My Girl

22 | conflict

I sit on the floor inside the studio, watching the band practicing for their scheduled performance in the bar tomorrow.

Throughout the rehearsal, I notice that Zavier is the one voicing out his opinions the most. They stop every time he tells them to. Cal, as well as Aaron, the bassist, and Damien, the drummer, choose to not go against him.

Zavier looks pissed, like he's not satisfied with how the music is progressing. Even I, who's not an expert in music, can tell what's wrong. The music doesn't blend well with Cal's voice.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that Cal isn't good. He's extremely good, without a doubt. But they're playing songs that start with a key either too high or too low for his voice to deliver its best potential, and that makes him out of character.

The frustration I'm feeling is starting to grow the longer I watch them, because I still don't understand why it would be such a hassle for them to just change the key.

"Stop. That's not it," Zavier growls, and the music stops in an instant. "Fuck. You're ruining it, Cal."

Cal's jaw tightens, and I'm amazed at how patient he has been during this practice despite how emotionally draining Zavier has been to the entire bandmates. It seems that they're used to this.

Zavier looks at me and scoffs, then returns his eyes to Cal. "Does practicing in front of your girlfriend make you nervous?"

I want to roll my eyes. Cal sings like he breathes. There's no way that he fails because of that.

Now, it's Cal's turn to scoff. "Why don't we just fucking start in A minor? We don't have to follow the original song."

Zavier looks even more annoyed, chewing his gum. "You think you're so smart, huh? Do you think I would gladly suit your need just because you fucked up?" Zavier mocks, and I can't help but stare at him coldly.

Yet, Zavier looks pleased after spitting those words out, almost satisfied. It's odd and suspicious. It even feels intentional. I wonder if he does this on purpose to degrade Cal in front of me. That's mean.

If he keeps harassing Cal like this, I don't know what I'll do. I feel like punching Zavier in the face.

Wait, since when did I become barbaric?

"Maybe we should just play the same songs," Damien says lazily, swirling the drum stick in his hand.

"We're not going to play those fucking same songs all over again," Zavier hisses. "The audience needs something new, or else they would get bored."

"Well then, let's try the last song one more time," Aaron says, trying some notes on his instrument. "And make sure you don't fuck up this time, Cal."

I stare at them in disbelief, feeling my blood boil. Why the hell are they being so harsh to him? This is insane. I want to yell at these guys and show them a piece of my mind, but I don't want to trouble Cal. I know how much he needs this job.

Cal's eyes dart on the bottle of water standing on the counter next to me. "Baby, can you pass that to me?"

My eyes soften as I hand him the water, which he then devours in large gulps. God, he must have been really thirsty because of singing nonstop.

They start the song again, but just when they reach the middle of it, Zavier kicks an unoccupied chair next to him, toppling it down. I startle, my heart thumping so hard.

Zavier's chest heaves up and down. He looks unsatisfied, and bloody furious.

Cal scrutinizes him for a while, sighs, and shuffles the sheets placed on the music stand in front of him. He grabs some of the papers and shows them to Zavier. "Look. I've composed some new songs. We might want to try--"

"We're not playing that rubbish," Zavier roars, his loud voice echoing in the room as he snaps the music sheets away, causing them to scatter on the floor.

My heart burns as I stand up. My body reacts sooner than I thought. I can't hold it anymore.

"What is your problem?" I glare at Zavier, my voice laced with anger. It hurts so much to hear such cruel words about what Cal has created from his heart. "You haven't even heard his songs. You'll--"

"And who are you to barge into this?" Zavier cuts me off, his voice cold as ice, just the same with his eyes. A scoff leaves his mouth when he puts his hand on his hips, eyeing me with disgust. "Right. You must be thrilled to hear us play those songs about you, huh? Just hearing those lyrics makes you fly to the clouds? Goddammit, you're pitiful."

My mouth drops open. What is he talking about?

Did Cal write songs about me?

"Zavier," Cal hisses, his voice laced with venom. I've never heard him sound so angry. "What the fuck? Why are you dragging her into this?"

The room turns painfully silent. Zavier stares at the two of us, studying us. Realization crosses his expression before he bursts out laughing.

He then lands his gaze on me again and sneers. His eyes, however, still reflect his pity for me. "You're just a sad muse."

Before I know it, Cal grabs the collar of Zavier's shirt, his eyes piercing. "Fucking dare to say that kind of thing again to her and you're dead," Cal snaps, but Damien and Aaron appear on his sides, pulling his arms that he has no choice but to release Zavier.

Hatred is visible in Zavier's eyes, but surprisingly, a smirk creeps on his lips. He lets out another scoff, then takes his guitar off.

"Practice is over," he says in a cold voice. "You've made too much mess for one session, Cal. I wouldn't think twice to kick you out."

Cal freezes, but I know that Zavier is only bluffing. They need Cal and not the other way around. Cal just hasn't realized his true potential, so he's still here with these toxic people.

Zavier storms out of the room, followed by Aaron and Damien. When they're finally out of the room, Cal pulls me into a tight hug and sighs. I hug him back, closing my eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, then places a kiss on the top of my head. "I knew I shouldn't have brought you here in the first place."

I shake my head, knowing that I was the one who asked him to. And I'm glad that I did. Now, I know just how horrible those people are.

After a few moments in each other's embrace, we pull away, and I look up at him, my arms still circling his waist. His eyes soften, the look making my heart beat twice.

"Let's get out of here and go somewhere else, shall we?" he says.

I nod, smiling softly.

***

AN:
A double update, guys. Please proceed directly to the next chapter :).