My Brompton Cocktail

6.

I sit on the couch, where I had been laying with Zacky earlier, while Matt slides the door shut. He slides, what looks like, another door after the first door. 

"That makes the room soundproof, so now you don't have to worry about anyone hearing us." He states, turning around to face me, with a smile. "It's just you and I. Nobody else, so don't be too nervous about this, okay?" Sucking in a deep breath to try to calm myself, I give him a meek nod. "We can start by warming up our voices. I always do this before I sing so I don't damage my voice." He goes through some techniques, teaching me how to do every one. I listen to each warm up technique, recognizing a few of them from when I was in school, and start feeling a little bit more at ease with this whole deal. "Okay, now I want you to repeat after me." 

The nerves are at bay as I repeat after Matt, warming my voice up. I feel confidence slowly rise up in me the further we get in the warm up, reminding me of every time I used to do this before I would perform for a project or anything. I feel comfortable around Matt, shockingly, because he is helping me through the anxiety, teaching me new things, and making sure I feel okay. 

"I can already tell this is going to mind blowing." The dimples appear again along side the beaming grin, expressing how he is feeling about this project of ours. "Now, I'm assuming you know the words, right?" The grin doesn't disappear when the knowing look takes over. 

"Yes, it is one of my favorite songs you guys have made, even though it is a song about necrophilia and fucked up shit." We both laugh, knowing how fucked up the song truly is, but still acknowledging the fact that it is a fantastic song. He holds his hand out to me, gesturing for me to stand up. 

"It is better to sing standing up, not only is it better for your body and voice, it will help you get used to being onstage, too." Standing in front of him, I feel so tiny. He's six foot four inches tall and I am only five foot flat, so it is a little intimidating being in front of him. "Stand up tall, back straight, with some confidence because I know you're going to be great." I do as I'm told, but the confidence is weary as I hold my hands behind my back. "Ready?" 

I take one last deep breath, preparing myself, before nodding. "Yeah, let's do it." He starts to sing, cueing to me when to sing, not skipping a beat. I sing along with him, growing more confident as we go. 

I'll do whatever you want me to do

(Well then, I'll grant you one chance)

And if it's not enough

(If its not enough, its not enough)

If it's not enough

(Not enough)

Try again 

(Try again) 

And again

(And again) 

Over and over again

We both sing together on the last line, our voices loud and mixing with each others' so nicely, I couldn't even believe that my voice would sound so amazing against his. Our eye contact never faltered, bringing our connection as friends closer than before. 

"That was...just...wow." He looks blown away, his eyes wide and grinning from ear to ear. "I knew it was going to blow my mind." My heart rate is through the roof, but I feel adrenalized, like I just jumped out of a plane or something. He pulls me into a tight hug, still praising me. "You are seriously talented. I have never heard such an angelic voice before. We should have had you sing on the record, my god." We break from the hug so he can hold me at arms length. "Nadia, you are going to do great Thursday. We can practice a few more times, if you want, but you know we are going to have to show everyone else. Especially Jimmy."