𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙒𝙖𝙠𝙚

NINE - Attentive

Rhiannon loved to watch an artist at work.

Ever since she'd met Brian, one of her favorite things to do was to join him in the studio and watch him work, watch him write, watch how he directed the people working with him, watch his process. This was one of the reasons she was so glad to be meeting new artists.

Even back in University, she'd always watch the others in her dorm work on paintings, or take photos around the place for projects, or help them whenever necessary.

She watched the four men work, not speaking unless spoken to, taking photos of them, not usually taking her eyes off David as he worked or wrote something down. He was her main focus. She noticed that sometimes he'd stop mid-conversation just to write down an idea, or get up and turn right back around to write something down, even if it was just a few words. Every now and then she'd glance at what he'd been writing, but she couldn't decipher the handwriting for the life of her. She found it fascinating, his way around the studio, the way he had completely immersed himself in the environment.

"Are you recording anything today?" She asked David as he sat back down next to her, he looked over and shook his head, "No, not today. I've got some demos I'll probably work on later, though." he said, thinking for a second before continuing, "You're a writer, aren't you?" he asked.

Rhianna had told him about some work she'd done for Brian, Brian had also told David that it was good having her around the studio, not only for company and photography, but she was more than happy to help when it came to lyrics-- and there were plenty of times that Brian had come to a fork in the road writing lyrics. Then again, it was different writing for him. His lyrics were oftentimes something only he understood.

David's lyricism, however, from Rhianna's understanding, was easier to understand. However, it still had levels and levels of depth to it, something she knew could never be replicated. She felt that to write how David wrote, you had to be a certain kind of person, the kind of person who found art in everything. 

Rhianna finally shrugged with a nod, "Yeah, why?"

David's lips curled up into a smile, shaking his head, "I'm starting to think there's nothing you can't do." he said, watching as she nervously laughed and shook her head, not having the chance to respond before he continued, "Why don't you do music?" he asked, turning his attention away from what he was writing for another moment. 

She paused, thinking, "Well, when I was in college I wanted to do art, but focus on the art that would make me a decent income. Photography was what I settled on."

He nodded before fully processing her words, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked back at her with a puzzled expression, "...Photography was what you settled on?" he asked, wondering why she would ever think she'd make more income as a photographer compared to any other line of work in the arts. She nodded in response, "Well, by that point I was already making a steady income from photography. I'd picked up some internships here and there, and it turned out underground artists and fashion lines pay quite well."

 He hummed, now understanding her thought process, "Well, can you sing?" he asked, watching her face scrunch up as she shook her head. Brian butted in, not bothering to turn around from the sound desk to correct the woman, having watched as she shook her head, "You're such a liar!" he exclaimed, turning his body around to join in their conversation for a moment.

David laughed, looking back at Rihanna as her jaw dropped in shock, "She sang with me for demos all the time. Still does from time to time when I really need it." Brian continued, looking at David as he smiled with delight, "Well that's perfect! You could sing on something of mine sometime, wouldn't that be great?" he asked, turning back to Rhianna with an expression of complete glee plastered across his face. 

She smiled, shrugging with a shake of her head, "I don't know, I'm not good with singing in front of people..." she said. David only shrugged, "Then you could record it yourself. Surely you know your way around a studio, yeah?"

She shrugged again, "I don't know. I don't think I would." she protested, watching nervously as he raised his eyebrows and shrugged, a small smile still on his face as he finally laid back in his seat, "Just an idea."

Jim and Brian shared a knowing look, quickly getting back to work before either of the others could notice. When the conversations subsided, everyone got back to work. Jim was still in the recording booth, Brian glued to the seat in front of the sound deck, asking him to record a part over and over again. David had gone back to writing in his notebook, looking up and humming a few melodies under his breath every now and then. Rhianna was dying to hear him sing in person, or in concert. She much preferred live vocals to studio recordings, she often bought live albums more than she did studio albums. It was just more raw, and if you had a good live performance, you had perfect music. She adored it.

About ten more minutes passed before she finally heard what she'd wanted to hear, David finally looking around and stepping in the recording booth for only a couple seconds before stepping back out, an acoustic guitar in his left hand as he sat back down. He strummed it a few times, tuning it, humming under his breath for about five minutes before he finally sang.

"Don't you wonder sometimes, about sound and vision?"

She sat and listened intently, almost forgetting to snap a picture as he played, Brian turning around in his chair to watch what David was singing, nodding along.

"Blue, blue, electric blue, that's the color of my room, where I will live."

 Jim finally noticed what was going on, stepping out of the booth for a moment to hear. When David finished, the three others looked in approval.

"That was really good. I mean seriously, did you just write that? Just now?" Jim asked, walking over and looking at the sheet of paper David had been writing on for the past forty five minutes. There were some annotations, some corrections, but it hadn't taken him very long at all.

"When are you recording it?" Brian asked, watching David shrug, "I didn't know if I was going to." he responded, "I haven't even half finished it."

"You have to. That's good." Jim said in return. 

David shrugged, finally looking over at Rhiannon again, "How'd you like it?" he asked. Her mouth was slightly agape, the grip she had on her camera loose, "I think it's great, David. You should really record that sometime." she said, agreeing with Jim.

"Yeah, I intend to, I just don't know how the label would feel about it." He responded, Jim shaking his head with disapproval, shrugging, "Who cares what the label thinks, that's great."

David only shrugged in return, "I think it could use some work.", in return receiving a nod from Jim, "Well, duh." he responded, "Are you putting it on an album?" he asked, watching as David nodded.

"I've been writing a little bit here and there, nothing much just yet. I really want to get started with something though." He explained, referring to the small one or two lines he would write (and usually toss) when he couldn't fall asleep at night. 

"I like the way it sounds. It makes an interesting concept, it's worth while in my opinion." Rhiannon sounded her opinion, catching the attention of the three men. They all glanced at David then, David still staring at the woman in front of him. 

"You're right." David finally said, taking a glance at the other two men as they nodded in agreement, "I think I'll keep you around here." he said with a chuckle, looking back at her with a smile.

Heart racing then, she only smiled and nodded in agreement. How could she have gotten herself here?

***