50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

More Life: Chapter Five

    "That was great." Noah adjusted some of the controls on the soundboard and twisted his chair to face his laptop computer.

    Aubrey exited the recording booth and dropped down into the chair beside Noah.

    Noah looked him up and down and leaned back in his chair. "Do you need a break?"

    "Do I look like I need a break?" Aubrey returned.

    Noah grimaced. "Do you want the honest answer to that?"

    Aubrey leaned to the side and grabbed the hookah pipe dangling over his chair armrest. "You know me. Always."

    "You look like shit."

    "That would be because when I'm not in this studio with you, I'm in my bedroom pacing and thinking up new songs to add to this thing," Aubrey muttered, flipping a switch on the hookah machine.

    Noah took a deep breath and held it. After letting it out, he offered, "Or because you recently lost someone you really loved."

    Aubrey released a puff of hookah smoke, his eyes narrowing at Noah.

    "We're trying our best not to talk about this," Noah added hurriedly. "All of us agreed that we were just...not going to bring this topic up. But you have been pushing yourself incredibly hard, man. I'm used to you pushing yourself hard - hell, I push myself too hard sometimes, too, and you know this. But the amount of work you're putting in is actually scaring me."

    "Don't waste your fear on me," Aubrey said. "I'm fine."

    "You're fine?" Noah repeated, rolling his eyes. "What is the number one rule you tell me about women?"

    "Which number one rule?" Aubrey asked, laughing.

    "The one where you say if a woman ever says she's fine..."

    "I'm not a woman, though," Aubrey pointed out. "When I say I'm fine, I'm fine."

    "But you're not fine."

    Aubrey let the words hang in the air, all of a sudden fascinated by the craftsmanship of the hookah pipe in his hand. He inspected it in a vain attempt at avoiding his friend's persistent gaze.

    "I've known you long enough to know when you're fine and when you're not," Noah went on. "You're definitely not fine. You're...this superhuman entity who is going to burn himself the fuck out if he doesn't pause for a minute and take a beat."

    "I have announced an album drop and tour, and we are on a crunch for time on both," Aubrey stated matter-of-factly. "A tour that I probably should have moved to next year is happening later this year, and the album hasn't even been released yet. Grieving or not, I don't have a choice in pushing forward. You know that."

    "I also know that you aren't actually taking time to grieve," Noah countered. "You're pouring all of yourself into this."

    "What is your suggestion?"

    Noah shrugged. "I don't know."

    "I'm obviously grieving the wrong fucking way, so you must have a few alternatives for me," Aubrey pressed.

    "For starters, you can take a couple of days out of the week off, and use that time to sort through your feelings," Noah said.

    "Sort through my feelings?" Aubrey closed his eyes and brought the hookah pipe back up to his mouth.

    "I'm not trying to tell you how to grieve, Aubs."

    "You're not?" Aubrey questioned wryly.