valentine//l.h

02

"hey i'm so glad you could make it!" luke smiles, opening the wooden studio doors. the room looks so much brighter than it did a week ago.

"hi!" i reply, walking through the doorway. i'm greeted by three other guys, the rest of 5sos. they all look up at me, looking at me as if they're welcoming me inside.

"i'm michael" one says, standing up from the couch where two of them were sat. "diana." i reply, shaking his hand.

"hey, i'm calum" the other says, greeting me with his hand. "hi." i smile, shaking his hand in return.

"it's so nice to finally meet you!" the other says. "i'm ash." he grins, also shaking my hand.

"you can sit wherever you want." luke says, signalling to three spare chairs. i take a seat close to luke's, opposite the couch.

the boys are holding their instruments. michael holding a black electric guitar, calum resting a bass next to him, and ashton sat near the drum kit. luke also picks up an acoustic.

i take out my notebook, filled with lyrics from different scrapped songs and ideas i had.

"i figured we could experiment with what you were writing the other day" luke says, looking towards me.

since last week i'd basically finished the whole song. it still sounds so weird acoustically though. i'm nervous playing it in front of them.

"i've finished the majority of the song but i'm still unsure if it sounds good acoustic. i feel like it needs to be more upbeat." i say, walking over to the piano. i pull out the leather seat. sitting down, i pull out my notebook and flip to the page titled valentine.

i mess around with a few chords, getting comfortable with the keys.

"go ahead!" ashton smiles.

i play the intro, preparing to sing.

"i love the light in your eyes and the dark in your heart."

throughout the song i feel as if the boys are really listening to my playing. i feel like they're actually considering my song for the album.

once i'm done playing, i turn around to see calum picking up his bass. he tunes his strings a little before playing a bassline that goes with the tune.

"i agree i think it would sound so much better upbeat." calum says. "i love the lyrics though i think they fit the whole vibe we're going for so well."

"thank you!" i smile, it sounds like a genuine compliment.

ashton stands up and moves to his drum kit. he plays a beat to calum's bassline. i have to admit it sounds so much better like this.

luke starts humming the tune i came up with, but a bit more upbeat.

michael begins to move his fingers around the frets of his guitar, finding the chords i was playing earlier.

"diana, can you hand me your lyric book, i want to try something." luke says, tapping his foot to the beat.

i stand up from my seat, reaching for my notebook. "please ignore the doodles in the corner" i laugh, embarrassed.

he looks through the lyrics, analysing them one by one.

he hums a tune, taping his foot to the beat ashton was just playing. his blonde locks fall in front of his face as he looks down. you can't help but stare at him.

"these..are incredible." luke says, still reading them. "i mean...thank you so much." i let out a relived sigh.

michael plays the chords on the guitar again, waiting for luke to start singing.

"i can take you out...oh...oh"

"we can kill some time..."

"something like that."

"ooh i like that." ash says, playing a slower beat on the drums.

it's incredible to see them work with my lyrics and create the skeleton of a song so quickly. it's truly mesmerising to watch.

the rest of practice goes quickly, we spend about three hours there working on "valentine." it sounds so beautiful by the end.

"i better get going." i say, at around 8pm. "the song's coming along so well."

"thank you diana, you're so talented." ash says, smiling. "i'm so excited to see what you bring to this album."

"it was so great having you here." michael adds.

"i'm so glad i finally got to meet you." calum says, setting down his bass.

"i'll walk you to your car." luke walks over to me, placing his guitar down. "don't worry about it! i'm fine." i laugh, rolling my eyes.

"i insist."

the walk back to the car isn't as awkward as i'd imagined it being. luke and i are becoming closer and i think we're friends. we've been texting on and off throughout the week, mainly talking about songwriting. he's the one person i can actually talk to about music.

"here we are." he says, stopping outside his car which happens to be next to mine.

"enjoy the rest of rehearsals." i smile, unlocking my car.

"it was really great having you here. you're so incredibly talented and i'm so grateful we can work together." he says, walking closer to me.

"of course!" i say, my breath becoming heavy. "i've always been a fan of your songwriting and i think you're very talented too."

"i'll see you soon?" he smiles, backing away towards the studio. "sure." i reply, walking back to my car.

as i'm in the car, i find myself staring at him. him walking up the dirt path, fixing his blonde hair, waving to me before opening the studio doors, watching him disappear back inside.

it's hard not to.