The J.A.C.I.E. Project (All Time Low Fanfiction | Jack Barakat)

Chapter 23

I was extremely lucky. Although he'd hired me to help with his work, Justin also gave me space at his studio to work on my own songs. It was a great resource to have while I was working hard on my final graduation project: an EP with songs I wrote and produced. I had been working on it since before I broke up with Jack, but now it was a welcome extra distraction. I suddenly had so much free time on my hands.

That morning, I found myself tracking drums for one of the most recent songs I had been working on. After double checking that I really had permission, I was behind the soundproof glass recording the song over and over, trying new things out every time. It required me to walk back and forth a lot since I was also producing it all by myself, but I didn't mind. It had been a while since I had played the drums.

I barely even noticed Alex walk in for the afternoon session I had been planned in for with All Time Low. Justin was out of state for the week, but everybody trusted me to take over for the time being, which was both a shock and pleasant surprise. Of course, Justin would come back later and work with the songs again, but it was still an honour.

"Hey there, Jacie," Alex greeted as I stood over the soundboard.

I looked up as I quickly paused the track. "Oh, hey, Alex! Give me a second and I'll be ready to work with you."

"What you working on?" He asked as he glanced around the various instruments and drumsticks scattered around.

"Just finishing off my first song," I told him as I made sure to save my files and back them up.

"Oh, go on then, let's give her a listen."

I chuckled. "It's not finished. I'm still tweaking the drums."

"And...?" He joined me at the soundboard. "You hear all our music unfinished."

I took a second to think about it. If there was one issue I had, it was showing unfinished work to others. In my eyes, it just wasn't perfect enough, and I didn't want others to see it yet. But maybe it was time to let go of that. Just because it wasn't finished, didn't mean it wasn't good.

"Fine," I stated and went to the beginning of the song. "You get to hear it with the most recent drum track, but I'm not sure if it's my favourite yet."

"That's fine." Alex smiled back.

Before I could change my mind, I quickly hit play and turned up the speakers. I watched Alex anxiously as the song started with just an acoustic guitar. I knew it started kind of mellow, but I wanted to see him when the electric guitar hit. He bopped his head along slightly but didn't really show any indication of what he really thought. When the drums joined as well, there was also a little sway in his legs. But it could mean anything. Before I knew it, the song had ended.

"Fuck, I like it!" He exclaimed excitedly.

I smiled softly. "Thanks, Alex."

"No, I mean it, you've really got something special here."

"That means a lot, thanks." Since working with them, they had influenced my own writing a lot. My songs had never sounded so pop punk-slash-rock before.

There was silence afterwards. Not one of unease or awkwardness, just silence. Still, I knew I needed to address the elephant in the room.

I didn't beat around the bush. "Did Jack tell you about our break up?"

His eyes snapped up towards my face. "He mentioned it, yeah."

I nodded. "Well, I just want to let you know that I get it if you guys decide you don't want to work with me anymore. My internship is close to ending, and I've done enough to get my college credits."