Adore Me Adora | Charles Leclerc

Chapter 16

~Adora Rossi's Perspective~

Sharing a hotel room with Charles was more put together than I imagined. We had separate beds, made a shower schedule that worked for us both, and had our own spaces while sharing the same area. Whoever he marries is going to be lucky, that's for sure. He was clean and considered the person he was with. Green flags all around.

I walked through the city, Charles right next to me, leading the way to the recording studio. He had practically begged for a studio tour and when Delanie approved it, he kept me on my word. The building we stopped in front of had neon letters on the front, Angelic Studios. We were here and I was mentally preparing myself for my first time recording with an audience.

Angel Florence is a woman from above. She gave me all the freedom I wanted to record and gave suggestions occasionally, mostly sitting back and watching as I created my melody. Charles and I walked through the glass doors, waving to the receptionist and we made our way towards the back room. We walked in, a note from Angel on the DJ area and the recording area open.

"So you get a lot of freedom when recording, huh?" Charles perks up, looking over all the equipment.

"This is a lot more than usual, actually. Seems like Angel's busy," I said, slipping the note in my pocket.

Have a great recording sess, Adora. I know you can use the equipment on your own so I figured I'd let you have your little date with Charles in peace. I can't wait for your next album to be all about your feelings :) You're a talented musician and I'm glad, even if you won't admit it, that Charles has become your muse. - Angel Florence

"Here, put on the spare headphones and we'll make the beat for a song." He did as I said and sat next to me on the bench. I began creating the lead into the song, making a beat and adjusting it as I went. I hummed some of the lyrics as I went, fixing it up as I went. Charles paid attention to every detail, even making a few comments along the way.

"This is completely different than your other albums. Usually, the vibe is the same somewhat but this is much more... gentle in a way." I laughed to myself as he smiled, his body gradually getting closer to mine. I ran the beat through in its entirety before saving it, standing up from the bench.

"When I give a thumbs up, click the red play button." He nodded as I made my way inside the studio, sitting on the stool inside the glassed-off room. I adjusted the mic and slipped the headphones over my ears. I gave him a thumbs up and he smiled, pressing the button as I instructed him.

You leapt from crumbling bridges,
watching cityscapes turn to dust.

Filming helicopters crashing,
in the ocean from way above.

I watched as Charles looked between me and the main computer screen, a smile on his face as he watched me in my element. I continued the song and by the end, knew I had a near-perfect run. What was usually a long, grueling three-hour session in the studio would be only two hours. Only a few runs left before I could edit and save, something that rarely happened in the industry. Well, apart from when I would eventually come back and rerecord parts with their changed lyrics. I couldn't let him know my true intentions with this album, not yet. I signaled for him to hit the same button again, singing the song a second time.

Got the music in you, baby,
tell me why.
Got the music in you, baby,
tell me why.
You've been locked in here forever
And you just can't say goodbye.

The second run was better than the first, unsurprisingly. Charles smiled as he waved me back inside the studio room, catching myself following his lead. 

"It sounds perfect, I think you knew exactly what you were going for," he said, playing the music back with my vocals. With some fine-tuned editing, I ran over the song once more, Charles and I only inches apart, leaning over the table and staring at the computer screen.

"Apocalypse. That's what I'm calling it," I sighed, a sensation of relief washing over me.

"I like it. I like it a lot, Adora," he said. We were both leaning towards each other, our eyes connected and smiles undeterable. We got closer and closer, slowly but surely until we were centimeters away. Then, a knock on the door. We created a couple of feet of space between us before the receptionist from before walked in.

"Adora Rossi, Angel's got a client coming in for touchups soon. You're almost at your three-hour mark."

"Thank you, I'll be out shortly. I'm just waiting for the download so I can send it to both Angel and my manager." The receptionist walked out but the moment was over. I know that I'll move past that moment like I usually do. And Charles most likely will do the same. But with the music he heard me sing, he had to have known he was the person in mind. He's the core of the music and all I wanted was for our lips to finally connect. But it was interrupted. Was that fate telling me it wasn't meant to happen?

I sent the music over and put everything in the studio back before walking back to the hotel with Charles, the moment replaying over and over again.

"How about we just order in tonight and relax for the next few days? We've got to fly to Greece for Lewis' party on Thursday and I think we both want to be refreshed before we attend," Charles hummed, flipping through a pamphlet while lying on his stomach on his bed.

"That sounds great to me. Chinese?" He nodded and flipped to a page before dialing a number in his cell, calling a place for delivery. I went to the vanity outside the bathroom and brushed through my hair before picking up the scrapbook that lay on the counter. I grabbed the scrapbooking bag and emptied it onto my bed before assembling the page next to France, Charles joining and lying next to me watching my every move.

"Foods here," Charles says after looking at his phone, he gets up and waves, grabbing his key and closing the door behind him. I quickly reach into my pocket and grab the note from Angel, sticking it into the scrapbook and taping it by the top before closing the book and sliding it into my bag. The page was adorned with pictures from the bridge and our travels around town, finished off with a ticket to Chicago sticker and a few others. I put a quote from Charles about the pizza in there along with another song title for me. It was perfect the way it was, Angel's note filling up the only remaining space left. Charles walked back in holding a takeout bag before sliding a coffee table between our beds, grabbing the remote in the process. He sort the food out and turned the television on, switching to a channel playing Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift. We ate as we watched the movie, commenting on the cars to each other before falling asleep, our mess from dinner something to attend to in the morning.

Word Count: 1,204