenth, they're doing something everyday to give back to their fans and the community. First day is a Christmas concert and they want you to open."

       "You're joking. This is a joke, right? Because you know I'm a fan of them and will probably cry if I even breathe the same air as them."

       "It's not a joke," Dane said, smiling widely. "I'm serious. Dead serious. You're going to be opening for Major Vocal."

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oop crossover time. 

i also missed these two <3 i just had a hard time figuring out what to write.