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THE RECORDING STUDIO was supposed to be a safe space—a creative hub where artists could focus on making music. but for jaxon, it felt like a pressure cooker, and the temperature was rising fast.
he sat in the corner of the studio, guitar in hand, as ross, jack, dylan, and dominic threw out ideas for the track. across the room, sabrina was sitting near the vocal booth, scrolling through her phone. the tension between them was thick—ever since they walked in, neither had said more than a few words to each other.
"so, what do we want this track to sound like?" dylan asked, fiddling with his guitar. "something edgy, or do we play into sabrina's pop vibe?"
"i say we go edgy," ross chimed in. "give her a chance to show a different side."
jaxon leaned forward, his fingers absentmindedly strumming the guitar. "we need a balance. it can't just be pop or rock—it's gotta be both. otherwise, it's not gonna work."
ross shot him a smirk. "look at you, getting all deep about the music."
jaxon rolled his eyes but didn't respond. the truth was, he was already on edge. the media storm surrounding him and sabrina hadn't let up, and now they were stuck in a room together, trying to make a song while the entire internet was watching their every move.
"so, sabrina," jack said, turning to her, "what are you thinking?"
sabrina looked up from her phone, her eyes meeting jaxon's for a split second before she looked away. "honestly? i'm open to whatever. i just want to make sure it feels authentic, not forced."
the room went quiet for a moment, the word "forced" hanging in the air. sabrina had hit a nerve, and jaxon could feel it. everything about this collaboration felt forced—the media, the rumors, even the way they were all pretending this was normal.
"authentic is good," jaxon said, his voice quieter than usual. "let's try to keep it that way."
the tension in the studio hadn't let up by the time they started working on the first demo. ross and dylan were laying down some guitar riffs while sabrina hummed a few melodies, trying to find the right direction for the vocals.
but it wasn't easy.
every time sabrina looked up, she could feel jaxon's eyes on her, and it made her stomach twist. she wasn't sure if it was because of the rumors or the fact that they were being forced to work together, but either way, it was uncomfortable. she felt out of place, like she didn't belong in the rock-dominated space.
"what if we try a softer vocal for the chorus?" sabrina suggested, glancing at jaxon.
jaxon nodded, picking up his guitar again. "yeah, that could work. something more stripped down."
ross grinned. "hey, look at that—jabrina making music magic already."
sabrina rolled her eyes, but a small smile tugged at her lips. "god, can we stop with the ship name? it's so cringey."
