Three's a Crowd

Chptr Five ☆ Trouble Maker

"David is being a pain in the ass!" Eddie shouted through the phone. Suzy could hear the commotion in the background of the call, unable to make out anything that was being said. From the sound of it, the whole of Van Halen seemed to be in the studio together, which was rare, and there were a few unfamiliar voices she'd heard in the background, of which she assumed to be producers and technicians. Raul was sitting across from her, snacking on cough drops as it was one of his peculiar habits.

"Why don't you just wait for David to do his vocals and then you come join? Since he's the one that's the problem?" Suzy posed, her painted nails tapping on the side of her juice box.

"But it's not just David! It's everyone! The mixers, the sound engineers, the receptionist... the producer! Oh, don't even get me started on him!" Although Suzy could hear the frustration in his voice, she couldn't help but laugh a little to herself. She pulled the phone away from her lips, careful that Eddie didn't hear.

"The producer?" She asked. "What's so bad about him? Raul picked him out, you know. He's good." Raul's smile dropped at the sound of Suzy throwing him under the bus.

"Oh, that son of a... whatever, the producer. Yeah, he's a real Phil Spector type." Eddie scoffed. "So controlling, so meticulous... I get taking pride in your work and wanting it to be perfect, I do too! But do we really have to listen to a ten-second strip of isolated drums fuckin' fifty times in a row? Shit!" The man was sort of whisper-yelling into the phone, as if he were afraid of anyone hearing his complaints. Suzy resisted the urge to smile, Raul watching her with a cocked brow as he anxiously unraveled another victim from his bag of Ricolas.

In all honesty, he probably recognized how hypocritical he was being. Suzy remembered an admittedly comical letter that David Lee had sent her about the state of relations in the band not too long ago. He moaned endlessly about Eddie's perfectionism, about his picking the same verse over and over, about him making other members re-record their parts after he'd done his, just to pick it all over again. He'd reportedly called producers and mixers at ungodly hours, telling them of the ideas he'd had in a dream or in the bath. Suzy guessed that Eddie didn't like the taste of his own medicine very much.

"You think maybe you're just upset that you're not top dog right now?" She said boldly, watching Raul's eyes bulge as she took a sip of her juice box with a smirk. Eddie cackled on the other line, the cord banging against the phone as his arm fell to his side.

"Ya know, if anyone else said that, they'd have a problem with me. But I'll give you a pass, Suz." He spoke, a smile audible in his tone.

"You'd better." She quipped. "You don't have a choice!"

"I'll try to get used to you." Eddie leaned against the wall, watching the chaos continue in the studio and hearing the racket through the cracked door. The pair continued their talking, Suzy asking Eddie about any and everything to get his mind off of David and calm him down. They learned a lot about each other during that conversation, finding out just how similar they both were.

"Anyone ever told you you've got this calming energy about you?" Eddie asked, softly.

"You tryin' to smooth talk me, Edd?" The girl laughed, causing Raul to sit up with an amused expression. "That's a highly inappropriate thing to do to your boss."

"I'm not trying," He laughed. "I am."

Suzy's face flashed with heat at his words, her eyes darting for one of the many windows in the room to avoid Raul's teasing gaze. "Don't you have some work to do, or something?" She spat at him, her hand covering the mic as she glared at her business partner. He mockingly put his hands up in surrender, grabbing his chair by the back as he walking out of the room with a playful grin. Suzy sighed as the door closed, relaxing in her seat again.

"Eddie, you're gonna get me in trouble." She laughed. "Or maybe you are the trouble."

Eddie looked through the window of the studio, unfazed by the sight of David shaking a rather unenthused looking sound tech by the shoulders as he demanded to hear his verse again with his signature giant smile.

"No, Suzy." He said, running his hand through his fluffy brown hair. "I think it's the other way around."

Neither of them knew what to say for a few moments, but the silence was comfortable as it settled over the call. The guitarist was the one to break it, clearing his throat first. "I gotta get back to the band. They're gonna tear each other's heads off soon... not that I'm much of a peacemaker, that's more your thing." He laughed. "But call me whenever you're free. Even if it's not about music. Just to... talk, I guess." His tone was raspy and apprehensive, and Suzy almost felt as if she was being asked to junior prom by her brother's best friend.

A slightly cocky smile spread across Suzy's face, her hand reaching for her juice. "I'll call when I call, Ed." She said, taking another drink. The man chuckled on the other line, nodding although she couldn't see.

"I'll look forward to hearing from you."

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